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Just asked Geoff at Central Coast FF and it appears the F&G have not decided on a definite flow measurement for Santa Cruz streams for 2004. As regs state they can close a stream if they decide fish cannot move upstream and are at risk of being snagged or caught in one pool. But you will still have to call hotline to make sure it is open ahead of time before fishing. That explains why they included the Dec. 2005 date as indicated in your post, they have yet to finalize the specific low flow requirements apparently. Its getting ridiculous between zero-limits, barbless hooks, low flow reqs., etc.....If we could restore spawning productivity, flows, manage seals and fish eating birds there would be tons of fish...kind of like last year!
When the new regs were discussed F&G was proposing 80CFS minimum for the SLR and 40CFS for Soquel. The streams South of Soquel would be linked to Soquel flows as it is the only one with an automatic, internet accessible flow gauge. So, if they went with that option, when Soquel is open so is Aptos, Pajaro and Corralitos Ck. The Carmel would also be 80 CFS minimum which is down from the previous 135CFS requirement. All south coast streams would be 40 CFS as read at the Big Sur, where there is also an internet gauge. I asked the new warden for Monterey if the low flow requirement would be in effect this year and he indicated it was. That was last weekend at the Carmel River Steelhead Assoc wild game BBQ we had last sunday.
Steve---from 2004 Freshwater Regs: Art. 4 Supp Regs Sec 8.00c Low-Flow restrictions for S.Central streams: Dec 1-Mar 7 DFG will close streams when flows are inadequate for fish passage. Quantitative cfs to be determined by Dec 2005. Call Info: (831) 649-2886 Am a bit confused by the Dec 2005 date but I assume since this reg is in 2004 book, you need to call for coming season and DFG will close streams based on best guess regardless of whether or not they have finalized on cfs.
Hi gang, The SLR just hit 2,000 cfs. That will certainly help to blow the debris out and give the river a good "cleaning". Another 2 or 3 rains like this before December could make for an interesting opener. I called the phone # posted on the DFG web-site and they had no clue about low-flow closures for the SLR. Where can I find information on that? Have a great season! Steve
The river is currently at 465cfs and rising fast. This is an excellent start to bust the mouth open. Do we have a confirmation on opening day this year? Early rains mean a good chance for Kings and Cohos.
It looks like a good begining. Lets hope it lasts into the Jan thru Mar. months.
I'm jonesin' here, too! Love the new season, but it means PSM(pre [steelhead] madness) is going to be drawn out longer than in the past. To pass the time, I am organizing, inventorying, saving pennies (ahh, 14 and a fishing addict), researching new fly patterns, researching new line (am thinking about getting some sinking tip 6 weight, or might get some "steelhead" line), making lures, tying flies, reading catalogs, and, as soon as they get back from their trip, going into ernies. I hope this extended season produces some blue-backs, saw a few in that extra week last season. Any size recommendations for spinner size? Any thoughts and the theory that a small, deep diving crawdad crankbait would work well because of a defensive attack? As for fishing regulations- you can go to the DFG site, then download the .PDF version of the regs so you can check them when ever you are on the computer. Perhaps some local rockfish, and maybe a albie run will hold me over till steelhead season
Is anyone jonesin for winter steelhead as bad as me? I believe the regs say, seasons from Dec 1st to March 7th. Low flow closure if the river drops below 80CFS. Last weeks of last season it was between 150 and 250 CFS most days (as a a comparison).
Ahh, the weather turning and that little rain has us thinking about the upcoming season. Has anyone heard about the possible delay in the start date? Dept of Fish & Game website has NOTHING. ??
Anyone checking here the meeting place will be at the Water St entrance to the Courthouse this Saturday. I reported that we would meet at Longs again, but this is coinciding with National Ocean CLean Up day and they have a station set up there, parking available at the courthouse
Hey guys, the San Lorenzo clean up day was good event. We had about a dozen people there. Some of the old hands and a few new faces. Next clean up day, and the probably the last chance this year is the 18th of Sept. This one is being done in conjunction with the International Ocean and Beach Beautification Day. We will meet at 9:00am and meet at the Longs Parking Lot area again. Went to the Feather sunday eveniong and monday morning, kept 2 hens. One about 20lb and the other about 10lb. My roe supply is looking better now! The rest is being smoked by a friend.
Good to hear somebody is still thinking about steelhead, only 5 months til winter season! The clean up day is confirmed for Aug 21st. We will meet at the pedestrian bride above the Soquel Ave bridge at 9:00AM and go until 12:PM (appx) It is easiest to park at Longs towards the back, right across the street from the pedestrian bridge. Bring waders if you want, the city will have some gloves and bags for garbage. We hauled a lot of tires, carts, etc. from the river itself and trash from the bank last year. Been getting any fishing in?
I am still checking frank.
Anyone still checking news here? If so, there will be 2 Clean Up days on the San Lorenzo this summer and maybe a third in Oct. First up is Aug.21 we will meet in the Water St or Soquel bridge area. More updates as we get closer.
I too was a small stream trout fisherman until I was turned onto the rod bending action of the coast steelhead. I released eight trout this weekend in the Sierras and hands down, 1 steelie to 100 trout wins out. Put a 13 lb. buck on the end of your 7wt and you will see what real fishing is about. My waders are tore up from all of the rock hopping to keep up with those chromers. You will have to contest the crowds and a few bad attitudes, but the time invested will change your thoughts about fishing for salmonids. There are trout in the area, many trout, only problem is that the water is closed in most cases, streams atleast. I fished the creek behind my house when I was a kid and had 16 fish days and the rangers never hassled me, but I was a kid...put a grown man in 400.00 waders out there, he's getting a ticket and the Sage taken away. Good luck this winter on the SLR, stop by Ernie's he'll point you in the right direction.
I am moving to Santa Cruz next year and I was wondering what kind of fly fishing you guys have. Im not really a steelhead fishermen, I am more of a small stream trout guy. Are there any streams near SC that are fishable. Also are there some good ones within a couple hours of santa cruz? Thanks for any info...hope to fish with some of you next year.
If anyone is monitoring this page I have some restoration/enhancement projects you might like. Starting now (tonight in fact) we are conducting steelhead capture and relocation rescues on the lower Carmel river. We use small minnow seines and electro-shocking devices to stun or net juveniles stranded in the drying sections of the river. The entire lower river dries up completely every summer so we save the "young of the year" and relocate them to either the upper river that runs all year, the rearing facility operated by the water district or the lagoon. Also I am going to coordinate the same river clean up days on the San Lorenzo as we did last year. First one shpuld be late July. Anyone interested call or e-mail me cel# 277-0544
Where is everbody, body, body, body? This place echos, echos, echos echos. I just re-upped with Trout Unlimited, doing my part. Ready for trout season, got the old 4 wt. out and I'm primed to teach those trout a lesson. Unlike steelhead, I know I can catch a trout.
Yo Steve! If you believe that Vermilion River Steelhead are 10-15 lbs you must be smoking the same toxic weed as Artic Snow Monkey. Can't expect that no one from the west coast has never been there. 4-8 lbs is more likely. Come out and visit sometime, a hot pacific native will scream the butt off Erie put-and-takers, and change your life forever. What ever happened to Noodlebagger?, his site disappeared awhile back.
bud not buddy
I hope you were using barbless finger nails!!!
Just checking in with everybody. I live next to a creek that runs into the Vermilion river running into Lake Erie. My three daughters and I walk down to the creek (one minute away) and wrestle 10-15lb steelhead trout with our bare hands. Much fun!
Sounds like you were catching spawning fish off their redds. Glad you had fun.
Hey Guy!!! Wow what a great season. Fished the last week in Felton. I can see why people like that place…..you can see the fish!! All laying in the tailouts, and after you spook them just hang out in the fast spots below the tailouts. Four friends of mine and I fished the Felton area and hooked a bunch of fish. We would just spot the fish then cast till one bit. Some times it would take 20-30 maybe 50 casts, but sooner or later Boom---Fish-on! Man they liked that woolyBugger and shrimp combo! My friends slayed them on a 1/8” corkie and yarn. I saw some of the fish swimming sideways and some one told me they were spawning. Is this true? Well had a great year…..and now my buddies are also hooked. See you next year. Liven La Vita Loca in L.G.
Hey Corbin, sometimes less is more (as I also found out)!
End of the Season Report. I had a great season. Hooked several smaller fish. Some larger. All three of my children ages 3, 3, and 5, caught fish. After every fishing trip, I enter lots of information in my fishing log. Water clarity, species persued, time fished, date, lures used, presentation, stats of fish, and personal reflections. My best conclusion from this season is concerning presentation. Weight, to be exact, is perhaps the most important varriable. I had been using to much weight. On one day, I was using a corkie and roe, with a pencil...Lost a couple of set ups. After 50+ casts to a sloted area, I switched to one shot, roe and yarn only, and on literally the first cast, Hooked a 7-8 lbs. fish. Same roe. Different presentation. I tried the same idea through out the season... and the change in weight and, thus, presentation -speed, height off bottom, etc...really payed off. Take a kid fishing, and remember... Most people fish their entire lives without realizing that it is not the fish that they are after.
I agree, the river is a great place to meet new friends, and I have made several. I have fishing trips for the next year set up with new buds I met this year. It is good to see guys just being bro's out there. I did see some guys being rude, and you know what...keep being rude, I made a great friend talkin' about what a retard you were, you fishless dork. Read your own book on etiquette you dope. I have seen some great commentary on this board, and some that is begging for flushing. The guys that can't just fish, help out a neighbor, or be friendly to a non-local are probably the same guys that have racist additudes and beat their wives. Time for the inbreds to skip the stream, eat a Big Mac and pick up chicks at Wal-Mart, the lucky girl may just be your sister.
It was a fun but much too short season. I met some nice people on the SLR. See you all come November.
Who do we thank at the DFG??? And I thought the season was over last week. I was able to fish for just a little over 3 hours Saturday morning. The level was a bit higher than I like it, but much clearer than it usually is at that level (maybe 2' vis at 300 cfs- pretty good). Any way, fished the gorge with roe and corkies with a bit more split shot than usual. Hooked and landed a nice fish early in the morning (just shy of 30") and then another about 28" just before leaving the river. Both were hatchery fish in decent shape (not chrome, but definitley not dark either). The first fish did something I've never seen. It swam down a pretty good size waterfall, then it swam back up! The second fish swam down a different riffle so I had to fight it against the current. Great season (for me anyway!). 9 trips, 11 adults hooked 7 landed. Praise God!
The river is flowing a little fast but water level is good. DFG regs for 2004 are found on the DFG website. If you have been fishing long enough,and you have ever sat down to read the regs, you would know that they change some of the rules mid seson to begining of new seasons. These amendments or changes for you that did not get past 6th grade are found in the supplement regulation book, designed to go with the standard regulation book. C-mon lets get hooked on phonics. Oh by the way for you guys that think you cant fish this weekend, please by all means Stay Home..Oh yeah tip of the day this time of year thier biting on purple cheaters with caviar.. Peace owt.
I crossed the river today at HWY 1 and 350 cfs seems right. And with 50+ inches of rain in Boulder Creek this year, I don't think the river is dropping as fast as it usually does after a storm.
Hey guys, Little help? I don't think it's rained much if at all over the last week, yet the level is still at 354 cfs which is very fast. Is the meter wrong? Usually with little/no rain we would be down under 200 cfs by now. What gives? Thanks,Steve
You guys can't keep your traps shut! "Yeah, had a great day on wednesday, no one from TOG to 4 rocks!" Just have to brag about your awsome day. Way to go! Now we'll be fishing with 400 guys from TOG to 4 rocks this weekend!
I just called the DFG at 831-649-2870. Here's the word. The San Lorenzo will be open for steelhead on Saturday and Sunday only if the stream flow is right. To find out if it will be open call 831-649-2886 after 5:00 PM today. Failure to check could result in your being in violation.
Huh? The season extension, according to a DFG supervisor, was made on Monday and is not in the 2003-2004 regulation pamphlet. If it was in the regs, there would have been 50 people fishing wed. instead of two.
I cant believe how many misinformed fools thier are on this website. Read YOUR D.F.G. Regulations. This is the information age knowledge at our fingertips. Luck favors the prepared. Im going to give you losers a tip you could have fished wed. you probably will be able to fish this coming weekend. You must call the recording at the D.F.G. to get info on this fri afternoon. C-mon just take the time to read your regs. Duh uh what..
Slice of heaven on the SLR yesterday. Saw one other fisherman from Wall hole down through Jerry's hole. Four fish up to 11 lbs. Good water!
fished to the limit,wed, saw a spent buck hooked and two other nice hook ups but none landed. probably the best conditions of the season, nice day. fishing in march (leagally)? uhh ok. really really really watch for redds! good luck. peace.
Ummmmmmm.....uhhhhhhh.....you mean I was right? DEERRRTTTT!!!!
got a nice fish, 8lbs on the soquel. my buddy got one around 10lbs. great day of fishing.
Just got off the phone with the DFG 831-649-2870 and she told me, along with a recorded message she routed me to, that the 2003-2004 season is extended through this weekend. The dates on the recording make it very clear that it is this weekend and not March 2005.
you got that right native, steelhead season ends sunday and golf season begins monday.peace.
you got that right native, steelhead season ends sunday and golf season begins monday.peace.
Had an okay year..most of my action came in a two hour stint where I hooked 3 and landed 2 of them all over 8 lbs. Overall I hooked 6 fish this year with 3 landings. The couple I lost..one snapped my 12lb test line on the soquel..wished I would have seen that one better to know for sure. Time to hang the rod and grab the clubs for the links.
Well thats all she wrote ,the fish gods were probably fising today cuz they sure werent with me. All and all though my experiance this year was pretty good, hooked a couple of large fish, took a fun trip to the trinity with a good buddy and for the most part was able to enjoy one of the most beautyful and diverse places in the country. Till next year gents. peace. Oh by the way Ill gladly trade two week of adultless fishing for one week of goin after the largest and strongest of the species. late
You guys are right.My bad. Best stay off the river to avoid a ticket. :)
That is for next season, 2004/2005. At the DFG site they also have the 2003 regs that set out the rules for 2003/2004. The 2003 regs say the season ended Feb 28, 2004. It did not say anything about the end of february! Looking at the new (2004) regs, I see it DOES say they are in effect starting March 1, 2004. So, you might be able to take the March 7 date and try to apply it to this year. Give it a shot, the DFG needs the $.
According to the 2004 Fish & Game Regulations, San Lorenzo, Scott & Soquel can be fished Wed, Sat & Sun through March 7th.
its the last day of feb. i fished this morning and saw more people than usuall, to bad soquel is still blown out, ill try again later, one last effort for the last hour of the season. may the fish lords be with me. peace
Folks - you all obviously have computers. The 2003 DFG regs are as clear as day. The last day of the 2003 season on the SLR was yesterday, Feb 28.
The last day of Feb, is always the last day to fish. I've beeen fishing this river for over 27 yrs. and Unfortunately I don't get to fish the river like I use to. One thing I have noticed is alot of new people and alot of rude people.
To you guys who feel you should give it a rest or who think extendingthe season is a bad idea,just remember it is for ALL south coast streams,not just YOUR San Lorenzo. I am thrilled that I get a few extra days of fishing during the peak of the run in many of our small rivers. I do hear your point of view,sir,but look at the big picture,at least they are giving us extensions instead of further restrictions. I for one MUST fish for steelhead. If that is taken away from me I will have to leave the place I was born and raised to be closer to what I love. I will be nailing fish first thing tomorrow morning at #### river. For those who feel this is a bad idea I trust you will sleep in tomorrow and give those poor fish a "rest". I will try not to disturb the spawners(they are all spawners.....duh).-AA
Fish day Sunday? Talked to a guy along Aptos and he said that "they are going to let us fish on Sunday." Mentioned Ernie confirmed this as well. I know I should give it (and the fish) a rest, but I'm curious if anyone heard anything similar. Sketchy hearsay I know. And here's my obligatory report: Scott fishable, no bumps, quite a few fishermen up river.
Fish day Sunday? Talked to a guy along Aptos and he said that "they are going to let us fish on Sunday." Mentioned Ernie confirmed this as well. I know I should give it (and the fish) a rest, but I'm curious if anyone heard anything similar. Sketchy hearsay I know. And here's my obligatory report: Scott fishable, no bumps, quite a few fishermen up river.
The majority of fish come in February through the end of March. I dive the river in March & April from Henry Cowell to the bottom of the Gorge. The river is loaded with fresh chrome fish. Most of the spawners head to the upper river and tributaries. I agree I don't like to see fisherman line, snag or harass spawning fish. Extending the season with give us an extra shot at catch and release, especially those years when the river is not fishable in late Feb.
March 14th....WHAT? So we can fish for spent hens and trample redds???? I don't know how long you've been fishing the SLR Flytier, but this weather is not typical. Usually by the end of the Feb the water is LOW and gin clear. The weather is warm and the river is PACKED with people, many not educated about targeting spawners and walking on redds. And so what if we lose a week? The whole point of limiting fishing days (i.e wed, sat and sun) is to reduce pressure on fish. The vast majority of fish are not entering the river at the end of Feb, more like Jan. If you support the recovery and restoration of steelhead on the SLR, I'd say a March 7th closing is bad not to mention March 14! I just don't know how you can see it any other way.
March 14th close would have been a better close date - but it's a start. By my calculations we just lost a week of the season.
Its not over till the fat lady sings.... I know of a good place to fish tomorrow dont let the dirty water fool ya...
Just looked it up. last day is Feb 28- for sure. At the DFG site they just posted the 2004 regs and it is official. Next season runs from Dec 1, 2004 to March 7, 2005
I thought Sunday was a fish day. Are we 100% sure on this?
Saturday is the last day to fish. Start tying up for next season.
Does the season end Saturday (28th) or Sunday (29th)
Time to move on. Maybe next year will be better. The fish will be all over the place on the SLR starting next week of course :-) The season dates are all wrong - I agree! In the meantime there will be trout, shad, salmon etc etc etc..
Hmmmm, I think that big 9000cfs spike in the flow was not good at all for the fish or any of the eggs that have already been planted in the river. Major-league scouring of all the gravel beds. Two weekends ago when the river was low and clear you could see lots of redds if you were looking. I bet they are all gone now.
im happy for the fish.peace
You guys have overdone it, you can stop praying for rain now. On the bright side, look at all the leftover flies we'll have for next year.
The music is over...Turn out the lights.
good for you native, i was up at the forks on soquel on sun. morning. i saw a couple of really nice fish but couldnt get them to open up, hopefully weve got a couple more good fish days left.watch for redds.peace
WEll i had a great Saturday. Hooked three and landed two. The first one i hooked, i fought for 3-5 minutes before i had to duck the flying hook, chromer +8lbs. I hooked the buck in the same hole..10lbs..fought very good. I walked down to the next hole and hooked another..about 8lbs. All within 1.5-2 hours. All other 30 hours of fishing this year has given me only 2 hookups with no landings. I hooked these on the Soquel.
Well I somewhat retract some of the info on my previous post!!! I think the call will be to fish the soquel this weekend best day will be sunday. The cfs for soquel are around 250 which is a fast flow but last night it was at about 1300 so it has dropped considerably. We are due to get off and on light rain this weekend not much precip. Next week is the problem looks like a wet pattern with a strong storm coming in on tuesnight/ wed. If this happens as forecast by the N.W.S. we can kiss steelhead season goodbye till late nov. The rain is good for the fish not so good for the fishermen.. Oh well what can you do.
I think we might have a good chance to fish possibly next wed. possibly closing day. The wet pattern is here to stay but weak systems with light showers and off and on showers wont effect the rivers that much. Can you believe this we are getting too much rain too late. Oh well keep your fingers crossed. Might be best to focus your efforts to the soquel creek it generally goes lower faster than the S.L.R... Good luck..
SLR was up over 2000CFS tues night. That is on the verge of scouring the redds out of the riffles, but probably OK. Did anyone notice that a strong majority of last months run was fin clipped hatchery fish? The hatchery operations seem to be working really well, they only release about 35K to 40K smolts. Before the rain there were redds in most tailouts of the better holes with decent gravel. I know where to avoid because I saw them before the increased flow, they were right where the tailout lipped out into the next hole, some were in real shallow riffle areas. Be careful to cross above the lipouts a little ways, look for the teardrop gravel mounds right below a depression in the bottom. The older ones are already regrown with moss and harder to see than the newer ones with obvious clean gravel.
We are screwed..rain coming in Friday..Sunday and Tuesday/Weds of next week..we are not going to get any more fishable days left. Pack in the rod cuz its over this year. Hope you all had a good year. I had two hook ups but didnt land. Both big fish..one of them snapped my 12lb test line on the Soquel.
Whats up meats???? Da fishin lookin like its gonna be good, I think I'll use some roe and and I'll catch me som of dem fish. I'll then land the fish up on da beach and watch it pound its head against the rocks on the shore for a while.. Guuh Guuuh yee haw. Hilly billy style. I am ashamed at what i have seen this year as far as fishing manners and release tactics. What can you do? I personally witnessed just this last monday a good ol boy land a beautiful 10 lb hen beached it then sat there and watched it bang its head into the rocks on the beach. I was only 20 ft down from him. As I witnessed this i got mad walked over to him and asked what the fu$@# are you doing. He had that glazed over look in his eyes like my words did not register. I gave him a mouthful and watched him slowly release this fish back in the river. My friend and I fished on down river and my friend noticed the fish floating sideways down the river I waded into the river to grab it but it was too late the fish was dead. All I can say is that I have a digital camera with a three minute film mode. I will happily get a little film of you and your fish exploits and turn it in to the D.F.G. .
Whats up fellas? the rain this week is perfectly placed for a solid weekend of fishing. Thers alot of fish that are low in the systems or waiting to come in and need some precip. to avoid predation. with a good inch or two, sat. could be all time on all the rivers.watch for redds, peace. p.s hooked one but lost on sun, need some color.
Test, test, test. The fishing can't be that good/bad to be so silent.
Test, test, test. The fishing can't be that good/bad to be so silent.
Located a pod of fish in SL Sunday morning in a deep slot under some willows. Ten pound chromer softly inhaled my fresh row. Took me by suprise and tore me a good one. Hooked up 2 minutes later to another chromer about 8lbs, and this time I put too much pressure and the hook pulled out. Two other guys slid down into the hole and on my next cast hooked another chromer about 7 - 8lbs that jumped a bunch of times before running me into the willows. Could not get him out! Nothing like getting your ass handed to you. It's tuff to get some of these fish out of heavy cover even on 14lb main line and 10lb leader. Stopped to fish my favorite spot a slow moving poolon the way out. Felt some trout like bite and my line started to move so I set the hook on another chromer. Pulled her out before she could run under cover a nice 8lb hen. Was lucky to hook 4 fish considering most guys didn't get bit. Fish are holding in a few select places on the river. It will be tougher on Wed.
Who is this Blue Steel? I think it was him that I saw Sunday with this sweet yellow spinning combo throwing a flouresesnt green ball of yarn. Hey Blue, can you make me up some of them yarn flies?
I hooked into a solid fish on sun at scotts creek, it raced into the underbrush and got tangled. I then waded up to my nipples and freed my line and the fish, played it out and landed it in about 2 feet of water. Solid buck steelie 8 to 10 lb range nice color a little orangeish pink on the gill plates beautiful specimen he looked very healthy no tale tale sealion teeth marks on him. It was a good day on scotts creek..
Hara Climberb9, you will want to tie an egg loop knot to secure the roe and fish a corkie or puffball up on the hook shank to keep it running just above the bottom. I can show you next time I am on the river. Are you on for Sunday? Let me know, ps I lost that spinner you gave me. I will go back this summer and fetch it. Bart
How do you fish roe? How big of a chunk do you hook? Is spawn net nescessary? Lil' Corky above it? Yarn? Just wondering because some nice guy from monterey gave me a bag ful of fresh roe in trade for one of my hand made spinners, and I (having nvr had any before) don't know who to fish it. Also had one bump on a SL Glow Worm that Ernie tied up, felt good but missed the hook-up (that was at Skolnicks on the Soquel).... Glad to hear that people are doing some catching Peace, and tight lines hara
Landed a gourgous 11# hen out of soquel upper,she came on a little peice of roe and tuft of yarn. Took about 15 min. to get here in, what a rush, first good fish of the season. Fish on. Watch for reds.peace
Fished with my bud Rick this morning from 4 rocks to the Garden. A couple landed at 4 rocks early 6:30-7:15 AM, heard of many landed up towards the garden, released one 8-9# hen downstream of the Garden on a self tied creation that we'll just call a rainbow sherbert samuel adams, cuz that's what I was having when I tied it. River was in great shape with much pressure. Everyone seemed to be having a great day. Mr. DFG was checking for barbless and 2004 license/cards, make sure you have it together to avoid a ticket.
Fished the river today at Henry Cowell. Hooked three,landed a 8 or 9 pound hen on shrimp and a corkie. Lost one that was bigger and one smaller. Heard of a few hookups and saw one other. I was with a buddy ans as we were getting out of our car and later while we were walking two different vehicles yelled obscenities out their windows at us,and we were none too happy about it. I am neither a valle y guy nor a snat cruz guy,I'm from Montery,4th generation,and regardless of what anyone thinks that SLR is public domain.Thank God I live in a country where I am free to do the things I love where I want,when I want and how I want. I guess some people are confused about that. Just go fishing. My rant is done....:)-AA
CHECKED SLR LOOKS TO BE READY WEDS EARLIEST.AT LUNCH CHECKED PAJARO WHERE UVAS COMES IN . GOING TO HIT IT SAT AM LOOKS LIKE ANYBODY WHO GOES WONT BEE DISAPOINTED!!!!!! CANT BELIEVE MY EYES YOU GOT TO SEE TO BELIEVE!!!!!
Shadman, it was I who scored on the shad, not Blue. Anyway, 3 0z is a little light. I typically go with 8 oz to get a perfect tick off the bottom, that's when river is low. If high I use 10 oz weight. 4/0 is perfect, need the extra shaft length for chicken liver knot. Forget monofilament for leader, go with braided wire. Largemouth shad have ferocious teeth. That aint no shad!
Pajaro river going off right now. Apparently, steelhead love water with high solution of pesticides and fertilizer. Go figure? SLR closed this weekend, don't waste your time showing up...
soquel is shot this year, very poor return,better luck next year. slr will be a vision of perfection sat. fish on!!
Blue, did you wrap the livers in netting or just hook them? I like to run ck livers up above a 4/0 hook with a whooly buggin leach sucker tied on the shank. If you drift this with about 3 OZ. of lead on a 40# leader you'll knockem dead. With an indicator works best for me. Shad On!
C-mon blue steel are you telling a fish story... I looked at the river today by rincon and the water is perfect and the flow is good... Dont beleive everything you read... Check it for yourself... I think your story about it being to high gave you away..
Drift boated the SLR on Wednesday with my pontoon boat. Smallmouth bass all over the place. Hooked three largemouth shad on roe with a piece of chicken liver. Fish on!
River is muddy and unfishable until next week, due to various slides in the canyons above Felton. Crews working to clear and install retaining and drainage systems. Slides still active and expected to be cleared by next week. This weekend will be muddy and too high to fish. Look for next week to be fishable if we get no rain.
Put-in just above 4-rock. Take out in pieces at the mouth!
Just baught my new drift boat . Got it behind my new suv! GOING TO DRIFT THE MIGHTY SAN LORENZO SAT! WHERE IS THE PUT IN SPOT AND TAKE OUT SPOT SEE SAT A,M OAKIE DRIFTER!
I took the day off hoping the river would be in shape- it wasn't. Note to self: don't fish if the cfs are anywhere close to 300 as it was this morning. It is now down to 267 cfs but still too fast in my opinion. All of the usual spots and slots were blown out. Very muddy with just a few inches visibility. Medium to heavy fishing pressure with no reports of fish caught. Should be perfect on Saturday. By the way, I communicated with the fishery biologist who let me know that next season (2004/5), opening day will be pushed back to Dec 1 and closing day will be at least 1 full week into March which is the biggest part of the run. This is good news in my opinion.
C-mon the the river at big trees is flowing at 330 cfs. Who are you guys kidding, it would be a better day for river kayaking than fishing. Im making the call, tomorrow will be slightly milk and coffee colored with the flow being almost right but a little fast. Saturday is the call. You miss this day and your blowin it. If you do fish tommorow big bait is the call.. Good luck
Sorry, I seriously doubt the SL will be fishable. The SLR drains the sl valley, so it can be sunny in scruz and the river can still be blown out. I live in the mountains and it has rained on and off all day, at times hard. I was downtown today and the river is muddy. I wouldn't waste my time, especially with flies.
Green But Skunk I think you are asking why people use floating line? If so the reason I use it is becuase I can roll cast better then I can flip monofilament. In addition to casting I can present better drifts through mends and stacks. Green But it hasnt really rained over here since early this morning. It should be fishable!!! I think I answered your question.
Oh come on there buddy… just looked at the gauge. Its 317 and dropping again. I’ll see you on the river. I got a question for the fly fishmen. Do I really need to use that fly line when I am fly fishing? It is not like I am really strip casting or anything. Mostly just flippin. Is there an advantage to having the fly line.
looked at soquel at lunchtime...BROWN. No way will it drop in by tomorrow. Looks like the fish will have a good party until the weekend.
Too bad you can't drive your badass suv down to the river gbs. Yawn. The river is blown out (and still flowing 400 cfs). Was just downtown. No way will it be fishable in my opinion.
Wow, great to here I wasn’t the only one to hook up last week. Me and my two fishing buddies worked the Rincon area for three hooked and two landed. Woolybugger tipped with shrimp is working well for me. With the great reports being posted I got several friend wanting to go on Wednesday. So far it’s five others and me. I think we will split up. Half in the gorge and half in Felton or above. Our plan is to spread out and keep in contact on our cellies. If someone finds some fish we can contact each other and call in the troops. Well hope to see you on the river. Liven in paradise…..L.G.
anyone see the river yet today..will it be fishable for weds...hard to say how much rain came in overnite but i heard it pounding my roof a couple of times throught the dark hours. Also i think its up to the discretion of the fisherman..if the fish had a hard time then it should be released right away..but if you take the time to make sure they are released properly..they should be okay. fished the soquel last weds..hooked into a big big fish. He went underneath the rock where the river cut into it and sat for a while. I had him..i think because i saw a little gold it..for about two minutes when he shook my rod so hard he snapped my 12lb test line. Bummer!
I'm glad to hear you guys are getting some nice fish out there. No disrespect intended to Ernie but do you really want to advertise dragging a steelhead onto the shore? I think it's great you got a nice fish and nothing is better than a steelhead picture for the scrapbook but these fish have to be handled gently. I think having it on the beach defeats that. Sorry, just my opinion.
I landed a 6-7 lb. hen in the gorge, near Lake Hole, Feb. 1, Sunday. Also missed a swipe from a big fish in close in the low and clear water, at least 12 to 15. . also in the gorge. As they're saying on the board this week about the river conditions--it's mostly low and clear and everything is pretty much sight fishing.
Whoops - meant to say I found the remote in the Rincon parking lot.
Sunday at 5pm, found a car remote -- looks like it goes to a toyota with Lock, Unlock and Panic on the back. Leave a note here at Ernies if you lost it and we'll figure out how to connect up.
Sunday at 5pm, found a car remote -- looks like it goes to a toyota with Lock, Unlock and Panic on the back. Leave a note here at Ernies if you lost it and we'll figure out how to connect up.
Hara K., Climberb9 it was good to fish with you Sat. Nice to meet such a denizon of the stream. Wish we'd had more time. I hope you enjoy the new 7 wt. and get to use it often. I will get out as much as I can til' season ends. Keep bumpin' your home creations, they are bound to hook a fish. bart
That's amazing! Almost unbelievable! You wouldn't be kidding us would you? ;-)
Saturday-best day ever,real wake up call for the slr, boy its back in shape.conditions on river perfect.Low clear - sight fishin!Seemed as though every spot i went to was holding fish.Just about one of those days you lose count,but ya right!Fished the am. cought 2 nice bright fish 10lb class,Went back after a quick bite too eat,cought 2 more fish,a 8lb hen and a 9lb buck.Came back home waiting for the shaking to stop!Had to go back for the evening hatch and sure enough 2 more fish,9lb hen and a 9lb buck,what a day,total tally was 6 beautiful fish.4 wild,2hatchery.All different locations from felton to ben lomond. TIGHT LINES!!!!!!
Well what can i say, It was a good day on the SLR. Just when you start to think that the conditions arent going to work out. Surprise it was a good fishing day for me and my fishing buddies. We hiked to our usual spots and bingo fish on... I couldnt believe it my friend drops in first cast perfect placement and whaaam hes got a fish on.. He got it up to his feet and gently removed the hook, it was a 28- to 30 in. hatchery hen. Beautiful silver color, very strong fighter. We released her and fished on I was casting very tight to the bank when I snagged a submerged tree, as I wandered over to the tree to free my lure I noticed two fish sitting right on the bottom in the shadow of the tree. These were nice fish, both fish in the 26 to 30 in. range. The moved out of there positions slowly and swam upstream slightly as I unhooked my lure. We then fished down from the spot I saw them at for about a half hour. We then came back and I could see both fish once again just siting there in the shadow of the log. My friend drifted his offering perfectly in front of the first fish and whaaam the fish shook its head to the side and I yelled set the hook. Well he set the hook and it was on.. He fought this fish for about a couple minutes. he then got the fish up to his feet in about 12 in. of water and it made a death run back towards the pool, this was a good fish I got a good look at it as it swam and almost ran into my leg. This fish was in the 26" range with slight ly pink ish orange cheeks. He finally landed the fish and it was more like 28 to 30" class very nice fish. Well the story doesnt end there .... As were walking back to our cars along the river trail we noticed a guy had a good bend in his pole as he was fishing a good section of the river, so we sat there and watched for about 3 or 4 minutes. Finally he lands the fish and it was a huge buck steelie , easily 30 to 34 in long very healthy looking. All i can say is that my most memorable magical days fishing the SLR have always been on those low and clear days wjen the suns out and its actually warm outside... Anyways thought I share my experiences with you. Peace out..
Fished Garden of Eden today with Fishbart. Started fishing around 1:30 and fished until 3:30. I hooked and purposely lost a 4"-6" egg eater (was on a chenille worm tyed by ernie himself). Fish bart got one bump, I don't know what he was fishing when he got it. Heard of some egg eaters. Slow day, we could use some more rain BUT fun non-the-less. (thanks for the rod Bart, and hope the tica serves you well)
FIRST CAST FISH ON!!! I caught a 23" native buck in very nice shape this morning in the SLR. Roe and pink corkie. Water was very low and very clear. Medium fishing pressure. After that first cast, no more action for me, but a beautiful morning with my son anyway.
My feeling is that a change in the regs to extend the season would mean greater pressure (with less blowouts and nice, warm days) on spawning and post-spawning fish (especially in the main-stem and lower reaches of the SL and other streams). People just can't be trusted not trample redds and cast to spawning fish (I observed 2 large fish paired up and building a redd in the gorge on a friday afternoon late last season; when I fished through the area on sat morning ---after the dawn 'crush'--- they were gone. Who wouldn't have cast to them?). Walking on redds would be another problem (in the gorge crossing the river in tailouts is often a necessity) as well as incidental mortality of post-spawn stressed females who DO have a good chance of returning to spawn. If we want to protect the resource, my feeling is we should not advocate extending the season.
Well, fishing at Pescadero has been poor this season too. I have been out vitually every weekend and only a few of the locals who virtually live on the stream have caught anything. I am going at low tide tomorrow afternoon, but my friend caught a couple about two weeks ago when a run just motored up the lagoon in front of him. Right place right time. I have been thinking and what about if CalTrout sponsors a change in the reg on next round to allow fishing up to end of March? I see no reason why this could not be allowed as we are talking catch & release.
Fish are late and should start coming in on th next rain. Unfortunately the bulk of the San Lorenzo run does not show up until March. Fish & Game should change the season from Nov 15th - Feb 29th to Dec. 15th - Mar. 15th Mar. 15th. SF Chronicle Fishing Report: Santa Cruz's San Lorenzo River, sparsely thought of these days as a steelhead stream, actually has some fish in its flows. Problem is (long list, which we'll narrow down) the stream is low and clear, although it did take on a little green with the recent shot of rain. Party-boat skipper Mike Baxter, who pretty much takes the winter off, fishes the San Lorenzo as much as anyone, and suggests the Rincon area as an access point. From there, try bouncing bait (roe or nightcrawlers) under the willow sweepers, or working hardware (small chrome Kwikfish, smaller Bear Valley and Mepp's spinners, or Lil' Cleo spoons). It's catch and release only.
hey santa cruz locals, you will be glad to know that chronicle ran a fishing report on the SLR today. I am 'over-the-hill' guy and think that thisis BS and not good for the river or anyone.
It does not matter what the flow rates are on the Eel and Mattole. If the East fork Eel, and the N. Fork Mattole are not dumping mud then its good to go. You will hook fish if the water's green. Check out the Coastal Report on USAFishing.com for updates on these two very productive rivers. Ideally it's best to have a drift boat to fish the maximum amount of water. No bait on the Mattole, but plug fishing is very productive.
A few weeks back there was a discussion of what flow rate was optimal for steelheading on the SLR. I am planning a trip to the South Fork Eel and the Mattole, and was hoping to get anyone's opinions on what are the optimal flow rates on those rivers for steelhead if you happen to know. Any other comments on north coast river fishing appreciated as well.
Fished on Saturday. In my opinion, the conditions were perfect. The water was a little green from rain the previous night. The sun actually broke out at 10 AM. Beautiful! I was skunked the whole morning and didn't hear of any adults being caught. Very few people on the river. In the last hole of the day, I felt what I believed was another small fish chewing on my roe, when I pulled back, I felt the weight of a good fish. Started to real like crazy. The fish came up to the surface almost under me, spit the hook and turned back. The fish looked dark and in the 25" range- had him on for no more than 5 seconds but still awesome to hook him and see him momentarily. I drifed my roe with pink corkie through that slot (in the gorge) for another 10 minutes or so but couldn't get him to bite again.
fished rincon down to the bend hole and it was oh wait take a guess looooooooo and cleeeeeear. I heard of a couple of fish hooked ther yesterday,a couple more inches of rain befor tthe season ends would be ideal. to the guys that are hooking fish well done your the ten percent.watc for reds. peace
Saw some juvenile steels at Big Rock. Warden today was checking barbs in addition to licenses so make sure your barbless. False Rincon had one hookup. Bike rider told me he saw some guys with big fish on a stringer come out of Rincon last weekend. Evidently some folks don't read the regs. Talked to a guy who says he caught 5 steelhead working his way down from 4 rocks. One was 34" cock. As for me and my first season of steelheading, still a big fat zero. My hats off to you guys, steelheading the SLR sure ain't as easy as trout fishing the upper Sac., that's for sure.
Fishing on the SLR today "SUUUUUCCCKED". I think more fish stories are being told than fish being caught. I saw plenty of fisherman but no fish being caught just a bunch of dudes walking around in thier fancy breathables. My dad tells me fishing the SLR about 30 years ago was actually fun. He no longer fishes the SLR beacause to many fisherman not enough fish and poor fishing habitat not to mention the garbage everywhere. Anyways you so called locals can have your SLR its for the birds. As for myself Im fishing a real river where there are actually fish in it. Oh buy the way I always here some fly fishermans report of seeing fish rolling in the tailout of some mysto pool on the SLR, riiiiight, will some one please take some video or some pictures to back up there B.S.. Stop smoking so much crack...
That's generally not information that we pay for here Fisher. Sorry to disappoint you (and he) but I think that there really isn't a fly invented that will make a steelhead appear from nowhere when there are almost none around. Nor would I be in need of your assistance to catch one when there are fish to be had. Not wanting to share details of your catch is fine but it does lower your credibility quite a bit (and that is especially true when nobody else is hooking up - even the bait anglers).
While fishing Garden of Eden hole, talked to a gentle man coming up from down the river.... said he caught and landed a 25 inch wild steelie (didn't ask on what or hen or buck)
i guess no fish are being caught! i saw a atleast an 8lb hooked but not landed a couple weeks ago. way up top on the slr.
Greetings gentlmen. One question, If your driving up hwy. 9 from costco how far past rincon is the cut out to park for four rocks? much obliged.watch for reds!peace.
Also, I am 13, trying to get enough money to buy stuff like lure, garbage bags to pack trash out with etc. Not some 45 year old dude trying to make a living (not that that is a bad thing) and I wasn't marketing, just asking questions. Also, lower your 50 rate, its a rip at that not something to rip lips at
Good question Flytier, its actually a pattern I tied. Its probably my most succesfull fly when conditions are right, thanks for the info. The time of day was at about 11:30am. I caught it on SLR. If anyone is interested I will sell them my patterns $3.00. I will teach you how to fish with them for $50.00. If climber9 can market on this board its worth me throwing my pitch. Rip Lips
I am going to start hand making spinning lures and marketing them around Santa Cruz, and maybe at a couple of places over the hill. My question is this: are there any patterns that either you have thought of, or used to be made that aren't now? Would you pay 1.50 for a hand made spinning lure? 2.00? My current pattern is a indiana or colorado blade, three or four (depending on blade size) ruby red faceted beads, and then a single point, straight bend hook, size 2. How does this sound?
Fisher, what on? where hooked? when? SLR? You don't give any details.
Hooked about 2-3lb steelhead lost it. High sticking on the bottom. It took me about 5 hours to find action. Russell Baze...
Hooked about 2-3lb steelhead lost it. High sticking on the bottom. It took me about 5 hours to find action. Russell Baze...
Fished rincon down about 1 mile yesterday. Clear water. Never got a strike. Tried globugs, wolly buggers, leaches, and a veriety of nymphs. Usually at least catch some juvies on the small nymphs, but yesterday nothin'. Ran into numerous folks and they reported the same. Saw nothin', caught nuthin'...had a great day. Did anyone have success?
Oops! sorry,now I understand what you meant.must've been one of those senior moments!
