Chetco

[mircetich]

Does anyone know what a reasonable flow is on the Chetco? Also I would like to know of a good web site or phone mumber to get a good / curent fishing report from.
All on the north coast is blown except for the Smith but last time I was there the count for boats was 56 from the forks down, I don't think I want to do that again!
Thanks

[bubzilla]

If the lower Smith is too crowded for your tastes, then I would suggest writing off the Chetco as well. Everything below Loeb State Park is like the Smith--only crowded. :roll: Traffic coming down from the higher launches is less, but still substantial. It's one of the easiest rivers on the Oregon coast to run, and the number of boats on any given day reflects that. Add that to the ridiculously high number of guides operating on the river--including a big influx of former contractors from California in recent years--and it's a real mess most days anymore. Not trying to be negative, but if crowds are an issue for you the easily accessible sections of the Chetco are not going to be something you'll enjoy.

In terms of flows, the Chetco is a fairly large river. And, turbidity is generally more of an issue than flow. There's been a lot of logging and the Biscuit fire in the upper areas of the watershed, so the river can get pretty colored sometimes. But from 5,000 c.f.s. down can be fishable. It just depends.