Eel turns on - 10/19 --- UPDATE @ 9:55AM 10/20 - BLOWN OUT @ FERNBRIDGE

I've been out of town and very busy with work, but I've been thinking about the river with the recent rains.  This afternoon I got an opportunity to hit the water.  I called the fish phone - 442-4502 - which tells of low-flow closures, and all streams were open!  This hasn't happened at this time of the year for quite a while.  I couldn't make out the water clarity from the bridge looking down as I scouted it in my car, but I actually spotted a salmon carcass being pecked on by a seagull down in the shallows below the bridge.  I couldn't tell how big it was, but it looked to be at least a jack or something...  So I booked home, geared up, and got back to Fernbridge around 4:15.  I saw a guy come up from below the bridge in a four wheel drive, so I started down there.  Bad idea!  I'm paranoid, and would rather tow my crap on Roleez than stress on getting stuck.  It was very slimy, bumpy, and nasty.  I didn't even see a spot to turn around, so I backed it out of there in 4 wheel and it worked out.  I Roleezed down from the parking spot about 250 yards to the river where I launched.  I knew I could've loaded the Roleez sand wheel unit in the front hatch of the X-Factor, but I was just on a river outing, so I just put it in the tankwell under a strap - along with a tripod, a big Plano box, my double waterproof bag...  I love that huge tankwell!  I also cruised in a couple light shirts, shorts, and booties with Titanium bootie socks today - that combo's been awesome and worth the $.  So once I was on the water I saw that it wasn't blown out by any means.  There was color to it, but it was mostly floating algae and moss that was a factor.  All my casts gathered crap.  I also wasn't seeing any fish rolling over the several acres of good water I was near and no one else was around fishing, so I cruised over to investigate the carcass.  I'd brought the tripod for a photo op with it!      I'm weird, and we're OK with that!      So, I'm walking up toward this fish in 6" of water and I can't see it yet, but the seagull that's plucking at it's eyeball gives up its whereabouts...  I'm thinking, "it looked like a jack or something...  what if it's a squawfish..."  I then got up to it and realized it was a whole different story.  This thing was big.  I'm first thinking, "OK, 25-30 pounds?..."  Then I go to pick it up, and it seems real heavy, but I qualify my memories of holding up my 38 pounder with considerations for adrenelin and the fact that I cared not whether it touched me.  This carcass was fresh, but it still had a death slime started up, so I wasn't letting that thing rub up against my torso just to get a good lift on it!  I felt it was at least as heavy as my 38; then I measured it...  45 - yes, forty-five inches!  I think it's a 45 pounder or so.  My 38 was 40 inches, but I remember my dad saying, "it's short for it's weight"...  I dug having that interaction, even though it's a carcass.  BTW, I'd dragged it over to almost under the bridge so it wasn't where the cars passing overhead could see me getting photos with it!     So I fished for a while after that, never saw a fish roll, felt like they must've moved through because there was a good volume of water.  This is cool:  I'd ridden down some quick bumpy water into the hole below Fernbridge, having started out up above it along a riffle, and when I decided to go I figured I'd at least try to paddle back up the bumpy water before walking it - this was no whitewater, but it's far from flat.  I paddled into it and the X-Factor kept it's line nicely.  I was making slow ground, so I kept at it and in 10 minutes I was 300 yards back upstream to my starting point - all of that against significant current.  I was really pleased to take such a big boat upstream like that.  I could now see a guy walking off the riffle that I was parked right below.  He was heading back to his truck wearing waders and carrying a rod.  He looked over at me as I landed about 40 yards from his path.  He looked like he wanted to say hello, so I motioned to him and said, "come on over" because it was obvious I was pulling my boat up on the rocks and working with my gear.  He came over and commented on my nice boat and said he has a sea kayak.  He was an older gentleman, in real clean fishing clothes!     I asked him if he saw any fish moving up the riffle and he said he only saw one big salmon move just below it, but he'd had no action today.  Then he spilled the good juice:  "I had a good night last night - landed two salmon 15 to 20 pounds, two steelhead 8-9 pounds, and two jacks..."  I told him he sure did have a good night!  We agreed the fish had moved up, and I wished I'd had the time yesterday...  It was great to get out.  And it felt good to paddle upstream.   

Dude!! you probably still could have smoked that thing!!!!!

Dude!! you probably still could have smoked that thing!!!!!

That's probably true, Bulldog!  Try to haul a carcass off that river bar and the warden will wonder what YOU're smoking!     Not that you're serious!  I don't know what killed that fish either - it didn't look to have spawned out.  Maybe it went upstream farther to where it got beached, died, and then the rain washed it down there... 

Funny story:  3 or 4 years ago I was drifting in a yak this time of year from Fortuna down to Fernbridge and I found a carcass caught on a log in the middle of the river.  The thing was HUGE.  The head was intact, then there was the spine with skin and some meat-slime still hanging, then the tail, and it was all connected.  I should've measured it, because it had to be four feet or more.  I figured the fish to have been a 50-60 pounder, or more!  I got to my takeout and my dad was picking me up.  I didn't bring a camera on that trip, so I was tempted to take this smelly carcass home in the back of the truck so I could measure it and use the head for a crab pot...  Those were the musings of a fool with a few brewskis in him though - my dad raised an eyebrow and cancelled that idea real quick!     That carcass had me mesmorized though...

I've seen some 40-50 pound class fish spawning in little creeks.  That's cool.   

Thanks for the report! Yeah, this amount of rain, this early, is good for the fish. I've been home watching the river levels rise. I'm headed to the Smith this morning. It hit 63k cfs yesterday! 11k this morning. I'll look at the Eel on the way home.
The Eel might be closed again monday. I think that's when they update the flow closures, in addition to thursdays.
Fish on brother!

Sweet report! I so need a big salmon and steelhead for AOTY. Someday.........

Thanks for the great report and news, Abking. I can't wait to get out to the river, I was going to hit Mend tomorrow but may change that plan following your news, sounds gorgeous!

John

It looks like it may allow some fishing over the weekend, but it also may be the case that it'll mud up today - I'll chime back in later with another report.  I'm heading down to Cock Robin Island now to troll around a bit.  Hopin' to hitch a hog haul!   

Sad thing about the Eel, IMO.  Every year it muds up quickly after the first significant rains, and it takes a while to clear - like months if it keeps raining...  There was 6" of rain and more up on the Smith in the last 48 hours, and it may have stayed clear all the while, but we only had 1.5 - 3 around here and the river gets that bad...  I would love to have seen the Eel when it was a rocky, deep, cool, fast-clearing stream more like the Smith.  (Have fun up there, Juan)

Anyway - South Fork Eel might be fishable up high...

It's project time for me.   

Eric

Abking, thanks for the adventure posts. always super interesting!

J

as always..great reading and thanks for putting in the time to pick-up that SMELLY THING for a pic op!
...EEWWW it must have STUNK!  GoodJob AK!  you da' man!

You sure DO have a lot of good stories!
Thanks for the report+pics!

Hope to make it up there for some steelheadin soon! You got me jonesin bad.
PK