I didn't take it up to the gorge, just picked up all the litter that I saw one almost every hole from riverstreet bridge all the way to the gorge. Yes, you may think there isn't much trash at the gorge, but there is.
Hey Climber9, not dissin' or anything, but why would you pack garbage up to the gorge?
Hey, BTW, anyone with PIC's of silver salmon on the SLR might want to call the Monterey Salmon and Trout Project guys. If they have proof of more Coho's to show NMFS that might help them keep their Coho project alive. They might want Soquel Coho pics as well. If nothing else they would be grateful to see the results of the work they do!
Fish bart, where do you fish? I want the rod, last year I pacted 27 pounds of trash from courthouse hole (riverstreet bridge) up to the gorge. Does that count? I never see anyone fishing, I have a pflueger medalist that I use running mono, and could put it to fly. Even if I don't get the rod, lets go fish together sometime, hit me up an email. Tight lines
Fish bart, where do you fish? I want the rod, last year I pacted 27 pounds of trash from courthouse hole (riverstreet bridge) up to the gorge. Does that count? I never see anyone fishing, I have a pflueger medalist that I use running mono, and could put it to fly. Even if I don't get the rod, lets go fish together sometime, hit me up an email. Tight lines
Troutnut, I have a rod with your kid's name on it. Do a raindance, my new rod is in need of some bend.
I've been a valley boy all my life. Since I was a kid in the early 60's I've been surfing and fishing in SC and although I've heard a lot about locals vs valley I've never had anyone beachside treat me poorly. The people of Santa Cruz have always been nice, even with today's huge summer crowds. I always pack out my litter as well as others fishing line, etc. Fishbart, my 13 year old can't wait to hit the SLR and start cleaning up in hopes he's the first kid you see. Weatherman says rain this weekend. Sure hope so.
Chum,there is some good information here,by responding to arguments we become a part of the problem. Evidently there is no rain on the horizon for some time which doesn't look good for us here. Anyway I have to work too much right now...AA
Well I've got 5 salmon so far this year, all 4-6 lbs. Not much for me since last Wednesday when I hooked a 9lb hen and one of those salmon. I can't believe people are complaining about 'valley' folk on the river? I've fished here for 30 years and there is not a crowd to speak of compared to just 10 years ago. Rincon, say from the 'Wall' down to the 'Big Rock' would average 20 anglers under these conditions. Now it seems to average half a dozen at any point in time...
Hey Climber, yeah I'm still around. Wishin I was fishin instead of at work on a weds! But I took a 3 day weekend and went up to the Gualala. Got 3 nice fish on Friday, fished the Navarro on Sat and only got one first thing in the morning. Went back to the Gualala on Sunday and there were 2 seals creating havoc at Switchville, literally chased one fish all the way up to the bank. So, the fish were so harassed nobody did much from the N Fork down. I managed to hook one really nice hen but lost it. Haven't fished the SLR since 2 weeks ago.Only half pounders for me so far and one 8-9lb hen that got off (up by Felton). Glad to hear about people taking responsiblity for the garbage on the SLR. Last summer we put together 3 clean up days in the lower section from Water St down and that area looks 10 times better than last year. We will do it again next year. If fishermen consistently conduct those restoration events then the "illegal Campers" will move on somewhere else and the city/county will direct motre resources to improving and protecting the SLR. Don't tell my wife I'm always on the river!
Hey climberb9, glad to hear that there are some kids out there that care about protecting and cleaning up the streambed. I personally pack out a ton of crap that others leave behind, mostly cigarette butts that leach chemicals that kill the F2 generation fish. Don't buy into all of this hoohah with the locals/valleys. I have lived all over the world and there are cool people everywhere from Tokyo to Seattle, and they like to fish just like us. When I lived in Japan, I fished everyday with an older fellow...he showed me how to gear up, where to cast, etc. Crazy thing, neither one of us spoke the other's language. Just keep fishing. By the way, the first kid I see on the river cleaning up others messes will get a new 7wt fly rod from me. Get yourself a reel and I will show you how to use it too.
Has anyone else noticed a change in the river below Rincon? It seems like the east fork of the split at Paradise is gradually becoming THE river. Less of the river is now flowing down the other channel.
Is Frank (Emerson) still posting? I noticed one post a while back of his, but thats all. He seems to always be on the river. Also conditions looked decent at the Creek yesterday, except Gin clear water. (scouted Soquel creek, below ernies) Also, was someone posting a while back about using a wooly bugger (maybe a eggsucking leech) with shrimp on it? How does this effect teh movement of the bugger, esp. the marabou tail? Thanks, see yah on the river, tight lines
ok i just started fly fishing and i know basiclly nothing the only two places that i really know is soquel creek and paradise on the slr so where "up north" is there now iam not being mean or any thing i just want some info. also stop geting in these fights it is just dumb i used to ride my bike on some feld then some guys made some huge houses and the part that really made me mad is that they said that the area {that is still not built on} is "pertected land" and iam "killing" native plants even though there where trucks going through there for weeks any way what iam trying to say is that valleys should respect the revers so should locals and if you do argue do not say that all valleys litter and stuff like that becouse not all do and do not count kids out becouse we will get all the rivers and all the creeks one day so we should get our share of talking now. iam 13 and a local.
ok i just started fly fishing and i know basiclly nothing the only two places that i really know is soquel creek and paradise on the slr so where "up north" is there now iam not being mean or any thing i just want some info. also stop geting in these fights it is just dumb i used to ride my bike on some feld then some guys made some huge houses and the part that really made me mad is that they said that the area {that is still not built on} is "pertected land" and iam "killing" native plants even though there where trucks going through there for weeks any way what iam trying to say is that valleys should respect the revers so should locals and if you do argue do not say that all valleys litter and stuff like that becouse not all do and do not count kids out becouse we will get all the rivers and all the creeks one day so we should get our share of talking now. iam 13 and a local.
O.K. Children time stop bickering and start fishing . Funny , How whan there are few and far between . Good Quality fish (ADULTS) being caught . People start arguing and dissing people . It's fine to be proud of being a LOCAL . I for one , am part of the "BORN AND RAISED CREW ". A 38 year Local . ------- SO WHAT !!!! It dosen't mean I or any other Local , is better than the valleys . But then again , Us Locals do have our claim , to the SLR , The best surf spots , The Mountain bike trails and the S.C. mountains . But seriously , we need to chill out on the slamming and start fishing in other rivers..ie: UP NORTH ...The SLR has been on the decline the last 12 years or so . SO , If you want good quality fish . It's worth the drive up north . SO DO IT BRA !!!!!! F%^K THE SLR , YOU GUYS CAN WASTE YOUR TIME IF YOU WANT .
Locals are people how one don't need to travel and two, like me, can't afford it.... I am 13, so don't be calling me a dirtbag. I don't believe in dissing ppl, or being the X-games/no fear/Xtreme DUDE.... I believe fishing is an art, and I don't mind Valleys, and I don't go writing on their cars, just they don't respect the art, and the river enough. 75% of the people I have seen litter have said that they are from SJ, the other 25% i didn't talk to. Yes, this board should talk about fishing, I am tired of this crap... hell, i wouold rather fish with a ton of littering valleys then the local crew if the cant stop arguing... Just my 2 cents worth
Used to be a good board, but now who cares. by the way, a local is just a dirtbag who can't get it together to travel.
My guess is that the fish probably got weary of all the bad vibes from the self appointed locals and decided to wait until the season ended.
Fished the Gorge and Rincon area for 4-5 hours on the MLK holiday. Water looked perfect but I saw and caught no fish. Didn't meet anyone else who had been lucky either. There just doesn't seem to be very many fish in the system yet. Mayve another storm will help.
Having spent 20 of the best years of my life growing up on the West Side, its a shame on the people of Santa Cruz that postings like those on this site make me feel unwelcome in my own home town - for no other reason than that I moved out of paradise to pursue a career and to try make a decent living. Since leaving Santa Cruz, I have developed a passion for fly fishing that has introduced me to many of the kindest, brightest people I've ever met. I've been reading these reports for the past couple months now, eager to learn new things and find a bit more information on ways to satisfy my fishing jones in the old haunt. Apologies to Jerry Yeseavage and others like him (apparently the exception, not the rule), but instead of useful dialogue, I feel as if I've stumbled upon a totally different brand of angler - more X Games/No Fear/Xtreme Dude than riparian artist. I doubt seriously its the way Santa Cruz, let alone Ernie, our gracious host, cares to be characterized. Maybe I'm naive to think I can surf reports like this and actually get valuable information, who knows....
OK, so I live in Ben Lomond, does that mean I have to fish upstream from Henry Cowell's. I was fishin' Rincon a couple of Saturdays ago and someone left me a little message in the dirt on the window of my truck saying "go home" If I was from the valley, there wouldn't have been any dirt to write in.
Amen to what steve is saying. Damn valleys stay off the river, you have plenty of lakes that we don't come and fish. Also STAY OUTA THE LINE UP at the point, the hook, capi, sewers, michel's, steamers, etc. You guys thing your the best, but even the local groms rip harder than you.
Fished for an hour this morning in the gorge...low water and clear. Did land one 3 lbr and lost a smaller one. Egg pattern. Lots of cars when I got back to the pullout.
You valleys stay on your own damn side of the hill. Go fish parkway lakes you yuppies!!!
Boy reading about all you big babies complaining about over the hill people comming over from the valley to fish. Makes me glad I moved away to Sacramento. Where else are these people gonna fish at? Los Gatos creek? Or maybe the Perk Ponds :) Last time I heard this was a free country. We all belong to the brotherhood of fishermen. Maybe I'll start ragging on some of the people from the BA that make the trek up here to fish some great stretches of river. But I wont.....Fish on dudes.....Sure miss the San Lorenzo, but not all the jerks. And not all of you are jerks.
Boy reading about all you big babies complaining about over the hill people comming over from the valley to fish. Makes me glad I moved away to Sacramento. Where else are these people gonna fish at? Los Gatos creek? Or maybe the Perk Ponds :) Last time I heard this was a free country. We all belong to the brotherhood of fishermen. Maybe I'll start ragging on some of the people from the BA that make the trek up here to fish some great stretches of river. But I wont.....Fish on dudes.....Sure miss the San Lorenzo, but not all the jerks. And not all of you are jerks.
Hey guys. Are we ready for tomorrow! I am tying up more wooly buggers. The wooly bugger/shrimp combo has really been working for me. Under an indicator and some split shot- Boooom- another “crummer” Wednesday. Think me and three buddies are going to crack Fourth Rock early, then back to Felton. Have to get up at 3am to get over 17 early. I was thinking maybe higher in the afternoon. Hey Kid, that’s your turf. How’s the water looking? I was thinking of going lower, but Mr. Eastside got me thinking it may be a little over vibed down there. See ya on the water!!!!! Liven La Vita Loco in L.G.
Hello, Someone asked about Ben Lomand Kid's website earlier. Does anyone know it? Kid, are you reading this? Please email it to me. I found it to be very helpful when I used to read it a couple of years ago. Also, for the record, there are 3 "Steve's" that post on this board. Me, Steve Feister (sp?) who had the awful day but who is otherwise a cool guy, and the guy who wasted our time complaining about the valley folks. I took some friendly fire from someone who thought that was me. Later, Steve
Tarponhead what kind of business in New York?
WillieBoater, graphite rods are strong, light and responsive. The problem is they're also very susceptible to structural damage when struck by weights and weighted flys while casting. This might be what's causing your problem. If so, a modification in casting technique might avoid a major heartbreak if a big steelie strikes. I sincerely hope this solves your problem since I also fish a Redington.
who cares! just fish people.
Well I missed Wednesday morning's fishing as I'm in NYC on business. No steelhead here, just the coldest day in 60 years. See you Saturday am.
I have a question to ask, Is it just me or do Redington Rods break very easily? I have snapped two this past year and one on weds. (good thing Ernies replaces them). What's the deal?
Children - your IP addresses are right there for all to see. The second ``fedup'' is obviously the first ``eastside santa cruz'' who is also ``native steelhead'' who is also ``fishsurfgolf4life''. Can't you folks find some other WWW site for your goofy games?
Your fine Fed Up. You and I can fish in Felton and leave Eastide to enjoy his Santa Cruz. I've lived here for 20 years and it's not the "valley" folks the trash the river. Take a look at the true river locals around paradise. Look behind any bush and try not to get stuck with a dirty needle.
No, I'm the kook, really I don't live here either. I'm not that educated and don't know when to shut up. I apologize, heck I don't even surf or fish.
I am sorry Eastider. I am the kook. I was the one running my mouth off. You don't need people like me coming to Santa Cruz.
Rubicon? Where is this along the river? I fished pretty hard wednesday and only managed some little guys (the downside of going to smaller egg patterns and nymphs). The river is getting a little too clear. Probably concentrating the fish to the major holes. What fish are there are going to be pretty spooky by this weekend.
Fished Rubicon area Wed. morning. Lowish water and clearing. Lost a 4-5 lbr and landed a 1/2 lbr...egg patterns. Saw a few big fish roll and watched a fellow fisherman hook into a nice adult. Need rain!
I have taken the kids down to Scott Creek a couple of times this year. Both of my boys have caught half pounders, not smolt, 14, 16 and 18 inches. Both on worms with one salmon egg or puff ball. I had one adult, +/- 6 lbs. roll on my spinner. That was it. The rest of the time was spent throwing rocks, teaching my kids why we use large hooks without a barb, taking out trash left by others, and looking for bugs that smolt eat. Take a kid fishing. Through teaching them respect for our resources, you will remember it for yourself.
East side you are an idiot! Your waves? Your fish? Get a clue pal, my guess is that you are just a kook, just run your mouth on the web. Most people who clainm to be "local" are nothing more than a doumbass. I would only hope you run you r mouth on the river, or do you even fish.
Valleys go home..you take our waves and now are trying to snake the fish! We dont want a silicon river!
Don't know if it was anyone on this board, but a word of thanks to the kind person who dropped my fishing license in the mail last Sunday. I must have lost it at Skolnicks (SP?) on Soquel. Didn't catch any fish and I lost my license... what a day? At least it wasn't as bad as Steves! Thanks again.
Had an awesome morning on the river! I hooked a nice 6-7 lb. fish on roe/corkie. It fought hard, made some fierce runs, then went down a waterfall. I should have let him go down the fall to fight him in the next pool, however, I pulled hard to keep him from going over and the line snapped. A little later I hooked and landed a beautiful 10 lb. + NATIVE buck also on roe/corkie. Strong fight and quick runs. This fish had another hook and a few feet of line coming out of his mouth. The river level/condition and weather was almost perfect (water was a little too clear).
Read a lot more than I post , and haven’t posted for a while I’m in San Jose and am more familiar with Penitencia and the Guadalupe and other local streams , I have been telling my self for years to learn the SLR .well went Monday and today hiked around BEAUTIFUL , I’m going to put in some more hours just getting acquainted with the area before taking a pole, I have put in a lot of hours on the Guadalupe here in San Jose as a volunteer, habitat restoration, clean ups , etc. What I wanted to say was that for those of you who think the board is going down hill, its not. It is useful and informative and I for one appreciate it. The whole local / valley arguments and BS has been going on for years ..ignore it .. I got used to it when I used to surf over the hill. The only people us as fishermen have to worry about are groups that try to restrict or deny access to recreation areas. Any way enough of that, see ya on the river . Gabe
Well it started out as a wonderful foggy morning on Sunday. Got down to the river with all my gear, license, Steelhead card, etc. About 10am the DFG officer showed up and asked for my license....I proudly showed it to him from my neck. He asked if I could pull it out...so I did and handed it to him. He said "This is a 2003 license..."....and I just about freaked!! OH MY GOD....I totally forgot to get my new license and steelhead card. Must have had my head up my ass or something...well, he was nice enough to let me go on the steelhead card, but gave me a citation for the license. He said I could fish more, but I was just hammered by all of this and decided to just call it quits and go get my license. Started walking up the hill and realized my gloves were gone....oh crap...I put them under my arm while trying to wrestle my license out of the holder and must have dropped them in the river....I got a little more bent out of shape. Continuing up the hill I wondered where my nice RayBan sunglasses were....then I realized that I saw them on the back of my tailgate and made a mental note to move them...well the mental note didn't work and when I got back to my truck and opened the tailgate, there they were....all smashed and mangled!! Just freakin lovely... I was able to repair them...so I saved that one. It was 10:30 now and I was hungry...stopped at McDs' for a Big Mac and Large fries....so I ordered a #1. Well, I paid and went to the next window to find that what I actually ordered was a Ham & Egg McMuffin and Hash Browns....they don't sell lunch till 11:00....with that, I asked the gentleman at the carry out window to please shoot me and end my misery..... Arghhhhh....
Fished Wed, Sat, Sun. Sunday paid off with beautiful 8-10 lb. silvery chrome planted hen- no scratch on eye. Thanks to the guys who helped me land her for clean release.
Fished Sunday morning for a couple of hours. Looked great, but no fish. Back again Sunday afternoon with my brother visiting from Oregon. He was treated to a nice 7lbish fish. Got it under an indicator with a little red worm-like thing tied on a #14 hook. Rincon area.
While setting up for the SLR the friendly neighborhood wardens came by to ask how the fishing was and also see my pretty new license and steelhead report card. Don't forget it's 2004 and time to get a new license. The river was watery pea soup. While stripping line in preparation to toss out his first cast, my 13 year old had an orange and black nymph dangling in the water and accidentally hooked a juvenile. I told him one of the more important things to learn about fishing is how to hook a fish without looking surprised. Fifteen minutes later a 4" fish with delusions of grandeur hit my fly. I won't tell you guys the pattern because I don't want you all rushing down in a frenzied effort to catch all the 4" fish in the river. That was it for our day.
Fished the lower gorge for about 3 hours or so. No luck. The river still seems to be a little too high and a little too stained for what would otherwise be perfect conditions. A few more fish would also help :-)
Fished the gorge for two hours from sun up to 9:00. Perfect water conditions--flow, clarity, etc. I was the first one through about 10 runs. Fished a variety of different colored steelhead flies with an egg dropper. It just felt perfect. But no fish. Lots of people came later. Talked with one guy who hooked and lost a nice fish on roe or a shrimp.
You guys were joking about setting a pod of orca loose to manage the pinipeds. Washington state placed a fiberglass model of an orca with lifelike sound on a cable in front of the salmon ladder at the lochs in lake Washington. Same deal, the sealions were stacked up in there gorging on fish. Not sure if it worked for more than a day or two. The real thing woould have been better.
The river was perfect this afternoon. But, despite working pretty hard with bunny leeches and egg patterns had no fish on. Steve - we are getting this board back to being a useful place to post SLR results. Your post below serves no useful purpose.
you guys changed this site...stupid nerds talkin a buncha b/s ...stay on your side of the hill!!!!!!!!
First time on the listing board. Released a nice 32.5 inch buck in the gorge weds on roe and a puffball late in the day. Water was just right. Couldn't make it down today, how's the river looking with the drizzle?
I was hoping the high flows would have flushed the sand out of the lower river but a lot of those holes have filled in. The tennis court hole especially. I hear a lot of the good holes on the Soquel got filled in also. Maybe the sand from above the gorge is now in the Park area. I wish I had a good solution to the Pinniped problem, seals ans sea lions. They are over populated because Native Indians don't hunt them and Grizzleys are extinct. If grizzleys and human hunters were prowling the beaches for food do you think the seals would be lounging around like high schoolers getting a tan? I asked Robert Delong at a meeting last year about that and his response was most veteran pinniped biologists think the sea lion numbers are likely the highest they have been fro at least 3000 years because of lack of shore based predators. But even shout at one at you can be ticketed for "harassment" ...what about the harassment of the salmonids by the seals? Not to mention Coho in the SLR, Soquel and Scott Creek are practically extinct as it is. If you want to do something we have to loudly complain that the population is out of balance and F&G and the Feds need to start humane population control through sterilization during breeding season. Something like Norplant would work great! Just get the enviros to accept it as an unnaturally high population and we might have a chance.
Pescadero- last weekend was chocolate and continued to be dirty on Weds. by a friends report. There was a very large (huge) increase in mud between the confluence of the two creeks. The bad news is that there was over a dozen seals in the lagoon on Weds..... I will go out Sat PM and will file a report. PS I did see two anglers in San Gregorio but the water was VERY low as the berm has really crumpled there.
Or a pod of orca!
What you boys need is a good Polar Bear!
What to do about the seals??????HHHmmmm. Well if they are left unmolested they will probably continue on as is. Lets see how could we hassle the seals? Oh … has any one notice how good the river has been looking. Much of the silt has been blown out and the river bottom and banks are just full of rocks. Fish-on!!!
Steve - two years ago I was startled out of my wits early one morning when a big sea lion came up right behind me while I was standing at the Wall Hole tailout. I've heard stories (don't know it they are true for sure) of the guys having to chase sea lions away up at the fish trap and dam in Felton.
Pescadero- last weekend was chocolate and continued to be dirty on Weds. by a friends report. There was a very large (huge) increase in mud between the confluence of the two creeks. The bad news is that there was over a dozen seals in the lagoon on Weds..... I will go out Sat PM and will file a report. PS I did see two anglers in San Gregorio but the water was VERY low as the berm has really crumpled there.
Frank, Can anything be done about the seals? What's your take? Glad they can't get up to the gorge! Steve P.S. I wish I lived as close to the San Lorenzo as Los Gatos. Haha.
We need to get some attention on these %#%^^ seals and get them out in the ocean. that is bull@%#@! Also..Los Gatos you are a kook..way to represent the valley.
Fished Weds also, down in the Park. Fished down to Ernies hole with a friend from the fast water at the top of the hole to the main section when I heard/saw a large splash and wake down in the tail-out. My first thought was...too big for a fish, too far up for a seal. I was wrong and not in a good way. A second later a full grown Harbor Seal poked its head up and got a good look at me. It took off after that. It was chasing a fish or more than one obviously in the tail section of the hole, would have had a reasonable expectation of getting a hook up there and kinda took the wind out our sails for that lower area so we worked up. My friend got a Buck Coho about 4lbs on a spoon and I got 2 half pounders to about 2-3lbs on roe. That was it, I fished the afternoon and heard of a couple adults hooked but didn't see any. The Silver was in nice shape with a little blush to the sides and hooked jaw.
I fished at the Henery Cowells Redwood State Park. Fished from the bridge down. Hooked one fish on a wooly bugger and a piece of shrimp, but it broke me off in a log pile. Not bad for my first time out. I would say it was around 10lb and as is said “a crummer”. What is with the local stuff? Are we not all fishing bro’s? Come on kid show me around the river and I will show you how to use photo shop. See you all Saturday. L.G. rules!
fished soquel on wed. got one in the 1-1.5 pound class. water looked good. atleast the fish gave me a good run and an air show.
Hooked into a LARGE cromie, snaped me off as it surfaced (12 lb line). 10 minutes later landed a 5-6 lb buck. This was near Park in Felton(can't tell you the exact location of course).
fished from rincon down wed. morning,with no luck. saw one big fish roll at the confluance,and heared of two big fish caught down below the bend hole 11lb.+, color looked good but im worried about it being to clear by sat. any fish caught out of soquel or scotts? the only fish ive seen before wed was on finding nemo, kind of a slow start, cant wait till closing day.
I hit the Sand Holes + Wall Hole early wednesday morning. Good color, flow a little high but not too bad. I had high expectations, but no hookups. I've been out pretty much every fish day this year with only one egg eater so far. Used a big, black egg-sucking leech with a Type 6 sinktip on wednesday.
Fished the gorge wed. morning. Water color was good but river a bit high, still fishable. Caught a lot of smaller fish (up to 2 lbs.) but no adults. Did see one good adult roll, no other sights/reports of adult fish. Seems like they should be in though.
Hey , I'm glad to see some people remember me . I was only posting my LOCAL fishing experiences and river conditions . To help out my fellow anglers>>>>>>>BEGINNERS TO THE PRO'S . But I have no intention on helping , NON-LOCAL YAHOO'S ...This is SANTA CRUZ COUNTY --------------NOT CUPERTINO !!!!!!!!!!!!!! But , I guess even the nerds have their day . I won't post my catch's or river conditions until I see some more Local's posting . With the recent storms , there are definitley adults in the system . Now all we need is the right conditions , and it will be on>>>>> FISH ON !!!!! TIGHT LINES LAND FISH ...
So post a report.
Hey Dewman... didn't the Kid have his own website at one time? I seem to have lost the link... want to check on what he's been up to. Thanks
The link at the top of the page say's "Post your local (Santa Cruz area) fishing reports here". I don't see the link that say's post how to measure cfs or how to gps a river. I'm with the Kid on this one. This site sounds to much like the "Revenge of Nerds" and not about fishing anymore.
To the best of my knowledge ... the way they measure cfs is that the cross sectional area of the point of measurement is multiplied by the stream velocity. Each station has flow meters and height gauges and those can be used after thorough measurements are taken of the stream bed to estimate how much water is passing that point at a given time. To be anywhere near accurate the site must be constantly calibrated, something that, obviously, rarely happens. So, you just have to get a good instinctual feel for what a particular flow rate means in terms of flow and water clarity based on your own observations (or those of other fisher folks that you trust).................................... ....................................By the way, for those of us who have to live vicariously, How Was The Fishing?????
you guys got me curious so I poked around in Yahoo and found this interesting article:http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/measureflow.html I've seen guys standing in the water at low flows making measurements but it must be really interesting calibrating the gauges at 10,000cfs.
It's a little generic, but have a look at: http://www.aorafting.com/cfs.htm
I was going to ask a stupid question like (Was the fishing any good today?) but i can't wait for the answer to that interesting question on how do they measure cfs!
Ron, could you give a simple, dumbed down explanation of how cfs is measured? I've seen the towers, but don't understand how they work. Thanks, Mark
Steve: I see the big flow difference upstream at Felton compared to Santa Cruz right now. Looks like the flow reading for Felton hasn't updated since this morning, but at Santa Cruz it updated just an hour ago. Maybe that could be why, plus they're only estimates at best, although from my experience they're pretty good ones. By tomorrow morning it should be under 200 cfs down there no problem, and I think that roe with shelf life of forever should work fine as opposed to what we normally work em over with, bud. I'm still looking for my first 15+ pounder. I know there is at least one cruising somewhere in that stream right now. I think this is the year anyway. I always say that though. . .
What's up with the river level? I don't believe there was significant rain last night or this morning, but the cfs jumped from 238 cfs to 319 cfs. Would someone please confirm if this is just a defect in the gauge? I think the range for ideal conditions is between 60 and 175 cfs. Thanks.
Fished late afternoon both Sat and Sun. Nothing, other than a couple soft bites. The visibility was still very poor, even on Sunday. I heard from other anglers a couple of big fish were hooked last Wed.
What do you think the ideal flow level is for fly fishing and for bait fishing? My sense is that a flow between 75 cfs and 175 cfs is ideal for fly fishing. Above that and the velocity is too much. Below that and the fish move to deeper holes that aren't as suitable for fly fishing. I like to hear other people's opinions. It looks like Wednesday's flow will be about 225 to 250 cfs.
Wow - this site has really crashed and burned. Too bad. It seems an unmoderated Board on the WWW is a thing of the past. Maybe its just as well as the SLR can't handle that many fishermen. On the other hand it looks like it was only an idiot or two posting under several names is the root of the problem. Maybe if the oldtime board posters gave it another shot this could become a useful discussion board for SLR steelheaders again.
I guess no fish were caught over the weekend, cuz no one is talking. Hopefully this week will be different. On Sunday the Aptos was still only 12 inch visibility.
I posted a note and it disappeared. A glitch in the system or maybe because I accidentally mentioned a product name? Anyway, they're knocking 'em dead up North by using a salmon egg immitation with a 2-3" piece of red yarn tied on the hook.
I've tried using various different egg imitations on the SLR but I've always had better luck with nymphs. But hey - whatever works for ya is fine with me!
hey troutnut, a company up north makes a simular egg immatation with the yarn trailer tied on the hook. Its called a steelie slayer. Comes in all yhe popular color combos works well...
OK,OK the rain dances worked. now how do we make it stop so we can go fishin' Wednesday.
Sorry I sparked all that controversy with the GPS question. To make up for it I'll tell you what's knocking 'em dead on the Trinity. A salmon egg imitation with a 2-3" piece of red yarn tied on the hook. Can't get much cheaper than that unless you skip the salmon egg. Orvis has a great new silicon salmon egg that looks and feels like the real thing.
I'm a SJ guy who is trying th SLR for the first time this season. Got lots of good advice and help from fly fishers I met on the trail, Ernies and San Jose Fly shop. Fly fishermen/women in this area are very helpful. We checked out the SLR today(Wed) and saw muddy water. If no more storms, perhaps next weekend, if it rains again....the following weekend at the earliest.
Took a peek at the river behind the house this a.m. if anyone thinks they are going to catch anything this holiday they better hope the steelies are in favor of chocolate milk. No visability, storms a comming / batten down the hatches, maybe it will clear by next week with some freshies. Good luck & keep it out-o-da-trees.
Have been fishing Pescadero recently. A couple fish have been caught early in season but was out there last weekend and was only person and was very muddy- especially Butano Creek. The bar at the outlet opened then reclosed. Saw no fish last Sunday at low tide. I saw two anglers in San Gregorio but did not stop. I imagine it is very muddy right now, but will give it a shot tomorrow as I assume that is an official holiday and legal?
Hey guys, lets talk more about fishing and fish related topics, less uptight valley go home attitude. Keep it real, just fishing only...
Dream On !!! Thats never going to happen . Sounds like a GREEN , Pipe Dream .
Hey SLV Local…good to here from you. I appreciate your e-mail and invite to show my friends and I around the river. I was looking on my insto-map computer program and SLV is pretty far from Santa Cruz, so I am confused by you stating S.C. as your area of origin. I am looking to fish down river a bit more, but thanks again. Liven La Vita Loco in the L.G.!!!
Hey, wait a minute! I wasn't offering guided trips on the SLR. I just told one friend I would be willing to show him around the river. Probably something like "This is the parking area for the Rincon Fire Road, Walk down the hill and try not to fall in"
I hate to tell you but , L.G. sucks !!! As do , most of the bay area cities . You guys stay on your side of the hill , and we'll stay on ours . You all come over in the summer to go to the beachs , boardwalk etc. And trash , and over crowd Santa Cruz . Now it's gonna happen to the SLR . Sow some respect , and PACK YOUR TRASH !!!! OR BETTER YET , STAY HOME...
I thought STRETCH was giving out invites for tours of the river? You guys can come over here and fish our Parkway Lakes, lets share. L.G. rules!!!
Hey Greenbutskiunk, Why don't you invite your whole neighborhood????? I have a bus charter company that take all of you people up to the SLR...
how about you guys from over the hill stay there. pack of 7 coming down to fish together..are u kidding me! set up the keg and have a party why dont you.
Got Rain ????... Last time I checked the slr was at 11,000 cfs thats about 10,900 more cfs that it was last weekend. I saw it down by the ocean street bridge very impressive. It was also about 18 to 19 ft deep at the meter station. We got so much rain three out of the 5 to 10 creeks around santa cruz county were either at flood stage or going over there banks already.... Its looking good for us fisherman in the near future. Tight lines.
Hey Stretch, how about you e-mail me and maybe you can show me and my buddies around the river. It’s a little drive from Los Gatos, but if the seven of us car pool we could save on gas. I’ll bring the indicators and you bring the pink worms.
Hey Stretch, how about you e-mail me and maybe you can show me and my buddies around the river. It’s a little drive from Los Gatos, but if the seven of us car pool we could save on gas.I’ll bring the indicators and you bring the pink worms.
Steve where did you catch your fish? upstream? downstream? Gorge? do you have a picture? I fished Sat morning. 4rocks down to Rincon. Conditions were perfect... no fish.. Anyone else fish on the weekend?
Thanks Flytier. Actually, it's my first adult of the season. Caught my first adult steelie exactly 2 years and 3 days ago (also in the San Lorenzo). The beaut I caught on Saturday was my 10th adult steelie. I still have lot's to learn but I'm enjoying the process. Troutnut, look for the cars, go down to the river, then ask lot's of questions. Most anglers I've met have been extremely helpful. Ernie also has an awesome map. Go to his shop, buy some stuff and get the map! Take it easy.
Hey Troutnut! Are you the same Troutnut from the N.C.F.F.B? Shoot me an e-mail, I can direct ya around the river pretty good, but unfortunately I can't necessarily put you into fish, only you can do that. Cheers, Doug, A.K.A Stretch from the board
Troutnut, just move up the river from below Paradise to the top of the gorge. It takes a good day to fish your way up and it's a good workout to boot (I've done it many times). You really can't miss the deep pools a) because they are all in the river and b) because at them you will see lots of wader bootprints, other anglers etc... Leave the GPS at home - it's just extra weight to carry. You'll soon get to know the pools but it still wont catch you a steelie unfortunately - only lots of perseverance and patience will.
Wish I could afford a Hummer but a 10 year old Explorer and a cheap B&W GPS is the best I can do. Why GPS? Because I don't know the holes and wore half the felt off my shoes searching opening week. I'll go to my fall back plan and look for all the parked cars.
Congratulations on your first adult fish Steve. It probably was yourself who got hooked though ;-)
Caught a steelie this morning! The brightest fish I've ever caught. Was in the 8 lb. range. Got him (her?) on roe (Amerman's steelhead orange) with a small peach colored corkie in the gorge. Heard of 1 other fish caught (4 lb's) but nothing else. It was FREEZING out there this morning but river conditions were great.
Grade the Piles of Sand? Why GPS the river? I am sure your Hummer will make it down to the river. Man its pouring here in Redwood City....Oh well.
I saw the slr today finally a good flow to wash the garbage out. Well it looks like steelhead seasons first real rain finally got here. The river was pretty high and muddy when i saw it. I think the best bets are going to be next week sometime depending on the storm that is due for sun eve. Let the games begin .
It's waaaay too high to fish - spend time with your family instead and save yourself a miserable skunking. New Year should be interesting though.
Hi guys. The San Lorenzo is flowing at 1,360 cfs and it's raining like crazy (in Livemore anyway). Looks like rain in Santa Cruz through tomorrow (Thursday) mid-day. The question is, will the river drop and get clear enough to fish by Saturday morning. I'm thinking it won't but I hope I'm wrong. Please post your thoughts regarding this Saturday. Thanks.
Probably a silly question but has anyone GPS'd the holes on the SLR?
Here comes the rain ,it looks like we might actually get some decent rain out of the two on coming storms. I looked at the slr today water had a brown color to it, Flowing at about 70 cfs at this point. Pray for rain. The more we get the better the fishing will be when the river lowers and the water becomes optimal.
what is a better bait for steelhead on the san lorenzo river?...Nightcrawlers or roe. Please support your opinions with reasons why. Thank you.
When I fished last Saturday, I forgot to take the water temperature. Does anyone know what it is and what the recent trend is? Thanks.
There are less than 25 fish at paradise park. CFS and water temperature are not good for traveling right now.
1st post in a while although I've been lurking. Tarpon, I agree. Less than 25. I see everyone talking about how much rain we need and such, but nobody takes into account the temperature of the water. IMO, even a few degrees makes a big difference. The fish will be here in Jan-Feb and hopefully I can sneak in a few fishing days if conditions are right.
How about this for a guestion that really just asks for a WAG answer? How many adult steelhead, over 23", are in the river at Paradise or above right now? I'd be interested in the answers and why. less than 25 26-50 51-100 101-150 151-200 200+ BTW, not many, not enough and similar answers don't count. So what my estimate? Less than 25.
Anybody know any rain gods?
These last few storms have just been teasers. Looks like we need a 1000 cfs or better storm to start any decent activity. Not all that common before January most years. Unfortunately, fishing the SLR is a "window of opportunity" situation -- on those rare occasions when optimal water conditions coincide with legal fishing days. In the meantime, consider fishing one of the tailwater fisheries such as the American, Feather, Trinity or Yuba. These rivers have steelhead early in the season, usually as soon as September most years. Feather has an incredible run of chrome chinooks that will hit flies/lures in August. The streams also clear relatively quickly after fall rainstorms. American, Yuba and Feather are possible for a day trip from the Bay Area. In the area open to steelhead fishing on the American there is very little pressure now. Most all the salmon fishers are gone. Lots of good water for indicator nymphing or traditional swing methods. Good place to exercise the spey rod. Lure fishers can cover lots of water. Anyone on this site fish shooting heads in the Lagoon? What is an appropriate sink rate? I haven't fished there for many years but was thinking of seeing what a 12'6" minispey would do with a shooting taper, seems like a reasonable place for a test. See you in the Gorge in January or thereabouts.
With the rivers to the north high and word of no fish on the SLR yet, I headed to the Big Sur yesterday. When I got there, I was disappointed to have about 2"'s visability on brown water. Two hours later it was green with a couple feet of vis. A couple more hours and it was almost clear (except for the 50-billion leaves floating around). Just a couple of egg eaters (that were carefully released) for my efforts. I'm amazed at hour quickly that river clears. Headed north to check out Scott Creek. Mouth was open. Talked to a couple of fly-guys that hadn't caught or seen anything. Does anyone know if there are other areas of Scott to fish other than the estuary?? You can see a building back in the valley, but where is the access road??? Anyway, that was sunday. Lot's of miles, no fish. Hope the Gualala drops in for next weekend. Tight Lines!
Fish Sycamore Grove on Sat. morning..plenty of water and good color. No hook ups..only a few small bites.
Fished from the top of the gorge down to the garden on Saturday. Only a few fishermen but no fish that I heard of. River was low and clear. Couple more weeks...
Fished pogonip and below hwy 1 today. Water was a good foot+ lower than wednesday (usgs gauge said 36 cfs), color was perfect. No hook-ups and did not see any fish rolling. Need more rain so river doesn't drop so fast.
Fished the gorge today. Water was perfect color and flow. But no fish for me. A couple of guys I talked with said they had caught a couple half pounders but no adults.
fished wed from water mark to garden, flow looked pretty good even at ~200cfs, a little muddy, no one else around, no hook-up, no fish, hey dave, can you email me the photo from the gorge from late last season? that will probably be my last fish for a while , mick - still looking forward to your site, Hook 'em Up slr ragers anonymous!!!
Well it looks like the real opening day starts this saturday. The water should be good. The storm we had yesterday and the day before brought the river up and it looks a lot better than it did last weekend. The elbow at the river mouth has straightened and the openning is alot wider. The big swell and high tides yesterday made it very good conditions for the adult fish to enter the river. Get your stuff ready it should be fun this weekend.
Hey Alex, for fin clipping info go to www.mbstp.org or call Al Smith at the rearing facility, 458-3095. If you don't get an answer leave a message that you are interested in volunteer events and they will call you back. Last Sat. was the fin clipping for this year and incuded fish to released into the Soquel, SLR, Scotts Ck, Pescadero etc. Fished last weekend for a few hours Sat morning and Sunday afternoon. Nothing for me, saw one half pounder caught. Seems like the flow is dropping after each rain so fast the fish are skittish.
All 3 rivers were blown out on Weds...has anyone seen the slv river mouth..is it still bent or is it a straight flow?
I'm with Flytier on this one. While I'm a fly guy, I've found that the most guys fishing bait on the SLR are knowledgeable, focused anglers. They know what they are doing. There is a lot we all can learn from their experiences and observations.
BTW, I like to hear reports from both bait and fly anglers. I think it would be a shame if either group departed this site. Being flamed (or otherwise attacked) is just a fact of life on the internet. Nobody should let it get to them. Anybody catch any adult fish today?
I agree. It seems like the board (maybe it should be "bored") madness only stops after the real fishing starts. This is no place for fragile egos.
I am looking for any info on fin clippings on soquel creek.Can anyone help me out?
dude this has happend the last couple of yrs. women get PMS, we get PSM (pre-steelhead madness). the symptons are the same for both. us men cant play with our rods so we get all cranky just like women. just watch, come january-feburary when the fishing is good, and everything will be honky-dory. you guys need to chill out (fly vs. bait) instead learn from each technique. we should be united, not fighting. if they ever close the SL, don't come crying here because we didn't stick up for this together. Kid mentioned he was outta here last year? we all have our own opinions, let's keep un-related ones to ourselves. let's keep the reports coming, good or bad. not the fake reports we've been seeing lately.
What is with all the whinning we have on the site. If you don't like what someone said..well tough shit just read on and post something else. the kid can jump ship for all i care..he quit the site...good..maybe all his lame friend will join him.
this site has changed. bunch of goons are taking it over.kid was my best source and you guys made him take off
Well it looks like the rain is coming. The lunar tables dont favor this weekend for fishing, but well see what happens.. The lunar tables show the best time to fish sat is between 4am -11am . If we get enough rain we might see some good fishing. I went down to the tressle this morning and only saw a few eggeaters. The mouth of the S.L.R. has a bad elbow in it. We need a good rain to blow the mouth open and a straighter approach for the fish to come up.Oh by the way "mick", Im sorry if the nick name I chose made you feel insecure..
Last Wednesday I released a 5lb Coho Salmon! First one I've caught in 10 years! Saturday I picked up two chrome steelies, 3 and 4 lbs. Sunday picked up one chrome steelie about 2lbs. BadBoy, what an imagination... I wonder what your former girfriends would have to say?
Hey again, cant sleep got fishin on my mind.. I have my clearest thoughts at night anyway. I thought I would share my experience last year towards closing day. I was fishing the S.L.R. and I was wading some of the top spots on the river. I noticed alot of steelhead swimming all over the place it was awesome to see. I stuck my waterproof camera underwater directly upstream from a steelhead and took a picture underwater, the picture actually turned out good.. It was a buck steelhead with alot of scratches on him, I figured he was in the 10 to 12 pound class fish. I stood there in the rapids and watched the steelhead swim within reaching distance of me. He was easily 30 to 34 inches, he didnt care that i was there and slowly swam by me. I really learned alot that day watching the steelhead make his way up the river, watching where he would stop and position himself before making his next move. I must have saw at least 20 fish that day all big fish. Very impressive. Well pray for rain and fish. See ya .
