Norcal Salmon Report

[Hamachijohn]

I thought that y'all might get tired of seeing big a** WSB and YT everyday, and might appreciate some variety fish porn, so here you go.

After batting 0 for 4 this year on WSB (in Norcal), decided to give American River (AR) a try. It's in our state's capitol, and the river is named "American River" - how can you go wrong with that? Might as well as start calling it "American seabass" instead of white seabass (might be the same thing in certain circles...) and "American Yellowtail".

This was my 1st attempt at river fishing, soI tried casting to get a feel for river fishing with the drift/current. Got snagged right away and lost a Flying C lure. Then severe bird's nest trying to cast with braid. Ugghh! Then another snag and lost my 2nd Flying C. I was thinking WT-Flying F !
All this in 10 minutes! It was now 7:25 and I only had one lure left- a flying tiger Kwikfish. After hearing so much about Flying C, I was thinking of going back in and buying some more flying Cs @ Broadway Bait.

Along comes Tony in his Scupper Pro- one cool cat. He tells me I can borrow one of his lures, and then gives me some good advice. I really appreciated the local intel, and he was such a nice fella. By this time, I had no confidence in this kwikfish, and was sure that I would lose at least 4 more lures- so I was determined to drift to the bridge, and paddle back to the launch to buy some lures.

I drift behind Tony and do a lap. As I circle the bridge and start paddling back, I feel heaviness of a snag. I'm thinking, "oh well, was planning on going back to the launch anyway". So I was able to free it b/c the line is loose again, so I start paddling again. Then I feel it snagging again, but frees up as I tug @ the line. I start reeling it in thinking I'd have to clean off some weeds or clam off my hook, and only after it becomes visible do I realize it's a salmon. No line peeling, so breeching, no fighting spurts- felt more like a cabezon. It didn't put up much of a fight until towards the end when it saw me. Fish on the stringer @ 8:25am.

- Deleted a bunch of norcal stuff that would not be of interest to BWE (not that the rest of this post would be of interest to BWE -

So although I am 0 for 4 on WSB this year, I'm having a Spectacular September - first yellowtail (thx to The Kid) and first yak salmon.

For dinner, had sashimi, crispy salmon skin over rice, and kama (collar)- as well as broiling the head and the leftover bones (there's a lot of meat even with careful filleting). The guts were the only thing that I didn't eat.

[mtnbykr2]

the area looks beautiful, nice fishies too...congrats on the pink stuff

[blitzburgh]

Wow that is beautiful! Nice fish!

[StinkyMatt]

Great story and photo.

Salmon, my favorite fish!

Don't think that the next one will just play dead and come in like that, these things can be exceptional fighters.

[sixgunn]

nice little Jack Nook, the big ones are nice for the wall, but them small ones are better eating.
salmonuniversity(dot)com has some recipes, I'd consider Planking it.

hope that plug is ok, since I'm not afiliated, & its not a competitor of any type.

[maui jim]

Where do you launch from, It's on my list this fall.

[Iceman]

Now that looks fun!

[Aaron&Julie]

Nice looking reward for all of your trouble and losses. Congrats.

[bellcon]

Great story John
thanks for sharing

[Hamachijohn]

Originally Posted by maui jim

Where do you launch from, It's on my list this fall.

Launch from the Howe Ave. River Access. (Howe Ave. Bridge). Paddle towards the pumphouse, and fish from the pedestrian bridge on down. If you go too far down past the next bridge, the current can get nasty.

Thx for all your comments and encouragement.

Jonathan