Why do you ask? For the salmon. We have moved to Sportsman Landing on the Russian River and are dry camping in their parking lot tonight. Why? For the salmon. There is also a cabled ferry here to get people to the other side. Why? For the salmon. Fishing is always better on the other side!
Combat fishing here is a type of fishing where many people stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a river to catch fish, often salmon, during spawning season. The term refers to the crowds and competition for space, as well as the need to be careful not to get tangled up with other people's lines while trying to catch a fish. Complicated. And the regulations are even more complicated.
The area that we are at is the confluence of where the Russian River and the Kenai River meet. This unique area combines world-class fishing with spectacular scenery and important cultural heritage. Tim and I have come to this location to try our best at this form of fishing for the first time. And for the sake of description they refer to this form of fishing action as flipping and flossing. You can use a fly rod or spinning rod and reel to do this form.
First you flip your fly upstream into the water at 10 o’clock. Let the current take it downstream and then when your line is at about 2 o’clock you quickly pull your fly back to you, to ready it for another flip. When the fly is pulled back the goal is for the LINE to have luckily gotten in the mouth of a salmon working its way upstream. When you pull back the hook will (floss) catch in its mouth. If you’re fishing the other side of the river you flip in at 2 o’clock and pull out at 10 o’clock.
Under normal circumstances anywhere else I would consider this snatching. But as long as the hook is in the mouth it’s good here. If it gets hooked in a fin or the body of the fish it must be released as an illegal catch. And really it doesn’t even matter what color the fly is. You might be able to keep a better visual on a yellow combo or a white combo. The salmon has other things on its mind and will not actually bite the fly.
Not only is there strict regulations on the size of the hook but where the weight can be on the line. Where you can fish and when. What you can or can’t do from a boat. Limits. Possessions. Can’t leave any personal gear on the bank. Bear activity. Cleaning fish rules. My head spins reading it all.
In the summer there are two runs of salmon going upriver. We are just about at the start of the second run. Tim and I rigged our lines. Got dressed up in our waders. Walked to the fishing access points past the ferry. I’m not confident in going over to the other side yet where all the action is. Not sure anyone would want me next to them anyway with a fly rod combat fishing. LOL
Got lucky with a few spots where no one was fishing on the far end. Great place to get our feet wet. There were at least eight bald eagles flying all around us. Including a few juveniles. We fished for salmon for a while. Today was the first time using two of our new heavier fly rods for the larger fish. It did not take long when the rod Tim was using broke. So I then handed my fly rod off to Tim and within minutes he hooked a salmon.
The excitement was short lived though. Appeared that someone had previously caught this one by a side snatch hook. Tim got this one in the mouth but not knowing if we could keep it our decision was to release this beautiful fish. Not worth any fines.
In the end that was all we got. Today was definitely a learning curve for us. Still not sure we are correctly flossing. Do we have the perfect/correct line setup? How’s our flip? Tomorrow is another day and hopefully we can get back out in the water.
Sunset: 11:10 pm
Sunrise: 5:02 am
Elevation: 370’
Wildlife viewings:
Salmon
Seagulls
Eagles … lots of them!
No comments:
Post a Comment