16 miles of Russian River

I wasn't planning on fishing this weekend to avoid the crowds, but I had to get out of the house.  I didn't want to do a casual paddle somewhere, so I arranged to do the 16 mile day trip from Alexander Valley Campground to River's Edge @ memorial beach.  I forgot my camera, so I included the data from my GPS.  Only five fish, but every time I found a deep hole with boulders, I was able to get strikes or one or two fish.  My first fish of the day at the first major bend in the river was a nice one.(wish I remembered camera  ).  It was taking out drag and actually towing me upstream a little. 

16 miles and only 5 smb.  Was it worth it?  It was worth every mile.  What an awesome river!  I wanted to spend more time in between Rio Linda and take out, but there were crowds and I was whipped.  Also, the good spots for SMB happen to have deep water and boulders.  That's also a good spot for people jumping off the boulders. 

All day one rig: drop shot with Margarita Mutilator (thanks Dchangnon) Also a bonus for me was that I have always had trouble with drop shotting. 

Also, thanks to Mickfish for always posting the awesome pics of the RR with SMB and pooch, otherwise I would never know about that place.  I will be back definitely.

sounds like a good dose of yakfishin

Awesome Sumo that's a long trip you were definitely fishing the right spots. Did you see my Yellow Kayak upside down on a dock just upstream of that cement thing in the middle about a mile above the finnish?

Awesome Sumo that's a long trip you were definitely fishing the right spots. Did you see my Yellow Kayak upside down on a dock just upstream of that cement thing in the middle about a mile above the finnish?

I am glad I took the long trip.  But now that I have seen it, I would like to take a shorter trip to really concentrate on the good spots.  I especially liked the spot just around the bend from Rio Linda.  It was pretty deep with plenty of boulders.  There were some people swimming there so I didn't get a chance to work it as much as I liked.

I probably did see your kayak.  I was checking out all the places there.  I was mostly drooling, thinking what it must be like to have property on a river like that.  It has everything: awesome scenery, plenty of swimming holes, and, of course, the fishing. 

Speaking of that cement structure, have you had luck there? I had some bites on the drop shot there, but I think they were small bass or bluegill. 

Hey Sumo great mini trip, like something I was thinking about in two weeks when the wife is out of town. Any details on put ins and take outs and river conditions such as rapids and bad eddies. Would a Tarpon 140 be suitable for such a river or would something shorter be better? Also is there a shuttle back to the put in? Some SMB action sure sounds fun.
Carl

Nice going on the RR smallies Sumo.  That must have been a great trip.  I wish you had your camera too.

HobieBlue

Speaking of that cement structure,

It is usually one of the best spots on the river but every few years they build a gravel bridge so the gravel trucks can cross the river there and they did it this year so it takes a while for the river to blow all of the gravel out of there. There are some big cats underneath it.

Any details on put ins and take outs and river conditions such as rapids and bad eddies. Would a Tarpon 140 be suitable for such a river or would something shorter be better?

No rapids or bad eddy's this time of year not a lot of water in the river. The Tarpon would be fine shorter is better but I use a Malibu II and it's fine when the flows go up a shorter yak is much better in the rapids and eddy's.
Not many put In's on the section Sumo did but other sections have plenty. Some places you can paddle up quite aways then fish back to the car thus no shuttle needed.  PM me for details if you go.

Any details on put ins and take outs and river conditions such as rapids and bad eddies. Would a Tarpon 140 be suitable for such a river or would something shorter be better? Also is there a shuttle back to the put in? Some SMB action sure sounds fun.
Carl

I used the River's Edge shuttle service. http://www.riversedgekayakandcanoe.com

They have a few different options.  I took the longest day trip.  They take you to Alexander Valley Campground, then you can either get out at Rio Linda (11 miles) or keep going to the end (16 miles)

There were some sections of the river above Rio Linda that had some "rapids".  It was a first for me, so I was a little intimidated at times.  A shorter boat would definitely be easier to maneuver these sections.  I have a Tarpon 120 which is pretty maneuverable and I got turned around at times.  At one point I got jammed into some trees with 2 or three canoes full of drunks directly behind me.  I had no choice but to pull myself into the tree and let them pass without getting rammed.  I never flipped the kayak, though.

I would definitely get tips/advice from Mickfish about where to fish or launch.  I used the shuttle service because I wanted to see the river more than anything.

How much did they charge you for the shuttle?

Great report and exchange of info here.   

That sounds like a great trip Sumo. I'd like to do that someday. Thanks for the inspiration!
PK

Great post, and thanks for all the information sharing.

RR is definitely high on my list of places to fish someday.

How much did they charge you for the shuttle?

It was $20.  $25 if you have to get out at Rio Linda for the ride back.  I think if I do it again, I will just start at Rio Linda.  There is an awesome hole just around the bend from there. I saw a massive smallmouth hanging around a boulder. 

Cool sounding trip Ben, sounds like fun.

Cool sounding trip Ben, sounds like fun.

True that! 

Going to admit that I'm envious.  When granted free fishing time, rarely do I go exploring new water.  Need to do it more often.  Exploration is good.

Thanks for the inspiration!

And double true that!

Michael