Hey wuz up? I went and checked the soquel creek today looked a little stained this morning. water flow was up a little. I think the current flow was at about 35 to 40 cfs. I prayed for rain last night and around five or so the heavens opened up for a while. Looked fishable. Gotta luv that smell behind nob hill, I have been fishin the soquel creek for 20 yrs now and that smell is always there.About fourteen years ago i was fishin that hole and saw two guys on the bank dancin with a steelie, it was awesome this guys had pure luck on thier side, they finally got a hold of it and held it up. I guessed it was about thirty to 36 inches long, beautiful hen steelhead fresh from the sea. Back then you could keep the fish which they did.. Any ways rains coming this week and hopefully setting us up for the weekend. I talked to my friend who lives on the soquel creek in capitola he said the creek mouth is open and the high tides are making it easy passage for steelhead to enter.. Tip of the day.. Where there is gravel there are steelhead... See ya.
Went on Sat. Caught a nice 2lb chromer..on BAIT... Still lots of smolt as well..hopefully this latest rain cleared them out some..anyone see the river mouth today?
I see the river is dropping nicely. Any reports today? What the visibility? Thanks!
I'm not sure I get it,FishGeek....are you suggesting I quit fishing for steelhead?? -AA
I totally agree with Steve. There are lots of fishing places on the web to banter and joke around. They have they place. This board has been pretty focused and on topic which is steelheading on the SLR, which is a pretty special place. I found the observation about high tides and high surf very interesting. I'm watching the flows quite closely and just waiting for one more rise and fall of the water to start fishing seriously up in the gorge.
Hi all, This is a great board and would be a shame to see it go down hill. Please keep it to reports and tips and positive comments only and keep negative opinions to yourself. Thanks! Steve PS Hi Kid! Come on- post a report! Your reports rock.
Went down to the tressle today at high tide this morning, guess what I saw??? Hmmmm Maaayybeee Steeeellllheaaaddd. Like a pod of 20 to 40 of them. Oh yes with a large swell and a high tide combo tommorow morning as well as the pressure dropping and a low moving in and a full moon a coming,could be good... I saw one fish swimming under the tressle that looked big in the water, I mean big.. No sea lions which is goooddd... Even though we have had a lack of measureable rain the high tides have been helpful. Went up river to my honey hole and saw three adult fish in the 20 to 24" range. Chrome steelies, thank god for polarized lenses. Half the battle of steelhead fishing is doing your homework the other half is up to you..
Yo, its all good... Fly fishing, bait fishing... as long as your fishing its better than the best day at work... Keep it real, the fact that we have the common intrests, which is to fish is more reason to chill and respect one another, at the end of the day were all hoping for tight lines. All I wanna say is that you give respect you get respect and go out there this weekend and enjoy yourselves and be thankful that we have this wonderful resource to fish on..
fg............wooooow I said: Glo bug, split shot, indicator = jig and a bobber Hey Kid; nice cut and paste on the rockcod
Like Mike , I used to post my SLR Fishing experences . And river conditions , To try to help out my fellow anglers . But this board isn't what it used to be . It has turned into a yahoo board . And (no offense) the Fly Guys , seem to have taken over the board . Even though it's Ernie's site and he owns a Fly shop . Doesn't mean , Bait fishermen can't post their fish counts , without being rideculed for using bait . I too , am OUTTA HERE . GOOD LUCK. FISH ON !!!!
Hey Mike I hope it's not your last post. I think you are singlehandedly responsible for the wealth of ff-related reports in the last 2 years. I noticed you recently posted at ncffb and while it's a great board (i've followed it for 5 or 6 years) I hope you continue to post your reports here and not there (I'm afraid that knowledge of the SLR on ncffb might increase pressure from over the hill. This happened last year with the slr getting daily reports on ncffb). Hey Madmax/badboy hope your 'honey hole' is not the pumping station (or anywhere near it) behind Salz LEATHER man! Barney, as for globugs and split shot/indicator equaling jig and bobber all I can say is WRONG! Think about it. A jig and bobber rig is a suspension rig. And if you wrap your hook with lead (or tie-on lead eyes) and feathers are you not using a jig? It's a pointelss endevour to make these distinctions. What is a fly if not a lure with feathrs and fur? If I use synthetic materials am I not fly fishing? What is the tip of a floating fly line if not a "bobber"? If I "high-stick" with a weighted nymph so that little or no fly line sits on the water am I not flyfishing any longer? If I use 2 flies with one a floating dry and the dropper a nymph is that using a "bobber". If i crimp a split shot to my leader am I no longer fly fishing (read charles brooks). It's ridiculous. Why don't you inform us all. I responded to a request from a fellow fly fisherman on flies and tactics, pointing to a wide variety of successful set-ups. You could have responded with information but instead wasted all our time. Mike, I sincerely hope you continue to post and not let these yahoos ruin a good board.
You know, like the Kid I've posted my last report on ernies. Too many yahoos. Perhaps badboy=madmax=masterfisherman=steelheadnut will keep everyone informed about conditions.
Hey Barney just what is your definition of fly fishing?? just curious
Anyone see the river today..or know what it will be like to fish on the weekend?
Wuz up?? I'll give you a hint where I caught this fish.. Heres your one and only clue.. Leatherman. Oh by the way I saw a fish hiding under this huge fallen redwood stump, it had to be pushing 36" and easily in the 15 lbs class. Its tail fin was at least as wide as my two hands put together.It might have been a coho salmon or another species of salmon, or a darn big steelhead. Have fun .
Hooked into a 24" steelie on sat afternoon in my secret honey hole.This fish was as strong as it could be almost spooled me as it exited the pool and headed downstream out of the tail of the pool. after 10 minutes and taking a brisk walk down stream. i finally got close enough to see the steelie, chrome like the 24" spinners on my escalade. I used a small olive colored # 10 olive leech pattern. I saw another guy fall in trying to get a better look at my fish.Hats off to you weekend warrior, its miller time...
Glo bug, split shot, indicator = jig and a bobber Both catch fish but neither are fly-fishing….please
Is that you Kid? How goes the fishing?
Long LIve Bait Fishermen !!!!!!!
Troy I only use flies. Pink and orange glo-bugs with 2 or 3 split shot and an indicator has yielded the best luck in pocket water and 3-4 foot runs with no casting room (i.e. the gorge). I have also caught fish using small (like size 10-14)dark beadhead nymphs(such as BHPT) and burlaps in larger sizes with a dry line in the lagoon. Also have had luck stripping flies (I like a polar shrimp pattern using glo-bug yarn on a size 10 steelhead hook). I think whatever you use will work, provided you stick with it and fish only the water that works with that pattern. I personally have not had luck with 'swinging' traditional patterns in the gorge. But I know folks who have had luck with weighted leaches and wooly buggers there. I prefer to high-stick or use an indicator in the gorge.
I'm curious... how many of you that fish the SLR are actually using flies? If you do use flies, what works for you on the SLR? I've been fishing the past couple of years there with buggers and a bunch of other steelie flies and haven't had good luck. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks.
Went out late Sunday, in the rain, got 1 about 3lbs, not fresh but a good looking fish. The proposed regulation changes move the opening day back to Dec. 1st, the reasoning behind this is that there are very few adult fish in the river in Nov. and that the majority of fish being caught are juvenille. If F&G wanted us to fish for the little guys they would call it 'Trout' season instead of 'Steelhead' season. If you just want to take a kid fishing that's great, get a box of nightcrawlers and catch all the suckers you want, to a kid it's just a fish...
Anyone catch any decent fish last year on the soquel creek.I saw a few but only caught eggeaters.I talked to one guy who said he hooked into a 12 maybe 15 pounder, of course i was not there to witness this in person. Dont be shy share your experiences??
The natives must be restless, not enough fishing I'd say! I would be of the opinion that targeting the juveniles at this time of year with trout gear is not the intent of steelhead regulations. Debating the mortality issues is going to cloud that basic intent. In proposing new regs to delay the season F&G cited creel surveys that indicate higher numbers of juveniles caught than they want to see. This is happening on the Big Sur also. C&R mortality was addressed extensively and recent studies show low mortality (less than 2%)on adults, hence no bait closures are needed. But they do worry about a lot of anglers targeting "trout" during steelhead season because that is not factored in to recovery efforts. The adult, spawning population can suffer incidental mortality without problem if the overall run is of sufficient stength.At current numbers it won't have an impact either way. Fish is right that other factors like flow and habitat are have more impact. However, the management of this fishery is geared around an expected mortality of adults, not juveniles, and is intended to restore run size to allow for limited take once again. That said, we all need to work towards habitat restoration/protection and urge reasonable measures be taken to reduce predation from overpopulated seals/sea lions and birds. Mortality in C&R can be even more reduced if careful release technique is taught and used, hauling a flopping fish onto the bank, watching it thrash around and then kicking it back in is not acceptable. If we see this we should tactfully broach the subject. Maybe suggestions along the " You could catch that fish next year if you release it carefully" line. Fish do need to be cradled in the flow to "cool down" after a long battle to reduce lactic acid build up. Let them gulp some 'Air" for a awhile before sending them on their way and they won't have any problems, generally. We have been conducting river clean ups in the summer this year and it does make a difference. We hauled about 45 tires, 2 shopping carts, 2 bicycles, bottles and cans etc. from the Water St area. Lets continue the improvements by picking up after ourselves, and even others, this season and see what a difference it makes. If the community at large sees the importance we place on the this fantastic receational opportunity imagine the positive effects that more resources and attention to its health will mean to our fishery. Lets pray for rain and fish and a great fishing season this winter for everybody.
Not a personal attack on you Madmax, rather a theory. In fact, it's a good one and is based on theories of population biology rooted in fact. I merely suggested that rather than attack that guy for fishing for smolts with a 3 weight, we think about whether our previously held beliefs make much sense. If you have a some ideas to the contrary, I'd love to hear them (and I mean that in all sincerity).
Not a personal attack on you Madmax, rather a theory. In fact, it's a good one and is based on theories of population biology rooted in fact. I merely suggested that rather than attack that guy for fishing for smolts with a 3 weight, we think about whether our previously held beliefs make much sense. If you have a some ideas to the contrary, I'd love to hear them (and I mean that in all sincerity).
Here in just a couple of days we have the beauty and the dark side of the internet right here on Ernie's Board. Get a local report on the SLR, get some great information from knowledgeable people and we get a completely lame rant and personal attack from somebody who doesn't have a clue!
mad max I have a theory though no data to prove it (though it has been shown in other species). A spawning adult steelhead is the nearest thing to more steelhead, right? That is, if you want more juvenile steelhead, your best chance of getting them are: 1) increasing chances of survival at the egg stage (meaning increasing spawning success i.e. protecting and restoring spawning habitat), and 2) increasing adult pre-spawn mortality. Now, targeting adult fish who have not spawned surely does NOT increase the probability that those fish will survive to spawn. This is a no-brainer (data do exist, but vary. C&R mortality can be quite low and it can be unacceptably high). Now, a young-of-the-year or smolt has to endure MANY hardships before returning to spawn 1-3 years later (predation, poor habitat and starvation, disease, competition, the perils of life at sea). Their mortality rate is very high. So, what's the best way to get more baby steelhead? Protect the spawners! Yet as steelhead fishermen, we are in effect fishing for spawning fish (and do so with gusto, especially late in the season, increasing our chances of hooking large pre-spanwing fish as well as 'kelts'). I only write this because while I too think it's pointless to chase juvenile fish with a 3-weight (trout season is over after all), doing so probably does not affect the return of spawners down the road. And the chances of hooking a large fish on "an elk-hair caddis" is remote at best. I have hooked a 3-4 pound SLR steelhead on a dry (with an 8 weight) but I think it was a rare event indeed. Catching a juvenile fish on a 3-weight contributes very little to that fishes overall mortality (which is already very high) and probability of spawning (which is already very low), but fishing for adult steelhead most certainly DOES reduce the probability that they'll spawn!
Who fishes for steelhead with a 3wt fly rod??? All I can say is that your a loser, if you fish with light tackle your going to be part of the problem and not the solution. Hey dingle berry , if you catch the small " smolting steelhead on your little flyrod you run the risk of killing them... If you catch a larger fish on your little fly rod youl wear the adult fish out and we will see them floating belly up down stream... If you wanna keep fishing the S.L.R. use some common sense..
Great info Frank. Yes, repeat spawning steelhead are not appreciably larger than younger or equal-aged, first-time spawners. The theory is that repeat spawning exerts a considerable cost on fish who must spend a great deal of time recovering after spawning (and who 'miss out' on ocean feeding during the 1-3 months in fresh water). It used to be thought that these fish were the 20 pound monsters, but it is actually the older first-spawning fish that attain such great proportions (especially those that spend 2 or more years in the ocean). Most studies find that these older fish reach the 10-12 pound class. And generally, these fish are female (males have a higher post-spawn mortality rate). There is another intersting theory regarding steelhead smoltification (which is, as Frank said, thought to be more 'plastic' in steelhead than in other salmonids): some biologists believe that smolting is more behavioral than genetic; that is, smolting is a physiological response to resource limitation. Some fish (even sibling offspring of a single spawning event) will smolt much earlier than others, and some not at all (that is, become resident). Indeed, those resident fish can produce offspring who then smolt! If you see silvery fish in tthe 10-14 inch range they are probably smolting. However, larger silvery fish might be 1-salt first spawners (smolted in the spring and are returning after less than a year in the ocean---the 'half-pounder'). Last fall the city contracted a company that seined the lagoon (much to the consternation of the fishermen there) and found many healthy, silvery 10-12 inch smolts.
I do some steelhead rescues on the Carmel and would say the smaller fish with parr marks are "young of the year" born this last spring, as you guessed. The larger silver sided juveniles are one or two year old fish geting ready to "smoltify" this winter and migrate out. The thing about steelhead that is not as predictable as salmon is the time spent in the river before migrating out to the Ocean. My understanding is that most smolt on the 2nd year if they are wild fish, and some spend as much as 4-5 years as juveniles in fresh water before transforming into sea-going migrants. The slower process means a larger smolt, you would think it would be ready to return sooner and grow faster once it hits the salt. The "late bloomers" apparently are the ones that stay longer in the salt, and come back as the 14-20lb class fish. I also understand that repeat spawners do not get appreciably bigger each time they survive to spend another year in the Ocean, the initial duration of Ocean growth determines the basic size achieved in that specimen. Hence "haf-pounders" only are "1 salt" fish, 6-10lbers are "2 salt" fish, 11-14lbers are "3 salt" fish, at least generally. But I am sure the biologist at the Monterey bay salmon and trout project or some of the NOAA salmonid biologists around Santa Cruz could answer you more accurately than I. The genetics lab for NOAA Fisheries is in Santa Cruz. I attended a presentation by Sean Hayes of NOAA Fisheries on the Coho restoration efforts on Scott creek, MBS&T project and the survival between hatchery coho and wild spawned coho. The finding was that hatchery smolts do not compete with hatchery released smolts because they spend very little time in the the river. They migrate out within a week or less, as MBS&T claimed all along. Sean Hayes was very complimentary of the MBS&T hatchery because of the sound genetic practices they use. It is a wild broodstock program that would not cause in-breeding problems, in his opinion, and his grant was to study for 3 years whether the hatchery would jeopardize wild fish.
Hmmm - bummer that there is no rain in sight. I wandered around Rincon again Saturday afternoon tossing a little elk-hair caddis with the 3wt and my 8-year old. There are lots of little (5") guys with par marks. I'm guessing these are the `young of the year' from eggs fertilized last winter/spring. There are also mostly silver 10" - 13" fish. Are these fish from the 2001/2002 season that have stayed in the river? Anybody have some actually knowledge about this? Somebody mentioned crayfish. There are more, bigger crayfish in the river than I have ever seen before. I wonder what that's all about.
ljb/l'bl>L?
can't refuse a dare from mr. dfg, will do and keep following the 1 limit* rule for a another year when no one's around, and if I get caught what is it $500? a day's pay, worth it if I get couple home, probably taste better too
I just read the proposed regulation changes and it looks as if they've postponed the flow restrictions until the 2005 review cycle? For now, it appears that they will only be changing the opening to Dec 1st and the Closing to Mar 7th.... I got 5 fish about 2lbs each on opening day in the Rincon area on hardware... Didn't fish Wednesday and probably wont fish agian 'til we get some rain...
Don't fish the SLR. Water is low and fish need all the help they can get. Wait until some rain comes.
I will be fishing the san lorenzo for the first time on saturday. i was wondering if i could get some advice on what rod to bring, what kind of line to use and what kind of flies. i was also wondering if someone could tell me some good spots to fish.
i hooked into a 38" chrome steelie around the paradise park area. I fought it for about ten minutes and when i got it towards me it said to me wake up your dreaming..Ha Ha just a little fish dream..
Big fish do not usually start to run until January (with a scant few in dec). I personally think the best fishing is in the last half or Jan. or beginning of Feb. until the close.
Does anybody have anything good to report from opening day from either the SLV or Soquel? When do the big fish start to arrive?
Watched two guys catching nothing at the mouth. I don't know the spots so I did more hiking than fishing. Drove halfway up and watched three guys elbow to elbow in a two man hole catching nothing. Hiked down from the Cowell entrance to a quarter mile below the railroad bridge to a couple nice little holes. Had a little guy give a couple tugs on the tail of my woolie bugger. I had on polarized lenses and didn't see a thing. I'm going with the water too shallow and too early for the fish to move up excuse.
Fished the gorge in the morning and hooked a decent size egg eater with a little weight on him. Felt good to have my rod bounce a bit. He came off on his own after a few quick moves. Other then that..nada oh yea.. i also got about 4 crawdads. Some guy said he hooked a salmon but did not land him. Sounded like another fish story to me. We need some major rain to wash out the river a little bit more. Start the rain dance!
I FISHED THE SLR TODAY AND GOT NOTHING I SAW NOTHING AND SAW NO OTHER FISHERMAN. I DID MANAGE TO GET A HIT BUT IT SOON SHOOK ITS WAY OFF, 6" CLASS OF FISH. RIVER WAS GIN CLEAR AND MINOR AMOUNT OF FLOW. I SAT AND STALKED MY FAVORITE HOLES JUST WATCHING FOR MINUTES TRYING TO SPOT THE EVER SO ELUSIVE STEELIE. I DID NOT SEE ONE FISH AND I LOOKED EVERYWHERE. TOO EARLY IN THE SEASON NOT ENOUGH RAIN OR FLOW. BEST BETS ARE THE MOUTH AND SOQUEL AVE BRIDGE HIGH TIDE. OH WELL THE WEATHER WAS NICE GOT MY EXERCISE FOR THE DAY. RE CLAIMED SOME LURES OUT OF THE LOW LYING BRANCHES, NOT A TOTAL LOSS..
Well, I started very early and to my surprise the river was completely empty of other anglers even though it was opening day. Using a small black Teeny leech I was able to hook and landed a couple of nice silver Steelhead of around ~10+lbs at each well known hole as I moved my way up the river. Then the stupid alarm clock went off and I whacked it, rolled over and went back to sleep. Unfortunately that dream never continued. Sooo... my opening day is going to be on Wednesday instead. But seriously, did anyone catch anything today?
Well, anybody catch or see caught any steelies on opening day? I wandered around in the Rincon area in the afternoon and had a few little tiny guys grab a wooly bugger that was almost their size, but that was it.
Give it another shot piro. I was down there with my binoculars that day and somehow I must have missed you.
Hey Pat, Usually more noticable later in the season even though early fish spawn in Dec/Jan. If the water is high and muddy you won't see them anyway. Like Dog said you will easily spot them if you are keeping your eyes open. Look at a typical tailout section and the gravel will have a uniform color because it is undisturbed and moss is growing at the same rate/density. Move your boot over a one foot section, step back and look at the clean appearance of that gravel. A hen will hold in some cover near spawnable gravel til ready. when ready she moves out over the gravel she has selected and brushes gravel with her tail to create a depression, lays some eggs which a male milts with sperm. The hen moves up stream a foot and brushes out another depression (covering the first spot in the process) and lays more eggs, etc. Hence you will see a wide area, sometimes 5 ft long, of noticably cleaner gravel in a tailout that wasn't there a few days before. Be cautious when fording the river, keep your eyes open and you won't have a problem. You will start seeing more fish this way as well.
Actually they are not that hard to see. When you look at the bottom of the river undisturbed grave usually has a dull color or is algae/moss/silt covered. Redds gravel is usually lighter/cleaner looking in color. Also a somewhat circular depression in the gravel will be noticeable. You ever notice the footprints in the grave when crossing the river…..same idea.
In Washington they place temporary orange barrier fencing around salmon spawning areas. My 13 year old and I are steelheading for the first time this year and we wouldn't know a redd from a commie. Where can I find a photo or illustration that shows what to look for so we don't go wading through one?
What a Kook..bad joke Piro...you couldn't catch a cold
Piro, I hope your joking?? Ha,ha uh maybe...You should be careful what you post you never know who might be checking on this website.Remember steelies are locally and federally protected fish. No poaching..
Since I had a late shift, I thought I'd check out the lower river. Looked pretty good so went to sycamore. Turned left, then right, saw no one so took a few casts. I figured the holes might be too low and crowded for the opener. Well, caught a couple of 3 pounders. Saw a couple of big ones so I tried lining and boom!, a 27in hen with roe intact. Stuffed her in my baggie and punched my XC. Catch and release--->to my bbq. How else am i to get steelhead roe these days? Good news is that opener should be great. See you on the river.
Last year, in the lower river, I watched two guys spot some spawners dart off as they approached. Then proceeded to walk right through the redd. I don’t know if they don’t know or don’t care, but I was thinking of making some signs out of wood dowels and cardboard and placing them near the redds this year. “Warning…spawning redd…Please walk around” Cheap, biodegradable, and I believe this is a better idea then not getting more late season fishing time.
I am in amazement that the department of fish and game dont have some kind of illustartion showing the diagram of a typical spawning redd.Showing what they look like and where you might typically find them. also to avoid stepping on them to decrease the steelhead and salmon mortality. I know that where you find redds you find spawning fish near by but something has to be done.
I also think something should be done when the water is low and clear and you have 20 guys pounding the same hole throughout the day. We have to gave the fish some kind of relief to help perserve their existance. Hopefully some showers will come thru Fri-Sat otherwise. Maybe we can add one more day a week during February instead of extending the season...just an idea.
Tarp0nhead: Re. steelhead and coho data look for Shapovalov and Taft (1954). This was a seminal project published by CDFG looking at salmonid life histories at Scott Creek. They measured just about everything. You can find it at USCS science library. Also Trey Combs' books (specifically Steelhead Flyfishing)give some good info on our local streams (though most is culled from the Shapovalov and Taft study). As for my 2 cents on stream closures: I observed many main-stem spawners in the Gorge in the final weeks of last season. Water was low enough in the tailouts for easy stream crossings. I have heard that egg mortality is severe (like greater than 50%)when redds are disturbed by foot traffic. Now, pushing back the close a week is one thing, but anymore cannot be good. Frankly, there are too many anglers in the last few weeks of the season. And we all have steelhead fever bad by then! Perhaps redd surveys could be done with some measures taken to make people aware of redd locations. Also remember that NOAA is merely trying to protect the resource with the best science available. I agree 140 cfs is too high, but when the bottom is visible in 12-foot holes at 4-rock with 80 cfs and 20 guys dragging their gear over a pod of stacked fish unable to hide there is a problem!
yep, the water will be low and clear and there will be amazing crowds out there on the river. I did a quick hike down through the Rincon area late this afternoon. Nice little hatch going on and lots of rises (little guys) but didn't see any big fish (this doesn't usually mean much). I had forgotten how much foliage there is along the river early in the season.
I agree - except that the opening day (16th) is on a Sunday so it will be an absolute zoo with hundreds of anglers on the river.
Went to scout the lower SLR today by river street, saw several steelies crusing up stream at the walk bridge. Looks like this could be a fun opener.
I went pierfishing at Capitola today then walked up the Soquel Creek imbetween the trestle and the paved car bridge thing (not fishing,not until sunday)... there were several fish staged there waiting, one looked about 22", rest smaller.. hope that helps
That is the question: Will there be any adult steelhead in the river on opening day?
anyone see the SLR or the Soquel after the last storm...will the fishing be decent on opening day?
To everyone who helped on the 3 river clean ups this summer....Good Job! I went from Water St down to Soquel Ave bridge and it looks 100% better than it did last year. The flow looks about 150 cfs or so. The gauges are down or something because the last update was Sat. night. To see the flow reports go to US Geological Survey (Google search) and look for Real Time River Data. What I did was put in the rivers I want to check and saved the links. BTW the Albacore diner in Castroville to raise funds for the Salmon and Trout Project went great. Lots of people there and a lot of good silent auction and raffle prizes were had. They announced that they need volunteers badly for upcoming events like the fin clipping in Dec.
maybe mike was right..... (not frank if my other post showed, this page is screwy)
Maybe Frank is right about something being screwy... I got a triple post when I only "submit[ed] Report" once, and they are hours apart, weird
Maybe Frank is right about something being screwy... I got a triple post when I only "submit[ed] Report" once, and they are hours apart, weird
Maybe Frank is right about something being screwy... I got a triple post when I only "submit[ed] Report" once, and they are hours apart, weird
Where do you check the cfs on the SLR and the Soquel? thanks
Where do you check the cfs on the SLR and the Soquel? thanks
Where do you check the cfs on the SLR and the Soquel? thanks
No, didn't report it for a couple of reasons. One, I am geussing she is a new ranger, who might have been trying to play it safe, rather than let a "poacher" continue fishing. and Two, because I am a state parks voulenteer, I know how bad state parks actually are with steel head... not to blame any of the endangered-ness of steelhead on the state. I just waited for her to leave and went to a hole lower down (below garden of eden, not sure what it is called). The fact that I am 13 cannot help... but I have fishing in my blood, my grandfather owned winston rods and a small trailer on Christmas Island, some of my russian ancestors came to america as fishermen, etc... As for the DF&G wardens, has anyone else seen any, i have had the same experience of none while saltwater fishing aswell
Hey Hara, you're saynig a ranger asked you to leave the gorge area on a legal day and with legal tackle?? Never heard of that, did you report it to F&G or Sheriffs or anyone? BTW: Kevin Urquhart was asked about the proposed reg change tues by a local fly shop owner and he said the current version is to start ONE week later, instead of 2, and end one week later on March 7th. No BAIT ban is proposed because recent studies show the incidental mortality in C&R angling with bait and barbless hooks is only 2%. This is insufficient to impact the fishery which is what our point about low flow closures and such has been anyway. If its already zero take why further restrictions? The habitat work and other positives of having anglers on the river, looking out for poaching and stream damage, enhancment projects, etc. far outweigh any incidental takes anyway. Another good rain and the river should look great, see you this season. Any new regs would be for 2004/2005 season.
Unless hook single barbless hook and a single bead on a legal day on a legal stretch of water is illegal, then I was doing completely legal angling. NOTE- this was a ranger, not a DF&G warden.... I think we need more DF&G wardens out on the river... In three years of fishing the SLR, I have yet to see one. Even the one time I called CalTip, they never followed through..... I think you are right about the rains being just right for the opener. Good thing we got some, partily because i want to fish on the opener, and partily so the fish can actually spawn in a timely fashion. Thanks Mike, see you on the river sometime
I wish we had more rangers on the river. In five years I've only seen them twice out there. Always been a polite exchange. You must have been guilty of something to have been asked to leave. I think the rains are working out just right for the opener. Last week all the accumulation of 6 months worth of stuff in the streets was washed out through the system, this storm coming through starting tonight will finish the cleaning up and start to soak up the watershed and set up a more sustained >40 cfs flow. My 2-cents worth is the remaining change we need in the SLR regs is to go to artificial lures only (ban row/night crawlers). In a zero-limit river, bait is the biggest mortality culprit.
Has anyone else had difficultys with rangers while fishing the gorge? Some ranger stoped me while i was fishing and made me leave last season, it was odd. Also, what is your way to access it
Hey Steve, I am hoping we get a good gully washer or 2 before the opener. Hasn't been much yet though, the last rain did raise the river to 35 CFS for a day, which helps. If you go to the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout web page, Larry Wolfe has an article called "another view" or something like that that discusses the permit problems with taking broodstock for the hatchery. They did get NOAA and F&G to relent and allow the continuation of their program but not until later in the season. The interesting thing about it was a requirement that each fish taken (about 20-25 is all they need)have to be DNA sampled to prevent crossing pairs that are too closely related. The NOAA salmonid lab is apparently in Santa Cruz now, and they can test each fish before they spawn them! They cannot tell the difference between a hatchery spawned and wild spawned fish. They can tell if they are brother/sister or a stray from another watershed, according to them. But you should read what Larry has to say about it. Better yet, come to the MBS&T project Albacore dinner at meet them and help raise some money for the hatchery. It is this Saturday in Castroville. Tickets are 14 bucks. Maybe I'll see you there!
Thanks for your interesting comments Frank. Last year I spoke with someone at the hatchery (MBS&T?) and he said they did not have a permit to continue to release steelhead in the San Lorenzo River. Any validity to that? I would hate to see the hatchery program go away. Also, did Santa Cruz get enough rain for fish to enter for opening day? Thank you, Steve
I did get a return call from John McKeon after leaving a message for Joyce Ambrosius. He is originally from the NoCAL area and does fish for steelhead. He did not disagree that we would like time in March if Nov. is taken away. He said that NOAA had no problem with the March 14th recommendation and it was CaF&G that changed it to March 7th? I got the impression that they would recommend higher flow requirement as they had solicited feedback from local anglers and shop owners, but he didn't say what that was. It may all be moot if the commission decides to leave it as is. My opinion was that the incidental mortality from catch and release angling is not sufficient to impact the resource one way or another. And as we anglers devote a lot of time restoring habitat and enhancing runs ( MBS&T and Carmel River Steelhead Assoc.)we should not be the subject of more regulations. He agreed with me on those points. I think they do have concern about the vulnerability of fish stuck in pools during very low flows to poachers. But legal anglers shouldn't be penalized for that.
I believe that the opening day should be bumped back to Dec. 1. There is usually just the young young fish being caught and for the most part probably damaged enought not spawn in the future. I also think that exteding the closing date one week is sufficient enough for us and also still gives the fish enough time in March and April to be left alone.
I read the proposed reg changes that Kevin Urquardt (CA F&G) sent to the Commission. The flow recommendations for the San Lorenzo are 80cfs and for Soquel/Aptos are 40cfs. The comment he makes about creel surveys showing no adults recorded are mostly from Big Sur river surveys. There has been considerable fly fishing in the lower river resulting in smolt/juvenile catches that last few years. The contention that almost no adults enter in November is truer for the Carmel and south coast streams than the San Lorenzo. Jim Lazzorotti reported 10 adults over 18in last November in the SL. I fish the Carmel when possible, some March opportunity would be preferable to Nov and even early Dec opportunity. The peak run, as counted at the San Clemente Dam fish ladder, is the last week of Feb thru the middle of March. April has as many returning adults in many years as Jan. does. (MPWMD web page). The Big Sur also peaks in March. His recommendation is for low flow reguirement of 80cfs on the Carmel and 40 cfs for the south coast stream which would be decided by the only internet accesible flow gauge on the Big Sur. So goe the Big Sur, so goes the other stream south of Carmel. Everything from SL up the coast would be tied to whether the SL is over 80cfs. The finsl decisions happen this December at he last Commission hearing. They would go into effect in 2004.
Our rain patterns are really odd in in November and December, and I think there is a strong connection between amount of rain and amount of fish in river in these first two early months of the season. From experience, I've seen the earliest fish staging in the lower stretches waiting for the right flows, just up from the estuary, around Texaco Hole. I saw two fish there in mid-December once about 12lbs and 15lbs.
Anyone want to make a guess or quote a scientific study about when SLR steelhead enter the river by month in a "normal" year, not that there are normal years. What percent in November, December, January, February, March, April? WAG is fine, too.
The previously posted info comes from a recent phone conversation with a local CDF&G Fisheries Biologist, (that's all I can say about that). I also agree with the recomendation to move the Opening to Dec 1st IF we also get the Closing moved to Mar 7th. NOAA only wants to move the Opening BUT does not want to move the Closing! CDF&G is recommending to do BOTH. NOAA wants the low flow set to 140, CDF&G wants 40 cfs (based on the minimum flow required for adult fish passage). What can we do about it? The NOAA biologist works out of Santa Rosa, his name is John McKeon (pronounced McQuen), his supervisor is Joyce Ambrosius, (name spellings may be wrong). The number for the Santa Rosa office is 707-575-6050, don't bother leaving messages just keep calling til' you get through. I'm told that both of these people are very nice and somewhat reasonable. I have a bad feeling that they're being driven to do this from much higher up? At some point we will probably have to send e-mails/letters to our Federal Congressional Represantatives! By the way, changes like this are being reccomended for almost all the streams south of SF...
Has anyone told the representatives of the NOAA Fisheries Division that the San Lorenzo has been catch and release only for just one season? Until the steelhead return it's hard to believe anyone could have collected enough data to justify jumping to a new level of conservation. On the other hand we are talking about government bureaucracy.
Mick - I'm not sure moving the season to Dec 1 - mid March would be bad for fishing (might be bad for the fish). It is usually Christmas before we have many adult fish in the river and the run is going strong at the Feb end of the season. Similarly, low-flow restrictions for fishing makes some sense. When the San lorenzo gets down to 50 cfs, the fish get pretty concentrated in the deeper holes and have a hard time moving up or down river. They get pounded pretty hard and I usually stop fishing anyway. Now, having the low-flow cutoff at 140 cfs would be bad. That is lots of water in the SLR and, as you say, we'd lose alot of prime fish days most years. Ron - my favorite patterns upriver are dark bunny leeches with egg patterns running a close second. Down in the lower river, the classic steelhead patterns with pink and orange (shrimp?) and white+black (skunks) work fine when swung in classic style.
Mick, where did you hear about this? What do you suggest?
Just an FYI... Representatives of the NOAA Fisheries Division, (formerly known as National Marine Fisheries Service), are attempting to severely limit our right to fish on the San Lorenzo and all the other coastal rivers. They are requesting that CDF&G change the regulations to move the start of the season to Dec 1st and that a minimum flow of 140 cfs be met before anyone can fish. The postponing of the start date is to minimize fishing pressure on juvenilles. CDF&G, based on their data, would go along with the opening date of Dec 1st but wants to extend the closing by 1 week, or Mar 7th. CDF&G is also in favor of a flow closure but their data indicates that a flow of 40 cfs will adequately protect the fishery. If we as anglers don't put serious pressure on NOAA, we could lose well over 50% of our coastal steelhead fishing... Remember NOAA is Federal so don't waste your time with our state representatives... If your not familiar with what 140 cfs looks like, last year on opening day the flow was around 35 cfs! The majority of February last year was between 80 and 130! Remeber NOAA is driving this, CDF&G is fighting back, without additional support from us CDF&G will get steam rolled...
Thanks flytier. . . well, I don't plan to use my spey rod (a 13' 8/9) in the gorge that's for sure, but it should be fine in the tidewater/estuary. Nice pic and see ya on the river.
Just to whet your appetite (and I'll probably catch some flak for this) here is another nice early morning fish from last season. I just had the film developed and I think that he was a wild fish of around 8lbs. See: http://www.accesscom.com/~mutex/gif/Fish/SLR_Steel.jpg
Ron, I haven't done a lot of experimentation really but I have had some very good luck on the SLR with black bead head (gold bead) Teeny leeches and nymphs that I tie myself on a modified size 10 Tiemco 7999 hook (which I also recommend that you use). I've also had some good luck with black bead head bunny leeches (although I find that they sink a little too slowly for the SLR's short deep slots and holes unless they are heavily weighted which can then lead to other presentation problems). Look instead for natural looking nymphs that will sink fast and yet still look "lively". Black seems to be an almost fail-safe choice for color. BTW, I also have two spey rods but I think that at 14' each they are overkill for a small river like the SLR. Instead I will normally fish a 10' 8wt rod. After lots of screwing around I have decided that the only way to consistently catch fish with a fly on the SLR is to completely give up the traditional idea of swinging flies and to focus instead on a "dead-drifted" nymphing presentation. The bottom topography and small size of the SLR doesn't really lend itself to swinging flies in many places and particularly in the deep narrow slots where the fish will usually hang (you will be zooming your fly way over their heads and they normally wont come up to chase it). IMHO the best SLR steelhead spots that I know about can only really be fished effectively with a dead-drifted nymph technique. Just my pennies worth :-)
Confirmation of the Clean Up Day this Saturday the 18th. We will meet at 9:00am at the Longs Drugs parking lot. Donna Meyers will be there at 9:00 to provide gloves and bags and we will use the Parks dumpsters on the other side of the pedestrian bridge. The previous events we worked the west bank, our plan is to work the east bank this time. Donna also let me know that a restoration/ecology class will be doing some clean ups also later in Oct and have a November event scheduled to remove non-native plants from that area as well.
Sorry this is not a report, but just want to ask flytyer and others what the best fly patterns are for the SLR? What would you consider the top choice fly for the estuary and the gorge? I always fish lures and bait, but this year I have gotten quite heavily into spey casting and want to especially fish the tide waters with a double handed rod if the conditions are right for it.
Only about 6 weeks to go!! Time to start tying those flies.
Correction on date for clean up day! The person who was coordinatiing the equipment for the city is not able to be there on the 11th so we have pushed it back a week to the 18th. Please come! Frank
Sunday I was out boogie boarding by Princeton harbor and saw a few seals and two dolphins chasing some decent sized fish about a hundred yards from the beach.
I got an e-mail from Donna Meyers trying to guage interest in a last clean up on the San Lorenzo before the season opens. She is willing to provide the truck and bags etc again. Anyone interested? This would be Oct 11th 9:00 to 11:30 am around the Water St bridge area. Frank
Try Amerman Eggs, Scott Amerman, ph 503-392-9468 they have cured and fresh roe this time of year. Thanks to everyone who came to the San Lorenzo clean-up on the 9th of August. I predict Bob will have his best steelhead season ever!*_*. We had a very productive clean up between the pedestrian bridge up to above the Water St bridge. Donna Meyers was again there to provide equipment and we had about 15 people show up. Donna let us know that between the first clean up and the second the city had a labor crew down there that got a lot of trash removed from the brushy areas. We got in the river and hauled out another dozen tires, another bicycle and various articles of camping equipment, etc. It looks much cleaner through that area. A different group is sponsoring another clean up day (coastwide) Sept 20th I believe, there will be some different areas scheduled for groups to "adopt". One that needs a group is the Rincon area.
The best eggs I have found are from Scott Amerman. Search google for Scott Amerman Eggs for his web site. I used them on the Mad and they are great. They really stay on the hook.
Does anyone know where you can get roe now before its too hard to find once season comes around?
Just wanted to let all you steelhead anglers know that we had another very successful clean-up day on the San Lorenzo saturday August 9th. Good carma can only help when steelhead fishing so you guys need to come out and help when the next clean-up happens. I'm sure Frank Emerson will update this board to let you all know the date. The day after the clean-up, I caught a 17lb King at California City. All about the carma:-) See you on the river.
Thanks to the anglers who were there for the clean-up Saturday on the lower San Lorenzo. We worked from 9:00am til 11:00am just above the Soquel Ave bridge. We pulled 20 tires, a bike, a shopping cart, sleeping bags, clothes etc... from the river and some people who didn't bring waders picked up trash along the banks. The city provided bags and garbage grabbers and a dump truck. It was great to see that lower stretch without unnatural looking junk laying around. Also saw a lot of juveniles rising to insects in the holding areas. Next event to clean up the San Lorenzo is Aug. 9th, meet just above Soquel Ave bridge behind the Longs parking lot (easy place to park).
Thanks for the posts Frank. ADoes anyone know when Ernie is going to have the store open in the next week? I know he is closed today and is going to be closed other time this week.
Here is the meeting shedule for the Clean-up on the San Lorenzo for those who want to help out. July 12th, meet at 9:00a at Soquel Ave bridge, bring suitable clothes, boots or waders and work gloves. City will provide garbage bags and pick up crews to haul off bags along walk trail. they request we park near Longs or multi-level parking garage on West side of river.
Speaking of cleaning up rivers! Anyone who loves fishing the San Lorenzo we have a great chance to start turning around a long time situation of junk in the San L. Donna Meyers from the city is coordinating community clean ups. The city will be doing some of their own but on July 12th and Aug 9th from 9:00 to 12:00 the public will meet (somewhere around Water St bridge)for safety discussion and assignment of river sections to haul out junk. They will provide trash bags and dump trucks and maybe gloves. Donna also tells me that they have some non-native plant projects in the works and a large woody debris demonstration site planned below the Laurel St area. Anyone interested can contact Donna Meyer (SC city planning) 420-5132 or myself Frank Emerson 757-5053 or e-mail frankemerson@redshift.com Frank Emerson, Fishermen'a Alliance of California
What did you catch those stripers and WSB on Fishboy? I watched a big melee of birds, bait, sea lions and big swirls off the boat harbor jetty last Sunday afternoon, but they were just out of my casting reach.
I was fishing the beach over at new brighton the other day and caught a small striped bass and a couple of white sea bass. unbeleivable. Summer beach fishing has begun.
What is the closest decent river or creek trout fishing???(at this time of year)
Trout? Please.................you know better.
Agreed. I do my part year round to monitor and clean up my streams to improve fishing. I am not targeting steelhead in these waters. This was opening day for TROUT season. Pure luck of the draw.
Bear, the handfull of steelies in those streams should be left alone. If you want to keep steelheading you should head to the American River.
Who said steelhead season was over? The creeks opened up last weekend so we headed to our favorite in the south bay. Expecting the usual 8-14# rainbows we were surprised with a 26" bright chrome female and a 25" full color male steelhead. Both were hooked in the lip and released in great condition. This is great credit to continued efforts of rehab in our local creeks. Hopefully they had a successful spawn and many more will return in the years to come.
Two weekend back, when the water was getting really low, I hiked the river from Rincon up to four rocks. Saw several nice fish. Three in Wall hole, two on a redd near the bank at upper sand and one in the pool below 4-rocks. All were dark and a little scratched up. Does anyone know when the last fish leave the river? I've heard they are around till the end of April.
