Fishawk Steelhead fishing in Southern Oregon


			Fishawk River Company
		Fishing Reports

	CALL 541. 469. 2422 for up-to-date INFO Thursday January 3, 2008 Steelhead have arrived. We have been fishing and catching those elusive silver beauties with great success since New Year's. Jeff Malast, Skip Eckles and a friend recenty brought 8 tot he boat. We let the wild fish go to preserve this great run, and had plenty of fish to take home. We are in the path of a BIG storm but it reamins to be seen if it will affect us. Snow in the mountains: GOOD. Rain in the mountains: BAD. So call for updates and to book your trip for 2008. Sunday, January 14, 2007 We have had record setting cold temperatures this last week. We've also had banner fishing! I fished a couple from the Bay Area and while I was sweating over our lack of fish ( we had 1 by mid-day) our second run had us firmly planted in some of the best fishing of this very new year. We hooked up with 5 shiny bright steelhead, releasing all native fish back to their cold homes. The next day, same couple, we brought 8 to the boat again releasing all natives back to their cool Chetco environs. The fish are cruising the faster currents and we're catching them with roe and a bit of yarn. There are a lot of boats, guides, bankies, and tempers are running high so, be courteous don't motor up the fishy water, don't cast your line over a boat's lines, and smile(!) there's plenty of fishing to go around. December 21,2006: The Steelhead are in and the rivers are green and high. The weather has conspired to let some of our steelies escape upriver but now that the skies and the rivers have cleared we're back at it. I've heard that the bank fishing has been good and I went yesterday and found the boats were doing well also. It's all about presentation with these fish. A tight well colored package of roe and a puffball does the trick. We caught 3 beautiful steelies and a late salmon. The traffic is moderate with very few anchored in the holes...thank-you! Oct 15th, 2006 We're Back! It's been awhile . We are real computer nerds and had to re-do and re-learn a new site, new programs and find the time to use (and remember) that knowledge. I have been fishing on the Klamath the last few weeks and loving every solitary moment of it. Maybe solitary is the wrong word but compared to the crush elsewhere, the Klamath is an huge, open, river of quiet reflection. While there are other guides plying their trade up and down the river, congestion is almost non-existent. You can't keep adult fish so we concentrated on enjoying the art of FISHING and had banner days of boat banging action. The jacks are plentiful and you can keep three each. Yesterday I fished a man who took his family along with his 7 year old grandson in tow. We landed 12 fish up to 18 pounds with light ( 10 pound) tackle. The young boy caught the second fish of the day, his first salmon ever. The fall colors are starting to peak and we saw bald eagles winging overhead. November 27th, 2001 It has been a month of weather and fishing extremes ! Warm clear weather, warm rainy weather, low water, high water, gale force winds and driving rain, big BIG fish, smaller fish, no fish and many fish...you name it we've done it weather, Salmon, and water wise. Quickfish rule the day and a nice bright color with an anchovy wrap is what works for me. Fished the Gunn Party in early November and did very well on the Smith, even with the low water closures. There were fish in the lower estuary...bookmark that place for next year. Moved onto really terrible rains and tough fishing but some nice shiny salmon were caught, again, at the mouth of the Smith. Then we fished some local boys, Rick Bishop and Benny Koruda, in the first annual Car Dealership Derby hosted by Jack Hanson. Our boys managed to catch some really nice fish culminating with the winning fish which weighed in at 49 lbs. caught in the Chetco River. Then onto bad weather again and a slow down in the Salmon action in general. Tried to fish the Hazen Family again but the weather was not in our favor with high ocean surges keeping the fish at bay. Now is the time of year I usually move north. The later run of big fish in the Elk and Sixes keep us busy...but the fish up there are harder to track and to catch so I'll keep you posted. November 4th, 2001 Sorry to have been out of touch for so long...computer problems! Had a great season in Alaska and managed to net many big Salmon and Halibut this year. We even got our youngest daughter into the "big fish" club with her catch of a 57 lb. Kenai Salmon. Now I am happy to report a successful return to my favorite local rivers and a fantastic return of fall kings.
