Smith River Fish Report

The Smith continues to teeter between driftable and plunkable flows, with the occasional blowout

Smith River

by Kenny Priest
1-25-2024
Website

The Smith continues to teeter between driftable and plunkable flows, with the occasional blowout. Conditions were good last Friday and Saturday, and plenty of fish were caught by boats drifting from the forks to Ruby. It blew out again Sunday, but was back in decent shape by Tuesday, and the plunkers landed a few. Rain is back in the forecast for Friday, which is forecast to push flows over 15 feet (22,600 cfs) at the Jed Smith gauge by Saturday night. Conditions are looking good for Monday and Tuesday, but more rain is expected mid-week. When conditions have been right, the fishing has been pretty good. For current river conditions, visit https://cdec.water.ca.gov/river/smithStages.html

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More Reports

Nor Cal Fish Reports Reports

for Thursday, January 25th

Mad River: The Mad was hovering around 11.5 feet on Thursday, and remains high and muddy
Eel River: Predicted for a small rise Sunday before it goes back on the drop
Eel River - South Fork: South Fork Eel River
Van Duzen River: The Van Duzen will be above 2,000 cfs through the weekend
Chetco River: The Chetco has been high and muddy all week

Nor Cal Fish Reports Reports

for Thursday, January 11th

Mad River: After surpassing monitor stage (15 feet) Wednesday, the Mad is now on the drop
Eel River: After peaking at 30,400 cfs on the Scotia gauge Thursday morning, the main stem will be on the drop for a couple days
Eel River - South Fork: The South Fork was off and on fishable since last weekend, though conditions were marginal at best
Van Duzen River: Predicted to hit 11,500 cfs Saturday evening
Smith River: The Smith peaked at over 16 feet at the Jed Smith gauge Wednesday
Chetco River: Steelhead fishing finally kicked into gear on the Chetco