Smith Salmon

Someone was looking for pictures, well, here are the only ones I took. I wish they would have contained some nice vanity photo's of Sean and his AOTY winning salmon, but maybe next time. I'm definitely going to give the Smith another try, maybe this year or maybe next.

It was another great trip with Sean. I never got the Zzzzz Zzzzz Zzzzz of pealing line this time, but I was still on cloud nine from the last trip. It was amazing to see the huge salmon jumping in the hole we were fishing.

Here is a photo of the Hiouchi Hotel and Sean tying up some roe balls.

CHEERS! 

scwafish and jonez and others thanks for the gear discussion, I would have no clue what to use on that kind of mission. sounds like relatively light leaders are required to get bit in the first place.

J

sounds like relatively light leaders are required to get bit in the first place.

For the most part...yep!

I SWEAR that we cleaned up our roe mess and left the room smelling OK, however that was the end of the road for the tour guide/placemat.

Nice picture of tying up the roe.  The sweet smell of roe fingers has me thinking of steelie season.

Sean -

Next time the fish is yours. I don't use spectra on salmon but maybe should consider it. BTW, you sure get out fishing at some really cool places on a regular basis. 

Scott

BTW, you sure get out fishing at some really cool places on a regular basis

Which would explain the bottomed-out WAF

Bluefin: The berries are a LOT less messy than loose roe out on the water, but tying it all up makes a mess!  We had roe, herring, and sardines. Me, Dan and everything we owned stunk. 

Scwa I'm the last person to give advice on catching a Salmon but my psychic intuiton tells me you can win the AOTY but you'll have to put in some dirt time to do it. I think if you planned a weekend on the Smith but move through the river system camping out on shore rather than Hotel she'll grant you a keeper. 2 solid days of 24 hour fishing. We'll find a coolie(Mahi) to send with you to cook and bring you beer on the water. I'll take you down the Klamath and be your coolie if your up for it there.
Hawk

Great read.  After getting back from the Trinity a few weeks ago and hooking and loosing my first wild steelhead on fly rod, I was dreading the second to last paragraph. I re-lived the whole thing, and was still pumped to go and do it again.  Wild fish in rivers are a whole different ball game.  Thanks for the story.

Hawk-I agree...I would love to float a big piece, but don't really know the place well enough to go for it in the winter.  Instead, we watched the locals and have adopted the approach of the pram guys...drive around til you find fish and then hunker down on them for the day.  Definitely want to do some camping too, but with the short timelines we've had its been one less thing to prep for, and at $30 a guy, pretty reasonable too.  Does feel weird to cut bait in a hotel room!

Ab-Indeed, wild fish in a wild river...its a whole new ball of wax and I am addicted.  WAF'ing like mad for a hope at another shot.

I had a pretty wild drift down that river about 20 years ago with a very experince guide and it was a white knuckler...

 Hey Scaw!!!!

  I think I found your fish,

 They caught this 11/29, Smith River,

 

Sweet Jesus, that's a friggin trophy. I gotta get up there!!!

I was just getting psyched about going Monday,

  Just got shot down ....... Danglin

Scwafish......ohh man....what a post....!!!....

I copied it and e-mailed it to a friend who's a fisherman but not a member of NCKA just to show him what he's missing.

You CANNOT be a fisherman and not enjoy this website.

Judd

Mine was no where near that monster, but we saw some in that class.  Think about it...that fish is an AOTY destroying 240 POINTS!!!!  Good luck landing that sucker on a yak...but I would LOVE to try!

Sean,  how many years does it take for a fish to get that size?