We had an extremely low water summer and early fall but with the rains coming in a decent formation our rivers are turning that slightly opaque " Chetco green" and the salmon are scooting upstream out of their prisons in the lower holes. I fished from Loeb down with a wonderful father and sons team, the Hazen family. I love having kids in the boat and having them experience the strong life force of a big Salmon on their line. Seeing those impressive fish in the water, in their fragile habitat, is an experience I hope they take with them for awhile. February 28th,2001 Its been a wild month and a half!! Big numbers of steelhead have moved through this system in January and February. Jack and Julie Miller fished in Jan. and Julie caught her first steelie ever...a 12 lb chromer that bit in 16 inches of water. Jack and Eric Blackford fished during Chinese New Year and broke off lots of FISH!!! He promised he'd be easier on their lips next trip. John Bartch and his FIL Craig enjoyed excellent fishing in the crystal clear conditions that we've all been experiencing this winter. The Meyers party was up to their usual fish bonanza fishing with the mighty Hal Borg, and Dustin Russell and I. They are off to the Selway soon to bother the cut-throat trout population. Dick, Steve and Mike Geney fished in Feb. and Mike, after 3 years of watching his brother's catch ALL the fish, showed his stuff and caught 3 in a row in front of them. They are on to a different sport all together...roping and we wish them well. The CAL-ORE cement guys came up from the south and were up to their usual no-good! They caught a lot of fish and we stayed low on the river...giving them plenty of time to escape just in time to return home for Valentines day. Ron Timmeson organized a trip that stayed in the Chetco Inn. They brought along their wives who instead of fishing most days, managed to collect and fill a pick-up load of "pretty rocks" from Chetco River Inn's river's edge to take home with them. I'd also like to mention that the ladies even outfished their husbands on the one day they did fish. Joe Fisher Sr. flew up from Yuma AZ in a storm. The first day the weather was as horrible as it gets here but we all gutted it out for a couple of fish. The next day they enjoyed spring-like weather and excellent fishing with the total caught up to nine.Steve Parker, Tharon Kelly and Jeffery came up from the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco...they had a PLUS , PLUS day on the Rogue. We fought one fish for twenty minutes and had to get out the boat and back into the boat to land this fish. Let me say that this has been an excellent year for steelhead with good returns of native and hatchery fish. I thank my clients who take such great care in handling and releasing our native steelies back fight the good fight to return to the ocean from whence they came. January 15th, 2001 Steelhead have been here on the Chetco and Rogue Rivers for a solid month. Carl Stonecipher caught the first steelhead on the Sixes river on December 1 and we've had action ever since; some days with 8 fish on and running. By mid December we had solid steelhead action on the Smith River so keep that in mind for next season. Last week Larry Schelter and Dave landed 7 fish on the Chetco in low clear conditions. John Bartch, Joe Baxter and Eliot landed 5 fish on the Chetco, also in low clear conditions. Soon after, Jay Carpenter and Chris Leivas had 7 fish on and we brought 6 to the boat. We kept one nice 10 lb hatchery fish to take home for dinner. We have been using a roe and yarn combo which seems to do well in these conditions.So even though you may be hearing dire stories and hard luck tales, the fishing here has been right on target even though you have to be a bit more stealthy. December 5th,2000 We've had a bang up week because the skies opened up and we finally got a decent rain! The rivers colored up and rose to acceptable levels and the fish came out to party. We saw lots of Salmon scooting upriver to spawn. Before the rains, I took Tom Bodell and Martha out on the 25th of Nov. and we fished on the Smith. We bobbered with sand shrimp and had six nice ones on and landed four. Threw back the smaller ones to carry on. It rained pretty heavy the next few days and Cal Stonecipher and his son Eric came up for optimal conditions and I finally got to go back to one of my favorite rivers. We had 5 fish on, with a foul hooked 35 lber we had to shake off and then we had a full-on biter 35lber! Also hooked up with a pretty little 10lb steelie so it might be time to start changing your gear around. Went to the Chetco next day and it was too nice, good weather, chrome fish, steelie and all. It definitely tightened up on Sunday and we are due for more low flows all week. I'd keep up with the weather reports and wait for rain...low clear conditions might persist throughout the weekend. November 26th, 2000 We've gotten a scattering of