Meandering Angler in Alaska

Tom and Katherine Culligan jut returned from two days of awesome steelhead fishing on Oregon’s Rogue River with guide Jim Andras.

They both caught several beautiful fish. “I’ve never seen such a large number of healthy, beautiful steelhead,” Tom reported. He added that Katherine caught the most.

Jim and his wife, Rachel, operate Andras Outfitters in Talent, Oregon, just a few miles from Ashland. Jim is the best guide I’ve ever fished with. Knowledgeable fly-fishers make reservations with him months in advance.

Rachel is a fly-fishing travel specialist and has booked us into some very good fishing in the states and in Argentina. She is also a fly fishing instructor and hosts a fly fishing camp for kids in the summer,

For more information go to andrasoutfitters.com.

Steve Kyle got back from Alaska a few weeks ago where he spent a week or so “rehabbing” his shoulder after surgery earlier this year. Steve’s shoulder issues, which were caused by fishing (he will say from fighting so many big fish), apparently responded well to his therapy.

Here is part of his report:

“…I found myself two-thirds the way down the Aleutian Chain on a very small island with an unpronounceable name, an active volcano, miles of brilliant snow-capped mountains, immense glaciers, all sandwiched between the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean with Russia just over the horizon. It also hosted a small river with a significant run of steelhead and few anglers.

“No travel brochure, cruise ship adventure stories, anecdotal reports from friends, or Jack London novels, can deliver an ‘aha!’ moment like this place can. Your senses are simply over-filled with the spectacle and glory of what you are seeing. Fish or no fish, it’s worth the trip just to stare in wonder at what Mother Nature can build without help from mankind.

“But you all want to know if I found any fish. Yes, gobs of ‘em; totally chrome, bright as a new dime, just-out-of-the-salt steelhead with 12 to 14 pounds of pure Terminator-like attitude. They were wonderful. Each ‘grab’ was a gift and always put a smile on my face. If bears, fox, reindeer, eagles and minks could smile, they would have too.”

Bill and Robin Fernandez drove over to Bodega Bay last weekend and spent the day fishing with Capt. Rick Powers on his party boat, “New Sea Angler.” They brought home full limits of big, fat Dungeness Crabs, plus an ice-chest full of rock and ling cod fillets. Bill said the weather was calm and the fishing outstanding.

“Everybody on board was catching fish. It was amazing. And the crabs are big and plentiful. One trap we pulled in had more than 50 crabs in it,” he added.

Hogan Brown, a fly-fishing guide headquartered in Chico, reports good striped bass fishing on the Sacramento River, and good trout fishing on the lower Yuba River east of Marysville.

The Yuba is probably the closest good trout fishing to Sonoma (about two and a half hours’ drive), and stays pretty good through even the winter months, assuming the rains are not too heavy. But you need a good guide with a boat to really do it right. Hogan’s the guy. Call him at (530) 514-2453.

Fishing on San Francisco Bay is still fair to good for striped bass and halibut, and Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait Shop in San Rafael says sturgeon fishing should start picking up in North Bay waters soon. Call Keith at (415) 456-0321 for the latest conditions and to arrange a bay party boat.