Winter steelhead season has come to a close...

It came and went. 2009 was somewhat of a dismal winter steelhead season. We did get some great conditions on the mainstem Eel River in mid January which provided some good fishing for many. February was a pretty wet month and while we needed the rain and snow, it kept many of our coastal rivers blown for most of the month. Though when they were fishable the numbers of returning fish were down and many were hoping the season would just be late. In March we had better conditons and many of the rivers that fish well into March just didn't produce. Overall, I would say that the returns of fish this year were down and mixed with tough water conditions, i.e. extremely low water or blown out, made for tough fishing.
On another note, a couple of friends and I were able to sneak out for a day of fishing before the season ended. In the last run of the day after a few too many Oly's, Will connected with this little hen. A great way to end the 2009 winter season.

Jason Hartwick