Drove to Ernie's on Friday and picked up some steelhead flies to get a real early jump on next season then went down to the 17th hole on Ernie's map of the SLR and had a 20" steelhead cruise past and stick it's tongue out at me.
I have the Simms lightweight goretex. They made it through the first season with no problems.
Well, had a great time on the river this year. Sure was crowded the last 2 days! I was bummed to have seen 2 large steelhead dead in the water when I fished on 2/26, likely from someone over fighting them or lifting them out of the water incorrectly? We all need to be careful, a live fish is better than collecting a photograph. On another note, I was wondering if anybody could offer some advice on waders. I've had my higher quality neoprene type waders for only 2 years and they already leak so I'm going to replace them. I'm thinking about spending more money on one of those breathable type setups. For those of you that have already made that switch, do you like the newer lightweight material better? Has anybody gotten more than 2 years wear out of that lightweight type of wader? Thanks, see you on the river!
My last day was awsome. I got two fish, 29 and 31 inches. the 31 inches was a wild hen with a belly full of eggs. The other was a pretty buck that had some fight left in him. Well I guess its time to fly fish for trout in the sierras. Both fish were caught in the gorge.
End of Season, you can still post your reports here once salmon season opens (I think) if you go fishing for salmon. But this board does get pretty quiet in the offseason. That's why I'll be fishing here www.anglernet.net/forums/
So where do all of you fish once steelhead season ends?
Couldn't stand the fact that the season was over, so I went to the SLR today just to see if I could spot some fish. Saw 3 between the top of the gorge and the Garden. One in a pool and two right at the end of a tail out, right in the current cushion of a large rock. Just like they are supposed to do. Very nice to see.
Got the steelheading bug too late to get the gear and give it my first try. Considered using my 4wt. but flu hit hard this week which helped me to heed the advice to wait until the 8wt. arrived. I've been reading your bulletin board from one end to the other and have an outsider's perspective for the conditions and numbers people versus the tackle and methods and fish story people. At this stage I find the tackle, flies, maps and methods invaluable. I'll find the other invaluable once I hit the SLR. I think the bulletin board is like a smorgasbord, no body wants everything but there's something for everyone. Thanks for all your tips and advice, see you on the river next season.
Fished the SLR Friday from 6 am to 6:30 pm with Lou. Starting at 4 rocks shortly after 6 Lou landed a 10-12 lb buck, took a good 20 minutes to land. Shortly after Lance caught 2 nice fish and Peter caught a 4th. I think all the action was over by 7. Lou and I fished down to the run below lower Sand Hole with no luck. After lunch at JBs we went to Pogonip for and hour or two. In a run hedged in by willows on both sides I managed to catch a 14" carp on shrimp, not as colorful as one I caught up in the mountains a couple of years ago, but better than nothing. Also saw a couple of large fish in the run, hopefully they were steelhead but weren't biting. We then went to the Garden of Eden with no luck, but saw a dead 33.5" (measured) buck washed up on the beach. Somebody should probably have used heavier tackle. We finished up at 4 rocks with Lou catching a 9 lb hen on shrimp at 6:15. There was a least 1 fish rolling before that. Also saw a large fish swimming around in the falls pool, but it wasn't biting. It was a nice day, but no fish for me.
Wow David - that's a LOT of rod to leave lying around! So I had three nice chrome fish last Wednesday but I could hardly get near the water this Friday for other anglers. Oh well, a great SLR season for me has ended and I certainly can't complain. Signing off till next year!
Doug, I don't think my dad and I can thank you enough about holding on to our rods. After my dad hooked A twelve pounder at lower rincon we weren't really thinking as straight as I like to. The make on the rods were two Sage xp six weights with one having an indicator and a floating line and the other having a clear sinking line. Thank you so much for picking up our rods and if you could give us a call at (650) 598-9181 so that we can contact you, that would be great.
Finished the season with a 7 pounder in the gorge at about 5:15. I spotted him drifting back and forth between a couple of small holding spots and nymphed him with a small egg fly. Saw him rise about a foot to take the fly and eat it. Spotted two other fish holding together in about 5 feet of water, but couldn't get them to eat anything I threw at them. Then it got dark and the lights and the season went out.
A father and son left their rods on top of their SUV tonight at the Rincon parking area. They drove off and the rods fell off. I waited a while, but they didn't come back. The dad has dark curly hair and the son has sort of dirty blond hair. I've talked to them before, but I don't remember their names. If any one knows them, please have them e-mail me. They definitely want these high-end rods and reels back!
Last day... decided to fish around the entrance to Henry Cowell this AM, mainly to avoid the crowds and to save time. (I also had not fished this stretch of water at all this year). Got 2 chrome hens, an 8 and a 10, both on hardware, and made it in to work by 10 AM... Only 3 other guys fishing in this section....
Had my best day ever. Two big fish. One (8-9 lb buck) broke off right at my feet after a serious battle. Second was a significantly larger hen. Got them both on #8 teeny nymphs.
fished pretty much all day in rincon area...hooked into and lost one good fish (10-12lbs). Talked to a few with success.
NOT related Anging. Sorry, my multi-post are an issue of my WINDOZE!!! system. Please ignore them.
Mike R, thanks for your correction. My friend told me that info we could fish on 28th/Feb, but it should be incorrect. I must go there tomorrow, I'll not be at my office. Good luck everyone!
Mike R, thanks for your correction. My friend told me that info we could fish on 28th/Feb, but it should be incorrect. I must go there tomorrow, I'll not be at my office. Good luck everyone!
Hey jb - you must be jeremy. Haven't seen you on the river this year. How has it gone so far? Mike
The river came up only a few CFS with the rain. Water is still low and clear though a little more 'stained' than on sat and sun. This afternoon I spent a couple hours with my son above 4-rock. Saw 3 large steelhead, including 2 in 'the thros'. Female looked fresh (10-12 pounds)and was building a redd in about 3 feet of water in a broad tailout above a rapid. Male was darker, maybe 12-14 pounds. PLEASE: there are many main-stem spawning fish and many others that are spent/ sitting on their redds. Let's ALL be careful about crossing the river in the tailouts. Watch for steelhead on their redds. Do NOT cast to them. Also watch for lighter colored gravel where the hen has cleared the stream bed. I saw a study that showed significant mortality (maybe greater than 50%) of eggs/alevin when redds were disturbed by walking on them. If we're careful we can protect our wild steelhead. I'd like to see DFG mark and cordone off redds. Don't know if that's feasible but at least education might work. Good luck tomorrow.
Mike R, thanks for your correction. My friend told me that info we could fish on 28th/Feb, but it should be incorrect. I must go there tomorrow, I'll not be at my office. Good luck everyone!
Mike R, thanks for your correction. My friend told me that info we could fish on 28th/Feb, but it should be incorrect. I must go there tomorrow, I'll not be at my office. Good luck everyone!
It did rain, but the water level didn't come up that much. The color looks good though. I'd say it looks like the last two days of the season should be good.
The accurate days to fish for steelhead on the SLR, Soquel Creek, Scotts creek,Aptos creek is as follows. From Nov. 15th through Feburary 28Th. Legal fish days are Sat, Sun, Wed, beginning and opening day no matter what day of the week they fall on and also legal holidays. C-mon now all you have to do is go get some fishing regs. I love it when you here the mythical folklore of what one guys version of the regs are and what they truely are. Hooked on Phonics.
I thought you can only fish SLR, Scott & Soquel on Wed., Sat. and Sundays! What is the deal with people fishing the other days in the week? Is this accurate?
I also need the current SLR info, Wed or Fri would be the last chance for me. I've had several strikes and hooked, but not caught, yet. THANKS.
I need help with river conditions. I'm trying to plan a strategic sick day this week. Any help would be appreciated.
Can anyone tell me how the San Lorenzo looks after the rain we just had? Will it be fishable Friday? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
Where is the Rain? The weather forcasters are full of bs.
The same goes fro Soquel and Scott. Friday Feb 28.
when is the last day to fish slr,scott, soquel, etc? thanks,
Closing day is Friday Feb. 28. Should be excellent with the incoming rains.
is wednesday the last day for SLR or is it over?
Got on the san lorenzo at about 7:30 am, fished the same spot I got my 4-5lber yesterday with no luck.Then I switched over and fished the hole from the other side which was tougher because the run is farther away and tougher to cast into. After a few cast I felt a hard tug and my bait stopped, definately was not a snag. A few minutes later I got it and Wow what a fight. Lucky for me there was a twelve year old kid there who was able to take a quick picture. 27-28 inch angry chrome buck. Water is still good in the bigger holes but it would be nice to get rain Monday for the last two fish days of the year.
Fished pretty hard today from 2pm till dark (now after 6pm). Lost a small fish, caught a second and (as has happened twice now this year) caught a nice fish (5-6 lbs) on the last cast in the near darkness. Fresh and really hot buck in great shape. I think the river is in good shape for fly fishing right now. I was using a black bunny leech on a #6 hook with some pink sparkle chenille tied off to make an egg head.
Got a 6-7 pounder at the Garden. Lost it right at my feet, when I tried to grab it, it's teeth cut the line. It was a beautiful,bright, hen. Saw another one caught about the same size a little more beat up.
Yesssss!, today was awesome ! I had started fishing on the SLR around 3:00pm. Fished for about an hour and had no luck. I had coverd about a half mile of water. I had came apon a beautiful section of the river. I had noticed alot of redds in the slow tail out section of a great hole. I had talked to another fisherman who had told me he had hooked into a 12 to maybe a fifteen pounder. He said he had fought and landed it in about 10 minutes after chasing it downstream. He had also said there were 3 to 4 more fish inthe same area where he hda caught his monster fish. It was unbeleivable. I saw the sillouettes of 3 to four monster steelhead sitting in about 2-3 feet of water at the end of the pool before the eddy. I had to pinch myself. I have never seen anything like it on the SLR. It was some thing out of a textbook you would read about where steelhead would hold in a big tailout section in slower moving water. I just sat there and watched in amazement. These fish were definately in the 12 to 15 pound class. I noticed each fish had some color to them, especially in the cheek area. I had started fishing for the steelhead that was closest to me. I had made my first cast a black wooly bugger size 6. landed my fly within 1 inch from his nose. No deal, he wouldnt budge. I then casted up strea and drifted it right in front of him he turned and grabbed it. Oh sh$&*^t. He was huge one quick pulse of his tail and he was airborn. and my fly was dislodged. Oh well, It definately got my pulse racing. Theres more... Another fisherman had came up and started fishing the same waters. he had made his second cast right up aginst the bank next to a log a quarter way through his retrieve of his lure , whaaammm he had fish on!! He had a beauty around 7 to 9 lbs. he fought it for about 5 minutes and he got it in. A hen with pink cheek color very nice specimen. Took a picture and let it go. What a day Steelhead guy was right. Yessss.
fished sat, paradise park water is still good in the bigger holes. Got a 24-25 incher on roe, good healthy fish. After I released him, my next pitch I had another on but didn't finish with setting the hook and lost him.
John, which river? Which part?
John, which river? Which part?
How about it steelhead guy? Me, had a nice time as it was a beautiful afternoon, but no strikes and I didn't even see any fish. Talked to a couple guys coming out who had also been blanked. This was all in the Rincon area.
I caught three fish today (5,8,12). Athough very clear and low water, the fish were still there and hitting. All on roe.
Hey its gonna be awesome fishing this weekend, just wanted to share my excitement. Anybody have any guesses where to go? I know where to go, but Im not gonna tell. Ive done some scouting and seen some healthy fish schooling together. Its on baby. Have fun fishing. S.G.
Steve - way to go. I zeroed out today in the Rincon area. River looked very good and there were not many people around.
FINALLY! I caught my first good fish of the season this morning in the gorge on roe. It was a 28"+ hatchery buck that was very fresh (still had what I think were sea lice on it). Barely hooked him in the lower lip and he had plenty of power left when I released him.
Anyone been up to Scott creek lately. What are the conditions? Any Fish?
Fished Rincon area this morning....a few juveniles but no adult fish. Water looked pretty good.
Fished the Rincon area for 2 hours this morning in the rain. No hits for me or for any of the anglers that I met (it was medium busy, around 8 vehicles in the parking lot). The water is still fairly low but also more stained. No sign of any new fish moving in with only a week or so left.
SLR was a muddy mess in the Gorge Monday. Anyone been down to take a look today? Seemed way too muddy for the amount of rain in the last storm. I heard a rumor that there was a large mud slide upstream, can anyone confirm?
Fished Rincon area this morning, no takes. Water if off color, 1' vis., but good flow. Soquel looked good though.
the SLR was in good shape today, good color, OK flow. On my first cast this afternoon I caught a nice egg eater (egg-sucking wooly bugger) and that was it for the day. Most people I talked to in the Rincon area reported a slow day.
It was pretty nice in the gorge today. Got one 10lb wild buck, it was in good shape. Tried to get a picture but couldn't get my timer to work. Unfortunately there wasn't anyone else around to help out.
anyone got a report on the san lorenzo??? blown out or fishable this weekend??? monday is a holiday -- i hope to be out there testing my new egg sucking leeches...
Did the recent bit of rain bring in a new push of fish to the SLR? Anyone have any speculation on this? Thanks, Mark
Someone pissed on the gaging station sensor (:
In the last 24 hours, the cfs's went from 70 to 180 and back down to 70 again. Is that correct? What causes this? Thanks.
Wednesday morning was very nice on the river. Light rain, little color coming back, no obvious flow change. Saw two egg eaters caught, caught one myself and that was it.
Steelhead life histories are indeed remarkable and varied and Life histories vary widely across their range. However, I'd like to take issue with (and add) a couple things. First, steelhead can spawn repeatedly but it is NOT 'common'. A well known long-term study done on Waddell found that only approx. 15-20% of spawners were repeat spawning fish (similar findings on the sac and other rivers). Females make up a large proportion of these repeat spawners. Seems males rarely spawn more than once as they are in the river longer and service multiple females. Mick: I think you were right to feed rather than fish for those kelts. With a fairly low survival rate they are pretty vulnerable. Interestingly, repeat spawning fish are on average much smaller than first-spawners in their age class. A study on the Sac. found that a female spawning for the 6th time (this is, i beleive, the most number of spawnings documented) weighed only 13 pounds. On Waddell a 7 year old female spawning for the 4th time weighed only 12 pounds. First spawning 4-year olds averaged 27 inches while 4-year old repeat spawners averaged 24 inches and were 3 pounds lighter. Those large (16 to 20 pounds) fish are probably fish that have lived in freshwater for 3 or 4 years followed by 3 or 4 years in the ocean and are spawning for the first time. The 8 to 10 pounders that do spawn again will probably only be a couple pounds heavier next year.
Unlike salmon, steelhead commonly spawn more than once, and fish over 28 inches are almost always repeat spawners. The ragged and spent spawners move slowly downstream to the sea, and the spawning, rainbow colors of spring return to a bright silvery hue. Lost fats are restored and adults again visit the feeding regions of their first ocean migration. On rare occasions a fish will return to the stream within a few months, but most repeat spawners spend at least one winter in the sea between spawning migrations.If all steelhead left the stream at the same age, returned after the same length of time in the ocean, and died after spawning, the adults in a given stream would be of similar age. They don’t. Add to this the complications of summer run, spring run, and fall run fish spawning at the same time and in the same stream, and you have a rather complicated situation. Perhaps nature has conspired to make steelhead life history complicated so that a harsh flood, winter, or drought does not destroy all of a given population.
Ron, these were all big fish, 8 to 14 lbs. I went back on Sunday with some prawns. A couple of guys were fishing at that spot and had hooked up twice. I was just there to have fun feeding these guys, I thought some saltwater cuisine might give them the desire to head out to the ocean. Unfortunately they were all pretty spooked. I tossed about 20 prawns around the area that they were in but they just avoided everything. I went back down on Monday, all the prawns were gone and so were all the fish! When these fish come back next year they'll be absolutely huge, probably in the 12 to 20 range...
Hey Mick how big were these 15 fish? Are we talking all heffers or was it a mixed school? Either way, what a nice coincidence that must have been. . .
Fished Saturday AM, mainly trying to find some lures I lost in this nice clear water. Heard a splash, thought maybe it was a duck but there were no ducks around? Walked down and couldn't believe what I saw, 15 fish schooling around in a spot all of us would normally just walk past. Flipped a big spoon out in the middle of them and they just tripped over themselves trying to get it! The fish were all downstream fish, some in better shape than others, the first fish was pretty tired. I left em alone and on my way back I thought I would try to catch one of the larger, fresher fish. As my spoon came across in front of these fish they showed a small interest, but some fish I couldn't see came from the opposite direction at full speed, ripped my spoon from my sight, just about took the rod right out of my hand, tore up the entrire hole, went acrobatic several times and then wrapped me around a stick and broke me off... I laughed a bit and decided to go up above Felton where I hooked two more downstream fish, a 10 and a 3. As much fun as this all was, I'm ready for rain & fresh fish in all the usual places.
I learned some lessons this weekend. Saturday fished for 4 hours with not a strike. Saw one fish that was spooked when I stepped into the rocky run between Wall and Lower Sand. I ALMOST decided to skip Sunday, but it was so nice I headed out about 3:30pm. Fishing my favorite hole for about 15 minutes and was just about to move on when up out of the green rose a big fish. I made an awkward roll cast upstream (awkward as I was trying to not move). Black bunny leech drifted down just right, I gave it a twitch, the fish turned, flick its tail, opened its mouth and was on! I was thinking I had set the hook too soon, and after the first run I reset it and the fly popped off. Bummer. Cast a few more times, then headed up river, and had zero luck. On the way back out I figured to check the original hole again. There is the same fish, in the same spot (it had a big white spot on its tail). On my hands and knees I snuck up and drifted everything in my fly box past his nose. Every color of bunny leech, Teeny nymphs, egg patterns -- zero interest from the fish. Just before dark it sank back out of sight. I decided to make one more cast with aSkykomish Sunrise. Now I was standing up. Tossed ths fly upstream, as it started to swing I stripped it in smartly, there was a commotion and THREE big fish were racing behind the fly! I made a startled motion and they all stopped in their tracks then flashed away. Whoa! If I was not so inept, I could have had a two fish day. I'm sure most of you are thinking `I'm not buying this', but there it is. I think these flow levels and the clarity of the water are very good for flies. You have better control of where you fish in the water column and vision may play a bigger role.
tarponhead, I agree, the steelhead I caught last weekend on SLR was way behind a rock in a real slow little eddy, I just cast back there to start my drift with F7, real strange.
Fished from 6 to 6 on Saturday with nothing to show for it. Saw three steelhead. One about 16" to 18" that was holding in a very unusual place for a trout and especially for a steelhead. Off to the side, behind a rock with an eddy, and in slow water. Very strange. Then I saw a 7 to 8 lb fish swim out through a deep pool to the tailout area and then swim under a huge boulder where there didn't seem to be much current. This was not typical steelhead behavior! My guess is that all the angler traffic has driven this fish into hiding in the deepest pools and under obstacles even when they don't have the preferred current speed and depth. Also spotted another large steelhead swimming in slow water toward deeper water. It had some sort of injury on its dorsal.
Fished SLR again today with one steely landed. It was only about 21" and about 3 pounds. I saw the fish first thing in the morning and came back later and he was still there and I got him on a spinner.
Lou and I Fished the SLR today from 6:30 - 1:30, from 4 Rocks down thru Rincon. Skunked. Water is low and very clear. After being near freezing in the morning it turned out to be a nice day. Used my 9 wt fly rod this time. Tried green & purple egg sucking leaches, an orange comet, an orange wooly bugger type thing, green butt skunks, a large prince nymph, glo-bugs, an orange stimulator and for kicks a mouse! No bites, nothing. Lou picked up an 8" fish on bait at 4 rocks.
Fished this morning at SLR with two hook ups. I hooked both of them below 4 rocks. One was about 3 lbs and the other was a 6-8 lb buck. They hit first thing in the morning, nothing after that.
I agree with mick. I never claimed to be a local pro. Just a proud born and raised local. I've fished a lot of rivers from B.C. down to the SLR and in my experience the locals always know the river the best. And know wich techniques work best for certin conditions. And know where the fish tend to hold year after year. I've got your local love hangin' buddy !! I'm not trying to bug or piss anyone off, but "LOCALS DO KNOW ". Wherever I go to fish a new or different river, I respect the locals. And listen and try to learn from them. W
I agree with mick. I never claimed to be a local pro. Just a proud born and raised local. I've fished a lot of rivers from B.C. down to the SLR and in my experience the locals always know the river the best. And know wich techniques work best for certin conditions. And know where the fish tend to hold year after year. I've got your local love hangin' buddy !! I'm not trying to bug or piss anyone off, but "LOCALS DO KNOW ". Wherever I go to fish a new or different river, I respect the locals. And listen and try to learn from them. W
---No Fishing Report in this Post--- I don't consider myself a 'local pro', just a local. This board gets like this when the fishing gets slow. For those who just started fishing the SLR in the past couple years please be patient with us locals. I've seen the F&G Warden in Henry Cowell more this year than the last 25 years combined! Which means in the last 25 years most of the regulations were enforced via peer pressure, (it's a hard habit to break). Like this one time a guy foul hooked a nice hen at 4 rocks and then thought about keeping it! My friend and I stood there and explained that foul hooked fish must be release. He and his two friend somewhat brushed us off, 'sure we'll release it'. So we stood their and my friend offered to help recessitate/release this fish. We all looked at each other, we were out numbered and they were way out sized! There was some teeth grinding and the fish went on it's way, and so did we...
It used to be nice to hear what people had to say about their experiences, but lately between "Mr. Local" (who I like to show some "local love") and people worried about "discovering" the SLR, like this river just popped up out of no where, it has become a soap opera. A wise 7 year once told me "Shut up and Fish!!!" This applies to a few of these "Local Pros." Thanks to the rest of you that are below the pedastal for posting good stuff.
Thanks for pointing that out Lou. Maybe we should all consider reporting only dismal results and bad fishing :-) I'm sure that a lot of anglers "discover" the SLR via this board.
Yo FG, you think that the stuff going on this board about the great fishing on the SLR is more private than that other board? Get a clue.
Wardens have the discretion when issuing citations. If one chose not to cite, that still doesn't mean it's legal. I spoke with a warden a few weeks ago, and we happened across the subject when he gave me a warning for the net I'd left in my trunk ("100yds from any stream"). Pretty clear to me. Maybe it's that next person who will see a net and think it's okay to bring any type. BTW - those who fish the SLR know it gets plenty of pressure... posting pics to the fishsniffer? http://fishsniffer.com/photos/braggin18.html ...Great fish, but it bummed me out.
Mike, in my opinion catching these fish amounts to serious work. I for one like to look at them closely for a few seconds before I release them. In particular I like to know hen or buck, length, color, wild or hatchery etc... In the case of a really nice fish I might even snap a quick picture.
For one thing, it is nice that this board has been free of the `locals know' kind of stuff. Be good to go back to that. On the topic of nets/beaching etc., this season I've been getting the fish in close then giving them a pile of slack. In almost all cases, the fish freed themselves in a second.
When the regs, state>> No person shall use or possess any landing gear, nets, gaffs or other devices unlawful to use, in or within 100 yards of any stream. In the counties I listed on my previous post. It seems super clear to me. As far as locals ( SANTA CRUZ COUNTY RESIDENTS) breaking the rules. I know for a fact some do. But I've never seen locals using landing nets. If a warden see's you with a net on a local stream, you should get cited for it. Unless the warden gives you a break for some reason.
Actually 2.09 is NOT clear or we wouldn't be having this discussion. Different wardens seem to interpret the rules differently. As to the locals never breaking the rules well that has to be a joke.
Landing nets have not been allowed within 100 yards of any stream in Menocino, monterey, san luis obispo, san mateo, santa clara, santa cruz and sonoma counties for quite some time now. The rules are clearly stated on pg. 10 of 2002 regs. booklet. Section 2.09>>Possesion of illegal gear. REAL LOCALS have known this for years.. New comers and out of towners seem to be the ones breaking the rules. I suggest carefuly reading the first 25 pages of the regs. Or reading it from cover to cover. There is no excuse to not know all of the rules. I'm glad the wardens are enforcing these rules. Don't be stupid---read the regs. before you go out breaking the rules.
Mick, that sounds like the same guy to me. Well I do want to play it safe and follow the rules so I'll be leaving my net at home next time in case he has changed his mind on the topic (it's really the fish that I feel sorry for though). I was trying to use it whenever I could but to be absolutely honest I was pretty much forced into beaching my last two big fish (the 8lb and 9lb ones) because of the particular layout of the pool and the circumstances that I was in at the time. I was then able to hold them in the water using the net while I gently unhooked them. I've also used the landing net on all of my smaller steelies recently and I'm sure that they are much better off now for it. The first question that I'll be asking the warden next time that I see him will be to clarify this issue once and for all. If anyone else beats me to it please post what he says.
This warden was younger, kinda husky, clean shaven, crew cut. The guys told me that he pulled out the reg book and showed them where it said somehting to the effect that no landing nets were permitted on any streams in Santa Cruz County? I haven't looked it up...
That's weird. Never used to take mine with me until quite recently. Couple of months ago I asked the new warden what the rule on nets really was and he told me that a catch n' release trout net was "fine by him". Since then he has checked my gear twice while I was obviously carrying my little net - no problems. Mind you he might be pissed at someone he finds that is fishing barbed (and presumably taking fish since if you are breaking one rule you are likely breaking the others too). I like having my small net as it helps me handle and release the fish more gently. Dragging the fish up a beach or over rocks has to be much worse. Getting an adult steelie sooo tired that you can put your hand in its mouth and unhook it in the water without hooking yourself in the process also has to be a lot worse than using a soft net.
With the San Lo being so low I was thinking about taking my canoe to Lexington Reservoir. Anyone know if there are any holdover or native trout in there?
Fished yesterday afternoon in Rincon. Nothin for me but I spoke with a few guys that hooked a few. Sounded like the same fish we hooked last Sunday... Last Sunday I spoke with a couple of bummed anglers, they had both just received citations for barbed hooks on their flys, and one of them received an additional citation for his trout sized landing net!...(That's a BAD day of fishin' in my book)
low clear spotted 12 fish total saw one caught I bounced stuff of 3 fish for sure...not a fish. work on your home stuff till it rains.
I fished Uvas on wednesday. The water is perfect color right now and it has finally cleared up. I hooked and lost two really nice steelies in the same hole. Must have been a buck and hen. Got them on blue fox #4 spinners. Hooking two fish in one day is really uncommon for that creek. I've fished it all last season with only one hooked and one landed and this season hooked two landed 0. Hopefully i can run into some fish this weekend.
Sunday at lower sands hole. 20 seconds of fishing on my third cast 10lb buck. k5 in chrome. fished upper sands and then down to the rock wall with nothing else, didn't matter after the first fish..
Fished the upper gorge and got a 7 pounder on a small egg. Spotted the fish and worked him a while, switching colors until he took. Dark buck with no fight at all. Didn't hook or see any other fish. The water was very low and much slower. Lost a lot of flies on the bottom.
Fished Rincon area this morning...lost one 3lbr on a black egg sucking leech. Talked to a guy that landed an 8 lbr on roe. Overall, pretty tough with low water.
To answer all of those who have written to me asking about the leech pattern that I used this morning here is a good link: http://shop.flyfishing.about.com/fly_archive/details/174.htm These leeches are dead easy to tie - I was able to tie about 6 of these in just over half an hour.
I also was on the river in the Rincon area this morning from 6:30am to 10am But did not raise a strike. It was really nice down there today. You can now just about see to the bottom of Wall hole.
Nice catch flytier. Can't wait to see the pic! For all of you interested in recent reports, techiniques other than local steelhead reports, come check out this ALL NEW forum www.anglernet.net You can also post pics there. Keep posting local steelie reports here, as I don't think any of our local rivers need the publicity. Thanks again & watch that line on the drift!! www.anglernet.net
Fished a rocky area above Rincon for a couple of hours this morning. Caught an almost silver 28" steelie (~8lbs) on a black bead-head bunny leech that I had drifted through a dark slot in some slow tailout water. This was a nice wild fish that leapt and fought like the very devil. Thanks to another angler I should have a good picture of it and I will try to post a link to the photo later. I also lost one other good fish that was probably around the 5lbs mark. The water is getting lower and colder now.
Those white marks are more than likely scars from a Sealion.. The lions wait around the mouth and lower lagoon, and try to snap up as many steelies as they can. The steelie you saw narrowly escaped the jaws of a hungry sealion. And got raked on both sides, from those sharp sealion teeth..
A friend an I saw a large (28-32) inch steelhead up at gold gulch today, just looking not fishing. It had all these strong white marks about 2-4 inches wide across both sides. Anyone have any idea what that is from?
A friend an I saw a large (28-32) inch steelhead up at gold gulch today, just looking not fishing. It had all these strong white marks about 2-4 inches wide across both sides. Anyone have any idea what that is from?
February 28th - only 3 weekends left. If we get a major storm now it will probably trash at least one of those.
anyone know when the last day of steelhead season is on the slr... it's february and i feel like we have limited time left... thanx...
Thanks mick. I suspect (from what I have heard about this weekend--alas I was out of town) that refraining from posting might be a good idea. Incidentally I STILL have not heard of any fresh fish in the lagoon and environs. Action seems to be in the gorge. Last USGS reading put flow at 87 cfs in the gorge and 80 cfs in scruz. Considering the meager trickle found on opening day was 46 cfs I should say we need rain.
Thought I'd give ol Corralitos Creek a try. Don't bother, dry as a bone. should have checked conditions sooner. So I went down to Uvas creek off of highway 25 & one of those back roads. Anyway, fished for 3 hours in one spot (access was limited) with no luck. 5 minutes later hooked up on my 1st steelie on uvas, ever. Wasn't big, about 4 lbs, but still fun. He came off as I was trying to handle him to release the barbless hook. Oh well, he was going back anyway. If you guys ever want to talk fishing other than steelhead, go here. Very well organized fishing forum in the works. http://www.anglernet.net/forums/
With directions from Ron I made my way to Scott creek, beautiful and clear but did not see any fish, only a few holes to work. On sunday I hit the SL and fished alot of water from wall hole all the way up to where river pinches between 2 big rock faces with deep pool. finally got a good fish, tossed F7 behind a rock and the steelie just hammered it on the surface, it was just begining to sink. It was more like a bass hit. good fight and released healthy, estimate between 24in and 26in and maybe 8lbs or so, it was pretty girthy. Got one other report of 10lbr on flatfish in hole above wall hole.
On Feb. 1 I hooked and landed yet another steelhead buck that weighed 8 pounds or so (sorry Mr. Skeptical but it happened again). The water is very clear now, and he was suspended behind rock and came out from behind it and engulfed my lure before my eyes a few feet away. Talk about impressive visual effects. I'm still shaken up with white and silvery flash backs. Hook up was in vicniity of the upper gorge, where everyone thought no fish would be Saturday with low flow so they all followed eachother's cars to the Rincon parking lot. I didn't see or hear of any other hook ups.
Hmmm... Should I post my experience this afternoon or just go along with fishgeeks theory? Yea I think fishgeek must be right, we should probably all stay home until we get some more rain... Water is Ultra Clear and flow is 118 cfs, about 3X what we had on opening day...
I was in Hawaii Wednesday/Thursday and Friday this week and scheduled to stay Friday night returning today Saturday. But, who would want to hang around in Hawaii on a SLR fish day? So, I made excuses, left my meeting early Friday afternoon and came home. Glad I did, in 2 hours this afternoon caught a 16" and 20" fish, lost another around 20" then, just before dark hooked up with a nice 28" hatchery buck. and after about 5 minutes had it to shore. Caught them all on the same black bunny leech. My best day on the SLR in the 5 years I've been fishing it.
Ron, Tier and others: While in theory fish may enter with out a freshet to coax them in I can tell you from experience (being local and checking all my fish viewing 'spots' in the lagoon and up almost daily) there are few, if any, fish coming in. I say from experience, not that they are not, but rather from what I have seen they are not. I am told by longtime locals that when there is a good flow fish will not hang around in the lagoon but will go as far as they can upstream in a matter of hours (often well past the hwy 1 bridge). As we don't have a good flow right now one might expect to see quite a few fish in the lagoon and environs. I have not. In the klamath and other rivers up north fish come in on every tide. With less than 100 cfs of flow here I'd be surprised. It also explains to some extent why we don't have a reall summer run.
Itaws: When you drive north on HWY 1 from SC to Davenport, take the Swanton Road exit, which will take you along Scotts until you reach the bridge over Big Creek. Not many tourists in those parts, so enjoy!
does anyone have a good starting spot on Scott creek, not looking for secret spot, just a tourist spot where i can get started. The good news is I won't be on the SL if I can find out where to start on the scott, haha! thanks.
Hi there, I was recently fishing Scotts creek last Wednesday around 4:00 pm when i saw the sillouette of the biggest steelhead I have ever seen in Santa Cruz County. I took in to consideration that the water would magnify the fish. I moved carefully closer trying to get a better look at Moby Steelhead, I then noticed it was not a steelhead at all but a coho or some other type of salmon. It had the hoooked lower jaw and alot more girth around its midsection, I am no expert at seeing a salmon and nowing exactly what kind it is especially that far away. I watched the salmon move erraticly up the tide water marsh. I was blown away. it seemed so out of place. I would guess this fish was approx. 34" to 40" long and I would guess 20 to 25 lbs. Again this was a healthy buck. I did not cast to it, I just enjoyed the view.
Sorry Steve. I now have a short but relavant story until someone catches a fish. A few years ago as a college student I had the opportunity to watch numerous fall run chinook enter the mouth of the Klamath right around high tide. Before high tide, though, it was just a bunch of seals and anglers staring silently into space and the pacific. But the minute the high tide was right and faint silver streaks could be seen, the scenery quickly changed. Big fish in the 12 to 25 pound size started moving through the narrow mouth in schools of 10 to 15 fish at once following a surge in the new high tide. The water is crystal clear in August and there were chunky seals all over the place, suddenly diving into the drink and fishing and chewing wobbly salmon. Sometimes a salmon would escape a seal's reach by millimeters and sometimes not. And the view from the bank near the surf was good, as good as standing in front of an aquarium the size of a football field, except you weren't. You were in it. The indians were there in full force with dips nets, and at the time fishing was permitted, strictly catch and release. All in all it was a kind of zoo with fish going this way and that, not just upstream anymore. I'm also telling this story because someone strange standing on the bank with rod was actually sporting an "Ernies Casting Pond" hat, and it wasn't me. Let's just say it topped off his angler's outfit quite nice. I'm sure this personage had also seen his share of days at Four Rocks? Anyway, it was like being in Alaska--with one surge of the tide the river was suddenly filled to the brim with big chrome salmon, and every now and then a 30 pounder would cruise tight through the bottom of the channel and disappear upstream past all the commotion only to find itself in the still mesh of a net. And after the tide finally did around, well, the silver streaks stopped showing and everything shut off, and then things fell silent again. I never did make out who was wearing Ernie's store hat.
What's this? I ask a brilliant question and no one answers. Then tarponhead repeats the questions and the fishery biologists come out of the woodwork. What, am I chopped liver here? Haha. Just kidding. Thanks for the info guys. Later.
Ron, nice post. The only problem is that there will now be about 50 people at 4 rocks this weekend (hopefully I'm wrong about this) :-)
I was once a student at HSU and picked up some very basic fish knowledge through their fisheries program. I definetly don't claim to be an expert also. Anyway, the way I understand it is when it's low flow fish will continue to enter the stream as long as the mouth stays open and they can cross the bar, with the help of a nice high tide of course. Once they slide over the bar into the estuary and acclimate, their upstream movement is limited by the exposed low flow migration barriers that are otherwise nonexistent at higher flows. Upstream migration in some pools require fish to build enough speed to clear a barrier, like a log jam, or long gravel bars, or actually having to leap a foot or two in some cases, like around the Four Rocks area (that's what makes Four Rocks a nice pot shot hole for the lazies). Without enough water to build speed and move up, no migration happens, at least to the upper reaches on spawning grounds. This pretty much sucks for everyone, not just the fish. Under an extended low flow period, the estuaries and lower sections are holding the fish. It's usually where the freshest ones are stuck as far as they can go and are awaiting the next storm basically. And the fish already in the system of course continue to get drilled on, like at Four Rocks, where you hear 3 to 4 fish being caught within the same hour of the same morning, by the guy standing next to another guy, standing next to his uncle and his nephew, who is usually standing next to the bait cooler, which his wife is sitting on.
There may be a few entering on very high tides but the mouth at low tide this week looks more like a tidal flat than a river mouth. I think most of the fish are congregating around the mouth and waiting for the river to rise (i.e. freshwater to flow into the bay. I think this is their cue). At any rate I have not seen any fish down in the lagoon and i look almost every day. We need rain.
Tarponhead, it's my understanding that they enter and move up the river as long as the water level is high enough for them regardless of whether it is still raining or not. Since the water level is still high enough to let them move up the river (ie. compared to summer levels) I think that some fresh fish are probably still arriving.
A few days ago Steve asked a question about whether fresh fish are entering the SLR in the absense of any rain or freshet. Anybody have any knowledge about that? Thanks
Fished the the garden area for a short 2 hour stint this morning. I was Pepe Le Peu'd this time around apart from one smolt. I heard of only one fish being caught upstream from me despite there being a lot of other anglers around. Temperatures seem to be dropping now and the water, although clear looked like it was a little darker than it did on Sunday.
Fished lower Rubicon this morning and landed a beauty 11 lb. buck...lost a 4 lbr earlier. Both on an egg sucking leech I picked up at Ernies. Water low and clear. Thanks to the guy that tried to take a picture of me with the buck...no luck, dead batteries.
Yo Mr. Skep... It is strange but true that our little river produces BIG steelies! I helped land Ron's fish the other day and it was a solid 28". All the fish I saw or heard of landed that day were the same size or larger. Last year, I caught 6 fish that ranged from 26 to 31 inches. One factor could be that Ron and I fish F-7's. Just a guess: maybe the large lure catches large fish. Later.
Average less than 3 1/2 pounds? Huh??? Really? I would have guessed the average is somewhere between 5 and 6 pounds. I have heard of a few fish in the 12+ pound classes (and some 15+). The Shapovalov and Taft study of waddell creek steelhead found first spawners made up approx 85% of the population. Repeat spawners made up the rest. Close to 30% were of the 2/2 class averaging 27 inches (7 to 9 pounds?). Approx. 50% of the fish were returning to spawn after only 1 year (or less) in the salt but they average 18 inches for 2 fresh/ 1 salt and 22 1/2 inches for 3 fresh/ 1 salt (so around 3 - 3 1/2 pounds). These figures are apparently pretty consistent for smaller southern streams. So maybe the median size is around 3.5 pounds but 1 salt steelhead don't get too much smaller than 16-18 inches while there are more than a few fish that approach 12 to 15 pounds. Seems it would drive the average up (though my average this year is around 3 pounds. Hmmm.........).
Jealousy, it's an ugly thing. 2 years ago, my avg. was also in the 7 lb range. Don't see what's so hard to believe about that. See ya on the river tomorrow. Should be good for some sight fishing, my favorite.
Ron your average fish size is just over 7lbs according to your posts. How do you account for that when the average San Lorenzo stealhead is less than half that size? Get your scales checked dude.
I was able to hook into one of thoses big bucks Sunday night while everyone else was watching the Superbowl. 4:30-4:45. Pink yarn, a very small pink corkie, very small amount of natural roe, and no weight. Threw everything else in the bag at him for an hour before I got him to hit. Also not an advertisment, and not trying to infringe on Ernies roe sales, but I've used salmonroe.net as well. Jack sends out a nice product. Oh yeah, I caught a small buck on the Big Sur sunday morning also:-)
roe- ernies usually stocks fresh roe or if you live out of area i have had good results from salmonroe.net, call jack, he is in stockton and will UPS fresh roe. not an advertisment, just passing on what worked for me. thanks.
roe- ernies usually stocks fresh roe or if you live out of area i have had good results from salmonroe.net, call jack, he is in stockton and will UPS fresh roe. not an advertisment, just passing on what worked for me. thanks.
Snoop Dog's got it right, those fish rolling around are some of the most tight jawed steelys on the planet. On rare occasion I've seen them hit a lure very late in the day, typically after 4:30. I noticed a couple of 'redds' in the tailout of the Big Rock last weekend so we should all be aware of where we're crossing the river, it's not good to walk on these nests.
Hey, I have the answer on how to catch those large bucs rolling at the tailout of a pool. A shotgun and sum 00 buck shot. Ha ha get it buck shot. sorry jus kidding. Any ways you will not catch them because thier sparring to mate with a hen steelhead. You need to find yourself a good book on steelhead behavior.
Mike, I've heard that shotguns work on those fish :-)
Steve: I've seen some really creative baits being used this season to catch steelhead on the SLR, especially use of Berkeley Power Baits. I recently bought a packet of Berkeley Power Roe in Shrimp flavor to use this weekend. Probably not as "real" as the vacum packed stuff with shelf life of one million years, but I'll experiement and let you know. I'd like to actually get my hands on some fresh roe, it's just that it costs so much and all.
Couple of questions... with the SLR at 130 cfs and dropping, are steelies moving into the system with high tides? Looks like little to no rain for next 1 1/2 weeks. Also, the only roe I can find in my area (Livermore) is the vacuum-packed-off-the-shelf stuff. Is that any good or does it work as bad as it looks? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thanks.sc.
I agree with Flytier--I think these stealhead ignore flies most of the time in the river. It's just not obvious to a flyfisherman even if he actually sees the fish doing it.
Mike, I think most of the steelhead in the river (or any river for that matter) are ingnoring your fly/lure/bait most of the time. It's just not as obvious as it is when you can actually see the fish ignoring it. That's my "take" :-)
What is with those big fish rolling in the tailouts of holes? I've seen them every year, drifted dozens of different flies past them, charged big leeches, bright attractors, you name it past their noses and have never had any interest shown. Has anyone every targeted a roller and gotten it to strike?