raindrops up here but the rivers remain low and clear. I've been on the Smith and doing well considering the conditions. I have been bobbering in the holes and the salmon seem to be biting on sand shrimp. Dave Cruze and friends hooked up with some jacks and a nice 25lb salmon. THe Dan Chase group did the jack thing and hooked up with beautiful 28lb and 18lb fish...silver bright, in addition to the usual jack-fest! Also fished the Rory Macdonald party and they hauled in 15 lb and 26 lb fish. We returned the hens to the spawning party...hopefully they will live to complete the cycle...so difficult in these low-water conditions. We have heard rumors that the steelhead are arriving here on the northcoast. A few have been seen and a couple have been caught. Its been a week of good fishing. November 18th, 2000 The Chetco is a river of brook proportions due to the lack of rainfall. What little river there is is plugged with snaggers and their brethren "line biters" ... This is fast becoming a conflict that needs resolving. Whether or not the Fish and Game considers this merely a social issue and not a biological issue,the law applies to all who fish and to ignore the problems of snagging on the Chetco is to encourage breaking the law. The Fish and Game cannot be arbitrary when enforcing the law. There are many honest fishermen who are disgusted at this spectacle year after year and they want a change. When 100 people stand at a hole or line their boats across the lower river and visibly yank and run all day long with no Fish and Game warden with-in ten miles...something's broke! We heard the "Fish Pig" of the week story and I'll tell it here. A bank fisherman was hauling in a nice fish on the Smith. A guide ( I am ashamed to say!) came into the hole, snagged the very same fish, cut the bank fisherman's line (!) dragged the fish in by the tail, cracked it on the head and rowed off. Sportsmanship at its finest! Beyond the "social issues"....fishing has been good on the Smith and the fish are biting legitimately with bobbers with roe and sand-shrimp. Fished the Gunns from Nevada and came away with limits and had some over 20lbs. Fished John Pitman and George Christie and caught a nice 25 lber among others. The Terry Tuell party did well considering the low water. I took a risk after some rains and wandered up to the Chetco with Scott Manning and his kids...had a tough day but came away with a beautiful 26 lb chrome salmon. Pray for Rain ! November 6th, 2000 We've had a sporadic month...some great days, some not so great...the low water conditions keep us guessing day to day and the gin-clear conditions warrant a sneaky approach. Have had fairly decent luck above Lobster Creek on the Rogue. Fished Tyler Stuart and Louise Sever and we had a stellar day with 10 fish brought to the boat. It rained hard on the 29th of Oct. which opened the Chetco for a couple of days. Larry Scheltter got into them back bouncing. With Dick and Steve Geney we had to go on an expedition to find a suitable hole. Caught a dark one on the Smith but did better on the Rogue the next day. With no rain forecast until Thursday fishermen of integrity ( no fly-snaggers need apply...mouth snagged still doesn't count) can expect more of the same difficult conditions. October 12th, 2000 This past week we saw some superb action on the Rogue. Bill and Elaine, with Bill's father, caught a mixture of silvers and kings....16 fish on and we landed 8! Since then we have had a pretty good rainfall on Monday morning which brought the fish in from the ocean on both the Rogue and the Chetco. The second good bite of the season took place in the river mouth and many fish over 20lbs were landed. Rick Bishop in our boat caught a beautiful 40 lb king and Bill Culley had a nice 20lb chrome salmon. A 10 year old boy in the boat next to us landed a 51lb king!!!! Trolling an Anchovey 30 feet off the boat is still the bait of choice. The big news is that the fish are in the river and in a holding pattern upstream so we should be able to look forward to fish throughout the river once we get more rain. Hey guys....keep it sane.....No snag maggots need apply! October 4th, 2000 The salmon are still up on the Rogue in much better numbers and more consistancy that here on the Chetco which has slo-o-o-owed way down. I fished my daugther's teacher and his son Garrett on Sunday and we got a late start as I had orginally wanted to go on the Chetco...got bad reports so up to the Rogue we went. The bite is definatley in the early morning and we missed it... But on to better and earlier starts; Luther from Alabama and his nephew John, had four fish on by 10AM and brought 2 silvers and a 30lb king to the boat. Caught these trolling anchovies. Guided Boats are still catching limits of bright fish with a mix of about 50% native silvers which must be released. September 29th, 2000 Fished some folks on the Rogue yesterday and we caught quite a few Salmon. But the