Request for Ed I

[Boris]

let me know your old time secret spot to catch Steelhead in California. please include detailed directions. thx.
Boris.

PS - you can PM me if you don't want the info leaked to the general public.

[Zeno]

Boris,

They are no secret spots - Only some less well known than others. Good Luck.

-Zeno

[Ed I]

Hey Boris This time of the year I did best on the Klamath and Trinity Rivers. Once the water temps got cold it was difficult. I had some great days on Battle Ck, a trib of the Sac. From where you are at you might head up 5 to Redding. Lots of water in the general area. Contact the Fly Shop in Redding for up to date info. I really liked No Cal but left in the mid 80s. Good Luck and do post a trip report. Ray can add to this. They play poker in Redding also. How much time do you have? Good water on coast in the Eureka area. The Smith River near the Oregon border is a great fishery and as pretty a river as you will find. I'm sure all area shops have web sites. Sorry I babble. If you can be more specific I might be of more help.

[Ray Zee]

if i had to pick a river it would be the smith. best chance for a fish and fishable water. a little more up the road is the rogue in oregon. that is where i used to catch the most steelhead ever. i was one of the only people i saw using flies way back when. people couldnt believe you could catch one on a fly.
small stream that has a run is the mattole. its up near garberville. easy fishing when they are in. but i dont know if you are still allowed to fish it.

[Ed I]

You hit on a key point, so much depends on locating the run and the water conditions. A heavy rain can knock out a river for flies. Smith handles it the best, healthy watershed. Boris will have to do his homework.

I use to get to the Mattole by heading south out of Eureks to Ferndale then heading to the coast. Nice drive. Van Duzen another small river in Eureka area that could be good.

Some of the old timers were something to watch working their flies at the mouth of the Eel. Many had been at it since the 40s. I can remember casting for hrs without success only to have one of these guys pull up, make a feww casts and be into a big king fresh from the ocean.

[Zeno]

For a more secluded spot fish the Illinois River. It enters the Rogue River just below Agnes. Drive up to Oak Flat, which is a very primitive campground, and the end of the road. You can fish by Oak Flat campground, up river (hike) and also down river to the confluence with the Rogue. Depending on water conditions this a great stretch of river. My dad mentions the Eel River a lot along with the Smith, Klamath, and Trinity Rivers in N. California as excellent steelhead streams, but they take a lot of traffic. I have no first hand knowledge of them. Weekdays on the Rogue River can be very good and once salmon season is over the traffic much less. Other locations along the Southern Oregon coast are good for Steelhead but It would cost you about 5k for me to tell you where they are. /images/graemlins/grin.gif


-Zeno