Sun thwarts anglers

Salmon-hunters could certainly use some rain

Carl Page, left, and Pat Higgins during a recent day of fishing on the Smith River, which is low for this time of year. Del Norte Triplicate/Adam Spencer

Lower than average rainfall produced subpar fishing conditions for salmon season on the Smith River.

“There are some fish, but we just need rain,” said Mike Coopman, a local fishing guide. 

In the last two months, the majority of the county’s rainfall was at least 8 inches below the average for this time of year.

“There are plenty of fish to be caught but with low, clear water conditions and getting toward the end of what we would consider our normal salmon season, it’s making things pretty tough,” Coopman said.

Salmon are more easily spooked in low, clear water when they can see the boat before they see the lure, Coopman said.

Last year on Dec. 7, the Smith River was flowing at 4,850 cubic feet per second, compared to 1,040 cfs this year.

“They can see us well before we can see them, and they’re just not going to be as aggressive,” Coopman said.

Conditions are better when the water is a little bit murky — enough to cloud the view of the fish.

Besides preventing fish from biting, the low flow also limits accessibility. The river is not navigable with a drift boat when the flow drops below 1,000 cfs, Coopman said.

“Knowing the river well is really helpful in these low conditions,” Coopman said, adding that hopping out of the boat to drag it over low spots might be necessary  soon.

The best place to find fish right now is in some of the deeper holes, where there’s plenty of freshly oxygenated water, Coopman said. The problem is knowing which hole to pick.

“They all look pretty fishy to me,” said local fisherman Carl Page during a recent outing.

Still, Page and his fellow fishermen didn’t get a single bite last week, just like most fishermen out that day.

The frequent exchange between anglers:

“Catch any?”

“Nope, but we saw a few roll.”

The salmon are definitely in there.  Roughly 18,500 adult fish swam upstream from Oct. 1 to Nov. 25, according to preliminary estimates from the DIDSON sonar fish counter at the boat launch off Fred Haight Drive. 

Plenty of fish seem to have stayed downstream below the mouth of Rowdy Creek, though.  Last Sunday, in less than 10 minutes, at least five fish were landed at the “sand hole” near the mouth of Rowdy Creek. Numerous dead salmon carcasses littered the river bottom in the area below the creek.

Salmon will stage in these lower areas waiting for the high flow necessary to get into higher tributaries, but only for so long, said Coopman.

“They can’t lie around in the water any longer — they have to spawn,” Coopman said.

“You’re grinding real hard for a couple bites a day,” Coopman said of conditions on the Smith. “We see all these fish in the river and we can’t get them to bite.”

Coopman’s experience on the Klamath River was much better than the Smith this year.

“This year was better than most years,” Coopman said of Klamath salmon fishing. “From the beginning of August all the way through the end of October it was steady fishing.”

For bait, Coopman has been using salmon roe (salmon eggs) and quick fish lures. Salmon eat other salmon’s roe to give their offspring a better chance of survival. The pink roe is messy stuff, but many guides swear by it.

“The guides have told me, ‘any of the lures will work, as long as it’s silver and chartreuse’” Page said.

Silver lures, chartreuse lures and salmon roe weren’t enough for Page and company to land a fish last week, but his fishing buddy, Pat Higgins, expressed pleasure at just being out on the Smith.

“It's an amazing river,” Higgins said. “It’s like going to church, but better.”

Reach Adam Spencer at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it