real stories are with the early arrival of salmon in the Chetco. They are moving into the estuary early this year and heading upstream to low water conditions. Fishing is best and most sportsman like in the estuary and the fish pooled upstream will darken quickly the longer they are in the river. We are hoping for some early rains to coincide with the early arrival of these fish to push them upstream to spawn. BUT....the estuary is making a fine showing and salmon have been taken silver bright, up to 30lbs already!!!! September 23rd, 2000 Fished up on the Rogue Bay Saturday with Patrick Kennedy. We hooked a bunch of fresh salmon as they poured in from the ocean but they were such strong fighters we brought only one 30lb. buck to the boat. We weren't crying the blues as we had an exciting day and the fish we kept was a real beauty. Still using bright blades and a spinning anchovy to entice these big boys to bite. Boats are thick but everyone is polite and we saw lots of action to indicate the fish are still ripping upstream. September 15th, 2000 I am now back from ALASKA, and planning to update this page to reflect what a wonder our 49th state really is. But....right now I am on the Rogue river doing a little Salmon fishing in the estuary and a bit upstream. The fishing has been spotty but we have managed to haul in a few bright Chinook. There is a lot of silver action which keeps us awake even if we have to release the natives back to the river...it looks like a healthy run. I took one of my favorite friends, Rich Holland, out with his wife Barb and we watched Barb catch the fish. We saw quite a bit of action and fish were spuushing all around us even though biters were shy. We have been using a anchovy with a bright blade...green seems to be the color and trolling around doing the Rogue do-si-do. The fish were not pooled up in one spot but seemed to be all over the estuary. Look for action with the tidal flows. June 13th 2000 I am now fishing in ALASKA, the land of many, many moose and eagles as common as seagulls...I have to remind myself that this isn't a dream. Fishing has been red hot on the Kalisof River and Kenai River and will only get better. My first trip fishing for halibut we got a shooter Halibut weighing in at 100lbs. I've got Openings in July and August plus the upcoming power boat Rogue fishery Steelhead and Salmon light tackle Sept Oct trips. You can email me directly in Alaska at fishawk51@hotmail.com April 26th 2000 Finished up our winter/spring season on high notes. Joe Fisher and his party of 6 landed 35 steelhead on the Chetco river at the very end of the steelie season. March is a great month!!! Carl Piplick and Charles made it up for springers and a bit of half pounder action in April. They landed many many smaller steelies and walked off with the grand prize of two springers one 18lbs and 1 21 lbs. I am sure they had lot's of friends "just dropping over" around dinner time! We are now on our way to ALASKA . Hope to see some of you up there !!! March 15th, 2000 Fishing tightened up a bit on Sunday- Monday and Pete Bidnost and his mama Maria Luisa had to work hard to catch those quick silver streaks. But with the help of a little grappa , we make the fishy droppa and we did catch two late in the day Sunday. On Tuesday even without the benefits of that Italian beverage, Mark McCord and Friend Gary managed to mine a little silver from the Chetco again later in the day. We are due for some bad weather on Saturday...check the radar but always keep a open mind because most forecasts have been a little off and we could still be fishing nice water over the weekend. March 13th, 2000 Raining again here this morning...and supposed to rain heavier tonight and tomorrow. The rivers have been clear and fishable all week so unless it really starts to dump a bucket of water on us we should be fine. Had the Matthews Ready Mix boys on the river and they managed to bring in a few ...11 fine fish among the group...the next day 13. They were READY. The pink color and attentive tight lines are attracting and feeling those light bites and bringing them in. We are using lighter tackle to make those cartwheels a bit more heart stopping.

Box 1954 Brookings, Oregon (541).469.2422
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The Wilderness Society, Environmental Defense Fund, Defenders of Wildlife, National Resource Defense Council, Nature Conservancy, American Rivers, Oregon Natural Resources Council, Pacific Rivers Council, America Outdoors
PERMITS:
Fishawk River Co. operates it's Southern Oregon trips under the Special Use Permits of the USDA/ USFS Siskiyou National Forest, Gold Beach Ranger District and Chetco Ranger District.
Operating under Special Use permit for trips on the Smith River with the USDA/ USFS Six Rivers National Forest and Smith River N.R.A.
Operating under Special Use Permit for the Kenai River in Alaska issued by Kenai River Special Management Area.