Lower American river back in the day.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Pretty sure this is the lower American river, some years ago, but not sure?

I found this very high quality black & white panorama in my old photos so some body gave it to me?

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Any ideas...?

[Smitty Fish]

Looks like Sailor Bar with those cliffs in the background. Before the rains and floods of 1986.

[Mark Kranhold]

Hmm, I sure wouldn’t want to be fishing in that zoo! That just takes the joy out of fishing, I like solitude, the sound of the water and wildlife.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

50 years ago this was a common scene all over Northern California because there were lots of fish.

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Mouth of the Klamath river in the 1940s?

[JayDubP]

50 years ago this was a common scene all over Northern California because there were lots of fish.

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Mouth of the Klamath river in the 1940s?


I remember it from 1972. Guys on the bank throwing 1-2oz sinkers and people in the boats wearing construction hard hats.

Bank fishermen used very heavy line to reel the fish straight in so it would not run sideways and tangle lines. Saw one fish dragged straight in on the surface.

Wonder how many fights there were when a fish ran sideways and tangled a lot of lines? Were there rules for the guys on each side to reel in when someone hooked a fish?

Shop there sold great salmon jerky.

[hwchubb]

It sure on that top pic. It certainly looks American-ish, only fished Sailor Bar since the late 80’s, but that lower ground on the left almost makes me think of the area downstream of Goethe (the old Pink House run)? Hard to say. I remember some openers that looked like that 20 years ago, although I’m guessing that pic has to be the salmon run. I don’t see many bent rods in that pic either…

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Ab out 50 years ago there were three places where there were huge groups of bank and boat anglers:


1) Mouth of the American river was always a popular place for King salmon in the Fall. Boat did troll upriver from there too.

2) Up by Sacramento State College was a popular boat and bank Fall salmon hot spot.

3) Nimbus basin, Sailor Bar and below was very busy with mostly wading and bank fishers.



Where else did you see big crowds after salmon in the Fall?

[yubaman]

I can remember walking over Guy West Bridge in the late 70's and seeing boats and wade fisherman all in the river. We knew that the Steelhead and Salmon had moved into the river!

Brings back another memory . . . when we lived in the dorms, how we would hoof over the levee with our eel gigs and burlap sacks and gig for the eels. Dept of Fish and Game had like a $1 or $5 bounty on the freshwater eels, and 3 of us would get a bundle of them in half a day, and have beer money for a couple of weeks. I think we took them up to Nimbus to cash in?

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I can remember walking over Guy West Bridge in the late 70's and seeing boats and wade fisherman all in the river. We knew that the Steelhead and Salmon had moved into the river!

Brings back another memory . . . when we lived in the dorms, how we would hoof over the levee with our eel gigs and burlap sacks and gig for the eels. Dept of Fish and Game had like a $1 or $5 bounty on the freshwater eels, and 3 of us would get a bundle of them in half a day, and have beer money for a couple of weeks. I think we took them up to Nimbus to cash in?



So cool.......I did not know about that eel bounty.

Now I have seen people catching eels in the riffles below Watt and at Gristmill to sell to bait shops for Stripers.


My brother Dick and I would snorkel for crayfish in the lower American river.