Fished sat AM from Rincon down about a mile, at sunrise a big steelie started rolling in a deep hole, approx, 10lbs. saw 3 or 4 others similar size fighting and chasing each other around, mostly dark fish, possibly downstreamers. Hit them with roe, spinners, spoons, and F7, couldn't get them to take and practically bounced everything off their noses. water is very clear!!
I hooked and released an 8 pound buck on 1/25 in the Gorge, about three major pools below the water marker. Mason, whom I spoke with and sorta fished with that morning through the gorge, hooked and landed two fish, one about 8 and the other 10lbs. I saw that same 15lb+ steelhead Steve saw get caught. Man was that fish gigantic!
Fished from Rincon up to the Garden of Eden today. Caught two nice steelies (both were bucks with pink cheeks and pink stripes) at 18" and 20" (ie. just under and just over 3lbs) on black beadhead Teeny leeches. Lost 3 or 4 others.
two more fish Sunday afternoon, a little guy and one around 18" and maybe a couple of pounds. You can now see to the bottom of most of the holes (still some green water in Wall and the deepest part of Rincon). Perhap because of the SUper Bowl, the river was deserted.
Fished for awhile on Saturday afternoon. Caught 4 small fish (9" - 16") on an egg-sucking leech and, on the last cast of the day in the dark hooked up with my first big fish of the season in the tailout of Rincon Hole. Made a hard run up stream, turned around and came right at me. Couldn't keep up and when I got all the slack in, the fish was off. What a rush.
Fished the SLR today, 1/25, along with Lou and Karl. Started at 4 Rocks, hooked and lost a ~5 lb fish on shrimp with a green puff ball, using my new spool of Cabela's Ripcord line (smoke color). Another guy landed an 8 lb fish on a glo-bug. Lou and I went upstream as far as Square Hole without any luck. Spoke to a guy at Tunnel Hole who said he and his buddy had each caught two 8-12 lb fish, also said he'd been fishing below Boulder Creek this year with good luck. Lou and I went back to 4 Rocks, picked up Karl and worked our way down to Lower Sand Hole. Nothing, just a couple of 10-12" fish. Water was low and very clear (4-5 ft).
Fished the gorge this morning from the water marker down to upper sand. Water is low and clear with just a slight green tint. Saw 4 nice ones landed in the 8lb. range (one had to be in the 15lb. range; approx. 35" and fat) and heard of several more. Still seams slow compared to last year but definitely big fish in the river. Roe and flatfish.
I've been fishing sizes 8 and 10 - mainly to be able to use my Tiemco 7999's which don't come any smaller than a 10. I'm not sure if bigger or smaller might work even better - you'll need to ask the steelie's that :-)
Hey, I hooked into a fish last weekend at Bargettos that was aprox. 30 to 36" long it snapped my leader off as it ran out of the hole. Oh well live and learn. I had fished that hole for a good 20 minutes. I guess next time i will use a stronger leader.
HELLO THERE,HAS ANYBODY BEEN FISHING ON THE SOQUEL CREEK. I TRIED LAST WEEKEND AND THE SKUNK HAD ATTACKED ME. SO HERE I AM LICKING MY WOUNDS WONDERING IF ANYONE OUT THERE IS CATCHING FISH. WHERE AND WHEN? THANKS
What size nymphs and leeches are working best?
I am probably going to get flamed for three posts in a row but here is a good steelheading article "Deep Water Steelhead" by Jim too: http://www.flyfield.com/deepsteel.htm NO I AM NOT GETTING COMMISSION FOR THIS.
Ooops.. I forgot to add his site: http://www.jimteeny.com/catalog.html
Kerry, they are a pretty easy tie. Jim Teeny sells a video so you might consider renting or buying that (also, he'll probably be selling them at the show next week). Here is a web link that shows the basic Teeny nymph technique slightly modified for a trout fly: http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/beginners/part7.html and if you just modify that approach slightly to make it look like the ones in these pictures then you are basically there: http://www.flyfishusa.com/flies/02-teeny-nymph.htm I have been having very good luck with the brown and black both with and without gold beads. Also, I spent some time talking to Jim Teeny at the show last year and he really helped me on my way to catching steelies (although he uses a different technique from me). He's a good guy and a real expert fly fisherman and steelheader so consider buying something from him while you are picking his brains too :-)
Flytier, how do you tie that teeny leech and that teeny nymph? They both seem to be really producing. Have you had any luck using stoneflies or big pheasant tails or hairs ears? Thanks A Lot! -Kerry Burns
Got skunked Wednesday. My partner saw a nice fish show some interest in his lure in the Wall hole. Another angler pulled a scale of a nice fish in the Rincon hole. Niether of these fish were seen again, seems like they wer just holding tight Wednesday... Hook Regs, all must be barbless, 1/2" max from point to shank on trebles, 5/8" max on singles (San Lorenzo River ONLY, check the regs for the other streams).
Any one been fishin the soquel creek? flies? holes? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanx
Question: What kind of hooks are used to fish F7 flat fish? Are there restrictions on hook size in the San Lorenzo? Must treble hooks be removed? Thanks to who ever answers my question.
Fished the upper Gorge yesterday from 3 to 6, caught a 10" right off the start. About 4:30 hooked a large fish but broke me off on the first run. Hate to say it, but the leader came back with a little pig tail--I tied a poor knot and it broke the fluocarbon. Really stupid. Got the hookup on a small red egg fly. Fun while it lasted--about 3 seconds. Water was perfect.
If anyone is interested here is a nice picture of the fish I caught on Monday: http://www.accesscom.com/~mutex/gif/Fish/steelie.jpg
I went fishing this afternoon near Soquel Ele on the Soquel R. I wasn't expecting even a ten incher. I tied a spin-n-glow and waded in.... first few cast were horrible but then i got back in the swing of things. Walk down the river thinking that I was lucky to be on the river thinking of those stuck in a cubicle dreaming of the river . I cast into a pool unknown to me ... a couple casts later i get nailed. It at first feels like a little guy but then the fight begins. finally after a short but good fight I land him. A 22.5" buck as ernie says 'about five and a half pounds' I should alwasy bring a camera with me. The conditions are great... GO FISHING!!!!!!!!!
Fished every hole, slot and tailout from the water marker down to below the garden this morning and couldn't shake the skunk. The water is pretty low and clear- just a little green tint is all. Fished F-7's in camo (frog) and also chrome. Only saw 4 other fishermen the whole time.
A buddy and I fish a couple hours this morning and landed a couple of 30 inch bucks, one wild and one hatchery on our 8wt's. Was wondering if a hatchery fish this large is very common in the SLR?
Fished the Rincon area for 2 hours this morning. Saw a guy leaving hurriedly with a sack full of Steelhead and a shotgun. Snoop dog was that you? (Just kidding folks). But seriously, Pepe Le Peu was following me around and I only hooked and lost one fish for my 2 hours of work. The river level is near perfect but the water is becoming browner with the rain.
Geoff, I'm a believer. I think that lot's of flexibility just wears them down faster and also prevents breakoffs. I think that it is something of a myth that you need to have a stiff rod. However there has to be a happy medium because I think that far too much give can be a bit like fishing with a hand-line. I'm going to give my 8 wt a try until I get my next large steelie and then see which I prefer. (I also like my 8 wt because it is 10' long and I have a lot of control with it - but my 9' 6 wt is definitely a much sweeter rod to fish).
Flytier, i guy i know who fishes the garcia swears by fishing a three weight rod in the 11ft. range. I have used the rod before on the truckee and it really breaks the fish down. The great advantage is that you can uses really light tippets and still land the fish because of the give that the rod has.
About the scarry story. P.S. - When I pulled him from the water - he still had the pole in hand....Also, when questioned by his mother saying "What happened? Did you trip?"...He replied, "No Mom, the big fish pulled me in?"...I firmly believe that he is a great fisherman in the making...
Corbett, glasses, cell phones and other junk can all be replaced. Kids can't. I'm glad that nobody was hurt.
wow - what a scary story. I take my kids all the time to the rivier and will be even MORE paranoid about losing them to the river god. Fished Scott's creek a couple times in the last few days. No hookups, but I saw some adult steelies. Very spooky in the crystal-clear water.
Went to the river for a couple of hours with the family. Mainly for a hike and a picknick, but had to bring a pole or two...you know how it is... We went to the big eddie hole area below the garden, great tuna sammies. Anyway, I set the kids up. My wife took the twins with one pole, and I took my 4 year old with the other. My four year old caught a 1/2 pounder all by himself on a worm...used a size 2. released unharmed. I set him up again, then went to help the twins bait up again - maybe ten feet away. Then, I caught out of the corner of my eye my 4 year old stumble and fall into the river! I Ran the two strides, and he was under. In I went. Out we came. The whole event was less than 8-10 seconds. We stripped, put on extra sweat shirts, and called it a day. I broke my glasses, ruined my phone, and got soaked. I write the story here so that others might learn form my experience...I was only 10 feet away, but that was too far...By the time I got there he was under water, what if I had my back turned. Needless to say, if you are going to take your kids near water, please be very, very cautious...
I hooked and released a 9lb buck Sunday morning, Jan. 19, in the vicinity of the Gorge, about four pools above the Garden hole. I was using a metal-like lure manufactured by Lure Jensen, using a dead type flutter drift on 0x X-tra long tippet with some pencil lead for weight, about 1/2" of 1/4", with black surgical tubing.
On the subject of 6 vs. 8 wts - I hear you but here is a quote from the Trey Combs book "Steelhead Fly Fishing" : "Lighter rods take a much deeper set, better absorb the shock against tippet and tissue, and tire the steelhead more quickly. Along the way, lighter rods are far more pleasant to cast". What happened today though was that I really felt like I needed something a little stouter to force the fish to shore. I'm still undecided about rod weights but in his book Trey Combs even discusses using 2 and 3 wt rods (huh?). I can see how a more flexible rod might tire the fish. I can also see how a wooden oar might just hoist it out of the water. Oh well...go figure! I'm still trying to figure this one out myself.
--- No Fishing Report in this Post --- In the past I've seen the water get low and clear, and big fish sitting in the back of long slow pools get real leader shy. So 4lb test leaders and single eggs free drifted becomes pretty common. Then a 10lb fish gets hooked and played for 15 - 20 minutes, recessitated for 10 minutes, and the fish swims strongly back in to the deep water. Wonderful, 15 minutes later that fish comes floating out the back of the hole, not so wonderful anymore. I've personally seen it happen 3 times, many years ago when we could at least retrieve the fish and eat it, (none of them were mine, I wasn't lucky enough to hook up). The point is that you can fight a fish to death with too light a leader or too light a rod... I personally use a spinning rod, built from a 5 wt. fly blank, until Christmas. Then I switch to spinning rod built from a 9 wt. fly blank. Like FlyGuy said, your putting a very valuable resource in jepardy when you go 'light' for these big fish...
On the subject of 6 vs. 8 wts - I hear you but here is a quote from the Trey Combs book "Steelhead Fly Fishing" : "Lighter rods take a much deeper set, better absorb the shock against tippet and tissue, and tire the steelhead more quickly. Along the way, lighter rods are far more pleasant to cast". What happened today though was that I really felt like I needed something a little stouter to force the fish to shore. I'm still undecided about rod weights but in his book Trey Combs even discusses using 2 and 3 wt rods (huh?). I can see how a more flexible rod might tire the fish. I can also see how a wooden oar might just hoist it out of the water. Oh well...go figure! I'm still trying to figure this one out myself.
Fly guy, I asked the DFG warden about landing nets after hearing lots of different stories from different people. He told me that soft mesh trout landing nets (ie. catch n' release nets) were not a problem as far as he was concerned. He said that the regulation was really concerned with certain landing nets that used to exist that could also be used for catching fish or might otherwise injure them. (This ties in with my experiences too as I have been checked out by wardens several times while carrying my small landing net). Actually, it wasn't any use to me today anyway as the fish that I caught could never have fitted into it. I have found that a little soft mesh net also helps preserve the future by allowing me to unhook the fish more easily while holding it in the water.
Flytier - Congrats on the fish. Please consider that using 8wt is a protection of our resource instead of property. Long fights puts undue stress on adult fish and it's IMHO that people should not be targeting smolts (ie 5wts and/or light gear). Also, for others I saw this weekend, please remember that no landing gear is allowed w/in 100yds of any stream in SC county.
I fished from Rincon up past the Garden of Eden this morning. Caught a gorgeous chrome 29" steelie in the gorge on a small black beadhead Teeny leech. My formula gives the fish a weight of just over 9lbs. Landed this fish aonly after long and pretty arduous fight. I'm going to be fishing my 8wt rod next time as I almost broke my 6wt on this lively fish.
On saturday (the 18) i went to ernies and bought some tackle then decided to go fishing on the Soquel Creek right below ernies but above the bridge. Saw a 8#er and tried for it but he wasn't hungry. Finally I caught a 11.5" egg eater (smolt) on Exude fake roe. I hope to go fishing this after noon. Any one fish Disco hole? or Court house hole?
Fished Saturday and Sunday, dawn until dark, from upper gorge to Rincon. Saturday at about 8 am caught one very large dark buck on a peach egg fly. It was between 15 and 18 pounds. In the same run, two guys fishing roe caught 4 other steelhead--all beautiful bright fish. 4 bucks, one hen. Sunday morning saw two fish hooked and lost, but nothing for me. At the bitter end Sunday night, right at dark, a guy fishing roe hooked one. Water was 46 degrees on Sunday morning.
thanx for the advice, flytier... mick, sounds like you had a great day... i'm jealous since i wasn't able to get to the river today...
Nitt: I take about a 1" piece of macrame yarn and attach it to the leader with a small rubber band (you can buy some special indicator bands at Mel Cottons but any small rubber bands will work). I then fluff it up with my fingers and some dry-fly Gink as floatant. Works a treat as an indicator and you can see even gentle takes from quite far away if necessary.
Today, fished the area upper the bridge on HWY 1, from 2:00 to 4:30, had 2 strikes, hooked an approx 15-inch smolt, but did not catch (I lost the first steelie ,... did not reach 10ft to the fish.). Used an wooly bugger I modified, Timeco TMC300-#6, olive w/flasher, weighted. It seems the water condition is nice.
Fished Upper Rincon Saturday AM, got a 9lb wild hen right at first light. About an hour later got a 7lb wild hen. Fished a couple of hours Sunday late PM in Felton and got a 9lb wild hen. Saturdays fish were chrome but Sundays fish had some color... Herd of other adult fish caught in Lower Rincon... Water looks great, flow is good, visibility is getting a bit on the clear side but not too clear yet. (Well there it is, the 'ideal' fishing report! And it's about time!)
Correction - saw my first adult steelhead for this season!
Saw my first adult steelhead today. We live on the SLR in Ben Lomond. We peeked down at the river around noon and to our suprise we saw a bright chrome 10 lb steelie holding above a little waterfall in our hole. Also,we saw a dark 5 lb steelie swimming with it. I couldn't believe it. I didn't think I was gonna get to see any steelies in my backyard this season.
Just info. Timeco supplies ORVIS hooks as OEM supply. I confirmed it with the store manager at the ORVIS shop in Palo Alto. (Note that Tiemco's hooks are made by OWNER HOOKS in Japan. There are two major hooks makers, Gamakatsu and Owner. Both are great.)
flytier... i'm not tying my own flies YET, so whatever hooks orvis uses with their flies is what i'm using... can you tell me a little more about that puffed-yarn/rubber-band indicator??? sounds like sensitivity to strikes would be really good... thanx...
Well done nitt. I'm about due for a few of those myself as my last 3 good takes didn't get off and I usually average a lot less than 100%. What hooks are you using? I've found that these Tiemco's I'm now using have a much better grip.
fished rincon this afternoon with a beaded nymph and dropper glow bug... hooked one, but it shook off... a couple hours with one hit... talked to a few other anglers - they had no luck either...
Fished rincon area hard with no fish. I spoke to about guys down there with the same luck, with the exception of one guy who caught a 9lber further upstream at dawn, form what he told me. The water was ALOT colder to the touch from last week so hopefully this will help. I feel we need colder water temps. The flow is good all the way out to the mouth so water quantity shouldn't be a prob even if we don't get anymore rain by the end of feb. I tried f7's, spinners, drifted plastics & flies with no luck. Anyone else have better luck?
anything caught today, 1-18?
This used to be a fun site to visit.. To find out where the fish are, if their biting. And to get an indication of the size and quality of fish. As well as #'s. Also, to get possible current River conditions. Where is the Ben Lomond Kid with his RIver conditions and catch reports???
Ernie has a list of Holidays from the Warden. You'll have to call him, but I believe I saw MLKs B-Day and one of the Presidents B-Day.
I try to keep my posts focused on "any luck," "what they bitin' on," and what technique/tricks, tactics, methods that I've found successful or not successful and why--only on the the San Lorenzo or other local water. Quite frankly, I've never fished a river like the San Lorenzo and want to increase my learning curve by sharing my experiences and learning from others. I don't expect any one to tell me to stand on this rock and cast behind that one, but I do hope people will share their thoughts on how they do it and not just that they caught a few. All that tells me that there are a few fish (and a darn few) in the river and I already know that. It's a puzzle and I'm looking for a few clues and willing to share a few of my own in turn. I like this board because it's not a lot of banter and drivel.
Does anyone know if the SLR is open on Monday? (Martin Luther King day)
Here we go again, none of us "own" this board. I too agree that this board is for any "fishing experiences". The internet is full of useless info, yet we still have to wade thought it. Useless fishing information if better than non, IMO. I think we are all getting a little edgey (spelling?) because of the lack of fish being caught on the local rivers. We have a whole weekend to go down and hammer the river to see if there are any fish in there. Maybe the moon gods have brought in some fish with the full moon and all. Get out and fish!
flyfishing rules... planning to go to the slr this weekend... thanks for all the advice... will post my results... as far as all of the discussion -- keep it up -- very informative and entertaining... as the kid would say, "fish on"...
Hey, Mick maybe you should take a quick look at your last 10 or 15 posts not many fish reports but a lot of decent information....regulations, equipment, river conditions, etc...your more guilty then the guys you blasted!!! just my obsevation!
Actually metalhead I read every post in anticipation that there will be some mention of multiple adult steelies hooked up on roe, spoons, flies, drifted, floated, twitched... something. This time of year, with these water conditions, we should have adult fish everywhere and we don't! And when I log in from work I don't have time to read about Gary Borgers Video and some book and this article and on and on and on! And no fish being caught in any of these 8+ line posts! Frustrating :)
Hey Mick and Ron, I think there is room for both. I personally find some of the information very informative. I believe "fishing experience " is not just limited to a "report". I spend time on a number of different boards and I have yet to find one that is a "reports only" board. I don't read Ernies as a "reports only" board I believe it says "fishing experience"!!. How long does it actually take you to sift through to find the reports.... 5-10 seconds....you must be pretty busy or impatient. lighten up!
I agree with Mick. You guys should be emailing eachother instead of writing on the board about what it takes to catch trout. Just put up the facts. I wade through crazy streams, not chat room like conversations.
Snoop dog, what kind of shells were you using?
Ron? Was that you?... Fished Rincon Wednesday AM, personally got skunked but saw a few small fish caught, (all on bait?). All but 2 were older fish. Heard of 5lb bright fish caught at the Wall. I also would appreciate it if some of the more in depth fly fishing philosophies could be discussed via e-mail? It all looks very interesting and I'm sure it's valuable to others, but the rest of us have to 'wade' through it to find the stuff we're looking for...
A forethought: Isn't this link supposed to be a local fish catch reports page, not a place to discuss methods of long lining hard-fished trout that don't want to eat by using your fly line equipment or lead core type line type methods. And if fish are "semi-setting" themselves on your tackle, it's probably because you're drifting a spanish fly--a.k.a--bare treble hooks, i.e., poaching.
An afterthought: Recently I've caught some good fish that I could actually see at a particularly hard-fished pool when I noticed that the fish seemed to freeze or just move aside whenever the fly line and indicator came along. I tried sliding my indicator way down there and immediately got some good takes by keeping my fly-line well away from them. Now I'm looking for better ways of attaching a sliding yarn indicator and small rubber bands are my latest experiment. The other methods that I've tried put kinks and twists into the nylon.
Tarponhead, I believe that the Borger video I rented was about midge fishing, "Fishing the Midge" or something like that. But I starting playing with the concept and I found that it worked great not only in pocket water but also for just getting the nymphs down deep quickly in fast flowing big water. Like you I also never (on purpose) use an indicator to suspend anything (just to make my leader visible). I'm usually watching an indicator that is set to around twice the water depth (more in shallow or fast water and a little less in deep or slow water). My own preference to date has been to use puffed up 1" chunks of macrame yarn as indicators attached with small rubber bands (or large dry flies - problem is they don't slide easily) I find that yarn is more sensitive than hard balls or floating putty especially when viewed from afar. I usually try to do something like a tuck cast and then as quickly as possible regain contact with the now sunken nymphs. Also, most of the floating fly lines I've tried will start sinking at the tip in fast water if there isn't a bit of extra buoyancy close to or around there. (Also, I've also had loads of fish that have "semi-set" the hook on themselves by grabbing the nymphs and rocketing upstream while dragging the yarn) Anyway, it all works for me :-)
HEY WHATS THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF ROE TO TIE IN A SPAWN SAC FOR THE SLR. ALSO HOW MUCH WEIGHT SHOULD YOU USE IF THE FLOW IS MEDIUM TO MODERATE. THANKS I NEED ALL THE HELP I CAN GET.
I dont really know how to fish but i did get a 5 pouner with some fishing line and my dads shotgun.
yo, i caught a 3 and a 2 pounder on the soquel today,
Flytier and Geoff: We are certainly thinking along the same lines. I too use the Randy Johnson system in pocket water. It really is using indicators as indicators and not as bobbers. That is, the indicator is indicating what is going on with the fly and if it is being pulled deep enough. It is not using the indicator as a suspension system. For years I've used 2" sections of flyline with the core pulled out and threaded on my leader as an indicator of what is going on with my fly. I find that this gives me a lot more control and keeps me much more actively involved in line and fly control. I'm using the indictor to manipulate the fly through the pocket. I find it works best when you have quite a bit of weight on the leader and a weighted point fly. That way you can feel what is happening. By the way, this works best in water that is 4' or less and when the water is over 6' too much control is lost. Flytier, what Borger tape was it that you learned the nymphing technique?
Geoff, if I understand your description correctly it is also called a "right-angle nymph leader". I've tried that out and I like it too but my latest thing is to be able to easily slide the indicator up and down to adjust for different depths of water. I think that you can't do that easily with a right-angle rig - right? Is that true for your rig?
On the topic of indicators for steelhead i find fishing them most effective on many river, but one system especially. The indicators are made by Randy Johnson from the truckee river area and they consist of two small syrofoam balls that are the size of a large pea. To use the indicators properly, you slide them on above a loop on your butt section and from that butt section tie the leader directly on (about 6ft). This allows for the most direct contact to the fly, without a large bend that happens with a tappered leader. The concept behind the small indicators it to let the hydrolics of the water takes the indicators down, these hydrolics also take the bugs down to the fish. Use few light weights because your using the hydrolics in the water to get the fly down to the fish. i wouldn't advise using a dropper because you want to be as precise as you can. I normally use this system in the pocket water and not the flats just because in the flats there isn't any hydrolics to bring the flies down and i can never get the right drifts. I would use your normal big green indies for the flats, for they get great drifts in the slow water. This stuffs a little deep but if you understand it all you can absolutely have to try it, it slays steelies and trout. Good luck!
Ron - I stopped posting my e-mail when I got a bunch of anti-fly-fishing stuff coming at me! But mike123=mike bolte. As I posted below I only had an hour this morning, landed a nice 2-3lb fish. Didn't see anyone else hook up in that short time. The river is in just about perfect condition.
Steve F7, Bolte, Ben Lomond Kid, etc. . . . what's the word for today? Anyone hook-up with something bigger than the 15" baitfish while I was at stuck at work?!
I've been using black and natural colored Teeny nymphs and leeches tied on a Tiemco 7999 hook at about sizes 10 and 8. Each also has a brass beadhead to make them shine a little through the "murk". It's an easy tie and I typically don't add any weight other than the bead. The fish seem to like them (but actually I think that they'll grab nearly anything lifelike that invades their space - I think that the trick is to invade their space without also spooking them).
for what it is worth, I've been using ~2"-long bunny leeches on a 4' leader and a type III sinking shooting head. I put about 10 wraps of 0.30 lead wire on the fly. My favorite plan is to swim the fly downstream along rocks or on the edge of the main current. This morning (Wednesday it paid of with a beautiful chrome fish about 20"). It was really frisky.
What kind of nymphs are you using? Big hare's ear's, teeny, glo-bugs?
Tarponhead, I do exactly the same (hope I didn't sound like I am a single technique guy). The nymphing method I describe is just the one I tend to use the most often. I think that it is especially appropriate for the SLR's topography though. (My favorite technique is dry fly - but I wouldn't catch many winter steelies that way). As for this mornings report: 1 lovely chrome bright 15" wild hen on a black beadhead Teeny leech once again in the Rincon area. I also had several babies that had trouble getting the hook into their mouth. Alas I lost several complete leaders each with a pair of good nymphs to the dreaded snag monster so now I need to spend lots of time at my vise. I also spent most of my two hours on the water repairing the damage and once again I had to leave at 9am for work (just as the fun was starting). I think that the river is still a little high and still a little too brown to really nail them on the fly though.
Very interesting discussion. I select my technique by the water type and water temperature. Big broad water where fish can be anywhere and the temperature is above 55, I almost always skate and wake dry flies for steelhead. Or I'll grease line it. If it's the same type of water but colder, below 50, I will fish with a sinking or sink tip line, depending on current speed, so I can sweep a vast area and present the fly broadside to a lot of fish. If the water is cold, but ls broad and undefined, I'll fish an indicator so I can get a long drift and cover lots of water area. If the water is cold, and there are very clear pockets or holding water (and I mean in areas that I can pin point within a foot or so, I'll use high sticking nymphing. What I have to continually learn is that my preferred method of fishing is not necessarily the one that catches fish. The San Lorenzo, although I'm very new to fishing it, seems like it lends itself to the high sticking method because that is the best way to slide a fly right to a fish that is holding along a ledge or under a rock or in a tight slot.
Geoff, I usually drift nymphs via an indicator using a modified "long tippet" technique that I first saw in a Gary Borger video. I've also learned to maximize my drift time from another video that I saw in which a top guide from "The Fly Shop" in Redding was teaching so called "puffball fishing" on the Lower Sac. The rest is just practice practice practice (and nailing lots of fish of course). I work very hard to achieve a dead drift and as long a drift (in the zone) as is possible - I also see things happening in my indicator that I used to just plain miss. Being ready to "set" on these is also lots of practice and concentration. I find that the long tippet technique not only lets the nymphs dive to depth faster but as a bonus it also provides a degree of elasticity which prevents breakoffs and really makes the whole setup stronger (actually my most recent problem has been certain of my hooks straightening with bigger rainbows). It's my belief that we get far more "hits" than we know about because the fish spits it out before we ever see or feel anything. I do know some nice fishing places that I've found through lots of searching but if you don't mind I wont post that particular information.
Flytier i was wonderig what setup you have been using? stinking tip...indicator...dead drifting or swinging...length of tippit? I also have found egg flies to be extremely productive. At a good hole i will fish for twenty minutes with a certain color, then change the color and bang get an explosive strike. The most consisten i have found is that on clear days is to use a champaign color (a light pink), then on muddier days i use a reddish orange color that can be productive. I normally get out around felton, below the dam, but sinse the dam has been removed, do you have any ideas for other good fly water?
Mick, I totally agree with you. I think that it has also been my own experience that presentation (including "reading the water") is 90-99% of the deal unless you are fishing with something that actually spooks fish. I've been catching more fish than ever recently and my flies haven't changed but my presentation and technique has vastly improved. Recently I was on a river where I had caught around 20 fish (Rainbows) including one at 18". Later that day I met two guys who had been fly fishing all day without hooking a fish. Hoping to help them out I asked what fly they were using and discovered that one of them had been fishing a fly that was almost identical to the one I had been using (in fact it was the same fly that took my 18" fish along with many others). I've also taken fish after fish at a single pool all the while changing flies. Anyway...that's just my pennie's worth.
Mike, FlyGuy says he was using an 'egg pattern' but I don't think that was the secret. I've seen a lot of guys, and even a gal, throwing traditional fly gear lately? Like some big secret got out? I fly fish for big trout, and I've tried various styles of fly gear on the SLR but it's just not a good river for traditional fly gear. (Although the Lagoon has it's good days). But FlyGuy has it down, he's got the right setup and technique to make the presentation. He'll have to give you the details... He could have been using a black wooly bugger or muddler minnow and still caught those 6 fish... I'm almost positive it was the technique and setup that made the difference...
I guess I am the one mick is referring too. Sat water clarity was better than expect and several nice fish were landed. I hooked 5 adults and landed 0, plus a couple of dinks to 20". It was by far the best day I've had on the SLR. It was probably due to the lack of fisherman on the river. Sun, the water was even better but the fishing was non-existent. The river was extremely crowded with people slammin every hole. Didn't see any adults hooked except for a 8lb wild hen that graced me with her presence. Fish was hooked on an egg fly. My friend managed to snap a pic. Here's a link. http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid46/pb3f09098a852155795fcaa4619feff61/fcc9ba42.jpg
I guess I am the one mick is referring too. Sat water clarity was better than expect and several nice fish were landed. I hooked 5 adults and landed 0, plus a couple of dinks to 20". It was by far the best day I've had on the SLR. It was probably due to the lack of fisherman on the river. Sun, the water was even better but the fishing was non-existent. The river was extremely crowded with people slammin every hole. Didn't see any adults hooked except for a 8lb wild hen that graced me with her presence. Fish was hooked on an egg fly. My friend managed to snap a pic. Here's a link. http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid46/pb3f09098a852155795fcaa4619feff61/fcc9ba42.jpg
Mick - what was that fly fisherman fishing?
Looked at the river Saturday, fishable but still more brown than green. Went down to Rincon on Sunday, 1 small fish and lots of nice water. Spoke with fly fisherman who got 5 adult fish on Saturday between Lower Rincon and Upper Paradise. He fished the same stretch on Sunday but only got 1 18" fish.
Took the family to Scott's Creek for the day on Sunday afternoon. After a great picknick lunch...Home canned tuna yum!...I set out with my bro-in-law, mainly exploring while the Creek is so low and clear. Didn't see any fish, except for the half pounder I enticed with a mini-crawler. After a good hike, I set my 4.5 year old up (in the pool below where he had previously been throwing rocks), and while helping him get unstuck for the third time in as many casts - zoom, another 1/2 pounder took off with his worm. He was so proud of himself that he could catch a fish by himself. Alaska here we come. P.S. - I've found that if you bend the shank on an octopus hook, they act like a circle hook, and almost always end up the the corner of the fish's mouth. While you have your pliers out smashing down that barb next time - try bending the shank a bit...
Fished sat w/ roe in the rincon area, one 12" dink landed and hooked a chrome steelie probably in the 3lb to 4lb range, it jumped about 3 feet out of the water directly in front of me resulting in losing the hook-up, first one almost caught this year.
Fished Sat from 8am-1pm up & down rincon area with no luck. Just got alot of bites from small egg eaters on crawlers. Water was in better shape than what I thought it would be. Flows were a little fast and visibility was around 3 ft by the time I left. Sunday and Wednesday should be good as long as we get no more rain. I also tried spinners, flatfish, steelhead slayers, crawlers. I know there are fish there, so I'll be back.
I fished the sand holes down to Big Rock yesterday with only one 13" fish to show for it. It was surprisingly uncrowded out on the river.
Fished upper & lower 4 rocks on the SLR today from 6:30 - 11:30 with Lou Young. Only 4 of us there! Nobody caught anything to speak of, just egg eaters. I fished roe & shrimp. The river was at a good level with about a foot of visibility. Maybe lower down would have been better.
hey Mick, thanks for pointing that one out... here's the link for the rest of you... http://www.dfg.ca.gov/fg_comm/02freshfishregs.pdf maybe you should print out a copy and drop it off at Ernie's shop so he can post it next to his cut out article from the Sentinel showing the guy bear-hugging his "coho" salmon? oh... it's all in good fun!
I was just looking through the regs and came across a sentence at the bottom of Article 2, Section 7, that reads "In waters where the bag limit for trout or salmon is zero, fish for which the bag limit is zero must be released unharmed, and should not be removed from the water."
Well it's nice to hear of some adult fish being caught! I went out Wednesday AM in Rincon and got 3 between 2 and 3.5 lbs... Already 2.2 inches of rain in Scotts Valley... Might have to take a look at the river later today, in any case Soquel and Scotts should be in good shape...
THe egg flies I was using were tied on size 10 hooks and the eggs were about 1/4" to 3/8th" in diameter.
I don't know about flies, but for my artificial stuff, I use a 1/0 gamagatsu for a piece the size of a nickel something smaller for a dime sized piece (maybe size 1 or 2). The fake stuff is somewhat buyouant so the size of the hook will determine how close to the bottom your bait will be. I haven't tried real roe since I've had decent luck with artificials stuff.
just curious as to what size hooks people use for fishing roe and how big of a roe chunk do most people use, i go fairly small with maybe 4 to 7 eggs in a cluster, any thoughts or better tips?
I now tie most of my steelhead and salmon flies on Tiemco 7999 #8 and #10 hooks. I have also caught several salmon on flies tied with the same hooks and I seem to be losing far fewer fish since I switched to using them. The barbs on these flatten down nicely and they are quite sharp with great penetration for a minimum of force. They are relatively expensive but that isn't really a place that I want to be saving money. If you know of some better (fly) hooks (regardless of price) then please let me know.
Nice work to those hooking fish! What size hooks are you using??
I hooked and landed an 11 pound buck Wednesday (01/08) at 9:10 a.m. right at the Garden of Eden hole. As we all know who were on the SLR river yesterday, a Game Warden was checking licenses, etc. In fact, a minute or two after he checked mine, I slammed that fish and he watched me turn it loose after taking a picture with it! He was psyched to see a big buck like that and so was I.
Got to the river at 3:10 and within 5 minutes landed two and lost one--all out of the same little pocket. All on a peach egg fly. All fish were about 16" and the two I landed were hatchery fish with worn dorsal fins. Also hooked 3 10". Fished until dark without another fish. Used tight line nymphing without an indicator.
Fished the garden and below from 6-10 this morning before work. River is perfect and clearing up quickly. Below the swing hole, I thought I was snagged on the bottom. Then, I saw a BIG steelie (28" range) going crazy just 6' or so from the bank. By the time I realized I wasn't stuck on the bottom, it was off. Major disappointment. Ron caught a huge fish above the garden (way to go!).
I fished pretty hard this morning with leeches, egg patterns and stone fly nymphs from 6:30 till 10am with no hookups.
Caught a nice 16" chrome steelie (hatchery fish) on a black bead-head Teeny nymph at the Rincon hole around 8am this morning (Wed). That fish is now back in the river and on its way to making a lot more steelies for us to catch in the future. The SLR itself is now at a perfect level and color. Unfortunately I had to leave and head for work before 9am so that's it folks!
I had a 32.5 inch male last year @ just over 15 lbs. The two fish @ 20-22 inches that I caught last Sunday I would guess @ 3 lbs. Most adult fish that I have seen in the river run 5 - 8 lbs. In fact, I have never caught a 3 lb fish in the SLR before. I believe it is a good sign of things to come, as in the next 2 years, those fish will return again...much much larger. A friend at the F&G up north tells me that fish will return 5 - 7 times...Add that up...3 years for the first return + 7 years. However, the largest fish are not the ones that return the most often. E.G. - a 15 - 18 lb fish might be 6 years old. Out in the salt for 3-5 years...ALL THE MORE REASON TO TREAT THOSE FISH WELL, YOU COULD CATCH IT AGAIN IN A COUPLE OF YEARS>
Axe, I would agree with Mark, generally speaking a 25" fish is usually around 5lbs and 1lb per inch after that. But that's for an average fish, if it's a gerthy buck or fat hen then you have add the difference from an average fish. Back when we could keep fish... I had a 25" hen that weighed 8lbs! Absolutely the hardest fighting, most challenging fish I've ever fought. As for weighing a fish on a scale? I'm not sure about the legalities but it's not good for the fish, certainly not just for the re-assurance of knowing exactly how much a fish weighs. Besides it's the fight in the fish that counts, not the weight...
Here's how I've always estimated steelhead weight. At 25", the fish is 5 pounds. Add a pound for each additional inch. This works well up to 38" and then the weight adds on faster. There are more complicated formulas with length and girth, but this one is pretty good for estimating.
I was wondering if anyone knew how much a 28" steelhead would weigh. It was a chubby native buck. It was my first adult ever, and boy, what a blast! It was my first trip to the SLR, so I don't know what holes I fished, but I got the bite on roe, in a short, fast hole, just down from the train bridge. If there is more than one bridge, this one is up stream from a long, flat, gravel bar.(for whatever that's worth.)Any info or links on weight estimation would be greatly aprecated. BTW... I do have a scale, but heard that it was illegal to lift a steelie from the water. Is this true? Thanks- s.a.
fished sat AM from 7 to 12, fished roe all day, few eggeaters and one very good take that I promptly released followed by alot of swearing and muttering to myself.
I also fished the upper Gorge and saw that same 6 or 7 pound steelhead Steve saw :) Saw it close enough to see the adipose fin missing in fact. Some guy slamed it early, while it was still a bit dark. Other than that, I couldn't shake the skunk off my stick all morning long.
Fished the gorge on Saturday from 6:30 'til 11:30 with F-7's and night crawlers. Anywhere in the gorge you could see between 4 and 10 other fishermen at the same time. Saw one nice chrome fish in the 6-7 pound range landed as well as a smaller one, maybe 3 pounds but that's it. The river was in nice shape. Just not a lot of fish yet. Skunked again! Would someone please email me and let me know the best way to get to 4-rock? Do I park at Rincon and follow the trail upstream or is there a better approach? Thanks. Steve
Fished from 1 to 5:50 on Sunday. Started @ 4 rocks. Nada. Went to the area below (2-3 holes) the garden and caught 2 - 20 inchers. One on roe and one on jumbo red worms...both under a float in tailouts. Both fish were bright steel first year returning fish. Both female. Finished up at the garden, had a follow on my secret lure, but that was it and it was dark...remember your flashlight, and be careful.
Fished Rincon down to the Bend hole and got 4 on Saturday, all on various forms of hardware. Sizes were 2,4,5, and 6lbs but only the 2lb fish was chrome. The others were fresh but not chrome. Fished a couple of hours Sunday morning above Felton and got one 3lb fish, again fresh but not chrome...
Fished the SLR on Saturday, 1/4, from lower tunnel hole to lower 4 rocks using my new Lou Young designed home made rod. Unfortunately Lou didn't make it due to some plumbing work. Hooked several small fish and hooked and LOST one large (5+ lb) fish. Saw one 7-8 lb fish landed at 4 rocks and heard reports of a couple of 3-4 lb fish being caught. River was in great shape with maybe 2' visibility. All in all it was a good day, my rod didn't break, I found my lost hat and I hooked a large fish! Hopefully the rains will return when the bulk of the fish show up.
Fished Upper Sand to Rincon pretty hard Saturday with no luck.SLR was in good shape. Not many fish are up yet is my guess as it didn't look like anybody (bait, hardware, fly) was hooking up. Heard a pretty reliable report of a big fish caught in the Soquel.
Anyone catch any fish on the Soquel today? Unfortunatly I had to work today. I passed 8 or 10 cars in the turnouts on my way up Old San Jose. It was killing me to be on my way to work and seeing guys pulling on waders. I almost called in sick. My curiosity is killing me, did anyone hook any fish? Please if you fished today post a report so I can live viquariously through those who were fortunate enough to fish today
Fished Rincon area today (sat. 1/4) with nothing to show for my efforts besides a 4" dink that refused to let go of my scented fake roe. It finally let go after pulling out of the water for a couple of seconds. It was never even hooked, just had a locked jaw I guess. Smallest fish I've ever reeled in. No one I talked to had any better luck. The water was flowing a little fast and had very slight color to it. It should be a little better on Wed. depending if anyone had any luck downstream. In my opinion, fishing should be from Jan 1st thru March 31st. I'd be willing to sacrifice 2 weeks of fishing season in order to fish the prime months of Feb-March which (IMO) is when the bulk of the fish will be in. Heard it second hand that someon caught 4 "good" sized fish on spinners. I tried spinners the last 1/2 hour of my fishing and did get 1 really hard bite but missed the fish. Also, got to meet the new dfg warden in town.Good luck.
Iceman: Here's a map of the SLR's main pools/holes, etc: http://www.fishsniffer.com/maps/sanlorenzo.html The timing of overall conditions for fishing the SLR tomorrowing morning couldn't be better I think. This should be the first good weekend of the season we will probabably hear or read of people catching fish in the 7 to 11 pound range.
how's SLR? will it be fishable this weekend? Also any other reports on the rest of the other coastal streams would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Fished the top of the garden area from 3:30 to 5:30 on 1/1/03. No fish. Roe and spin and glow. Not very clear. Yet. Should be very good this weekend, but I will probably go to the Smith if it doesn't get too much more rain. Try a bit of yarn on that roe. I don't think that it helps to attract the fish, but I do think that it helps my hook up ratio because it sticks to their teeth. Thereby, it gives the angler a longer reaction time before the fish can spit your bait.
Fished the San Lorenzo Dec. 25 and hooked up (I didn't have access to a computer until today to post catch report). Anyway, I put my first two stealies of the season on the bank--one 19" dink and the other a nice 5 pound buck. The larger fish was paired with another steelhead about the same size or larger, and both were really, really excited to see my lure near a tail-out before one actually latched onto it and turned across the river. Great visual stuff. I caught both fish around the vicinity of the rock hole. p.s. I've seen a lot of fly rodders the last few times on the river. Where are people getting the impression that the San Lorenzo is a brandishing fly rodders paradise of some kind? More like a hell or purgatory at the least, especially up through the Garden of Eden.
