Second on that. Thanks for the 411. It will be interesting to see how the run pans out up there this year. We were supposed to be putting our 3rd day in of a trip up there tomorrow. Unfortunately, both the Guide and I came down with a bout of Covid. This was nothing more than a light cold for me. So vaccinated, boosted, O+ blood and now getting this thing . . . I figure I am on the Titanium protection plan at this point.
Good luck on the next one guys. I will get my butt up there.
This has seriously been the slowest drop I've witnessed on the SF in the last 5 years. If you go by the "ideal" range for fishing at the Miranda Gauge, it still hasn't reached it.... The last rains were over two weeks ago... Has this been a colder winter up north than the last few?
I'm sure the slow drop on the Main Eel is due to the snowmelt into the tribs of the Mendocino NF. Not sure about the SF though. It usually drops much quicker. But according to all reports I've read, the SF is in fine shape now. This weekend is gonna be an absolute zoo up there. I'm staying home and fishing a less crowded stretch of the Russian.
I took my daughter up to the Trinity this weekend; she's been bugging me to go Steelheading for a long time, but like most kids she likes to catch a lot and doesn't like the cold...so I put it off as long as I could.
We stayed at the Strawhouse on Friday night (awesome cabins right on the river) and met our guide at Junction City at 8am. It was cold, maybe 30 degrees, but not as cold as it can get there I know. So much for the "fish of 1000 casts" 20 minutes into the drift, indicator goes down and it felt like I'd snagged a nuclear submarine...except a submarine that could fly! the fish went crazy, my guided did a bit too, which is always a good sign, and 10 minutes later I had my first ever Steelhead in the net. A 29.5 inch fat wild hen...I swear it was over 30" but my guide said nobody gets in the 30" club on their first fish, so 29.5 inches she will be.
10 minutes later the indicator goes down again and same thing, huge fish going crazy and my guide is laughing this time .."Dude this just doesn't happen!" 10 minutes later a 27" beautiful wild buck was in the net.
By this point my daughter was getting a bit frustrated, but on the next run she hooks up and its on! Her first Steelhead and we are all very excited...until she gets it to the boat and its a Brown! I've never seen my kid so disappointed catching a fish!! Didn't last long, over the next few hours she proceeded to put 4 Steelhead in the boat all about 16-20" and one about 22".
I got three more myself in the afternoon all over 16" and one more over 20". 9 Steelhead, 1 brown, 1 hatchery fish all day, the rest were all wild. We pulled out at Bagdad and I went back to the cabin and drank a few beers and smoked a nice cigar!
One of the best days ever!
You can't buy happiness, but you can buy new fly fishing gear and that usually does the trick.
I took my daughter up to the Trinity this weekend; she's been bugging me to go Steelheading for a long time, but like most kids she likes to catch a lot and doesn't like the cold...so I put it off as long as I could.
We stayed at the Strawhouse on Friday night (awesome cabins right on the river) and met our guide at Junction City at 8am. It was cold, maybe 30 degrees, but not as cold as it can get there I know. So much for the "fish of 1000 casts" 20 minutes into the drift, indicator goes down and it felt like I'd snagged a nuclear submarine...except a submarine that could fly! the fish went crazy, my guided did a bit too, which is always a good sign, and 10 minutes later I had my first ever Steelhead in the net. A 29.5 inch fat wild hen...I swear it was over 30" but my guide said nobody gets in the 30" club on their first fish, so 29.5 inches she will be.
10 minutes later the indicator goes down again and same thing, huge fish going crazy and my guide is laughing this time .."Dude this just doesn't happen!" 10 minutes later a 27" beautiful wild buck was in the net.
By this point my daughter was getting a bit frustrated, but on the next run she hooks up and its on! Her first Steelhead and we are all very excited...until she gets it to the boat and its a Brown! I've never seen my kid so disappointed catching a fish!! Didn't last long, over the next few hours she proceeded to put 4 Steelhead in the boat all about 16-20" and one about 22".
I got three more myself in the afternoon all over 16" and one more over 20". 9 Steelhead, 1 brown, 1 hatchery fish all day, the rest were all wild. We pulled out at Bagdad and I went back to the cabin and drank a few beers and smoked a nice cigar!
One of the best days ever!
You can't buy happiness, but you can buy new fly fishing gear and that usually does the trick.
Shhhhhh. The Trinity is awful. Don't go there. Definitely not worth fishing.
That is awesome Bob! Congratulations, your daughter will never forget that trip! Nor will you!
Last edited by Bob Loblaw; 02-07-2022 at 03:21 PM.
You can't buy happiness, but you can buy new fly fishing gear and that usually does the trick.
You can't buy happiness, but you can buy new fly fishing gear and that usually does the trick.
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