Tried the Smith last week

Well I gave the Smith a go last week, and came out smelling like a skunk!! First time I've fished it in the winter for steelies. I usually hit it in the fall for the kings. Man that river cranks!!! That hands down was the fastest, most unrelenting river I've ever seen. Even the pools were cranking too fast. Huge boulder strewn bottom.  I don't like to chuck lead and bait unless I have to and stuburnly persisted to try and make other methods work to no avail    I stopped to watch a few guys below a falls, and they were using weights like I'd use in the ocean for rockfishing 100'!!!  Even the white water kayakers stayed away from the middle river. While I was there the helicopters were buzzing the canyons looking for some guy who fell in. Slip in the wrong spot on that river, and it's all over... Gorgeous river! but I was not prepared to fish such heavy water. Got to see a lot of it and the weather was nice, so I got to check off one of those must do's on my list. On the way home the Eel looked prime. If you can hit it before the next rain, I'd say go.

Right on!  Way to get some time on the Smith - it's totally awesome.  Were you on your yak?  Any photos?   

Good job spreading out Jonesz. I think if you ask any serious Northcoast rivers Angler, they'll tell you the smith is #1 for producing trophy fish. I was hitting it at low flows back in November for Salmon even then it was questionable in an SOT. I know of some superb bank-fishing spots that are away from crowds if you don't mind hiking in with all your gear. If you want to run it the best way is to scout it out during the summer in a whitewater kayak so you become intimatly familiar with where the rapids are going to be and what is around each bend. There is an 8 mile long class v gorge that would be death if you missed the last take-out. I teach beginning whitewater up there in july so keep an eye on my schedule. This year I'm including fishing kayaks on my whitewater trainings as more guys are getting on the river with thier yaks.

Swellrider,
I only fished from the shore this time. I brought up an inflatable Hyside kayak, but never launched it. To tell the truth, from what I saw, scared the %###@@ out of me!! The lower river looked doable tho. Like any first time going somewhere, you spend a lot of time running around and scouting and snooping. A lot less time casting than I normally do. Going with someone who knows the water, would be a big help for sure.