Newsletter

The 2008 Season in Review

The Beginning
(Winter Steelhead)

          The season started out with a bang, there were fish everywhere! Both the Smith and Chetco had plenty of fish to keep
everyone happy through the first few weeks of the season. Plenty of BIG steelhead were in the mix also. Then it was like
someone just turned the switch off on the Smith and told the fish to head to another river to continue their journey. For the better
part of the rest of the season, the Smith was like a desert. There were plenty of opportunities to fish in prime conditions but there
were just not a lot of fish around. Therefore I only fished the Smith 4 days the whole season and 3 of those were days that we
fished it because we were in the Derby and had too. In March, the fishing on the Smith had a bit of bright light at the end of the
tunnel. Fish counts went from 0, 1, and 2, to 6, 7 and 8 counts. It was a nice ending to the season on the Smith but all of us are
hoping that it was just one of those years and that we get right back to a more normal season this year.

       The Chetco, on the other hand was a fairly good producer considering all of the additional pressure that was put on it
because of the poor fishing on the Smith. There seemed to be plenty of fish around but at times all of the fishing pressure would
put the fish off the bite and you would have to work extra hard to get your fish. All and all it was a fairly consistent season for the
Chetco. As for the other North Coast Rivers, the fishing was nothing short of spectacular. The Trinity, Mad, Eel, Van Duzen, and
the Mattole were all great from time to time as the weather would permit us to fish them. It is always nice to be able to fish all day
and come home to your own house at night and to have good fishing on top of that. What more of a bonus can you ask for than
that? As I look back on the winter, I am sure glad that we were able to fish these other rivers because without that option, it could
have been a lot tougher season.

       In closing, I really am looking forward to a great winter season this year. The ocean conditions for this year have been in favor
of good fishing. So look for a good run and some BIG STEELHEAD to come.

Mid Season
(Spring Run Chinook)

       The Spring season was kind of a disappointment. There were some good days but not enough of them to make for a good
season. I don’t know if the fish were just missing us or if they just weren’t there, but there were only a handful of days that we had
good numbers of fish push through the system. In talking with the other guides, they reflected the same type of pattern during
their days on the river this spring. Let’s hope that next season fairs better.

Early Fall Season
(Salmon and Steelhead)

       In the early part of the season on the Klamath we were catching both salmon and steelhead in pretty good numbers. I was
thinking, wow, if fishing is this good now, I can’t wait for tomorrow. But just when I thought it was going to break wide open, the
fishing just stayed about the same. Working harder some days than others became the norm. We did have a good spurt of the 4
year olds that the experts had been telling us were out there in BIG numbers come though. The biggest fish on my boat was
caught by Merritt Perry. It weighed in at 36 pounds and was one of the finest displays of team work that I have ever had the
pleasure of being a part of. Without the help of everyone on the boat, especially my deckhand that day (Eric Banko), we would
have never had the pleasure of getting that fish to the boat. Merritt, you could not have done a better job at fighting that fish. It was
a day to remember. As a side note, we had 4 other fish that day that were nothing to be ashamed of either. They ranged from 18-
28 pounds plus we lost a couple of other that were rather large. As for the rest of the Klamath season, we caught some nice fish
on most days that we were out. Not a whole lot of steelhead around for some reason. No one could quite figure that one out, but
lots of salmon in the 6-12 pound class. As far as escapement for the hatchery’s is concerned, the Klamath side of the spectrum
is looking pretty good for both salmon and steelhead returns but the Trinity side is way down from its normal. Both the salmon
and steelhead counts are down a lot from last year which is very disturbing to me. With that being said, you can imagine how
tough the fishing was on the Trinity this year. So tough, that I only ran a couple of trips over there because of it. All and all I would
have to say that the season was an average one for the Klamath and a poor one for the Trinity. I can say without a doubt that the
company that I had on my boat was a pleasure to fish with, as they always are.

Late Fall
(Salmon and Steelhead)

       This has been one of the best years in awhile for salmon on both the Smith and Chetco Rivers for LARGE fall fish. If you were
on the river just after the storms hit and the rivers were starting to drop, I would be willing to bet that you were into some fairly
decent sized Kings. I heard of at least a couple of fish in the mid to high 40’s and a bunch in the 20-30 pound class. There were
also lots and lots of Jack’s in the mix. Our biggest problem as it always is this time of year is keeping the rivers at a good level for
fishing. With the lack of storms coming in back to back and little or no snow, the rivers dropped out in a hurry. The window of
opportunity was very small. At the moment we are waiting on yet another storm to raise the river again and bring in another shot of
fish.

       As for the steelhead, I fished the Upper Trinity in November with the fly rods and had minimal success. We caught a few each
trip but nothing like it was the last few years. The numbers were just not there. I was reading a few reports that were saying that it
was back to a more normal season but I just don’t believe that. The numbers through the weir can prove it. We just had a slow
year for steelhead on the Trinity. I’d be willing to venture out and say that next year will be a pretty good one. Let’s hope so.

In Closing

        I would like to thank everyone once again for fishing with me. It is a pleasure to fish with and guide each and every one of
you. The people are what make this job so enjoyable each and every season. What more could I ask for than to be surrounded by
such good people. Not to mention the office that I get to work out of each day. It never gets old.

       Once again we have come full circle and are looking to start our winter steelhead season. Don’t forget to book early and that I
have gift certificates available for those special occasions.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

TIGHT LINES,
Alan

2008 Newsletter

Alan's Guide Service