Russian River 9-21 with pics

Earlier this year my roommate Matt took a rafting trip down the Russian River and came home with the intel that we could easily kayak down the river and that some spots looked kinda fishy. After a couple weeks of planning routes and guesstimating how far Matt and I could paddle, we decided to launch at Steelhead Beach and work our way down to Monte Rio. We thought a fourteen mile ride down the river can't be all that hard especially since we were going to be in uber-fishing yaks and not the inflatable rental canoes that simple laymen use to meander lazily upstream. We might have been wrong. It started off great! We dropped Matt's car off at Monte Rio beach just as the sun was starting to peek over the horizon through the fog. We started driving towards the launch full of anticipation of the great day to come. About half-way to Steelhead Beach I made a comment that we had been driving for a while and had only just passed  Guerneville. Are we being too ambitious? Nah. Got to the launch at 7:15 and we took our time unloading taking in the beauty of this area.(sure beats the rockwall!) There were herons around every bend. We got all set up tied a lure on and embarked on our journey. We decided to paddle a mile before we really started fishing so we could gauge our travel time. The GPS read that we were going about 3 MPH GS, we made great time and it seemed like we could fish for 10-15 min then paddle 30 min and we would get back at a reasonable time. The river was amazing it was moving at a good clip with lots of holes and bank cover that looked fishy. We were drifting and casting for a while when I got my first hook-up. I threw a Rebel Craw upriver along some floating weeds when I got slammed. The smallie was very energetic making hard runs and jumping all over the place. It came unbuttoned right at the boat after one of it's aerial shows. If only I could have kept my barbs on. Not much action for a while until we got to the first bridge. I landed this one, but it was only the size of my thumb. This was our first attempt fishing a river and for smallmouth, two hook-ups not bad. I wanted to drop-shot the deep pools but I think I was moving too fast?(Any tips?) After some fun skinny water the river got wide and really slow. Time to gas up the twin 22's and start paddling. Kept at it for an hour or two before stopping for lunch and much deserved hydration. Dipped the lures every now and then but by this time the sun was out and it was HOT. Decided to focus more on the journey than fishing as the wind had picked up as well. Just like the forecast on weatherunderground.com said it would. Ended the day with one more fishing break and then decided to call it a day. GPS said 15.63 miles for the trip, we did it in just over 8 hours. I want to go back after some rain when the Steelhead start to run! I would do it again but this time I want to do the Alexander Valley to Steelhead Beach run! Here's some pics:

Here they are:

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the rest

Good report - but it gave me deja vu!  Thanks for posting it and the great pics.   

About half-way to Steelhead Beach I made a comment that we had been driving for a while and had only just passed Healdsburg.

Nice report and pretty pictures but I'm confused Healdsburg is way above Steelhead Beach did you mean Gurneville?

I would do it again but this time I want to do the Alexander Valley to Steelhead Beach run

That's way too long a run if you want to do any fishing you should try Alex to Healdsburg or Healdsburg to Steelhead even those can be long days if you are fishing hard.

i have to agree with mickfish, i float the river in the winter for steelhead, and the run from A.V. to memorial is a long float and to go all the way to steelhead beach from A.V. would be a 12 -14 hour day. just do it in sections, the memorial beach to wholer section is the most productive stretch and is a good 6-7 hour with alot of fishing time.

Nice report and pics Jon! I'm hoping to get another guided trip from Mickfish sometime soon

Here's my report from a few years back...

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,3012.0.html

Thanks for sharing those awesome pictures Jon.

Jedmo

Jon
 Great report, Great pictures.
How did the x13 perform?
Looking forward to future reports from you
Geno

Enjoyed your report and pics!   What a scenic area!   I kayak fished it for the first time too couple weeks ago.   Just love it up there.

Mooch- Looks like you guys had a great time, and the timing couldn't have been much better! I'm jonezin to catch a steelhead can't wait for the rain.

FishinGeno- The x-13 was great. Handled the little rapids fine and had a low enough profile to stay off the bottom even in the shallowest spots. It's a great ride I would highly recommend.

Flyaker- It really is so nice up there! If work wasn't in SF I'd like to move north. What were your put in and take out spots?

It is indeed such a pretty area, and for me personally, a special place.   The Russian River is where i was first exposed to kayaking and fly fishing so many years ago, when i was awed by a couple of kayaking fly fishers who casually picked off a dozen smallies in about 15 minutes.

Mickfish and Nawm are the real experts on the Russian.   I went with Nawm a couple weeks back and launched from Alexander Valley, and paddled upstream to several holes up there.   Such a scenic place!

I too work in SF, and live down on the peninsula, but the drive up there is sure worth it.

"If only I could have kept my barbs on. "

Holy Toledo.......are you telling me that the Russian River is "barbless" for smallmouth....??????.....!!!!!!!.....?????.......

Judd

Yep that's right. No barbs and no bait in the Russian River.