THE FISHING REPORT

Last weekend the days started to get longer than the nights
marking the beginning of spring. The Steelhead Season is starting
to wane and only the most ardent anglers are plying local rivers
and streams. Anglers venturing north are getting the best returns
for their efforts. Several good friends fished the South Fork Eel
last weekend for less than a fish per rod per day. They reported
light traffic and a mix of down runners and fresh fish to 10
pounds. John Klar, recent winner of the Cal-ore fishing Derby,
reports that there are still fresh steelhead to be had on the
Smith. John will relocate his fishing operation to the Central
Valley for stripers which can be very exciting in April and
May.
 I haven’t heard much at all going on the Russian River.  The
Army Corps was releasing water from Warm Springs up until last
Monday so fishing below Dry Creek to the mouth was unavailable.
Carol Silva reports that the return counts have reached 1200 for
the Warm Springs hatchery and 700 up at Coyote. Last year at this
same time there were only 680 and 332 returnees respectively. They
are still getting about 100 fish a day so this is still a viable
fishery until the river closes to bait fishing April 1st.
And as the season changes, the focus to ocean salmon fishing is
on a lot of people’s minds. We will have an ocean  salmon opener on
Saturday, April 3rd, and at this point, will go through April 30th.
Local sport boats all have room but will no doubt fill up as the
season approaches. Rick Powers at Bodega Bay Sport Fishing is
“really excited just to see what is out there.” The season has been
closed for two years and so there is a lot of pent up demand to get
out on the ocean and see if there are any fish. Rick figures that,
like seasons in the past, the fish will be found out in 40-50
fathoms straight out. He has been doing a lot of whale watching
trips and says there is a good sign out past the weather buoy
towards Cordell banks. The Samantha Irene and Payback will both be
out for the opener and can be booked at Wills Sportfishing. Les has
tray red and green herring but no anchovies. Up at Ft. Bragg, Randy
Thornton, Captain of the Telstar, is really excited about the
salmon opener. He has been doing whale watching trips as well and
reports really good signs just off the Noyo Canyon. The water
temperature is now a perfect 52.7 and the wind is blowing, which
will keep things cool. He said that when the squid left, the muirs
showed up in droves and he can’t wait to get out there. He has room
for both days of the opener weekend.
If you have the time and want to get involved in the fight for
our salmon recovery, please go down to the Salmon Summit on
Thursday, April 1st at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, 10
to 1 p.m. They will be focusing on pumping water to the central
valley and the water diversions to Southern California farmers.
Clear Lake has been kicking out some huge bass lately. The Elite
Bass Series featured the Golden Gate Shoot Out last weekend and a
four day average of 25 pounds a day was posted by winning angler
Byron Velvick. He was using his own Jerry Rago designed, Velvick
3-D Swim bait. Abalone season opens on April 1st, and the tides
look good for the weekend. Lake Berryessa is reporting a good
kokonee bite and the bass are all along the shallows in pre-spawn
mode.
For more information or reports, please call Hunt Conrad at
Prospect Mortgage in Healdsburg, 431-9715.