FISHED SLR FOR THE FIRST TIME THIS SEASON,A LITTIL HIGH BUT NOT BAD SHOULD BE LOOKING GOOD FOR THIS WEEKEND.A FREIND OF MINE AND HIS SON FISHED THE GARDEN AREA FROM ABOUT 1:00 TILL 5:30,NOT MUCH TO TALK ABOUT,BUT I WAS ABLE TO PULL A HAFE POUNDER OUT AT THE GARDEN IT WAS SMALL BUT IT SURE WAS NICE LOOKING FISH(SEA LICE AND ALL),HEY KID WHERE`S THAT MAP WITH ALL THE NAMES OF THE HOLES,IS IT ON A WEB SITE ?GOOD LUCK EVERYBODY THIS WEEKEND SHOULD GOOD
The best I have found to buy roe on the internet is from Scott Amerman Just search under google and you will find his site. The eggs are great.
Does anyone know what condition the SLR is currently in? When will it be fishable again?
Ian, we should be getting a new load of row in at the shop today. Give us a call at 831-462-4665 after 3PM and we'll confirm whether or not it's there. Hurry though, 'cuz it goes fast! :)
this may be the dumbest question ever, but is there anyplace to buy roe? it seems like the hottest ticket on the slr.
fished slr on saturday, from cable car up to second bridge. did not hook, see, or talk to anyone with solid reports. hopefully the river will be clearer on wed. any reports from rincon area?
Fished 4 hours yesterday before the rain from the trestle down to the Garden using numerous different bugs and egg patterns, nothing. Only saw one other angler who reported a 10 pounder. Any fly fisherman out there hooking up? Any reports on the coastal creeks north of town? Thanks.
I believe the reason the MBSTP is not capturing fish is due to licensing issues, not due to a belief that the hatchery fish are inferior. The authorities (DFG, etc.) have not given the hatchery permission to capture any fish this year, they need to study the issue. Hopefully the protection of the headwaters by the Sempivirens fund will help keep the wild fish going!
SLR is high and muddy. I've heard through the grapevine, that the reason the rubber dam has been down at Henry Cowell. Is that DFG and the Hatchery program. Have decided not to trap and spawn anymore steelhead from the SLR. According to my friend they believe that the hatchery fish are geneticaly inferior to wild fish. And plan to discontinue planting hatchery fish. To allow the SLR to return back to a wild fish river. If this is true, I believe this will be devastating to the number of returning adults in the future. This is one step closer to making the SLR closed to fishing. The future of Steelies in the SLR is looking bleak. If you ask me: They need to bump the hatchery program up a notch. And start planting more coho and steelhead.
Come on over, the weather is great!! See you on the water.
if the rain doesn't get any worse, the river should be very good for this weekend. So far we haven't had too much rain and things look good. Good Luck!!!!
how is the slr holding up in this rain? is it blown? thanks in advance!
any word on the condition of SLorenzo? is it blown out? not too much rain on this side of the hill, yet.... thanks in advance
Christmas day the SLR was in perfect shape. 280cfs at Big Trees, 4' of visibility and a nice green color. Fished upper and lower sand holes, Wall hole and Rincon. Landed one chrome 16' fish and had a huge (36" +) fish roll right in front of me twice. Talked to a couple others who were skunked.
I fished Aptos Creek yesterday morning, and caught and landed zero. I saw about five other guys working the creek with fresh roe, and after running into them later, they they had also caught nothing. Other than that, the creek was flowing right and was a bit on stained--green to brownish but green side.
Milk Chocolate. But clearing up. It was clearer by the time I left at noon or was that the sun on the water so that I could see farther? Should be fishable by Wed. It doesn't look like this next storm is that big, but the big fish are a few weeks out I think. Best wishes for the new year.
Corbett - what was the water color like on Sunday?
Thought I had a big steelie. Fought it for 15 min or so...but it didn't move much. @ four rocks. On 12 lbs test. Roe and small spin and glow. I was late, it was 15 min past noon...had to go...so I put as much pressure on it as I could, and it rolled so I could see that it was a 25 - 30 lbs king. AS soon as I saw it was a king, I broke it off so that it could spawn. I was late anyway. I don't think that I even tired it at all. No other fish Sunday. Merry Christmas.
My son & I hit the Ayakulik River on Kodiak Island this September. We really hit the silvers! I caught 191 and my son caught 154. The average wt. of the fish was 11.5 to 12 lbs. Most of the fish were caught on hand assembled #5 spinners, with a few coming on spoons. We saw bears, big ones, every day. Mamma and her 3 cubs were right across from us at one hole. Exciting to say the least.
fished the SLR wednesday afternoon for an hour. At 437cfs at the Big Trees station, it was definitely fishable, but visibility was only about a foot. Had no strikes. The Rincon area was rearranged quite a bit by the high waters of last weekend.
Thanks Bear but it's too late for me today. Didn't want to blow vacation time if the conditions weren't right. I'm planning on heading out the Saturday after Christmas (and I might try out for the bad-dad-and-husband-of-the-year award and sneak out on Christmas for a few hours). Thanks again.
Steve the water is down to 473 cfs. Yes it's still high and probably muddy, but it is fishable. Try the side pools at the garden with shrimp and flourescent yarn. The fish need something to smell in these conditions. With the storms projected we may not get a chance to fish for another 2 weeks. Good luck!
I looked at the river this morning and it is completely Blown out and very muddy.
Anyone going out tomorrow? I assume the river is muddy and blown out. Please confirm. Thanks.
That big salmon was not a coho. It probably one of the Chinook that was released as a smolt by the salmon project. You can tell by looking at the gums. Black on the bottom and white on top.
Looks like we're getting that much needed rain. Friday we got a little under 5 inches of rain here in the SLV. The River is at a med/high flow, and is muddied up. With more heavy rain predicted for today. And on into next week, things will only get better in the weeks to come. Hopefully we'll get a couple of months of decent fishing. And won't have to drive all the way up to the northern Rivers. The SLR will probably be to muddy to fish this wednesday, but could get into decent shape by next weekend.
Hmmm - what other Board has SLR news? Independent of how that fish might have been handled two weeks ago, it was making its last trip in this world. I think it was a king almost for sure. I guess that unless there was a male in the river, none of those eggs are going to be producing a next-generation salmon run in the SLR. We are getting a steady rain in Santa Cruz. The river is rising fast.
Who cares about a picture fellas. Rain on!!!
I am certainly no expert but that fish does NOT AT ALL resemble a coho (silver). The football shape, especially the head (and color) look like a chinook. The bottom photo (of the fish caught by Garcia's grandfather) DOES look like a big male coho. BTW I saw a post another board by someone who claimed to have seen a dead "coho or chinook" in the gorge on saturday. If this is the same fish I would not be surprised considering the way Garcia had it out of the water "cradling" it.
Hey everyone... not to beat a dead horse (or fish, for that matter)... I guess people took note of my previouse post listing the email of the Sentinel writer reponsible for the story about the now infamous "30lb coho" on the SLR... because he is running the picture again in today's edition of the Senile! He sounds a little flustered with all the response he must have received... at least we know the message is getting out? By the way, this time he added the comment "Remember that keeping salmon (or targeting them, or pestering them) is currently against the law." At least he got something right? Ha ha ha
Ron I hope your right, but my gut feeling is that the San Lorenzo will be MUD next Wednesday. If we only get around 2 inches then we'll have a shot at decent conditions Wednesday but I think we're going to get significantly more than 2 inches and it's been so long since the last rain that this rain is going to be like a 'first rain' all over again. If that happens then we're looking at the better part of a week before the San Lorenzo will be good. But, like you said, there's always Scotts and Soquel...
Flytier: At the risk of killing a sale for Ernie, there is a map with the holes named at the "fishsniffer.com/maps/San-Lorenzo-river.gif" website. The map is easily printed. Ernies map is probably a little easier to figure out where you are, once on the river.
Steve F7: It depends on the size of the storm I think. If we get a healthy 2+ inches of rain, rain forcasted to fall mainly Saturday and Monday, the river should be fishable this Wednesday no problem. Hopefully all the pesky leaves and such will get blown out with the storm. Anyway, once the regular rain eventually comes, most fish will likely be around the lower stretches, where the weekend warriors hang out. But there are also excellent wild card river choices, like the Soquel and Scotts, etc. With a handle like F7, you know the routine, I'm sure. Ron
Looks like rain on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, but clear on Wednesday. From your experience, do you think the river will be too murky next Wednesday right after 3 days of rain? I don't want to take a day off work to fish in the mud. Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks.
Thanks for all the info and the maps. So my report for last Sunday (8th Dec) is one 18" (~3lbs) wild hen on a #12 Teeny nymph at the...ahem...looks like it was the Garden of Eden? Later I caught another 14" rainbow just upstream from there.
Thanks for all the info and the maps. So my report for last Sunday (8th Dec) is one 18" (~3lbs) wild hen on a #12 Teeny nymph at the...ahem...looks like it was the Garden of Eden? Later I caught another 14" rainbow just upstream from there.
Thanks for all the info and the maps. So my report for last Sunday (8th Dec) is one 18" (~3lbs) wild hen on a #12 Teeny nymph at the...ahem...looks like it was the Garden of Eden? Later I caught another 14" rainbow just upstream from there.
Thanks for all the info and the maps. So my report for last Sunday (8th Dec) is one 18" (~3lbs) wild hen on a #12 Teeny nymph at the...ahem...looks like it was the Garden of Eden? Later I caught another 14" rainbow just upstream from there.
And Steve I actually like your list of Holiday's! By the rules I heard we only got Presidents Day, instead of Lincolns and Washingtons B-days, and I don't recall getting Martins B-day either? Although before I fish those days I will call the local office to be sure...
Well Steve, when that guy from Sacramento comes to Santa Cruz to write citations I'll give your post some serious consideration. I can say that many of us have legally fished the day after Thanksgiving for at least the last 20 years! I say legally because we had the blessings of the local game wardens from the Monterey office of the CDF&G. As for the rest of the Holidays? I once fished on Lincolns birthday, my son was out of school, my bank was closed and it was my day off. The game warden caught up with me the following weekend to let me know she ate her lunch in the South Boundary parking lot on Lincolns B-Day, parked next to my truck, waiting for my return so she could explain what "Holidays" meant. Lucky for my son and I there were several cooperative steelies taking flies in Jerry's hole and we stayed til late afternoon... So I got my lecture from the local game warden and since then I've gone by those rules. Another story, for those who may be interested, a few years ago Christmas and New Years fell on a Saturday. What a shame, two perfectly good holidays wasted! Then I remembered my little lecture, so I called the Monterey office of the CDF&G and asked what day were the State employees getting off for Christmas and New Years? I was told the preceeding Fridays. I then asked "So the Fridays will be legal fishing days, right"? There was a pause, and I heard the person talking to someone else in the room then they said "yes" that would be correct. So myself and about 20 other guys had the river to ourselves... So Steve maybe they will finally formally define the Holidays in the regs, it's about time...
flytier... go to the benlomandkid's home page and download the map of the slr... it's a great map... do a search for his "fish on" site or try this url... http://jeffwinter66.tripod.com/adm/popunder/tripod_popunder.html?member_name=jeffwinter66&path=fishonnorthernandcentralcalifornia&client_ip=198.81.26.234&ts=1039493960&ad_type=EMBED&id=d9414d9b96c66cf020c9ad6c148d43a6 nitt
Flytier: Here's a conversation I once had with a guy name Lou Young, a SLR local I believe, regarding the major fishing holes beginning from the Garden of Eden to the Wall Hole. It may also serve as a reference for other guys wanting to post more accurate fish catch location information. Anyway, it's probably the best way to answer your question without typing it all out myself. Enjoy: "Your last posting said you fished from Garden of Eden down to Wall Hole. You had to have gone thru Four Rocks. From GofE there are the rapids, the next hole is Square Hole, then the Slot Hole, then a sort of flat, then the Cascades, then Tunnel Hole (although the railroad tunnel is gone), next is Lower Tunnel Hole which is also called Trestle Hole, then the falls and finally Four Rocks. Four rocks used to be one small hole and one big hole but now there is a big hole near the rock face, a small hole which is really a fast-moving area, then the last big hole that is mostly filled with sand. The fast water below 4 Rocks used to be good, but I haven't seen a fish out of there in many years. The long rapids down to to the next hole also used to kick out fish, and I had an extremely exciting time there one day, involving a big fish and water in my waders. The big hole at the end of the rapids is Sand Hole. The rifffles below Sand also used to be good. The next hole I call Lower Sand Hole, but I don't think that is its historical name. I've gotten some nice fish out of it. The run below that hole down to Wall Hole used to be called Elliot's Riffle, after Bob Elliot. I got my first big fish out of it. " Good luck
I just spoke with an official from the DFG in Sacramento regarding "Legal Holidays". He made it very clear that just because State employees get a certain day off, it doesn't mean it's a legal fishing day. For example, Thanksgiving was a legal holiday (fishing day) but NOT the day after Thanksgiving even though they get the day off. The following are the legal holidays (fishing days) for the rest of this season: Christmas Day, New Years Day, Martin Luther King's, Lincoln's and Washington's. Sorry if this is bad news but better to find out the easy way. The guy I spoke said they would start including these dates in the reg book or on their website. Flytier, go to Ernies store, buy something, then ask for his map with the names and locations of fishing holes.
Eli: Yeah, fishing up north, like Gualala River and others, sounds great until the SLR comes into full swing. I don't see an email for you, but write me (and anyone else) and let me know what your experience for that area is like. . . Maybe we can get some regular board posters to get together and run the SLR sometime. Ron
Being relatively new to the area I'm curious to know if anybody has ever written down (or better still mapped) the SLR "pool names" - eg. garden, 4 rock, upper sand etc.. ? I've been fishing the SLR for couple of seasons now without knowing what each spot is called. (I'd like to post my reports but they would have to read something like "caught a steelie somewhere on the SLR")
I remember seeing the fish come in with the tide and skimming over the sand barely covered with water as the waves pulled out, just making it into the creek before the tidal rush got them. We were kids at the time, we tried jumping on them, but a gentleman by the name of Ron Lang, a giant of a man, also a game warden who worked for the CDF&G, picked us up by our shirt collars and tossed us in the back of his truck. Needless to say we never did that again! He had a way of making an honest sportsman out of most people. He used to hide on the boardwalk and watch for folks fishing at night in the lagoon before opening day. He was a real nice guy once you got to know him.
Good call, greg. I've actually had the opportunity to witness steelhead entering the river and into the tunnel. There really isn't a "lagoon" there, so the fish have to bolt on in and through the tunnel. I'm glad that this creek is closed to fishing as I don't believe it would hold up very well to fishing pressure, not to mention most of it is on private property now. I have access to parts of the creek and take my kids there every year to watch the smolts swimming in the pools. Last years the number of 2-4"ers was higher than I've seen before which I think is good.
Hey Eli, would that be San Vicente Creek in Davenport your talking about, about 35 + something years ago we used to fish up there, for a small creek it was quite amazing. There were fish from the tunnel under the highway, to the tunnel up at the quarry just below Bonney Doon. Some good size fish to, both silver and steelhead.
I agree Kid. I've actually reported people that were dumping used motor oil into a creek that is located north of SC along hwy 1. They were caught, but I do not know what sort of penalties they recieved, as I wanted to remain anonymous and I sort of knew who the people who were doing it were. This little creek is closed to fishing now but still sustains a good run of steelhead in good wet years for its size. You ever fish this creek back in the day, kid? I did. It's south of Scotts. Geez kid, your so nice on this board compared to the emails you've sent me. We all need to head up north until Jan/Feb. Is the Russian open for steelies?
I agree Kid. I've actually reported people that were dumping used motor oil into a creek that is located north of SC along hwy 1. They were caught, but I do not know what sort of penalties they recieved, as I wanted to remain anonymous and I sort of knew who the people who were doing it were. This little creek is closed to fishing now but still sustains a good run of steelhead in good wet years for its size. You ever fish this creek back in the day, kid? I did. It's south of Scotts. Geez kid, your so nice on this board compared to the emails you've sent me. We all need to head up north until Jan/Feb. Is the Russian open for steelies?
I for got to mention what I believe is the main reason for the declining number of steelhead and coho salmon in the SLR. I live in Ben Lomond and the SLR is in my back yard so I know first hand. Most of the problems are here in the mountains. Pollution, Logging, Over Development and Water Deversion are the real problems. And these are the issues we need to deal with.
Well it turns out that the storm that went threw was really weak. Not enough water to make things change.We need 2 or 3 storms back to back to make things get going. The storm we had 1 week before the opener, was the kind of stroms we need. I'm surprised we have not had more rain.Usually be now the fishing is pritty good. I'm heading up to the Klamath and Trinity Rivers to get into some good steelie action. The rivers up north is our best bet, until things get pumping in the local creeks and rivers.
As i sit and write this i look outside my window and watch the rain steadily come down. I am also told that sunday night and monday should also have showers. The next couple of weeks are also suppose to be lined up with aleutian juice and we should get our first real taste of El Nino, but weather forecasts are not always reliable so who knows. So be ready guys for an awesome steelie Christmas and i hope this helps with the fishing cabin fever.
Last saturday I ventured down the the slr between the second and third bridge. I watched 5 fishermen. Some were flyfishing, some spin casting, and one bait fisherman. The fishermen were generously spaced, and as though in a meditative trance, watched their lines, casted, and watched their lines. A few fish surfaced. The bait fisherman set his empty hook, and the fly fishermen were smooth in their casting. As I enjoyed the serenity of the scene in the midst of concrete walls, traffic, tall buildings and pedestrians, I watched my two sons explore in the weeds by the bike trail, and I heard the answer. A hippie drove across the bridge screaming, "get out of the river!" along with some profanities. And I heard the answer. He seemed concerned about the future of the fish as he drove his V8 SUV directly over the clear water of the San Lorenzo, and screaming. He continued screaming at the men as he drove away, and the fishermen fished on in silence--that was the answer. Well done fishermen. Thanks.
I agree, curm. We do need to talk about issues that have to do with the SLR and what we all can do as anglers while we are fishing, like picking up your own trash. Almost everytime I go down there I end up picking up someone elses' trash. For you bait fisherman, pick up your nightcrawler containers. For those lure angles, don't drop your lure wrappers into the river. This board is a ghosttown for most of the year, why not use to discuss issues until steelhead come into town. See you on the river in January because it doesn't seem like we're gonna get enough rain till then.
I think this is the kind of debate/ discussion/ call-it-what-you-will we need. BL Kid: please don't take offense since I also find your posts invaluable BUT I remember you made posts last year regarding anglers tossing suckers (squawfish) on the bank. You were right on! But it also wasn't your (or any others) run of the mill report (which all too often is about how many we caught, not real valuable info--- again, not pointing out you or anyone specifically mind you). But those of us who live here and fish the SLR regularly know how it is treated: like the 'back alley' that it is. It's a shame. We SHOULD (IMHO) be talking about these things. I couldn't care less if joe blow hooked ten and landed 6 on wednesday if that's all the info there is. In fact, this kind of report probably does more harm than good because it results in more fishing pressure. And like you said, there are no big fish in the river right now and anyone who has fished down in the lagoon in the past few weeks knows: WAY too many people fishing for too few fish that are getting stressed with no place to go: easy prey for seals and fishermen alike. But I also don't think this is about c&r versus catch n kill or flyfishing versus whatever. If were all concerned about the resource we should be doing something about it (whether pollution, sediment load, draining of the lagoon, increased and unnatural predation or too many people and not enough water). I think that's where fishermen can find common ground and a voice.
i apologize for any problems... i'll keep my opinions to myself... i'm also interested in river reports since i live in san jose... with rain on friday, i hope to get to the mountains on saturday... nitt
I'm with Jeff... post local fishing reports. So, It's going to rain tomorrow? Anyone fishing this weekend?
Yo Jeff (and others), Please don't stop posting your fishing results and tips. They (along with all the others) are helpful and very enjoyable to read when I can't make it out to the river. Soon enough it will rain and we'll all be out there fishing. Until then, let's keep the board clean and limited to reports and tips. I would hate for this board to "implode". Thanks.
Blah blah blah, as long as it is legal, then its fine by my book. As far as this forum being for posting fish catches only, I suggest you look at Ernies home page and I quote "We have a bulletin-board page for local anglers to post their local fishing experiences! You can look here for what others have posted, or if you'd like to let the world know about your last Salmon trip, Rock fishing trip, or whatever, you can post it here." People commenting about C&R, methods or "whatever" (just like Ernie says) is OK. And if Ernie himself, or his webmaster don't like what's posted, they can delete it, right?? Kid, I know you have been the #1 contributor as far as fishing tips/locations, but don't let it get to your head by "threatening" not to post here anymore because it sounds silly and childish. Freedom of speech, right? Even if it is profanity, although your the 1st person I've seen spell out the word BS. Remember, their might be youngsters in here which is why I don't use words like that, even though its not that big of a profanity. Let people speak there mind, that's part of what this country's about. We have to talk about something while we wait for the steelies, right? BTW, what is "F.O.A.D."? Do I want to know?
This web site is to post your fish catchs, to let other fishermen know when it's a good time to hit the local rivers. It's not supposed to be an open forum to debate C & R or weather fly fishing is better than using bait. Funny how when there's no adult steelies in the river people post a bunch of bullshit. I for one am over it. This may be my last post if you guys don't knock it off. F.O.A.D. .
all you guys need to relax and take a "pill..." in my mind, (which i'm sure will "spawn" (no pun intended) much creative response), the problem is very simple, irregardless of who is to blame for the problems on the slr... there aren't enough steelhead coming back to procreate!!! given this fact, something needs to be done... either shut down the river for anglers or activate a c&r... if no one cares whether the fish come back, then have everything you catch for dinner... what's the issue??? to get fish to come back, they need to have a chance to survive... i don't particularly enjoy getting into political discussions, but i couldn't be silent on this one any longer... i invite all rebuttals... i'm neither a c&r fanatic, nor am i an "all you can eat" proponent... my basic philosophy is that if we want steelhead to exist in the slr, then we need to encourage them to want to come back and reproduce... nitt
I believe most of us that read this forum, (not necessarily just those who post to it), would like to keep at least a hatchery fish every once in a while? But when F & G and NMFS start talking about closing the all the Central Coast rivers to all fishing OR maybe just making them 'Catch and Release' then you get a lot of guys jumping on the C & R bandwagon... I just wish the agencies in power would quit blaming those of us who fish and deal with the root causes. They are perfectly aware of all the additional predation by Seals and Sea Lions as well as the degradation of spawning habitat but they continually chose the path of least resistance and least expense. It's much easier to change the Regs to read 0 limit compared to convincing entire communities to spend, or lose, money in order to restore habitat. Or try to convince the US Congress that they should remove Seals and Sea Lions from the Marine Mammal Protection Act so that their populations can be more actively managed. I just wish some Native American Tribe would elect to exercise their tribal hunting rights and bring a few canoes/spears, (OK maybe now they use a Boston Whaler and a 30-30), down to the lagoon in January and thin out the herd of Seals...
Wow, only catch and release has been brainwashed into to many heads The fishing isn't poor due to people being responsible and eating a few fish, I don't mean catching your limit on all open fishing days just because you can, but a reasonable harvest when the numbers are up isn't a bad thing. Pollution and way to much development have ruined the fish populations more than responsible fisherman who take home a meal once in a while ever did. I grew up in Santa Cruz over 40 years ago, we brought a fish home from the San Lorenzo as well as most of the creeks up to the San Mateo County line all the time, there were lots of fish. I'm sure some of you remember looking off the railroad trestle in the lagoon and seeing fish in the thousands waiting for the rains to move upstream. We didn't slaughter them for the fun of it, but a nice 8 to 10 lb salmon was a real treat for the family, not all of us could afford the market price out on the pier. This site seems real "anti-keep" on all bodies of water. If the populations come back on the SLR, reasonable limits should be set again. I still fish places with good populations and very healthy fish stocks, it's a little un-nerving when the catch and release self appointed river gods look down their noses at you when putting one in the creel for the frying pan. We pay our license fees and taxes also.
Last Saturady, I went to SLR, Garden of Eden, Rincon area for checking fishing-spot since I have not been to SLR. And then I tried to catch a big one but I caught only babies even if used wet flies, big nymphs,... And also, I checked the spots near Henry Cowell's Parking today. Currently it seems that the water level is still too low. We'd better wait for heavy rain. Leave them alone.
anyone fish this weekend on the SLR??? probably pretty slow with the river being so low and slow...
"We did not inherit this resource from our parents but are simply borrowing it from our children." Just something to think about........
Alvin, the way it was explained to me many years ago, is that if State of California employees have the day off as a 'Paid Holiday' then it's ok to fish that day, well as long as it's between Nov. 16th and Mar. 1st. So I personally would feel OK fishing this Friday, although it would only be for the nice walk, not for any serious fishing... I fish hardware most of the time and definately early in the season just to avoid the juvenille fish. I use extra wide gap treble hooks and most of the time I have no problem releasing a fish quickly. I've tried fishing single hooks on my lures but I miss too many nice fish and even if I do hook up solid I would lose fish when they changed directions. I'll stick with barbless trebles for now, I'll hook far less pre-smolts and get most of my fish released quicker than if I were using bait...
Anybody know for sure whether the day after Thanksgiving is a legal fishing day for SLR? How about the day before Xmas and days near New Years? Thanks.
There are dozens of methods to catch steelhead, Flies, several different lures, and bait. I say, use what ever method works best for you. Even if it is bait, the point of the whole thing is hook into a nice fresh, adult steelie. And I for sure hook more fish using bait. I've hooked alot of silvers unintentionally In the SLR and Scott Creek. But silvers when hooked schould not even come out of the water. And its not a violation to incidently hook a siver while Steelhead fishing, if you dont land the the fish, revive it and release it. It seems like for me, I hook 10 - 15 smolts or juvenuilles for every adult over 5 pounds. I've been fishing the SLR for 25 years and have caught hundreds of Steelhead /Rainbows. With several going over the 10 pound mark. But this early in the season with low flows, egg eaters are the norm. I fly fish, I am proficient using several artificial lures, and use bait more often than not.. And I believe I catch more fish than most of the people you see out on the rivers/ creeks,lakes or ocean. I'm not the best and I'm no rookie, Thats the bottom line.....
I read the reg's within the last month and barbless treble hooks on lures are OK as long as they are a certain size and weight. Please let me know if I am misreading the reg's. I fish with f-7 flatfish and lose more than I land. The ones I landed last year were barely hooked in the lip and came unhooked easily. See you on the river.
Mike, I agree with you about not getting into "flame wars". I'm not that type of person. Like I said off the bat, "this is just my opinion". Bear, I never mentioned your name (i know i didn't have to) if it sounded too much like a flame, I apololgize. My comments were 95% aimed at the people jb was talking about and I threw in what you mentioned about catching smolts. You seem like a good person and you did nothing illegal, so my opinion should mean squat diddily. Curmdudgeon, I agree with most of what you said, although I've never "brain" hooked any fish in my life, nor can figure how to do that unless I intentionally held the fish in my hand and jabbed an oversized hook in the fishes mouth through the top of its head (still makes no sense, not to mention the actual size of the brain is tiny). Residents rainbows compared to a baby steelhead?? I don't think an experienced marine biologist can tell the difference without doing actual DNA analysis. Low flow closure is the best idea I've heard, but think would only be good for the months of November (maybe even December) or until after we've had a good amount of rain that would bring the river to about 350-450 cfs. Treble hooks, sure those should not be allowed. Is bait allowed in the SLR, I think it is, but shouldn't be. Would plastic baits fall in this category? I use nothing but plastic fake roe. Not sure of the brand, (I bring it from Washington, I'll be there x-mas week, anyone need any hard to find steelhead or salmon items, very inexpensive up there, so e-mail me) but comes in strips and you can disconnect the balls of plastic roe that is the size of something between a nickel and dime. Hook it on the hook eye with a 1/0 or 2/0 hook. Have yet to hook (or "brain hook") anything under 20" on this setup. I do not fly fish, but would love to learn someday. Hopefully we get A LOT of rain soon and we should all be happy campers :)
I agree. I don't want this to be a bash board. Again I don't mean anything personal, but I don't think that people should catch baby stealhead...on the SLR regulations. Single Barbless Hooks are required. Again, My opinion only is that you should fight the fish as quickly as possible, and remove the barbless hook quickly.
I will also weigh in with my two cents worth. First, trashing board contributors is a bad thing. Many good boards have gone down the tubes because of `flame wars'. Second, I enjoy fishing dry flies with a light rod early in the season up in the Gorge. There seem to be plenty of resident rainbows and a barbless #14 fly hook does very little damage. I usual give the fish a little slack and they are off without any handling. I've caught little guys on dries and 16" fish on dries. Third, if people are interested in keeping this resource healthy and abundant, then get rid of treble hooks and bait. I see several beautiful steelies go floating belly up down the river bleeding every season. It is always people fishing roe. Unlike a fly or chrome lure, those bags of roe taste good. The fish grab them and swallow quickly.
Well I guess I'll weigh in here too. I fly fish (small flies mostly, nothing bigger than size 6 or 8). I would NOT use a 1/0 or 2/0 hook for fear of braining a small (16-20 inch) steelhead! I can feel the difference between the take of a smolt and usually can "shake" them off. Lets remember though that juvenuille steelies are trout. Smolt are trout too. If we land them quickly and carefully there should be low mortality. If we are HAMMERING them as they have been in the lagoon with bank anglers dragging fish (smolt and 1/2 pounders alike) over the levee rock and on the bank we should worry. The smolt in the lagoon are the closest thing we have to future steelhead. I think (and I know this would NEVER happen on the SLR) if we are going to c&r we seriously need to rethink the use of bait. Studies show unequivocally that steelies take bait deeper and hooking mortality is higher. And I swear half the guys I see land and release fish take too long making me wonder how many of them fish with barbless hooks. Maybe we should also consider low-flow closures. Or maybe education. There are alot of selfish people out there.
My only question about calling F & G is this: Is it really against the law to take an endagered fish from the water for a photo? Maybe it's not a good idea, maybe in Northern CA they interpret the laws that way, but I don't want to get laughed at over the phone asking a game warden to write a citation for a photo. They can read the Sentinal, they can read this forum and they should respond appropriately without further complaints... That's my opinion. Maybe I'll call or e-mail the local warden for an official point of view... And YES occasionally stray King Salmon find their way in to our Central Coast Rivers. Now if we can just get that run to take hold...
All right now I wasn't bragging about the smolts. I normally fish with a 1/0 myself, but decided to try fly for once. Rest assured I won't be wasting my time there until we get some rain.
Now this is my opinion and my opinion only. For those of you fishing the SLR and catching smolts right now, I think you should be ashamed to even post your catches. How can you brag about catching baby steelhead no bigger than 10". I have never hooked a smolt while fishing for steelhead. I use nothing smaller than a 1/0 or 2/0 hook to catch adult steelhead. No way can a smolt swallow a hook that big. For someone to say that they weren't trying to catch a smolt is riduculous, especially 20 of them. C'mon now, we all know that if there is steelhead in the river right now, they are far and between, not to mention super spooky and nearly impossible to catch. For those fisherman, like myself, that are waiting for more rains to fill up the river, we are the real fisherman who actually care about our river. I was born and raised in this area and have seen what has happened in our local watersheds. I remember when the Pajaro river was "THE" river to fish, before poor water management ruined this fishery. Way better than what the SLR is now. Luckily for the SLR that it has immediate access to the Santa Cruz mountains otherwise it would be on the same boat as other rivers. So if you fish the SLR and want to brag about catching anything under 16" I would suggest you brag about it to someone who would be impressed, because I sure am not. Now, a 23" buck, hey well done. But, smolts????? Have a nice day :)
Now this is my opinion and my opinion only. For those of you fishing the SLR and catching smolts right now, I think you should be ashamed to even post your catches. How can you brag about catching baby steelhead no bigger than 10". I have never hooked a smolt while fishing for steelhead. I use nothing smaller than a 1/0 or 2/0 hook to catch adult steelhead. No way can a smolt swallow a hook that big. For someone to say that they weren't trying to catch a smolt is riduculous, especially 20 of them. C'mon now, we all know that if there is steelhead in the river right now, they are far and between, not to mention super spooky and nearly impossible to catch. For those fisherman, like myself, that are waiting for more rains to fill up the river, we are the real fisherman who actually care about our river. I was born and raised in this area and have seen what has happened in our local watersheds. I remember when the Pajaro river was "THE" river to fish, before poor water management ruined this fishery. Way better than what the SLR is now. Luckily for the SLR that it has immediate access to the Santa Cruz mountains otherwise it would be on the same boat as other rivers. So if you fish the SLR and want to brag about catching anything under 16" I would suggest you brag about it to someone who would be impressed, because I sure am not. Now, a 23" buck, hey well done. But, smolts????? Have a nice day :)
The fish and game # is on your license...Another word, I AM NOT SPEAKING ABOUT ANY INDIVIDUAL>, Please don't take my comments as an afront to you trout man or anyone else typing here. I simply wanted to convey that we can do more amongst our ranks to watch, teach, and practice sound conservation instead of having it forced on us...and then complaining about our vanishing rights. Take a moment and help that guy with a fish on land his fish quickly, and release it safely. Most importantly be a good example, and don't be afraid to speak up if you see something that is not right.
Well said Corbett. I assure you however I was not focusing on smolts nor was I drinking wine. All fish lipped the fly and were released with great care. I to am looking for a fishery in the years to come for my kids.
I caught a king last year on the SLR. At this same time though there was quite a bit more flow. It was about 12-14 lbs. Last Sunday, I saw 2 kings also both were +/- 18 lbs. No they were not silvers. I have caught lots of both fish... The biggest silver I have ever caught was 14 lbs or so in the salt off Port Orford, OR. I have seen a couple in the 16-17 lbs range (Kenai AK, and I have seen pictures of a 20 lb fish. Taken from Kodiak, AK. If you ever see anyone on the river breaking any rules, Please call the DFG, Imediately. They will apreciate it. They can't be everywhere at once. I know that they caught a poacher last year based on a tip, so it works. Now a word on catching smolt. Don't do it. The mortality rate of catch and release is there anyway. The natural mortality rate of smolt is high enough anyway. Go to the trout farm if you need to see a fish. Don't hook tiny fish. Dam, the fish have a hard enough time as it is, and maximun escapement is necessary for our native runs to stay in exsistance. I want my kinds to fish for stealhead with me. Don't squander or resources, Protect them. My opinon only, but if we don't do our job as stuards of the land, then we don't have a right to complain when they close the rivers down for good. Just like the marine closures. Look beyond your single outing please.
Well I went out Sat. despite low water. Started the day off catching 20+ smolts up to 10". The weather was great so I figured, hey at least I'm out here. Last cast of the day after being at the same hole for 20 minutes I changed my set up. Oh yeah, 23" full color buck! I knew some good fish made it up, but they are hard to find. The day ended with the car not starting. We hitched a ride from a guy that claimed to know the guy who caught the ? silver salmon. He said it was actually a Chinook. Has anyone heard of a Chinook run on the San Lorenzo? I live in south San Jose by the Guadalupe River and we get a Chinook run with few Steelhead. This could have been a wrong way fish or a true Queen Coho. I want a picture. Anyways let's get some rain and bring up the rest of its family....and if you want a picture keep it in the water. Thanks.
Well I went out Sat. despite low water. Started the day off catching 20+ smolts up to 10". The weather was great so I figured, hey at least I'm out here. Last cast of the day after being at the same hole for 20 minutes I changed my set up. Oh yeah, 23" full color buck! I knew some good fish made it up, but they are hard to find. The day ended with the car not starting. We hitched a ride from a guy that claimed to know the guy who caught the ? silver salmon. He said it was actually a Chinook. Has anyone heard of a Chinook run on the San Lorenzo? I live in south San Jose by the Guadalupe River and we get a Chinook run with few Steelhead. This could have been a wrong way fish or a true Queen Coho. I want a picture. Anyways let's get some rain and bring up the rest of its family....and if you want a picture keep it in the water. Thanks.
I wasn't aware of any silvers still in the SLR. I thought they were pretty much extint except for up the coast (Scotts creek). Anyway, I recommend anyone to turn in violators by calling DFG hotline. I don't know the number off the top of my head but its something like this 1-888-dfg-caltip. Can someone verify.
I didn't see the Silver that was caught but one guy who saw it landed said it was at least 15 lbs and another guy, who also saw it landed, said it looked to be at least 20 lbs. Photos can be very deceiving especially when you're not familiar with the sizes of everything in the photo that act as a reference. For instance, I'm 6' 4" tall with arms like an orangutan,(that's how it's spelled - I checked), so a photo of me with a 12lb steely really looks like some guy holding an 8lb steely, unless you know it's me and you've seen how big I am in person... Both of the guys I spoke with observed the eggs of this fish falling on to the ground. I just saw the pile of single eggs on the beach as I arrived. They told me that the guy was going to turn the photo in to the Sentinal even though they asked him not to. I don't see why F & G can't track this guy down and give him a citation based on the photo and the info in the article, (which I have yet to see for myself)?
I didn't see the Silver that was caught but one guy who saw it landed said it was at least 15 lbs and another guy, who also saw it landed, said it looked to be at least 20 lbs. Photos can be very deceiving especially when you're not familiar with the sizes of everything in the photo that act as a reference. For instance, I'm 6' 4" tall with arms like an orangutan,(that's how it's spelled - I checked), so a photo of me with a 12lb steely really looks like some guy holding an 8lb steely, unless you know it's me and you've seen how big I am in person... Both of the guys I spoke with observed the eggs of this fish falling on to the ground. I just saw the pile of single eggs on the beach as I arrived. They told me that the guy was going to turn the photo in to the Sentinal even though they asked him not to. I don't see why F & G can't track this guy down and give him a citation based on the photo and the info in the article, (which I have yet to see for myself)?
Something did not add up in that story. It looked like a 30+lb fish in the photo, it looked like a silver (can't tell much from a newspaper photo), but the CA record silver is 22lbs, the Alaska record is 26lbs. Am I missing something here? Doesn't seem likely that the largest silver known to man by a large amount is swimming around in the SLR does it?
The article said the fish was 30 something. Is there a picture on the web anywhere?
My sediments exactly Mick... did you see the photo of that fish in yesterdays Sentinel? The guy (Jeff Garcia... no relation to the 49er quarterback) is shown holding the fish with two hands at chest height like he's handling a sack of potatoes! What a bozo! If you read the article by Travis Semmes (tsemmes@santa-cruz.com) he even has a sentence in there which states, "Remember to take the utmost care when handling these fish". I wouldn't exactly say that guy took the utmost care handling that fish. I heard about this fish story from a friend that was on the river last weekend... I was surprised it took so long to surface on this webpage? I didn't believe it until I saw the photo... that is a huge silver... anywhere. It is a shame, like Mick said, that there will be a few less silvers because of this clown's photo. Especially since this fish obviously has excellent genetics! Oh well, that's my two cents.
My sediments exactly Mick... did you see the photo of that fish in yesterdays Sentinel? The guy (Jeff Garcia... no relation to the 49er quarterback) is shown holding the fish with two hands at chest height like he's handling a sack of potatoes! What a bozo! If you read the article by Travis Semmes (tsemmes@santa-cruz.com) he even has a sentence in there which states, "Remember to take the utmost care when handling these fish". I wouldn't exactly say that guy took the utmost care handling that fish. I heard about this fish story from a friend that was on the river last weekend... I was surprised it took so long to surface on this webpage? I didn't believe it until I saw the photo... that is a huge silver... anywhere. It is a shame, like Mick said, that there will be a few less silvers because of this clown's photo. Especially since this fish obviously has excellent genetics! Oh well, that's my two cents.
Speaking of Catch and Release techniques and Zero Limits.... Last year I was with a guide on the Smith and we observed a bank fisherman landing an 8lb steely by dragging up the beach. Our guide commented that he'd better hope there's not a Game Warden around if that's a wild fish. I asked why, a guy has to land a fish before he can release it? He told us that F & G had warned all the guides not to remove any wild Steelhead from the water. Any fish with a Zero Limit that's either "threatened" or "endangered" may not be removed from the water, not even for a photo. Although he said he'd work with us if we wanted a photo of the fish as we held it in the water... So last Saturday a lucky guy hooked a nice Female Silver Salmon, I'm told he slid it up the bank and the held it up to take a photo, all the while eggs were streaming out on to the sand... Now I understand why we're not supposed to take these fish from the water... There will be a few less Silvers thanks to that photo...
To the guys catching smolts off the bank in the lagoon then reeling them up flopping on the bank, unhooking and throwing them from a height of 10 feet: think a bit about your C&R techniques! I am hesitant to post a report because I will NOT give guys like these any information about where to find fish. I talked to some biologists working for the city who seined a few areas in the lagoon yesterday. The fish (all smolts) were predominantly wild and healthy (8 to 1 wild to hatchery), and had almost completely undergone smolt transformation. They are actively feeding and will head into the ocean soon. Treating them like s***t is stupid to put it mildly. I asked a guy who was fishing from a rock wall a good 10 feet above the hole I was fishing how he would land a good size fish from his height and he replied (and I am not exaggerating) "I'll deal with that when it happens. We can't keep them anyway, right?" These same guys bitched and moaned when these biologists drifted through the hole they were fishing. Let's also remember (and remind others?) that the regs have changed!!! Zero limit, barbless hooks. I watched 2 guys on Sunday hook a 2-3 pound fish, take it on the bank and then hold it out of the water for almost a minute trying to unhook it. Then they run up the bank with it! When I yelled they couldn't keep it they released it. And we wonder why the regs have changed?!
Eli - it was a beautiful morning on the river this morning (wednesday) but in the Rincon and Sand Holes area it was reallllly slow. I finally gave up swinging streamers and caught 3 little guys and a bead-head nymph. Maybe 15" for the COMBINED length of all three...
