Month: December 2021

Steelhead action heats up

Steelhead season is off to a strong start on the Chetco and Smith Rivers, with near-perfect conditions and a big return of winter fish. The Wild Rivers Fishing crew has been enjoying success on both rivers.

Despite cold weather, with lots of snow in the hills, fishing has been has been good the past week. A major winter storm is expected to start the new year, which could limits options for the first week of 2022.

A beautiful Chetco River steelhead caught with Capt. Andy.

Both rivers blew out around Christmas, but the Smith quickly dropped back into shape, and the Chetco has been in prime shape for the past few days. During the higher flows, plunkers fishing large Spin-N-Glos from shore did well. Drift boaters side-drifting roe and Corkies did well as the river began to drop.

A wild hen steelhead is released on the Upper Chetco.

Wild Rivers Fishing has guides licensed in Oregon and California to fish the Chetco and Smith rivers, and operates under special use permits from the US Forest Service to fish the Wild and Scenic Upper Chetco and launch at the Forks on the Smith River to drift through Redwood National Park.

Nice Chetco steelhead caught on a 3.5 MagLip plug.

We also fish the Elk and Sixes rivers during the winter, and occasionally on the lower Rogue River. Steelhead season is off to a great start on the lower Rogue, where some guides are getting into double-digit numbers anchoring and fishing 3.5 MagLip plugs.

The Chetco is expected to blow out by Jan. 2, and could approach flood stage with the combination of heavy rain and melting snow. When we get back on the water, we will start by running plugs and then side-drift as flows drop.

To book a trip, call (541) 813-1082.

Steelhead arrive in Chetco, Smith rivers

Frequent storms with heavy rain have steelhead season off to an early start on the Chetco and Smith rivers. A mix of hatchery and wild steelhead have already been caught on both streams, and now anglers are waiting for a break in the weather to get on the water.

Capt. Michael holds a Chetco steelhead caught in December 2021.

Steelhead began arriving in late November, but low, clear conditions made getting a good drift difficult. After heavy rain in early December, steelhead arrived in big numbers on the Chetco and Smith. The water has been high for the past few weeks, making side-drifting difficult, but giving plunkers using large Spin-N-Glos a good opportunity to catch fish from shore.

Our guides have had some success so far this season side-drifting when flows are below 4,000 cfs, and also have caught steelhead anchoring in the softer water near shore and fishing 3.5 MagLip plugs.

Capt. Mick with a nice Chetco steelhead from early December.

Peak season for Chetco River winter steelhead is the last week of December, all of January and February, and the first week of March. The season runs through March 31. The Smith River also fishes best during the same time frame, but remains open through April.

Many visiting anglers will book two days, so they can fish the Smith River and the Chetco River during their same trip to the coast. Our guides are licensed in Oregon and California, and also have special use permits for the Wild and Scenic Upper Chetco River, located within the U.S. Forest Service boundary.

The Chetco fishes best for steelhead between 2,500 cfs and 3,500 cfs. The Smith River will fish during higher flows. The Elk River to the north of the Chetco also fishes well immediately after a heavy rain, while other rivers take a couple of days to come into shape.

To book a trip with a local, year round fishing guide, call Wild Rivers Fishing at (541) 813-1082.

Salmon season starts hot, slows with low water

The 2021 drift boat salmon season on the Chetco, Smith, Elk and Sixes rivers started hot, as big storms brought impressive numbers of fish in, but ended on a slow note, as prolonged low, clear water made fishing tough the second half of November and in early December.

Capt. Andy holds a pair of Chetco River kings from early November.

In October and early November, the action was great. The Wild Rivers Fishing crew of Andy, Michael, Rye, Mick, Sam and Shane bounced around from the Smith to Chetco and then Elk and Sixes, getting into decent numbers of kings on each trip. The rivers then blew out in early November, and then slowed as the rain stopped.

Capt. Michael with a chromer Sixes River king salmon.

Action overall was above-average early in the season, but slow during the second half. Focus now turns to winter steelhead, which are already showing up on the Smith and Chetco rivers, and should get better with rains in mid-December. A few more bright salmon also should show up on the Chetco and Smith, and especially on the Elk and Sixes, after the first big rain of December.

The first drift boat salmon trips started in late September, when rains increased flows on the Smith River and a bunch of jacks moved in. Andy, Rye and Sam got in on the action, and caught big numbers of salmon on plugs. Lots of doubles on the smaller kings stacked up in the lower section of the Smith.

In mid-October, more rains fell, and the drift boat season got underway on the Chetco and Smith. We used bobbers and eggs, plugs and divers and bait to get into fish on both rivers. Another big rain in early November brought in the last decent fishing on the Smith and Chetco, which then slowed as the bulk of the fish moved upstream to spawn.

The action was good on the Elk and Sixes for a couple of weeks, but they too got low and clear and the action slowed.

Peak season for steelhead fishing is late December through February. With several local guides working out of our office, we have some availability. Call (541) 813-1082 to schedule a winter steelhead drift boat trip.

Here are some more photos of our 2021 drift boat salmon season on the Chetco, Smith, Elk and Sixes rivers.