Check out the Feb. issue of Western Outdoors Magazine for my article of fishing the American River for steelhead like this one and all the other species that call the river home (though I left the carp and squawfish tips out). And if you’ve got a rotting old set of oar blades on your driftboat or raft shafts (like I once did), you can learn how to quickly replace them in my Tips of the Trade column in the Feb. issue of Salmon Trout Steelheader Magazine.

Also in that same issue of STS, look for the photo essay I did on the Stanislaus River Restoration project I worked on last fall.

In the Feb. issue of Fish Alaska Magazine, you’ll find my article about chasing road-side silvers in Cordova and the first installment of my Salmon Sense column in which we’ll take a look at why kings bite in freshwater.

Whew…just thinking about all that makes my typing fingers sore!

Yesterday, common sense prevailed as the CA Fish & Game Commission rejected a proposal to close the American River due to low flows. They will, however, look into adopting low flow regulations in 2009.

Thanks to all of you who let your voices be heard!

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock lately, you know that Chinook salmon stocks in Northern California (and much of the West Coast) have dramatically collapsed in just a couple short seasons.

It has just been reported that in California’s Central Valley (the Sacramento, Feather, American, Yuba, Mokelumne, San Joaquin, Tuolumne, Stanislaus & Merced rivers and various tributaries), Chinook runs in 2007 totaled 90,000 fish — down from 270,000 in 2006, which was regarded as the worst season in recent memory. As recently as 2002, over 800,000 kings ascended Valley streams to spawn.

In addition, Central Valley jack counts were down around 2,000 fish last fall — an all-time low and well below the average of 40,000 per year.

With such an incredible drop-off in the fishery, the question begs: will we ever again see fish runs like the “Good ol’ Days” of just a few seasons ago when limits like the ones in the photo above were the norm?

Click here to read more…

Looking for an awesome do-it-yourself Alaskan fishing trip this summer? Look no further than Cordova and it’s sick, off-the-charts coho fishing — most of which can be easily accessed by car! Trusty side-kick Reilly and I explored the Cordova road system thoroughly last fall and found 60-plus fish days without much trouble at all…on chrome, snowbelly silvers. Read the full report in the January issue of FISH ALASKA Magazine.

I just caught wind of this one, but Dave Ford and the Northern California Council Federation of Fly Fishers is asking the California Fish & Game Commission to close the American River to fishing if the flows fall below the current 1,100 cfs to protect spawning steelhead from poachers.

Unfortunately, I find Mr. Ford’s stance arrogant and mis-informed. Aren’t fishing groups supposed to fight for fishing, not seek to ban it? So, I get it, let’s punish the thousands of law-abiding anglers who fish the American so that we can keep a handful of loser poachers from doing what they’re going to do anyway! If you want to attack somebody, try the Bureau of Reclamation for the mis-management of the water! How about getting on the Gov. for deciding not to allow the hire of new Game Wardens??

Closing the entire river is an asinine solution. Let me explain:

Click here to read more…