Trip Report: American River

My parents have been visiting from out of town, so this report is long overdue. Since my trip up to the Cowlitz in Washington, I've been hitting the American River a few times. I know, I swore I wouldn't go back to this place. However, the proximity is sometimes hard to ignore.

I can't go into details, because frankly, I don't remember any. Next time I need to write about it as soon as I get home. Not a week or two later.

One thing that I do remember, the weather was HOT. Around 100 degrees or so. That didn't stop me from doing a little more exploring outside of the Rossmore/El Manto area. I found some great water all the way from Watt to Upper Sunrise. Although fishing was slow, I caught a few half pounders in the 17 inch range. I used a variety of flies including soft hackles and smaller steelhead flies. All of the fish were caught on the steelhead patterns. Whether they were hairwings or speys.

I don't normally see other fly fisherman using two handers in my neck of the woods. However, I did see quite a few over those days. One of them proceeded to low-hole me on Upper Sunrise. Come on guys, use some common sense!? The other two were friendly and more interested in sitting around and drinking beer than fishing. Which was fine. At least they didn't jump in below me!

While wading around Watt. I found a revolver in about 4 feet of water. I opted to not reach down and grab it. I didn't feel like soaking myself, so it was left there. I called the Sacramento Police Dept, who referred me to the Parks Dept. I described where I found it and I'll assume they went and got it. On a later visit a few days later, I looked for it again and couldn't find it. Hopefully the authorities got it and not some hooligan.

Next week, I'm going to head up to the Lower Feather or Yuba. It will be one of those last minute decisions. I've got a new pair of waders to keep the water out! When the day is over, I look forward to having dry clothes underneath!

Trip Report: Cowlitz River / Washington

A few weeks ago, I was able to fish somewhere other than California. While attending a wedding in Seattle, I had a chance to spend a day with Steve Buckner, a guide on the Cowlitz river.

I didn't know much about this river before going. The only thing I had heard is that the fish aren't huge, but there is a better chance of hooking one. Good enough for me. I've only been targeting steelhead for a couple of years, so I'm at that stage where I want to learn as much as possible about where they can be found and how to get their attention. Having someone reinforce what you've read or learned on your own is nice.

Steve met me at the boat launch before the sun came up. While putting on my waders, he put our days transportation in the water. We were off just as there was enough light to see through the fog. This boat had the ability to go to any spot up or down the river, but I'm pretty sure we simply crossed the river and anchored up right there! Steve reassured me that this was a great spot, and I had no reason to think otherwise.

We started off fishing close in. No need for long casts. I had the compact scandi head out of the guides and not much more. We were up against the bank and I had to watch my d-loop to keep it from hitting the trees that we were backed up against. While I swung the fly, Steve shared his opinions on presentation and when to set the hook if I get a nibble. As mostly a trout fisherman, I have a hair trigger reaction to any grabs. That doesn't cut it with steelhead, it will take some major brain washing to get me to back off and let the steelhead take the fly.





We stepped down the river quite a ways. I got a few grabs, but didn't hook up with anything. An hour or two later, Steve walked back upstream as I continued to fish the last 50 yards. He came back with the jet and we went to the next spot.

I learned quite a bit about how steelhead move through the river and why. Not just where they hold, but the path they take while traveling and why they stage in one spot or another. No matter how many books you read or how often you fish, it is nice to have someone lay it out for you as you're motoring up/down the river. The fact that we were in a jet boat, really drove the point home.

I don't know how many river miles we covered that day, but we were all over the place. I fished in all sorts of runs with varied terrain at various depths. Steve also gave me some casting and running line managing tips. Although we were using floating tips, he showed me some different mends that can get the fly down several feet in the deeper runs.

I hooked a few fish throughout the day. However, I didn't get any big ones. I think most of the fish were sea-run cutthroats. Although, some of the grabs felt much more like steelhead. However, I wasn't able to get one. No matter, that is typical steelhead fishing for you. Steve taught me a lot about where to look for fish. Frankly, some of the spots he put me in, I would of surely passed by if I were on my own. I have and will use what I learned on my usual steelhead waters around home.

If you are ever in Washington and want a great steelhead guide, I don't think you can go wrong with Steve.