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John, those fish in the upper Rogue are not anadromous - instead they utilize the "fluvial" life history meaning they spawn in the small tributaries, rear for a bit before dropping into the main river to mature and forage as adults. We fished the upper Rogue salmon fly hatch last June and primarily landed coastal cutthroat. They are becoming more and more common up that way and can get quite large - yours is a dandy! My understanding is that sea runs on the Rogue make it up about as far as the Applegate.
We have been fishing estuaries for SRC with decent success - primarily in Del Norte County but also Curry County OR. Timing and tides are everything - you can usually find them beginning in mid July through the end of October. Fish around structure and if you find one, there's usually more. Here's a couple from last October.
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Attachment 15416
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I remember catching several in the Applegate while chasing steelhead a few years back that I thought might have been sea run- leaner and more silver than the ones we catch above Touvelle.
I used to chase them for years in Puget Sound when I covered Seattle for work, and they are one of my favorites. I haven’t fished them in CA, but it’s great to hear that they are doing well here. I got a couple in the Mad a couple of years ago, again while shaving steel - don’t know if they were sea run or not, but now I’m wondering.
Thanks for all the info on the North Coast - Need to schedule a fall trip up there. They are a special fish.
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back in the 60s when attending Humboldt State we fished them in the Small Humboldt Streams. I also caught several, one year, in the Ten Mile River, outside Fort Bragg, they were about 2-3 pound fish. The Smith River has a stout run, hardly fished, when we had year around seasons I saw lots of them late April and May there.
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Ten Mile River sounds interesting. I like the beach there and have crossed the river at the beach. Next time I am there I will take a look and see if there is a chance for cutthroat.
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Unfortunately Ten Mile access has been blocked by the local timber company. Ditto Big River and Noyo. Access to most of the Mendocino rivers has been severly curtailed. To much vandalism and 4 wheelers teraing up the skid roads.
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Can you hike, ride a horse or take an electric mountain bike on those logging roads or are they just closed period??
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Closed!!! I'm not even sure if you could walk in anymore.
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@noyo55,
So sad! I had the great experience to fish it several times in the '70's. Had to stop in town to
get a permit and then again at a farmhouse gate to display same. Never saw anyone there.
No fish caught; but, still a beautiful stream! I understand the estuary could be a "marine
life protection area" now. That might be no fishing. While out in that region, we would also
check out Alder Creek as well as the Garcia and Gualala.
I often wished I could have fished those streams in the 50-60's.
Thanks for the info.
Best to all,
Larry S
Sun Diego
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The SRC fishery in Northern California and Southern Oregon is lightly fished and those that have it dialed in tend to be pretty quiet about it. I think part of what keeps the crowds away is that tidal estuaries are dynamic systems and finding where and when to target SRC's takes time and effort. It's too bad the Eureka Fly Shop is closed - those guys where a good place to start.
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Like us, Mike at the Eureka Fly Shop got old and decided to close the shop and go have fun.