Anyone got a report for SLR today? Whats up with this "Free advertising clutter" for this jim guy and his so called unreal egg? People guiding out of the sac is not a local report, in my opinion. But what do I know, opinions are like a&*h&*es, everyone has one and they all stink. So how about that report?
SoCaLKid I usually fish a medium sink tip, which is about five feet in length. I find the most direct way to get the fly down is to use a really short leaders(8lb test) of about three feet. i also use about 18 inches of butt section and tie a loop to allow the leader to hing down to deeper depths. On top of that loop i put two BB split shots and just that single egg and it can really produce. For information about getting Petis's Unreal eggs, you can go to theflyshop.com which is where Jim guides out of, in Redding. P.S. Jim Petis is one of the more deticated guided i have been with and guides on one of the best rivers in the lower 48, the lower sac, so if you have the time, call the fly shop and book a reservation with Jim. The the lower sac is also open year around for catching 3-5 pound average rainbows and it is perfect in the spring when there isn't any steelhead fishing. Good luck.
Here's a site that shows the unreal egg. www.theflyshop.com/61.htm Pray for rain!
Fished Saturday and Wednesday morning in the Rincon area. Lots of fisherman Saturday morning, very few Wednesday. Water is low and clear, I didn't see any fish larger than 14" caught. I eventually started fishing a small elk hair caddis dry fly and caught a bunch of small trout (3" - 6") and three 12" fish, one was pretty solid silver.
Hey Geoff, How are you fishing that fly? Under a indicator, on a sink tip? Also is there a site that shows the fly? thanks!!
For all SLR flyfisher man. Over the last few years my dad and i have been experimenting with many different patterns of glo bugs. A trip to the Sacramento with a man named Jim Petis hooked us on an unique egg patterns called Petis's unreal egg, that actually has a glass bead inside. It is wraped in many different types of glo bugs yarn to suit the particular day and water clarity. We had used it sinse the beginning of last year and were catching mainly half pounders on it, but one january day last year i was able to hook a twelve pounder on the Unreal egg, but lost the fish at my feet. My dad about thirty minutes later hooked on the largest steelhead i have ever seen on Egg, and a spectator was able to verify the masive size of the fish (14-20lbs), it was also lost ten feet infront of us. The last day of the season was the real proof for the greatness of the fly. My dad had hooked a five pounder on the Egg and had it shake off at his feet, and the fly was just dangling in the current and ten seconds later my dad hooked a nine pounder with that fly just suspended. The guys watching had said that they have never scene a fish move six feet to hit a fly before. Sorry about the long message but i hope this gives proof to all of the fly guys out there the huge fish can be caught on the fly on the SLR.
Fished the gorge Sat. morning. Got 2 16" that cleared the water twice. The size may not be here yet, but anytime a fish jumps out to say "Hi" it's exciting. Managed to catch them after a crowd moved through the holes with no luck. I guess I had just what they were looking for. Pray for rain!
"I got this feeling that you and me will get along fine down to the river with fresh air and a jug of wine," - took the kids, twins and four year old to da rincon... Taught the four year old to roll cast... The twins (2 each) play with the ultra-light, and got tired quickly, not like loch lomond planters,... made a few casts, hooked one quarter pounder on a bead head Prince Nymph... Saw only one adult fish... It rolled on my black stone fly... A sound rejection... The wine was great... A day on the river with the family, Priceless!!!
Fished the San Lorenzo Sunday, caught a couple of egg -eaters. What are the hot flies and setups? Caught mine on crystal buggers and a 325 grain 24 foot head that I use in the surf. Thanks a lot!
steeliefisherinsc, Thanks for your info. I could go.
park right on the road next to the SL on the non courthouse side of the bridge then walk down on the courthouse side of the river. note: quaters might be needed
I want to go fishing this coming weekend. I didn't make it to the mighty SL this weekend and am wondering if the water will be clear enough to fly fish? thanks
Guys, Steelhead season has come?,... I'm from Japan, live in Cupertino, and fly-fishing addict since '94. However, I don't have enough information to fish trout and steelhead. But I've read the regulation, and found Butano Creek, San Lorenzo River, Pescadro Creek,.. using interner and reach this web-site. In case of San Lorenzo, where should I park?, how can I reach the stream? Any kind guy, would you tell me? please! -Thanks.
Fished the Garden and the gorge today. The water was extremely low and clear. You could see the bottom of most the holes. As expected, lots of fishermen and very few fish. I caught a 14" trout just above the swing hole on a frog colored F-7. Most fishermen were reporting cathing a couple small fish like mine. The only large fish I heard of was down close to the mouth. A few more good rains will bring them up (I hope). Hope we all have a great season.
Fished the Garden and the gorge today. The water was extremely low and clear. You could see the bottom of most the holes. As expected, lots of fishermen and very few fish. I caught a 14" trout just above the swing hole on a frog colored F-7. Most fishermen were reporting cathing a couple small fish like mine. The only large fish I heard of was down close to the mouth. A few more good rains will bring them up (I hope). Have we all have a great season.
How was the fishing this morning? Unfortunatly I had to work. Any fish caught? Any size or just egg eaters. If any fish were caught where (lower river, gorge)? How were the crowds? Thanks for the info
Checked the river this morning at the cowell bridge. Water is really low and clear, could be tough to hook up. They have the dam up already, but I doubt if very many fish have made up that far, if any at all. My friend saw fish jumping at the trestle and court house hole on wednesday. The lower river from the mouth to the tannery is where I'm headed in the morning, and if nothing good happens I'm heading over to the American River on sunday. Good luck and see ya on the river.
I have been checking out holes from paradise down to the mouth. The river is VERY low and VERY clear. 21 cfs is just over the summer lows of 14-16 cfs (in the spring 150-200 cfs seems low!). If there are alot of people out tomorrow it will be tough (wish the opener was on a weekday this year...)
Thanks for the info Ron, appreciate it!
The river probably is low, as I'm willing to bet most of the rain we recieved last week soaked into the ground. There probably are some fish in the lower system though. Stealth is key.
Does anyone know how the river looks? The USGS site shows it at 21 cfs. This low the fish will be spooky.
T-Bone: Scott Creek is about three miles north of the coastal town of Davenport. Driving north bound on HWY 1, exit at Swanton Road, which will take you to the upper reaches of the creek.
had a couple of questions for the opening day...1. what's the best bet? mouth+buckeye, mid-way around the cemetery+sycamore, or up by garden to bend hole? 2. if we were to fish around sycamore where can we park, are we allowed to just pull up to the side of ocean st and park?
Hmmmm.... I can tell you that I did see 3 fish down by the county building footbridge last week (pre-rain) ranging from 16 to 20+ inches. Water was high (backing up) but the river had been making a right turn past the boardwalk, breaching the sand bar and making it likely that fish could come in on a high tide. The fish I saw had a hint of color. Those fish surely moved up but all the way to bean creek? Were they counting pre-smolts? I find it really hard to believe that fish would move all the way past the gorge this early but who knows (B.L. Kid does this seem likely?). Incidentally, I have been looking at the holes from Water street down (county building to buckeye) and have not seen any fish since the rain. Water is, again, very low and clear.
Have a co-worker who lives right on Bean Creek (tributary to SLR, I believe). He told me that last weekend after the rains, there were 3-4 wardens down at the creek by his property. My coworker asked what they were doing, they said they were counting fish. Where they counting steelhead this early in the season or might have there been coho salmon down there? Hopefully, coho salmon are coming back in numbers?
Checked outhe SLR mouth this morning at high tide..The river has breached the sand bar and no longer makes a right turn in front of the boarwalk. The waves were going clear up to the trestle. Hopefully some fish made a run for it, the river still has a decent flow and is still muddy. The weather forcast keeps changing with some showers predicted for later in the week in the S.C. mountains. Good signs for things to come!!!
The river has come up and is pritty muddy with alot of crap washing down..If we don't get some more rain before the opener it will drop back down..Next week is supossed to be on the dry side..It could be a slow opener as far as adult fish go, with lots of egg eaters around..The lower river from the mouth to the start of the gorge will be the the place to start.. They tend to hang out there and aclimate back to fresh water and wait for more rain to push up to the spawning grounds..This winter is supossed to be a wet one with a small to moderate EL NINO effect..I think this will be a good season with alot of nice adult steelies, later in the season and may have a decent showing of silvers..Scotts creek is the same way, but drops really fast with no rain. And is so small that it is hard not to spook the fish. Being as stealth as possible is the key to fishing scotts crk. Remember Rod tips up and Tight Lines land fish. Good luck and see ya on the river...... FISH ON !!!
Ron, where's Scott's Creek and can I fish for those Salmon on the 16th???
Yep - the river is roaring. There is a lot of stuff coming down besides water. Branches, leaves, soccer balls, cans, big oil slicks -- it is not pretty. I guess 6 months worth of accumulated oil and road grime is washing off the streets. It is probably good to start the rain season with a big enough storm to scour out the trash first thing.
The river should be pumping like crazy right now based on a 11:30 am CFS measurement at Santa Cruz today. The rains couldn't be timed better, as I'm sure silver salmon are dieing (no pun intended) to enter Scotts Creek. Anyway, to see today's actual 500+ CFS in the San Lorenzo River, click on: http://waterdata.usgs.gov/ca/nwis/uv/?format=img&site_no=11161000&period=4&PARAmeter_cd=00060
I live in Ben Lomond too. We've had about 5 inches of rain since 12:30 AM Thursday. The river is up and off color. The gage was broken yesterday, but they've got it working now. Before the rain started flows were at 14cfs, it's now running around 360cfs! Could be a good opener!
Well it's pouring here in San Jose. Where's our river update from Ben Lomond kid? This rain should kick start the season.
hopefully the recent and near-term rain will bring some steelhead up the san lorenzo in time for opening day... anyone know how the river looks???
Nitt - there is one reg change for 2002. The bag limit for the SLR is now 0. Still barbless hooks only.
Steelhead season on San Lorenzo River, Soquel Creek and Aptos Creek runs from 11/16/02 - 2/28/03, but only on Sat., Sun., Wed., legal holidays and the opening and closing days. Good luck this year!
anyone know when steelhead season starts on the san lorenzo??? any change in this year's fishing regs???
I haven't caught one in the SL, but spotted a very red coho at lower sand hole about 6 years ago or so. But only the fish ladder crew can tell you what's actually moved into the stream, though. Anyway, I sense this will be the year I get a stealie in the 15+ range, guys. . . I'm due that way.
Less than 6 weeks to go!!! I keep hearing about Coho, however, I have not read of any being caught in the San Lorenzo (in recent years anyway). Anyone catch one?
Ah Ron, like me, you are getting ready for the season. 6 weeks to go still! Lots of steelhead (I think, could be coho too) jumping in the Bay off the jetty and in the flats at south New Brighten.
The winter of 2000, especially Febuary, was really wet. I wonder how nicely or poorly that will affect the SL fishing this season in terms of returning fish?!!
Help!!!! I just moved to the area from Oregon. I greatly miss my familiar fishing places. But I'm going to try my fly cast at striper fishing. I'm looking for a good deal on an 8 wt. flyrod. Anybody??????
One-eye, I've heard from a couple of friends that they have seen steelhead jumping in the bay off New Brighton, and have a pretty reliable report of a fly fisherman catching a 24" steelie in the surf at Seabright beach (below the cement gray whale).
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, After a season of dissapointing results casting for Stripers in the surf I am looking for other local options. I have it on good authority (allbeit an angler, and therefore accounted some latitude!) that enough steelhead and Silvers are caught in the surf in the fall that the surf dogs equipe and pursue when present. I am looking for any further info or those willing to chance a skunking in a noble(or is it foolish?) pursuit.
Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, After a season of dissapointing results casting for Stripers of the surf I am lokking to other local options. I have it on good authority (albeit an an angler, and therfore accounted some latitude!) the enough steelhead and Silvers are caught in the surf in the fall that the surf dogs equipe and pursue when present. I am looking for any further info or those willing to chance a skunking in noble(or is it foolish?) pursuit.
Thanks Mike, that'll save me some bucks for a new spool. I'll give it a try. I like having the floating line, much easier to mend. Of course, I've heard that casting LC-13 is like casting a bicycle chain! I'll try to get in some practice before the season starts. Counting the days 'til November 16th, Doug
Hi Doug - I've been pretty happy using a floating line with a loop at the end and looping on sections of LC13 (lead core) of whatever length is appropriate for the water level and depth of the hole I'm fishing (usually use an LC13 section of a couple of feet for the San Lorenzo). Ernie sells LC13 in a 30' length for around $8 (from cortland). I get a package of braided loops from him and put a loop on each end of a 2' LC13 length, 3' length etc. It is easy at the river to make loop-to-loop connections between the LC13 and the fly line and the LC13 and a leader (also with a loop). It is a little ugly to cast, but you can get the job done (usually). Mike
Question for the fly-guys. Getting ready for steelhead season. I've got a floating line for my 8 weight and am planning to get another spool with some sort of sinking or sink-tip setup. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. Doug
Good to see your post Jeff. Is it November yet? I also went up to the trinity 2 weeks ago. Hired a guide and had a great time. Landed 4 adult salmon, 2 jacks, 1 big steelhead and broke off 3 salmon. Off the water by 11:00am. Still prefer the SLR.
Well folks it's that time of year>>>Time to start gearing up for what looks to be another great steelhead season..Judging from whats be happening in the rivers up north..The spring run of kings was phenomenal .. And the summer steelies soon follow.. With the recent start of the fall run of salmon in the the rivers up north.(KLAMATH AND TRINITY IS WHAT I'M TALKIN' ABOUT) IT'S TIME TO BUST OUT THAT STEELHEAD ROD AND DRIVE YOUR ASS UP THERE!!! We went last week to the Trinity and got our limits of salmon..All bright chrome and in the 8-12 pound range..This year the F & G adult king quota is 20,500.. 2 adults and one jack per day.. And one hatchery steelhead... Also had some decent steelie action..Lots of half pounders (egg eaters) as we call em' on the SLR.And hooked into five adult steelies inthe 5 to 8 pound range. Of course we release all the steelhead we catch.................................Things are only going to get better in the coming weeks.. If you can get the time off or whatever, I recommend heading up that way and get in on the early action up there.. Nov,is still aways away and this is where all the action is... And hopefully we'll have another great season on the SLR.......Fish On!!!!! Tight Lines<<<<>>>>>
So you can't keep the fish anymore from the San Lorenzo? Catch and release only, are the fish stocks in that bad a shape that there isn't even a reasonable harvest allowed? Wow, I grew up in S Crz, we used to fish Butano Creek, Wilder Creek, & San Vicente Creek in Davenport, Branciforte Creek, and the River, opening day was a zoo in the river especially at the mouth near the trestle, shoulder to shoulder, on the bank and in the water. Used to be quite a few fish to, never wasted them, but always took legal sized fish home to eat. By the time I moved away from S Crz in 1987 the fishing was poor and most of the north coast creeks were off limits to all fishing, to bad those little creeks were some of the best fishing ever! Hey Ernie, I remember you from the United Cigar Agency, before you moved down Pacific Ave to the new store, boy I'm getting old......... I'll have to check out your new store in Soquel, (guess it's not so new anymore). Catching lots of trout up here in Colorado near the continental divide, some as big as those SLR fish in the good old days, caught me a 16.5 lb 35" Mack on a 1/4 oz gold kastmaster, 4lb test, G. Loomis 6' ultralight rod. Hour and a half to land the bugger. Most of them are much smaller, 16" is a good fish. Living right on the upper Arkansas River, a fantastic brown trout river. This is fishing like the old days in Santa Cruz, lots of fish, and very few fisherman up in the high country.
Spent a little time on Loch Lomand Sunday June 2. Saw lots of trout caught by trollers. Fished bunny leeches and big popper for bass in the coves but didn't turn up anything. Finally gave up and caught a bunch of sunfish on little poppers. It was cold with a steady breeze from 7am till almost noon.
After hearing some reports of halibut and stripers at New Brighton I fished Memorial Day morning there. Saw one fly fisherman catch a small halibut, saw some dolphin and otters but that was about it. The water was in good shape (not too much seaweed) but I had no bites, and didn't see any sign of baitfish in the water.
Just wanna let ya know I uset th' Huey's Hopper the last time I fished up the Tuke and I caught a mess a trout. Threw 'em all back though. My advice is t' throw 'em back right away rather'n leavin' 'em in yer creel all day. Keep Up the good werk Ernie!!
GETTING READY FOR THE SALMON OPENER ON THE BAY!! TIME TO FISH IN THE BIG POND:) 2001/2002 SLR SEASON WAS BEST I HAD IN 3YEARS
what would you guys recommend for bait on cow bells for trolling?
Ryan: The limit is five.
Fished L.L. last sunday. Got there around 6:30, I was fishing from the bank, then about 15 minutes after I got into the water I had a worm out for bass but I cought a rainbow on it. Fishing was pretty slow, not many people caching more than one fish. Later that day I hooked another one on a night crawler. I also find using rattle traps(lipless Crank baits)for bass work great, they also cover water fast. One question, what is the limit for rainbows?
Mike, most of the bass I get out of L.L. are caught on a whole night crawler with no weight>>>or rubber worms. black or purple, Seem to work best 4 me..I have also got some nice ones using a small bluegill..Last year while i was watching my buddie reel in a small rainbow, a hudge bass (10 pounds) came up out of the deep and inhaled the rainbow..Got her in the boat for a picture after a 10 min. battle..Then released her back to spawn. Last sunday I saw a lady that had caught a big rainbow (25" range and at least 4 pounds)..Most of the big ones i believe to be hold overs>>But every once in a while DFG will throw in a few big planters..Most planters are in the 10 -12 " size..And would be considered eggeaters on the SLR..It's hard to get excited hookin these little planters after all the nice steelies I caught on the SLR...But the bass are whats up, as they move into the shallow's to spawn, the bite will only improve...Fish On!!!
What did you catch those largemouths on Kid? Last year had a good time catching bass (mostly smaller) on poppers in LL. The big boy I hooked grabbed a bluegill that I was bringing in. Twice last year I saw big fish (25") that looked like steelhead (or any big trout for that matter) does anyone know what these are?
Fished Loch Lomond opening day and sunday. Fri. morning was a little windy but it died down around 10:30..We trolled and both got easy limits of rainbows to 13 "..Spotted a few bass but couln't get em to bite..Sunday we only got 3 rainbows>> seemed like they were not biting as good as friday.So we switched over to bass, found several in the back of the lake in the afternoon when the water warmed up a little in the shallows. got 3 bass, two in the 3 pound range and a 5 pounder.The bass bite will improve with more nice weather and warming water temps. By the 2 nd week in april the bite will be on fire...
Russman: I as at Loch Lomond Sat from 7 am -11 am. I caught five nice rainbows approx 10-12 inches. These were all caught trolling near the cove. Most folks in boats seemd to do well. Bank angling wasn't fairing as well-at least from what I could see. I hope you make it out early AM next time.
Mick, the Kispiox is patrolled and each angler buys a punch card - I spent several hours Saturday listening to a friend tell about his experiences in BC - he has a cabin on one of the tributaries. He also says that the size of fish he has caught has been declining. We're lucky to have a little river with good-sized fish in our back yard.
I planned a trip to Loch Lomond on Sat., but our wives wanted to come and we didn't get on the water until 2:30! Needless to say, we got one trout about 12", released. Did anyone get there early? How was it? I'm going to try getting there by 6:00 or 6:30 this Friday.
Here is a sad fact I heard on a steelhead video I watched the other day... While steelies have the ability to make repeated runs up the river from the ocean, only about 10% of them ever make more than one trip. I hope I heard that wrong. Thoughts?
One more comment with regards to Lou's post below. Any fish that go past the Felton Diversion dam don't get much opportunity to return to the ocean. Unless we get some heavy rain in March/April that causes the dam to automatically deflate to at least 1/2 of normal. Any fish upstream of the dam got there by going up the fish ladder, in to the trap and then put over by hatchery volunteers. The only options to go downstream past the dam would be the fish ladder, except the trap is in the way, or to flop over the top of the dam. In past years, I'd spent around a 100 hours watching steelies, mostly in the month of March, swim back and forth across the front of the dam but never going over. I asked a CDF&G biologist about this and they said it just goes against their instincts to drop 8 feet in 10 inches of water. In past years they have lowered the dam overnight to allow fish to pass but it usually required someone to gripe about it first! And amazingly not all the fish leave! And some go down just to come back up the ladder a day or two later! Go figure...
Another thought on spreader bars... after catching 1 steelhead on the American river on Wednesday, and then the first two at the San Lorenzo on Thursday, the lure lost its action even though I made sure the eye loops, spreader bar and hooks looked straight to the eye. So I tied on a new F-7 which had great action until I caught my final two at which time it also lost its action. I'm thinking that spreader bars are only good for 2-3 big fish before needing to be swapped out. Your thoughts? By the way, as most of us know, when releasing a fish, hold it under water, nose facing up stream in slow/moderate current until it gains enough strength to bolt out of your hands on its own power. Thanks, Steve
I agree with Lou, except I wouldn't want to see a limit on catch and release...(I'm not sure how they would track it anyway?) And I think Lances technique was excellent, it just didn't look very fun, I like to let a fish make few good hard runs and show me what it can do. After the first minute or two I'll often give the fish some slack to see if it can release itself. As for Steve and his FF troubles, in my experience fishing a FF straight downstream, or close to it, is one of the most effective ways to get strikes in faster moving water, BUT it's also the most prone to losing fish. I think it has to do with the angle of attack being from directly behind the lure. It's hard to get a good hookset in the corner of the jaw. So don't blame your spreader bar.
The low water for most of the season was hard on the fish. They had to hold in the lagoon for a while and dodge harbor seals (assuming they ran the ocean gauntlet of sea lions successfully) and then make their way up a shallow river with few holding places for them to rest. The water temperature has been high due to low flow and maybe partly because of the dam and that saps their energy, too. If they are hooked and fought for a long while, I doubt that they can make it to spawn successfully and then get by the seals on their way out. In the drought of the 70's I saw several dead Steelhead that had died in the pools because they were trapped by low flow. I've been fishing the SLR for 32 seasons so I've seen the fishing change from good to very bad to good to bad to very good last year. I'm really happy that most of the fishermen I see up there are both good fishermen and also conservation-minded. However, I see a lot of very light rods and light reels in use. While it is fun to play a wild Steelie until it is exhausted, I doubt that it is good for the fish. A week or so ago someone commented that "Lance" doesn't play the fish very long. I say more power to him - the trick to catching Steelhead is hooking them, and the first couple of minutes on the line is usually the best of the fight. There are plenty of rods available that have sensitive tips and beefy roots. I use 12-lb test on a stiff spinning rod built as a fly rod, but using small spinning guides so wet line doesn't stick to the rod. With this rig I can get most any fish on the bank in less than 3 minutes. I have caught fish on an 8-weight fly rod but it takes too long to land the fish - my 10-weight works OK but lacks the sensitivity I need. Maybe our future will see the same rules as are in force on the Kispiox and other rivers in British Columbia - each angler is allowed to catch and release a maximum of 3 fish a day! Food for thought - hope I see all of you on the river next year.
Steve "F7"---I met you on the RR tracks as you were leaving Thursday. You must have educated all those fish you released since I didn't get any where you said they were. I've had the opposite experience from you regarding F7s. I prefer the F7s with the spreader and the 2 treble hooks. Somebody told me when I first started to swap the factory hooks for bigger ones. That seemed to work pretty good for me even with 1 or 2 of the points cut off (I think you couldn't use trebles at one point in time). I seem to have more trouble with the single trebles---both hooking and losing fish. To me it seems that because of the placement of the hook with respect to the body, only 1 of the 3 points is fully exposed. The other two are shielded by the body. Anybody got any opinions on single treble vs 2 trebles on the spreader?
Like Mike, I also got my first (and second) big SLR steelhead, both by 7:15 am on thursday (Thanks to stretch for some of his indicator secrets!). Started at sycamore grove 6:15. Hooked and landed first fish on an orange size 8 glo-bug under an indicator around 6:30. 28 inch hatchery hen that took me 75 yards downstream and since there was no 'bank' (all willows)I had to negotiate a deep pool, my waders filling with water. Fished jumped 4 times and took almost 10 minutes to land. With the help of another angler took a couple photos and released her. 15-20 minutes later hooked a dark, hatchery buck (smaller, maybe 6-7 pounds) on a pink size 8 glo bug which ALSO took me through the pool downstream but never jumped. Needless to say I was cold at that point. Returned with my son later in the afternoon and spooked a 30 inch fish holding in 18 inches of clear, sun-filled water. No hook-ups but a very satisfying end to a (for me) dissapointing season, and very few other anglers to boot! Where was everyone? On another note, saw the new regs. SL river is now zero limit. Eliminates some of the 'confusion' some people seemed to have about differentiating wild from hatchery.
Jack - those little suckers like roe, salmon eggs and earthworms. I don't know why people kill them, they are native and play a role in the river ecology. The last few days with the SLR being so clear you could spot LOTs of suckers in each of the holes including some pretty large ones. I'm envious of steve's great last day on the river this season! Way to go steve. I was out early and late on Thursday and saw some nice fish in Wall hole, but did not have any takes. Seems like it was an excellent season. How do you long-time SLR steelheaders rate this last one compared to the previous three or four years?
what kind of bait would you get the sucker fish anyways saw some in Scott Creek wednsdays. Saw 6-7 suckers dead.
Way to go on your big fish Mike!!! What a closing day this was. My best fishing day EVER. I fished from the top of the gorge down to the swing hole just below the garden. About 1/2 way down the gorge, I landed a 29" hatchery fish (measure it with my rod), took its picture and released it after reviving it. Then, about 3 holes up from the garden, I hooked a fish at least the same size. It made a couple of fierce runs including one directly toward me. I couldn't reel in the slack fast enough and he spit my lure out. Next, just after I met "Ben Lomond Kid" at the garden, I hooked another fish about the same size right in the garden hole. It was a beautiful native fish. I got it half way up the beach and the line went slack for a moment. He spit the hook and swam away. Finally, I hooked another fish about the same size from the top of the swing hole. It was a beautiful native fish. It kept making fierce runs all across the hole. I got him right up to rock I was standing on but I couldn't figure out how to land him. I touched him and he was off. So basically, I suck at landing fish, but I would have released all of them anyway so it really doesn't matter. All 4 fish were in the 28-30" range (I don't know what that translates to pounds???). All 4 fish creamed a frog colored F-7 back reeled down deep holes. I don't recommend the hook set up with the 2 treble hooks attached to a wire running perpendicular to the lure. I think that's why the 3 got off so easily. Swap them out for one good size treble hook. Well, see you guys next season. God bless.
Ah, finally caught my first big SLR steelhead. Had on a big (#2) egg-sucking bunny leech and hooked up on a classic swing. 27" measured on my rod and it took me a solid ten minutes to bring it to shore. Solid chrome, hatchery buck in great shape. Later on fished Rincon hole with the same fly, then drifted a few others through at the head of the hole. A while later a couple fishermen came by and caught a nice fish at the same spot drifting roe. Unfortunately the fish didn't make it because it was hooked deep. Two lessons I took away from that. Roe works great, but its hard on the fish.
Fished just a couple hours Saturday morning. Started at the Garden of Eden. At 6:20 the parkinglot was already full and there were fishermen everywhere. Saw a beautifully colored 20" fish caught and a larger one hooked and lost in the rocky run a few hundred years upriver from The Garden of Eden and briefly hooked what felt like a small fish in the first deep hole up river from the Garden. Sunday morning started at Upper Sand Hole, only 4 cars in the Rincon lot at 6:30am. Caught a nice little chrome fish (18 - 20") at Lower Sand, nothing else for the rest of the morning and I didn't see any other fish caught. Nice flow, getting pretty clear. Got the Lower sand fish on a purple bunny leech with a pink head tied on a #2 hook.
Fished San Lorenzo on Saturday hooked 3 steelies in about 25 minutes right in the morning. Fishing slowed down the rest of the day.Overal I hooked 4 and landed 2 nice bucks 8-10 pounds each. Hooked a really nice one but got away. The water was a little clear, so I mainly stuck to the deep holes. I was using roe and orange puffball.
Fished the San Lorenzo on Saturday from 6 am - 2. Weather was 45 - 55 deg, water was green with 4 feet or so of visibility. Saw a 5 lber caught at the beginning of the tailout at 4 Rocks, jumped twice to nearly my 6 ft height! It was bright silver. I only caught 2 8" fish from 4 Rocks and didn't see anything else come out of there. Worked our way down to the fast water below Lower Sand Hole at around noon were I caught a 16" fish a few seconds after Lou hooked into a 9ish lb wild hen with a large gash across its tail. We landed and released both of them. So the season ended the way it began for me, egg eaters, but nothing larger.
Question for RideSuzuki15 - where is Uvas, and how do you get there? Thanks!
Question for RideSuzuki15 - where is Uvas, and how do you get there? Thanks!
I fished Uvas on Wednsday. Caught about five egg eaters and a nice sized buck about 10 pounder on a panther martin. It was awsome
I just hope that "photoguy" Ron reads this page before he heads out to the river Friday morning or he'll be a bit disappointed...
I guess I was misinformed about friday being a legal day to fish.. I also called DFG's main office in sacramento:They told me lincoln's b-day and presidents day are legal fish days..Even though washingtons b-day is friday the 22 nd ,it is observed on presidents day..Sorry for the confusion..I'm glad I called and found out what's really going on,before I became a poacher fishing on no fish days...
Just spoke to the Monterey Office, Dept. of Fish and Game about this Friday since my buddy and I are planning to fish. DFG says that Washington's Birthday this Friday is NOT a legal holiday, and therefore the coastal rivers are not open. The Monterey office number is 831-649-2870 in case you want to check for yourself.
Ben Lomond Kid: Still chewing on the holiday issue. According to the following website: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=gov&group=06001-07000&file=6700-6717, the only state holidays in February are the 12th (Lincoln Day) and the 3rd Monday in February (Presidents Day). No mention of this Friday?
Yeah Kid, I saw Lance land a nice fish at the tailout of the Upper Sand hole this afternoon. This guy fights a fish like he's trying to win a Gold medal! He's dead serious about gettin' em' in and released ASAP, I don't even think he took time to enjoy the moment. He was in and out of that hole in 7 minutes. As he left he told me that was #5 for today... After witnessing Lance this afternoon the 20 fish story is getting a little more believable. I'm not sure I would want to fish that hard even for a 10 fish day. He didn't look like he was having any fun, it looked like work. (I'd hate leave work early just to go down to the river and work)
Also, I know Lance. And he really did hook 22,in one day.. But only landed 10. All adults, since thats only what he counts.. Mostly hens in the 8 pound range.... He's one of the best steelheader's I know locally.. They went back on wed. and fished the same strech.And caught only bucks>>>The hens seemed to have all gone up.....
Hey, forgot to add: Mick is right about legal fishing days falling on Lincoln's and Washington's B-Days as well as Presidents day...These are our bonus days (legalholidays) and are always some of the best fishing days on the SLR....
Brad and everyone else that can make it Friday... It's Washingtons B-day ..This is a legal fish day... At least that's what I was told by a Semi-Reliable sorce>> Fish On!!!!!
BenLomondKid - Your statement that "Friday could be epic" got me all excited, since its my day off. But according to all the info I can find this coming Friday, 2/22, is not a California holiday. I assume you ment that "Saturday" could be epic?
Another victory. 31.5 inch 12 lber this morning. This thing made a dramatic, arc through the air while fleeing. Yet he still ended up on the beach. It was a hatchery buck with a little color on him.
Fished slr,started at the swing hole with a fdew egg eaters,then hooked and landed a 10 pound WILD BUCK..Still crawlin' with sea lice..Fished down to 4 rock and watched two nice fish get landed in the 8 pound range..I only hit a few more egg eaters.. So I fished my way back up to the garden then hit and landed another buck in the 8 pound range.. Also watched another fresh fish get landed at the garden..Everyone I talked to was hookin' up.. Water was perfect,Green with good flow...Friday could be epic.. Fish On!!!!!
Another victory. 31.5 inch 12 lber this morning. This thing made a dramatic, arc through the air while fleeing. Yet he still ended up on the beach. It was a hatchery buck with a little color on him.
Well Mike, much to my suprise, I hear that last Tuesday was a legal fishing day, Lincolns B-Day I think. The general rule was that if the State employees had the day off then it was a "Holiday" and OK to fish. This year it seems that either 1. The game warden has declared all holidays OK for fishing or 2. State employees now get Lincolns B-Day, Washingtons B-Day and Presidents Day off! I'm not sure but someone went to Ernies last Tuesday and said there was a sign on the door "Gone Fishin'"...
I talked to a guy at Rincon hole wednesday morning who said he had caught 4 nice fish the day before. I said `do you mean Sunday?' and he said `no, yesterday'. Maybe there was more than one person fishing illegally last Tuesday, but if the guy I talked to was `Lance' then his Tuesday story has been growing in the telling.
I have to ask all who read this forum if they heard about a guy, (Lance possibly), who says he hooked up 22 adult steelies and landed 12 last Tuesday? I've heard this story from several places but not from anyone I've known for any length of time and who actually has known "Lance?" for any length of time. This would be an incredible day on the San Lorenzo and would easily top most of the long retired "Old Timers" on this river. For now I'm calling it a Big Fish Story until someone comes forward and substantiates it! I can't even imagine having enough time to land 12 big, fresh run, fish and fight and lose 10 others in one day! Oh, and the story goes that he didn't even fish all day because his drag stopped working and he had to quit.
Steven the stealhead flyfisher from Half Moon bay? I forgot to ask you a question about flyfishing in the area. . . email back if you get to this site by chance. . .
Doug, Keep in mind that I've only caught 6 fish all season, none over 22". Have had three additional hookups on what felt like bigger fish. Early in the season, the little guys (what would be called half-pounders in the rivers up north but are up to a few lbs) seemed more likely to go after flies. The score on my hooks/catches is 5 on black wooley buggers, 2 on skykomish sunrises 1 on an egg pattern. The last two weeks I've been completely skunked. This year I added a 2' section of LC13 between the fly line and the leader and I'm using weighted flies and 2 or more b-b sized lead shots. But, I'm not sure you want to do what I'm doing...
OK Fly guys, I've been fishing the SLR most of the season with no success. I've thrown glo-bugs with yarn indicators, wooley-buggers and egg-sucking leeches. Should I be dredging the bottom with everything or should I be higher in the water column? Any suggestions?
Got down to the Upper Sand hole around noon on Saturday and worked my way down to the Big Rock hole without a hookup. Saw several fish in the Rincon hole with 4 guys there to keep them entertained. Saw a few fish in the Big Rock but they weren't in a biting mood. Switched tactics on my way back and hooked/released a chrome 8lb hatchery hen at the Granite hole. Thought I'd try the Rincon hole but there were still 4 guys so I went up to the fast water, Upper Rincon, and hooked up a big chrome fish that faught me wild and hard for about a minute and returned my lure minus the split ring and hook? I only had 6lb leader so he must of brushed my lure off on something solid...
Fished the San Lorenzo on Sunday with Lou. We started at 4 Rocks at 6:15, had the place to ourselves. It rained fairly hard for a couple of hours. Water was very muddy, maybe 4" visibility. Moved on down to Upper, then Lower Sand Hole. Lou landed a nice 27" wild hen, about, 8 - 10 lbs, in the tail of Lower Sand Hole. Moved on down to Wall hole, nothing. Worked our way back up to 4 Rocks, nothing. (I guess we could have tried for the kayakers). Guess the fish were still lower down in the river.
Finally my first real steelie. These fish really do exist! Sunday morning, caught a bright chrome 28"-er on steelhead candy spiked with shrimp.
Finally my first real steelie. These fish really do exist! Sunday morning, caught a bright chrome 28"-er on steelhead candy spiked with shrimp.
I fished soquel yeterdayfished first in the morning and caught nothing...ifound out later that I was fishing with two people that snag the fish...Later I hooked a ten pounder at the same place
I was at Scott Creek near Swanton today. While walking near the creek we noticed a fish - not sure what species. It was about 20 inches long very a very dark body and whitish tail. This in the middle of the afternoon. The fish was not very active. Just swimming slowly in about 15 inches of water. What was this? Coho?
Fished with friends today. 1/2 day AM. Hooked 5. Landed 2. Please don't snag fish. The fish get hammered enough as it is. This is a resource that I want to my kids to enjoy. Also, there is a direct relation to the time that you spend handling the fish and not reviving properly v. catch and release mortality. You screw up the fish. It doesn't spawn well, and in four years you'll blame it all on the loggers or the sea lions or the drought or you name it. Just be cool to the resource or it will go away.
I haven't been able to fish the SLR since I moved out to the central valley, but wanted to share this article with you guys about the SLR and MB streams. Copy and paste the link below. http://www.fishsniffer.com/dbacher/020802montereycoho.html
Huh...I fished sunday, first down at courthouse then in gorge starting at the top (around 8:30 am). Talked to a guy who had landed a wild buck early. 30 min later saw him hook and land a 10+ pound wild hen (downstreamer). On sat fished down to 4-rock. Saw one approx 8-10 pound bright (absoluteley no color) wild fish landed. Water was muddy on sat (more like olive green) and almost too clear again on sun. When I left on sun counted 40 cars at rincon alone. Imagine rincon got pounded...
Anyone see the condition of the SLR today? Thanks. . .
Fished SLR sunday afternoon. water was dark green looked good but couldn't hookup. No one said they saw or heard of any fish cought. Lets hope for another small storm before season closes.
started sat. at 6:30 at the garden and fished our way up a couple of holes,when it got light enough to see that it was too muddy to fish with much success and getting no bites by 8:30..We high tailed it up to scott creek..Water there was perfect , clear in the riffles and green in the holes.. we started by the fire house and worked our way down to the mouth trying to spot some fish..being stealth is the key to catching steelies in this creek.. Spotted several bright chrome Steelies and spent silvers..We slowly fished our way back up, all the way to the dam..We hooked 8 fish and landed 5...Three steelies in the eight pound range ( all fresh run fish) and two silvers in the 7 pound range.. colored up but not spent..The log jams and under cut banks are the ticket to success..Caught on roe with a corkie and shrimp...
Congrats to everyone who caught fish this weekend. Sounds like the best days in a while. I just received a bunch of F7 Flatfish via mail order. To my surprise, each one has 2 small treble hooks on the end of a wire that runs perpendicular to the lure. Usually, they have one medium size treble hook. Should I leave them as is or swap to one regular size treble. Of course the barbs are coming off. Your thoughts? Thanks guys.
Mike maybe there was a slide that happened after you left, or maybe there wasn't enough light by 8:00 am to really see the true visibility? I got on the water around 8 am and by 9 I was disappointed with what I was seeing... Fish are less wary in darker water but they can also hold in much more of the river making it a little more difficult pinpoint where they are... I like 4 feet of visibility and better. 2 feet and better are good conditions for most people.
Ah! I see the confusion. In the report below from Saturday I mentioned the SLR AND Scott's Creek where I fished in the afternoon. Scott's creek was crystal clear on Saturday, the SLR did indeed have lots of color. This was my first time fishing at Scotts Creek. I simply started wading at the highway 1 bridge and headed upstream for a ways. Not much cover, no deep holes -- it didn't look ver promising to me (at least at low flow). I've read on this board about people fishing the confluence with Big Creek - is this reached by road?
Hey! here I try to make my small contributions to the public good and these guys are beating me up. There was a solid 24" of visibility Saturday (at least between 4-rocks and Wall hole) and a good flow -- great conditions compared to the previous fish day when the river was running 75cfs and clear enough for the fish to see all of us waving fishing poles on the bank! I think when the river has color the fish are less selective, less cautious and more likely to grab noisy/smelly lures and baits.Ron - haven't seen many reports from you this season -- been catching fish?
Mike, what river are you refering to? Clear? Green? I left my green polarized lenses at home and so the river looked brown. Can you say, rookie?! jk. . .
fished four rocks at 12:30pm and hooked a fresh hen thirty inches. Nobody else fishing at four rocks for a while, when the sun came off the water, fish started rolling everywhere. Couldnt get another fish to bite. Went up to the falls and hook a downrunner buck, also thirty inches that ran down to four rocks. He had his spawning colors on and was a great fish. very thick. Water was green, this has been a great year with a lot of fish making it up the river. Lets see one more small storm before the season closes. KP
I have no idea which San Lorenzo River Mike was looking at this morning but the one I say had way more color than anybody expected. We started in the run below the Rincon hole and worked down to the Big Rock. Visibility was poor, 15" in the riffles, 10-12" in the holes. You could almost call it "muddy" but there was more green than brown. Didn't see a fish anywhere. Heard about a fish hooked at the 4 rock and one at the upper sand hole, that was it for the morning. Where did all the silt come from? Checked Zayante creek in Felton and it's running crystal clear? Both rivers are in the same watershed? Doesn't make sense.
The SLR was in great condition this morning. Apparently many people anticipated this and it was more crowded that I've ever seen it. 3 to 6 people at all the usual holes. But, I saw no fish caught from 6:30am till 8am when I gave up trying to find a quiet spot to fish. Went to Scott's Creek beach in the afternoon with the kids. Waded up the creek for a ways. It was very clear. No live fish but I saw two nice-sized very dead fish (24" and 30"). Looked like salmon to me. Both females.
The SLR was in great condition this morning. Apparently many people anticipated this and it was more crowded that I've ever seen it. 3 to 6 people at all the usual holes. But, I saw no fish caught from 6:30am till 8am when I gave up trying to find a quiet spot to fish. Went to Scott's Creek beach in the afternoon with the kids. Waded up the creek for a ways. It was very clear. No live fish but I saw two nice-sized very dead fish (24" and 30"). Looked like salmon to me. Both females.
I assume it's been raining (I'm in Sunnyvale right now), the river had risen from 77cfs at 4:30 this morning to 92cfs at 12:30 this afternoon. The USGS site hasn't had an update since then. Looking at the radar, we should have some juicy clouds coming in real soon - let's hope!
Did the River accept any rain today? I'm in San Jose and it just sprinkled.
Didn't anybody else go fishin' yesterday? I saw about 1/3 as many guys as last Wednesday. How clear can it get? Got a 10lb fresh wild buck at the Bend hole on a FF. Heard of some other fish caught further down. Saw at least one fish in every decent hole but there holding in water that's tough to fish, and the ones that are out in the open didn't want anything to do anything. (Pre-spawn lock jaw) Looks like the weekend will more of the same...
RAIN RAIN WHERE ARE YOU??? I have an itchin for some fishin.
Has anyone been catching any fish on the lower river this year (Riverside Bridge street to the mouth? I've been there a couple times with no luck and only one time did I see another angler.
No steelhead on Sunday for me either although I caught my second San Lorenzo sucker on a fly. It was a beadhead wolley bugger sitting on the sand in shallow water right in front of me as I was pawing through my flybox. 12" sucker picked it up and hooked him/her self. I worked Rincon hard before Mick saw the buck caught there. Woolley buggers on the drift and swung, bright flies drifted and swung, egg pattern drifted. I had ALMOST convinced myself there were no steelhead in that hole as a couple of lure guys were also systematically working the hole. I guess the moment has to be just right and the bait/lure has to drift just so when the water is low and the pressure has been on (as is the case for a Sunday afternoon).
Fished Saturday morning. Started at the top of the gorge at 6:30AM and worked down to the Garden. Didn't see anyone 'til I reached the Garden. Sure are some nice holes there, but I got skunked too. Still better than work.
SLR, started at the Upper sand Hole 1:30pm Sunday, had about a 5lb chrome fish hooked up twice but both times the fish went spastic, like only a 5 pounder can do, and promptly returned my hook. Worked down past Rincon, saw a nice hatchery buck caught in Rincon but that was it. Water is as clear as I've seen all year...and getting too low for fish to move easily. Heard the Seals have been eating well in the Lagoon!
fished slr sunday afternoon, water marker to the garden... snagged and lost two drift rigs... other than that no action... amazing how exciting a snag can be when things are slow... i think i was the only one on the river... not a single sign of any life... too low and clear...
Fished the San Lorenzo Sunday morning, 2/3, 6:30 - 1:30, starting at the Garden of Eden at a crisp 30 degrees and finishing at the Rincon trail, nothing. Did see one 16" fish in Wall Hole, but otherwise nothing, nobody I talked to had caught anything either. The flow is getting pretty low and the water is clear, although not as clear as a couple of weeks ago.
Fished SLR Sat. & Sun. morning. Started Sat. at the wall hole and got some first water,1/2 hour into it and BAM....Hooked and landed a 10 pound wild hen with roe squirting out..Quickly released off on her way>>>Also watched 3 other fish in the 8 pound range get landed by my friend Eric and his buddy, who got his first steelhead ever........Sun. started at Rincon and slowly fished my way up to the swing hole and drew that stinkey SKUNK card....Wed. was definitely better for me........
I was out for just a few hours today. Had a solid hookup at Rincon at 5:30pm - getting pretty dark - but it broke off on the first run downstream. had a huge black Woolley Bugger on. Saw another good hookup and lost fish at Wall Hole earlier and talked to someone who claimed to have landed five good fish during the day. It is getting pretty clear. Will be able to see to the bottom of just about all the holes by the end of the day Sunday.
anyone have any luck on the slr today??? i'm thinking of going tomorrow afternoon before the sun goes down... don't really care about the superbowl since i'm originally from pittsburgh... although i do have some parlay action on the rams...
Checked SLR around noon.Water is clear and has dropped a little since Wed..But still has nice green color in the holes.. Decent flow, so there will be fish caught..But might have to cover alot of water to find 'em and hook up...<<<<>>>>
Fished soquel creek wednesday, water was very clear. Fished for a couple of hours with out a hit. We need a storm to bring some fish up. Anyone think SLR will still be good this weekend? Thinking about going. Thanks
Brad, that 18lb fish was caught about 10 years ago, before those regulations were in effect.
Wednesday the river was in beautiful shape. I only managed an hour and a half at the end of the day. Saw someone hook, fight and lose after about 10 minutes a beautiful fish in Rincon Hole, heard lots of stories about other fish in the 8lb+ range caught. I've caught lots of small fish in the runs between the big holes, but have never caught or seen a big fish in the shallow water. Maybe they have internal clocks that let them know when dawn is approaching. Which hole is `swing hole'?
Finally decided to re-kindle my feelings with Ms. San Lorenzo this afternoon. She slapped me hard twice in the face. Started at the Wall headed up to Swing hole. Bobber and jig mostly, a little corky and yarn. Nothing. I saw a 6 lb wild hen hooked at the Wall. The guy had to cut 'er loose with the hook...swallowed it. I also heard about a 36 incher hooked last weekend. Couple questions: 1. Steelies are travelling under the cover of darkness. So they hide during the day. Now why cant I find a steelie sitting in shallow whitewater during the day? I mean, steelies cant control when the sun comes up, so how the hell do they know that they should end up in some deep hole for the coming bright day? make any sense? 2. Would people please NOT leave line around on the ground in the river. Please take all line lost, cut, snagged (except tag ends) away from SLR. I swear I pick up at least 20 yards of leftover line evertime this season!
The 18 lb fish in question seems to be a wild fish, still has its adipose fin. Doesn't look like it was released per regulations!
Fished SLR this afternoon. Started around 1:30pm at the upper sand hole, got one 12lb wild hen with a touch of color. Then hooked a chrome 8lb fish that released itself for me.(both on roe). Saw a 10lb dark wild buck released at the bottom of the wall hole and chrome fish hooked up momentarily, one on NCs and the other on roe. Had a fish take a spinner in the rincon hole, then watched a guy break off a fish on a NC. One of the hottest afternoons I've seen in a long time...
Fished SLR this afternoon. Started around 1:30pm at the upper sand hole, got one 12lb wild hen with a touch of color. Then hooked a chrome 8lb fish that released itself for me.(both on roe). Saw a 10lb dark wild buck released at the bottom of the wall hole and chrome fish hooked up momentarily, one on NCs and the other on roe. Had a fish take a spinner in the rincon hole, then watched a guy break off a fish on a NC. One of the hottest afternoons I've seen in a long time...
The picture of the 18lb Steelhead is real. We have a picture at the shop if I remember right. Also, about the same time we also weighed and confirmed a 19+ pounder, which we also have a picture of...so, they *do* exist :)
Fished SLR, Started at four rocks and got there a little after 7 A.M. There were a few people there already and a couple of fish were already caught.Tried a few drifts notta, then decided to work my way down.Nothing in the sand holes..Got to the wall hole and landed a 8 pound wild hen (bright chrome)..watched this other guy also hook a nice one there..so, I went down to rincon hole and on my third drift I belly hooked a 7 pound hatchery buck (colored up)..A decent day for only fishing 3 hours.Home by 10:30..Time to head back up north...Fish On !!!!!
Jeff: I have also fished several Medocino Co. steams. My all time favorite along the California North Coast is Alder Creek, which is very, very much like the San Lorenzo. If you plan to head up that way again in March and need (or care to swap) Extreme river guide-adge, drop me a line . . . "Don't tell fishing stories where people know the land, but especially do not tell them where they know the fish. . . " --Mark Twain
Just wondering if anyone out there has any info. on the Arroyo Seco in Monterey county. I would appreciate any info. Thanks, Ian
fished both sat and sun. River looked good on sat with the rain (saw 4 or five anglers from cowell bridge to the garden). Saw one guy hook up just above garden on sunday. Maybe 4-5 lb? hatchery fish (kept it). I agree with Mike: there don't appear to be fresh fish in the river. I check buckeye hole every couple days and have not seen any fish (nor at rr trestle). As far as the 18 lb steelhead, I talked to an old timer last year who said 20+ lb fish were not uncommon (but still far from common) 30 years ago or so. He also said that some very large fish approaching 20 pounds were put over the diversion dam last year. Anyone know about this?
Greetings all, Just got back from a week long adventure up in Mendocino co.Fished most of the rivers up there (BIG, ALBION, NAVARRO, GARCIA, GUALALA AND RUSSIAN) .Had a great time camping and fishing a different river every day.Caught 26 steelies all above 6 pounds, with the biggest going 13 pounds. and another 15 or so in the 3 to 5 pound range..And too many egg eaters to count..ALL FISH RELEASED...Hopefully this last storm brought a fresh run of fish..WHEN the SLR is that low, the fish tend to hide and wait around the mouth and lower river.And wait for more rain to make a run up to spawn..If wed. doesn't produce I'm heading back up north...Fish On!!!!!
Wow - that is a big steelhead. In three years on the river, talking to Ernie and reading these reports I've never heard of an 18lb+ fish out of the San Lorenzo. Anybody know of other fish this size or bigger?
Interesting...did some searching for San Lorenzo and Steelhead info and got this.... http://www.trophybassonly.com/id24.htm Take a look at the pic. Looks like this fish was a native and not released....hmm..... Don't know when it was taken though.
Went to the river for a couple of hours with my son. 3 years old in a backpack. Great workout. No fish, but we had a great time throw'n rocks. Take a kid fishing. If you don't catch anything. Hey the kid doesn't care. He just wants to spend time with you. Make it fun for him...or her. Dress them warmly. Take lots of fun snacks. Fish crackers are a great choice. So it sounds like there wern't any fish in the river anyways. P.S. - I thought it was a good idea to use 6 lbs test once... only once... Never go below 10 lbs. ever again.
I may be wrong, but I think there has been plenty of water for fresh fish to enter the river for the last few weeks. They can move at night under the cover of darkness so the lack of color is not a big deal. My theory is that there are simply not many fish coming in from the ocean right now - rain or lack of it is not the problem. Anyone out there have a more informed opinion?
Wow! No steelhead this weekend from anyone? Not even Ben Lomond Kid? Bummer. Weather.com shows lots of rain today but then nothing for the rest of the week. For those of you lucky enough to live in Santa Cruz, does it look like enough rain to bring new fish into the system? How does Saturday look? Thanks guys.
Finally saw a few fish in a hole behind my house, only 4-5 pounders. Was throwing roe at em only little "egg eaters" though. River looked even better this a.m. Maybe if we stay wet through the week with out getting blown out next weekend will be the one for my 1st SLR "reel rippin iron head"!!
Sunday the river was in great condition, up a little bit and there was some color. Fished Rincon to 4-Rocks without a grab. Lots of people on the river, only saw a couple of suckers caught.
Fished a good 6 hrs on Sat. The water looked to be on the rise but the run-off gave it some nice color, seeing as we had not seen rain for a while. No hook-ups, however I did get to practice a little power wading/swimming which was less than pleasant but I'm sure very entertaining to those fortunate enough to witness the show. What a beautiful river!
Sunday the river was in great condition, up a little bit and there was some color. Fished Rincon to 4-Rocks without a grab. Lots of people on the river, only saw a couple of suckers caught.
anyone do any fishin' this weekend???
Not much action on the SLR Wednesday morning. It was cold, the water is very clear and the level is getting low.
Sunday...calm...cool...snuck out for the last 2 hours of light... one 10 incher...one 18-19 incher... then...just before I thought I should go ...late for dinner again...I just thought...hey I should try that secret lure thing that I saw a guide on the smith use...and catch a 20 + hmmm.....first cast...weight not right...second cast...booooommmmmm.....and it was on ...late for sure...this time...down a pool(or 2?)....back up...around this tree...damn should have worn waders...not hip boots...wet...back up to where it all started...same rock...and under it...around it...10 more minutes later...and I saw the fish...problem was it saw me...too...zoom zoom zoom...back down to the bottom of the pool...but not over...back under the rock...no no noo!!!!.....but he came out when I put my tip under the other side....and off ....again....but stayed in the pool.......close....closer.....tried for the log....the bushes....the willows....close again....and....for the tail.....gone...back for a fated last run...5 more minutes....the epic battle..raged on...and the fish....was mine...tailed.............measured....and revived...and released. 32+ as measured on my rod. My biggest from the river. The biggest I've seen here. The biggest I've landed. was it 15, 16, 17? Don't know...for sure...but I've cought lots of 10-12ves...and This buck was the biggest...badest...Buck around. Fat like a hen. Wild for sure. Bright starting to scarlet...A fish of a lifetime. I hope my kids who are 3, 1.5 and 1.5. get to catch fish like this one...
DAMN!!! It was a holiday today huh!
Fished the SLR this afternoon (Monday) till dark. Started a Wall Hole and worked up to 4 Rocks. Dredged the holes and also tried working the structure (rocks on the bottom) along the way thinking maybe the fish there were hiding in the rocks. Didn't catch anything or see anything. This clear water seems to be bad for catching fish, but the river LOOKS great. There was a light rain starting about 3pm and continuing when I left at 5:30.
Fished Scott Crk. Water was low and clear..Started at the Big Crk. confluence.Working my way down stream trying to spot some fish..Spoted Fish in the first two log jams I came too,but spooked them before I got my line wet.The third Log Jam I came to is where it happened..The water was so clear I could see my entire drift, my third drift went up under the log jam and was in about 4 ft of water..While I was watching my corkie, A nice steelie came up and took it. . I set the hook and Bam, It was ON LIKE DONKEY KONG..Landed a bright chrome WILD BUCK in the 7 pound range..This WILD FISH tore me up, Thak God i had on 12 pound test,Sure came in handy pulling him out of that log jam.
Began fishing before first light on the SLR in the upper gorge and landed a beautiful 30" plus Wild Buck Steelhead that must of weighed 8 -10 lbs. It took quite some time to land it on 3X tippet- it certainly maxed out my outfit. Largest Steelhead I've ever landed on this stream and perhaps the most beautiful. Olive back with reddish orange stripe and cheeks. Used light tippet today as the water was Gin clear. This fish made my season here on our local streams.
Fished for three hours at the end of the day between upper sand hole and rincon. Skunked. You know there are fish at the bottom of the deep holes. but I could not interest any of them in a black woolley bugger, egg pattern or bright streamer. Some guy at Wall Hole hooked and fought a big fish for 10 minutes.
Fished the San Lorenzo this morning with Lou. Started at 4 rocks at 6:20, clear and cold (just below freezing but no ice)! The water was exceptionally clear, you could almost see the bottom of the 4 rocks pool about 10 - 15 feet down! Lou said it was the clearest he'd ever seen it in the winter. Caught an 8 incher out of the falls pool. Later hooked and lost ~ 5 lb fish even with the road side rock. Later on Lou and I saw one like it shoot up the river past us. Went upstream as far as the tail of the cascades - nothing. Towards noon we went downstream to Upper and Lower Sand Holes. A young guy hooked an 8 - 10 lb fish in the fast water at the head of Upper Sand hole, fought it for a few minutes, but it got off. Very educational trip but pray for rain!
Now that we've all had our biology lesson. Let's go catch some fish ,damn it !!! This is getting a little too geeked out for me!!! FISH ON!!!!!!
geek, really enjoy reading your stuff... obviously you are passionate about this topic... but... do you fish the slr??? do you considerate it a sport (particularly if catch and release is the norm)... even with catch and release, what are your thoughts about cruelty to the animal??? do they feel pain and experience anxiety... just curious about your opinion??? thanx, nitt...
Agreed! Ron: to answer: captive breeding (as is done with eagles, peregrine falcons, condors etc) is MUCH different than your average hatchery operation. First, captive breeding is a last resort---when all else fails. Also, in captive breeding one is looking not to 'dump' untold numbers of creatures into the wild, rather to consider the genetics and population implications (especially in an poulation which has undergone severe 'bottleneck'). Inbreeding depression (where closely related individual breed resulting in genetic deformities and low genetic diversity---think 'Deliverance') is a serious problem in hatcheries (that is, the old-school hatcheries which paid little attention to this issue and others). MBSTP is different in that regard. It tries a more 'captive breeding' approach, attempting to reduce any genetic introgression and low diversity. Problem though in the case of 'fitness' of a hatchery fish: plant many hatchery fish (in numbers that may outnumber wild progeny)which may return in great numbers, to be hatchery spawned again. Repeated over and over again and the genetic diversity of a population begins to resemble that of a few fish. Now imagine some unforseen problem i.e. disease, drought etc. If the population does not have much genetic diversity, there is a greater chance that an entire run could be wiped out that a few individuals, since the population-level diversity is now low. To quote Joni Mitchel : 'we don't know what we've got till it's gone'. This is a REAL problem. I think we should work on HABITAT (and other problems: unnatural levels of predation etc). That way we don't have to rely on hatcheries. But I feel the same way especially in the case of steelhead in CA: catch and release. Good luck tomorrow!
Well put! We should all feel privileged to be able to catch these fish and so close to home. If we all practice CPR(catch, photo and release) we can ensure a prosperous fishery.
I have a theory about the hatchery fish that return from the ocean to spawn. Survival of the fittest would apply, would it not. To spend 2 to 3 years in an environment such as the ocean, survive, and then make a return to home in order to procreate is not an easy task. These are some bad ass fish. I think that's what keeps me spending freezing days standing waist deep in frigid waters during the winter. Maybe the broodstock improves itself just by natural selection. Any fish that can work its' way through ocean predators and the narrow window that is the mouth of some of these creeks and rivers get's my highest respect. See ya all out there and may your reel sing!!
Fishgeek--so if an eagle were raised since birth in captivity and then released into the wild, would it be defineable as "wild" or "native." And if it were not, what would a proper attitude about the bird? Would we still be able to hold it in the same HIGH regard as an eagle never held captive for conservational purposes? Could we ever respect such a bird? In other words, how "wild" is a hatchery raised steelhead that returns from the sea to spawn in the San Lorenzo? The term "wild" and "native" are merely legal terms, obvioiusly, and once a fish is released back into nature after leaving a fish hatchery environment, it is truely "wild." In my opinion, all hatchery raised steelhead released into a stream are wild, and they only become hatchery or supposedly inferior fish again for regulation and legal purposes.
Thanks for the very informative post fishgeek. As is always the case, the world is complicated and there are reasonable considerations on both (or all) sides of every issue. But, really appreciate your very well-informed thoughts.
Mike No, not in fisheries though my background and work is in biology/ecology. The landmark study in anadromous fish life-history study was actually done on Waddell and Scott creeks and published in 1954 (Shapaovalov and Taft). They found that the majority (greater than 50%) of fish were 2/1 and 2/2 fish. Repeat spawners are considerably smaller than their 1 spawner counterparts of the same age as spawning exacts a considerable toll (a 4-spawning, 7 year old female weighed only 12 pounds). As far as 'resident' steelhead (or 'rainbows'), I would imagine there ARE resident trout in the SLR as the data indicate this is fairly common. Again, steelhead exhibit a great deal of polymorphism in life-history traits and anadromy is probably not genetic, but rather a food/resource- availability strategy. According to a dfg biologist, there is evidence that this occurs even within progeny from the same parents. However, even pre-smolts will have rainbow coloration until they head out to sea since coloration is phenotypic (hormonal influence, primarily). Shapavalov and Taft found 4 year freshwater fish in their study, but having not read the study for a couple years I don't recall if they encountered 'resident' steelhead. As far as killing steelhead, I would agree with you, though I know the data suggest that hatchery fish can have adverse impacts on wild fish. A couple years ago, ODFW biologists were videotaped clubbing hatchery cohos by the hundreds to prevent them from competing with wild spawners. As cohos are listed under the ESA, developers, water users, loggers etc sued ODFW, saying that restrictions on their activities were untenable because the actuall coho run sizes were much larger (and possibly not 'endangered') if hatchery fish were counted. This resulted in the Sep 2001 fed court ruling basically telling NMFS and ODFW they had no legal basis for identifying differences between hatchery and wild fish (the ruling did NOT address the scientific basis---a big distinction). The ruling potentially threatened all salmonid listings (coho, chinook, steelhead etc) from WA to CA. It has been recently overturned. The data indicate significant differences between hatchery and wild fish in many areas, but whether hatchery fish really contribute to some kind of genetic introgression is not clear as far as I know. Preliminary data from a study a friend worked on indicated that the otoliths of hatchery chinook were smaller than wild fish. This COULD have implications for homing etc. I am of the mind that hatchery fish may contribute to genetic pollution of wild fish. Even in cases where wild fish are used for broodstock, consider that if hundreds or thousands of progeny are planted from a single female fertilized by only a few males, the resulting diversity will be low indeed. After many successive hatchery generations are we not creating reduced genetic diversity despite our best intentions( e.g using 'wild' fish of hatchery lineage)? And what are the effects? But I would agree with you, at least on streams south of SF bay. Please forgive the long post! fishgeek
I agree with Mike...Im never whacking a San Lorenzo Steelhead. Do You guys know how lucky we are to have the "silver bullet" in the bay area? If we are not careful, SLR may possibly have a run in the future similar to runs found in SAN DIEGO! Want to whack a fish, go NORTH -- WAY north. Fishgeek, thanks for doing a good job with those definitions.
One more question for fishgeek. Sometime, generally early in the season, I catch brightly-colored fish that are indistinguishable (to my eye at least) from rainbow trout. Are there fish in the SLR that spend their lives in the river without ever making the trip to the ocean or is the color only a function of how long a fish has been in freshwater on a freshwater diet?
One more question for fishgeek. Sometime, generally early in the season, I catch brightly-colored fish that are indistinguishable (to my eye at least) from rainbow trout. Are there fish in the SLR that spend their lives in the river without ever making the trip to the ocean or is the color only a function of how long a fish has been in freshwater on a freshwater diet?
Jeff I misuse the terms all the time. Didn't mean to correct you as much as add a little to the discussion of steelhead life-history. By the way, thank you for you frequent postings and river updates. They are invaluable. Perhaps if I get to know the river like you do I'll begin to have fish days like you do!
Yep, thanks for all this useful information fishgeek. Don't take this wrong in anyway, but I'm curious how authoritative your information is. Do you work in the fisheries area? Although I hesitate a minute before saying this (don't want to drag Ernies' nice board down into alot of flame throwing), I can't see any reason to kill a SLR steelhead, wild, native, hatchery or from outer space. I think we are extraordinarily fortunate to have this river and its steelhead run. The history of the last 40 years shows that it is fragile. Why take steps to endanger the run?
Hey , Fishgeek thanks for all the info. I stand corrected.
Oh yes....SMOLT: a juve steelhead undergoing physiological transformation from fresh to ocean-life. A juve steelhead is NOT necessarily a smolt (unless it 'smolts'---travels downstream to tidewater--usually in late spring). Those baby fish may be 'young-of-the-year' or yearlings. 'Parr' is another name (due to parr marks). Generally (and remember, individul steelhead have very different life-history traits) fish born in the late winter or spring will stay in the stream 1, 2, 3 years (mostly 1 or 2). Some return after 1 year (9 months or so) in the salt (these are the 'half-pounders' or 'egg-eaters'). They survive to reproduce again the following winter. Most fish around here are probably 2/1, 2/2 and 2/3 fish: 2 fresh, 1 salt and 2 fresh/2 salt etc. There IS mortality from spawning (approx 40% in the adults) and (as far as I know) the oldest recorded steelie is 8 years old: 4 fresh and 4 salt (as I recall). There is also C&R related mortality---a study I read on Atlantic Salmon (many think atlantic salmon and pacific steelhead are similar and related) found as many as 30 - 40% of C&R fish DIED after release. Good handling reduced that fiure, but it was still pretty high.
Oh yes....SMOLT: a juve steelhead undergoing physiological transformation from fresh to ocean-life. A juve steelhead is NOT necessarily a smolt (unless it 'smolts'---travels downstream to tidewater--usually in late spring). Those baby fish may be 'young-of-the-year' or yearlings. 'Parr' is another name (due to parr marks). Generally (and remember, individul steelhead have very different life-history traits) fish born in the late winter or spring will stay in the stream 1, 2, 3 years (mostly 1 or 2). Some return after 1 year (9 months or so) in the salt (these are the 'half-pounders' or 'egg-eaters'). They survive to reproduce again the following winter. Most fish around here are probably 2/1, 2/2 and 2/3 fish: 2 fresh, 1 salt and 2 fresh/2 salt etc. There IS mortality from spawning (approx 40% in the adults) and (as far as I know) the oldest recorded steelie is 8 years old: 4 fresh and 4 salt (as I recall). There is also C&R related mortality---a study I read on Atlantic Salmon (many think atlantic salmon and pacific steelhead are similar and related) found as many as 30 - 40% of C&R fish DIED after release. Good handling reduced that fiure, but it was still pretty high.
Some definitions: Native: a fish which has EVOLVED in a particular place (river system, island, landmass etc) over geologic time. Steelhead are native to western North America, Eastern Russia (Siberia) etc. They are NOT native to Great Lakes, however. Similarily, a brown trout in CAlifornia (or a rainbow in Wyoming) is NOT NATIVE, though it may be WILD. Browns are ONLY native to europe. Hatchery steelhead plants from fish in, say, the SLR which are then planted into the Carmel are NOT native to that river system, though if we look at it from the species level, are native to California, or North America, etc. (By the way, the 'Suckers' in the SLR some people are killing and throwing on the bank ARE NATIVE FISH! This is TOTALLY inappropriate and illegal.) Wild: progeny born in the wild from eggs deposited by reproducing fish (either wild or hatchery). The progeny from a hatchery spawner are wild, though not necessarily NATIVE. Hatchery fish are adipose-fin clipped. The dorsal fin (and others) may show wear from rearing in hatchery raceways with thousands of other fish. My experience with SLR steelhead is that adipose is clearly missing (or a flat 'stump' remains) but that the dorsal is fairly intact looking. MBSTP raises fish from WILD stock, with attempts made to increase genetic diversity of the progeny by using milt from several males to fertilize eggs. In that sense, even a hatchery fish from the SLR (or scott creek etc) is as CLOSE to a wild fish as a hatchery can be. Therefore, killing a SLR hatchery fish (when there are so few in the system compared to historical numbers) angers many people. If you are not sure, DON'T KILL IT!
Native fish are born in the river.Hatchery fish are planted.I thought this was comon knowlege..
Ben, I believe the smolts stay in the river for a couple of years before they go out to sea.Then they stay in the ocean for a year or two before they return to spawn.After they spawn they return to sea and come back every other year to do it again..Hatchery fish DO return to the river.Me and my buddies have caught hundreds of bright chrome adult hatchery steelies over the years...
Ben and Tad- How about ending your fued by practicing a novel concept...CATCH AND RELEASE
Tad, when i got there today the warden was in the lot so i started to talk to him and we got to speaking about the difference of hatchery and native he told me that through the monterey trout and salmon project which he works with that the natives they release in slr they cut the fins completely off and that there i severe damage to the tail fin and fin infront of the adipose that is where most of the degradation takes place he said if there is is any fin it will mostly looked like reminants mangled from the cutting as well he said that the hatcheries released are mostly smolts so if they release smolt how would they grow to nine pounds if hatcheries wouldnt reutrn to the river? Also as i was making my way back to the trail i saw a guy who caught about 2-3 lbs steelhead hatchery and it fins were fucked up lookinf the top was a;; crooked and deformed and the adipose was off what was left was tiny bumps not smoothly flowing very irregular as well the tail fin was messed up In conclusion the evidence displayed to me by the dfg and other person fishing showed me that your was indeed a NATIVE
Also, I think I know where swing hole is, right down of the Garden. I didnt even try to cross that beast, you were asking for it Kid. So how mych further down is Four Rocks?
Good job Kid! I was at the Garden at 6:15 am and later around 8:15. FREEZING. Ice everywhere. Hands were gone! Fished a jig and bobber up and down from the Garden. Nothing. Tried Steve's patented flatfish method for about 5 minutes. By the way, where the hell was everyone who parked at the Garden? I saw a million cars and no fisherman. Headed down to a few holes above the Wall. Fished all the way down to Rincon. It was finally 1:00 and gave up. Also, why are there so many people fishing Rincon? The water there is terrible when its low. No white water, no cover for steelies, no deep water: nothing. The only decent water is the Wall, and thats where it ends? And it hasnt rained in what, 2 weeks? Are there any fresh fish in?? should I have been fishing above felton or something?? Also, will a cold night like last night put the fish off to a more sluggish mode, or was I just discouraged for nothing when it took me ten minutes to tie a knot this morning? Im waiting for some rain folks, have fun while Im gone. Thats the 5th trip in 2 weeks,and one fish, apparently I suck at this.
Fished SLR and had a decent morning of fishing.Started at the garden with a few egg eaters and quickly moved down to the swing hole.On my second drift it happened,BAM fish on!!!Landed a 7 pound hatchery buck that had silt running out of him,so i knew there had to be a hen in there too.About 15 minutes later BAM,landed the wild hen,in the 9 pound range..What a rush!!! Then i decided to fish down to four rocks tried to cross and slipped.The next thing i knew i was swimming..I made it out, but was completely soaked,on the coldest morning so far this season.Water in the waders is not a good thing,had to go jump in hot shower to recover..I also had ice forming on the tip of my rod..Not a good day to go swimming .hahaha
Wednesday morning - cold (had ice forming on the eyes of my rod), the flow level was just right, the water is very clear. One 7" fish to the shore and I blew it with a beauty. I was not practicing stealth fishing and paid for it. A big fish followed my Skykomish Sunrise out of wall Hole, saw me, turned and bolted.
I see on the dfg site that they are changing the regs on San Lorenzo to 0 limit
Hey Folks, I archived all the posts from before 1/1/02 to another page to make this one load faster...details at the top of this one.
Fished from fall creek to alba bridge. Lots of small fish. Saw 4 larger fish but spooked them before i could wet my line. NEED RAIN.
After 5 years of trouts and suckers, finally hooked but lost a 3 pounder Saturday at Four Rock but came back Sunday and landed a tasty 8 pounder little below Rincon. Both on cork and shrimp cocktail per Dr Landstrass' advise. When I told my friend that I was going to keep the fish he got angry and started wrestling me for the fish since he thought it was a native. Sting prevailed over Hogan, but just wanted to make sure... Question: Ben thinks that 1/4" knubbin' where adipose is supposed to be is the adipose fin. I'm thinking that the adipose is an actual 3/4" ~ 1" half circle fin just like the salmons and the 1/4" bump is the clipped sign of a hatchery fish. Too late to ask now, but Who's right??
Fished Sat o-dark 30 till 11:30 am. lots of egg eaters. Lost one fish buck 4-5 lbs. Landed one buck 8 lbs. @ 4-rocks. Measured 26 inches. Some guys took a picture and said they would scan it and e-mail it to me... Would like that picture for a screen saver. Nice wild buck. P.S. You don't have to get there early - just be patient.
Fished Sun AM on both San Gregorio and Pescadero. Conditions were perfect at each stream---except for seals. Both estuaries were filled with seals. I did not see or hook a single fish. Does anyone know how these creeks and Scott Creek have been fishing lately? I had great success early in the season, but haven't been out lately.
Fished Sun AM on both San Gregorio and Pescadero. Conditions were perfect at each stream---except for seals. Both estuaries were filled with seals. I did not see or hook a single fish. Does anyone know how these creeks and Scott Creek have been fishing lately? I had great success early in the season, but haven't been out lately.
Myself included in the lucky few, I saw more than the usual number of nice steelhead caught on the San Lorenzo Saturday morning, January 12. I watched a guy I met that morning by the name of Mason put a 9 pound buck on the bank early in the morning, near a section 1/2 mile above the Garden hole. Working down the river with Mason and his other buddies, I caught my first steelhead of the year standing on a ledge, above some some pretty knarley rock structures that made landing very difficult. (Mason, thanks for the deck hand on the rock; I never thought I'd have to throw my pole over to someone in order to get around a boulder, do some rock climbing, and land a fish!). The fish I caught was about 8lbs, which I landed in the second major hole above the Garden. The next hole down and about ten minutes later, another fish was caught and landed, weighing about 8lbs. In the same hole, and some five minutes later, the biggest fish of the morning was put on the bank, one that was 10lbs easy. All four of us had caught fish by the time we reached the hole just above the Garden, where the last fish was caught, making the morning's total of 5 steelhead hooked and four landed. I check my watch at that time and it was barely 9:00 . . .
FINALLY!!!! After a mtb ride in the morning, I got to SLR late and fished upstream of the Wall to the Wall, and didnt see another soul!! At about 1:00, my cork bobber sunk and I set my jig's hook into a 26-27 inch colored hatchery fish! Success!!! Beautiful day...
Mike A couple years ago I was fishing the SLR with the same setup and I was visited by a DFG warden who checked my hooks, license etc. I made a point of asking him if dropper fishing was ok and he did not think it was a violation, though I remember thinking that he didn't seem absolutely sure.
Does someone have an interpretation of the regs as regards to using droppers? I some times fish a wooley bugger behind an egg pattern. I am in Hawaii this week, brought a rod and have caught some jacks (papio) off the shore on clouser minnows - It is a blast. A 3lb papio feels like a 20lb normal fish. Very strong and fast.
Regarding the posts about the hook size restriction and the 18 inches, I believe the intent is to prevent snagging, which is easier with a big weight closely attached to a big hook.
Check SLR today at 11:00 A.M. Water has droped way down and is super clear..I watched a pair of adult steelies circling underneath the cowell bridge.They looked like they were going to spawn.With the water this clear it could be tough to fish this weekend.The deeper holes and riffles is where the fish will be..Good luck guys.... I'm heading over to San Pablo Bay to get into some sturgeon and striper action.....Fish On!!!!!
So, it looks like the treble hook regulation is totally irrelevant assuming we are using less than 1/2 ounce lure or weight which, in the San Lorenzo, we probably are. The strange thing is if you happened to use a lure larger than a 1/2 ounce, you would have to remove the factory installed treble hooks and install tiny ones. Go figure. I'm sticking with my buoyant F7 flatfish more than 18" away from my less-than 1/2 ounce weight!
Outside of the regs, treble hooks do offer more hookups, but they can cause some major damage to the fish and you don't want to do that for C&R. The regs do drive me nuts though. The way I read it is that you are ok to use ANY size hook/multiple hook as long as the distance between the hook and a weight is GREATER than 18". So why does this regulation even exist if you can get around it by adding an inch??? If someone knows, please enlighten me! Thanks!
Outside of the regs, treble hooks do offer more hookups, but they can cause some major damage to the fish and you don't want to do that for C&R. The regs do drive me nuts though. The way I read it is that you are ok to use ANY size hook/multiple hook as long as the distance between the hook and a weight is GREATER than 18". So why does this regulation even exist if you can get around it by adding an inch??? If someone knows, please enlighten me! Thanks!
Notwithstanding Section 2.10, no person shall use any multiple hook with a distance greater than 1/4 inch measured from the hook point to the shank, or any single hook larger than 1/2 inch measured from the hook point to the shank, which is directly or indirectly attached within 18 inches, to any weight or non-buoyant lure exceeding 1/2 ounce in the following waters: (a) All year in streams in Mendocino, Sonoma and Marin counties, (except the Russian River) and the Sacramento River between Keswick Dam and the Princeton Ferry and all tributaries to the Sacramento River below Shasta Dam in Shasta and Tehama counties. (b) From November 16 through February 28 in any stream in Monterey, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. (c) All year in the American River from the Hazel Avenue bridge upstream to Nimbus Dam. (d) From August 15 through December 31 in the Russian River. (e) All year in the Feather River from the mouth of Honcut Creek upstream to the Table Mountain bicycle bridge in Oroville. (f) All year in Butte Creek from the Durham Highway Bridge crossing to Centerville Head Dam. (g) All year in the Yuba River from its mouth to Englebright Dam.
Hi folks. Never fished the SLR or other local streams, but really want to. Could somebody tell me what's cool? Catch & release only? Where & when. Flies & lures? Will using spinner with treble hooks get me beaten up? Etc. Want to have fun, don't want to be a jerk! Maybe email's best place to respond, & not clutter up reports page. Thanks
I've seen several fishermen using Treble Hooks on the SLR. Are they legal? I'd never use a treble as I only fish with flies, I am just curious. Thanks for the info and have a great weekend!
I've seen several fishermen using Treble Hooks on the SLR. Are they legal? I'd never use a treble as I only fish with flies, I am just curious. Thanks for the info and have a great weekend!
You know, it's always a gamble when your driving to the river and choose to fish one stretch of water over another. I had a funny feeling about that Garden area when I was passing all the cars in the dark! There's always next time, fortunately. . .
I fished the Garden Wednesday morning. Caught and released a beautiful 7# (?) hatchery hen below the garden. I used the same thing that I used the last time I fished the San Lorenzo (which was my first time) when I caught a 10# hatchery buck... an F7 silver flatfish "back-reeled" down the current behind 3 split shot. I'm 2 for 2 now so I'm sticking with the flatfish. Thanks again for everyone's helpful advice and thanks again to Tad for helping me to land the fish. By the way, we saw another guy land a fish the same size as mine later on in the morning.
I just started fishing SLR this year. What's up with those fly rods being used for hardware and bait fishing? Are there any advantages oor reasons for this combo? Any out there using noodle rod/bobber/jigs rigs? Some people say it is the most effective method to catch steelies. I'd like to give it a try myself.
Skunky!!!!! The water looked great but....no takers. I heard a girl caught a 5# steely fishing with a spincast zebco combo and a Kastmasters. So much for all those Loomis/shimano "christmas combos" lean mean fishing machines.
Same as Doug and Ron-- saw plenty of people upstream of the Garden, and I heard of someone breaking off on a decent fish. Other than that no other fish. I also went about a half a mile down of the Garden and found some nice water and no fish. Fished till 12:00. Drifted corky and yarn. Couple egg eaters. Any luck further down stream????
Fished the SLR from the Henry Cowell bridge down to the trestle this morning from 8:30 to 10:30. Same story as Ron, great conditions - not a fish in sight.
Fished about 1/2 mile below the trestle bridge to just above the Garden of Eden this morning, Wednesday, January 9. The river was in excellent green shape, but flows a bit strong and high. I saw many anglers and zero fish caught along this area. I left the river about 10:30 a.m. It was a very, very quiet morning, and I am shocked that no one hooked up despite the more than favorable conditions out there today. I'm sure the sections below the Garden hole must have been better?
Fished on Saturday for the first time on the SLR. Started about 7am beneath the Henry Cowell bridge. Around 7:30 I hooked up on one about 24", fought it for about five minutes and as I got it within range to pick up, it took off on another run and did a roll and lost it. What a beauty! Tried the Soquel behind Nob Hill, but nothing going on. Went back to SLR downstream again and stopped at one of the holes with the big parking area (can't remember the name). Within about 10 minutes I hooked into another nice fish, about 14". Got it up to my knees and again lost the fish. Didn't get a good hook set on the fish, but that's ok. If I can let'em go without touching them, all the better! That was it for the day. Beginner's luck I guess, but I'll take it any way I can. We fished with spin-n-glo's, no trailer. Both fish were taken from little eddy's, just out of the current.
Fish Sunday morning and afternoon, but only caught one 7"er. River is in great shape.
1/5 caught a nice little 18" steelhead in the SLR at lower sand hole at about 4pm. Black Woolley Bugger.
Fished SLR ,Started at the garden with my buddy,we were the only ones there until around 9:00 am..The fish were stacked there and we hooked 11 fish.All but five were egg eaters.He landed a wild hen around four pounds.And I landed a hatchery buck in the 7 to 8 pound range...The other three were in the 3 pound range..Water was still high, but had perfect color..wednesday will be the day to get some nice fish. Hopefully by then the river will be low enough to cross,so we can cover alot more water...
Fished the San Lorenzo this morning, 1/5. River is still high but starting to clear, maybe 1 1/2 feet visibility at 4 Rocks by noon. Didn't catch anything but saw a ~9 lb fish caught at 6:45, heard of another that size caught and saw a 20" caught around 11:00. Should be even better tomorrow and Wednesday.
Anybody know where I can buy nightcrawlers in Felton or Scotts Valley? Seems like nobody sells bait anymore! Jonny
Checked SLR at 9:00 A.M. water is still high, And a little muddy with a hint of green..The water dropped several ft. yesterday and over night..With these low tides we've been having, the river schould drop a couple of more feet by tomarow.It will be fishable, but be careful crossing, As it is constantly changing.. With little or no rain in the forcast , Sunday and Wednesday will will be epic. Fish On !!!!!
As late as 4:30 pm thurs SLR is STILL high and muddy (several inches vis at best---at least at sycamore grove). USGS reports 1500 cfs, and though it appears to be in error, cannot be far off. Does anyone know what percentage of flow is siphoned off at felton diversion dam? Is there a flow below which water is NOT diverted, even if the dam is inflated? Early in the season flows seemed to drop precipitously after a good storm. Good luck this weekend
kid... how's the slr looking since the rain stopped... i checked the website on flow rate and depth (http://water.usgs.gov/ca/nwis/uv/?site_no=11160500), but it seems to be snagged... hopin' to get some decent fishin' in this weekend... what da ya think??? thanx...
Dan,The reg.s for fishing near a dam are: NO fish may be taken within 250 ft. of, (a) any fishway or egg taking station. (b)any dam or any weir or rack which has a fishway or an egg taking station (c)the upstream side of any fish screen Fish may be taken upstream or downstream from any dam that does not have a fishway or egg taking station. These reg.s are on page 9 section 2.35. Taking fish near dams, fishways,screens, and egg taking stations...
Anyone know of a legal distance to keep from the dam just upstream of Cowells? I believe on the Guadalupe, you have to stay 500 feet away from any device designed to assist fish. Thanks, Dan
FISHED SLR ON NEW YEARS DAY. WATER WAS IN GOOD SHAPE HOOKED A 23" BUCK ON ROE IN COWELLS AREA
FISHED SCOTTS NEW YEARS MORNING HOOKED ONE 10LB HATCHERY HEN BELOW CONFLUENCE RUN
Caught and released a 20 inch Steelhead hen in Cowell park Tuesday morning. Fish was holding next to the bank, took a roe/puffball combination.
Fished SLR at the cowell bridge.water was still high,but starting to clear up a little.Only got a few egg eaters,But saw several adult fish rolling right under the bridge..Also.while we were there we saw them checking the trap and release 6 adult steelies up stream from the dam..After this storm,were supposed to get a few days of nice weather..Keep your fingers crossed and this weekend could be epic...Fish On!!!