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2-13-12 Fishing Report:

The fishing has been fair to good most days

over the last couple weeks. The Chetco has

been very steady, there should be some very

good fishing on Chetco and Smith with the next

rain. I have days available for March and

April...give me a call.

-Matt Gertsch

1-16-12 Fishing Report:

We seem to be getting a strong run of steelhead on our local rivers this year. There have been low and clear conditions much of the season so far but the fishing has been good. The forecast is for a bunch of rain this week so the conditions will change. Fishing should be good as the rivers drop.

-Matt

12-12-11 Fishing Report:

We are still at low flows on most rivers in southern Oregon and northern California, however the steelies are starting to show and there are still some salmon around. I have dates available and we should have some good fishing later next week. Check with my facebook page or give me a call for current conditions.

-Matt Gertsch

9-18-11 Fishing Report:

I have done some salmon fishing on the Klamath, and fishing was good. The Smith and Chetco are still very low and the fishing is just getting started. It will take some significant rain to get the salmon season here on its way. There have been a few fish caught in the tidewater on both rivers but its still slow overall. I had the opportunity to go bait fishing for albacore last month. The tuna fishing was a great experience, I'm looking forward to doing the trip again next year.

-Matt Gertsch

8-22-11 Fishing Report:

The Kenai and Kasilof have had some good days and some tougher days the past few weeks. We have been fishing for silvers and there has been some good fishing in the lower Kenai. The Kasilof has had a little slower fishing than we are typically seeing this time of year. I did fish there today and we got a limit and there seemed to be a few more fish caught in general. I hope the season finishes up strong. I will be headed home to southern Oregon soon and my fall salmon season is getting ready to start. There are already fish being caught on the Rogue and Klamath, I have seats available give me a call.

-Matt Gertsch

7-2-11 Fishing Report:

Bait has opened on the Kenai and there were some nice fish caught the last couple days. I didn't think it was "red hot" but there was enough action to have a good day on the water. The Kasilof is a little slow, however there are a few nice big second run kings showing up. I would anticipate fishing on both rivers steadily improving as the month moves on.

-Matt

6-18-11 Fishing Report:

The salmon season has started off well here in Alaska. The fishing hasn't been red hot but we have enjoyed fairly steady results the last couple weeks. Today I got three kings and a sockeye, yesterday was about the same. There have been a few scattered tough days but overall it has been good. The Kasilof has a hatchery run this time of year and the fish are in the 20lb range. The native run will start showing up shortly with fish in the 20lb - 40lb range with the occasional big boy over 50lbs.

-Matt Gertsch

3-28-11 Fishing Report:

Well the steelhead season is still going strong even

as some of the smaller rivers will close on the 1st.

The Chetco has some productive fishing when the water

has dropped. The steady rain has limited the days we

have been able to fish, but when the river is right the

fishing is good. The bigger rivers like the Rogue and

the Umpqua have had plenty of water but the Umpqua

has had some great days lately. The season is

approaching the end and you need to get out there before

its over.

-Matt Gertsch

3-7-11 Fishing Report:

This last weekends Rowdy Creek Hatchery Derby went well. My team actually took 1st place. The derby format has you fish one day on the Chetco and one day on the Smith. The water conditions were high and that made for tougher fishing, but we got five on the Chetco the first day and only one the second day on the Smith. The second day the Chetco blew out and all the teams fished the Smith. We have some more rain in the forecast and are in no shortage of water in the rivers. It might be a couple days before the local rivers are fishable. The fishing should be good when we get the right water, we haven't had a big push of "downers" yet and there are still plenty of fresh fish around.

-Matt

2-21-11 Fishing Report:

Well we got our rain and the fishing was great afterwards. The bite has slowed down a bit, but we have some snow in the mountains and the rivers should stay in decent shape for a little while. This last weekends derby was a success with some good fishing being experienced by the participants. We ended up with a 3rd place finish with 17 fish being caught by the two boats over the two days. Fishing should stay steady for a bit and I have dates open in March...give me a call

-Matt Gertsch

2-14-11 Fishing Report:

Sorry for the lack of a reports lately, I've been fishing several different river systems with the recent lack of rain. The good news is the rain is finally here and the fishing on most small to mid sized should improve. We have a steelhead derby this weekend so hopefully there is some good fishing to enjoy.

-Matt

1-12-11 Fishing Report:

The fishing the last couple days has been great.

There have been enough fish around to make for

an action packed day. If you are a steelhead fisherman,

now is the time to get out there.

-Matt

1-6-11 Fishing Report:

Steelhead season is in full swing and fishing is pretty

good. There are fish in all the coastal river systems

and with the right water conditions the fishing is good.

I have had productive days on the Chetco and Smith and

the fishing should remain good for a while. I have dates

available, give me a call.

-Matt Gertsch

11-20-10 Fishing Report:

Fishing was tough the last few days. The low clear water had us working hard to get bit. Today it rained hard and the river was on the rise all day. There are still some nice fish around and the fishing should improve after the water crests.

-Matt Gertsch

11-13-10 Fishing Report:

Fishing has been a little hard to predict the last few days. One day you don't see very many caught and the next you get a nice limit. I have been fishing the Chetco and the Smith this week, mixed results on both. The boat traffic on the Chetco has been an issue. There is a lot of pressure on the fish between us and the seals. Lets hope for some rain to bring the rivers back up.

-Matt

10-31-10 Fishing Report:

Bright big salmon everywhere, well for

a couple hours. The Chetco opened above

the tidewater yesterday and fishing was

great for a while. The fishing wasn't bad

the rest of the day but it came back to reality

after the first big flurry. there were a lot of

bright fish in the system and the rain last

night and today has added a little flow to the

rivers, and more rain is needed. I don't

want to leave out the Smith, the fishing was

good overall the last week or so. The size

of fish on the Smith this season has been

above average. ( lots of 35+ lbs fish )

-Matt Gertsch

10-10-10 Fishing Report:

The fishing has stayed steady on the upper Klamath. It hasn't been great, it's just OK but we have been catching some fish every day. The fishing should stay fair for a while. After I leave the Klamath I will be headed to the coast. The salmon fishing should be good on both the Smith and Chetco over the next four or five weeks. Like always we need some rain to make the coastal rivers come up.

-Matt Gertsch

9-20-10 Fishing Report:

The fishing on the lower Klamath has been

a hit or miss situation lately. There were a

few tough days for us fishing the mouth of the

Klamath. On the flip side I have had a few

good days and the fishing has improved the

last couple trips. There was a nice shot of

rain this last weekend and the weather will

bring some new salmon in the smaller river

systems. The Smith will benefit from the

rain and get better and better as we get into

October.

-Matt Gertsch

8-13-10 Fishing Report:

I have had a fairly busy first two weeks of silver

(coho) season. The fishing started off slow but

has picked up lately. This is a pink salmon year,

they come in every other year, and they have been

EVERYWERE! It is hard to fish for silvers when

you are getting a bite every two seconds from a

humpy. I did get a limit of eight silvers today and

it should stay good for the rest of the month and

into September. I wont be here in Alaska to enjoy

any more of the silver action because I am flying

back to Oregon tonight. It is time for me to start

chasing kings on our local river systems in

southern Oregon and northern Cal. I have dates

open for my salmon season...give me a call.

-Matt Gertsch

7-30-10 Fishing Report:

I have enjoyed some good fishing the last two weeks. I had the good fortune to get a limit of King Salmon five of the six days I fished last week and I also got a limit today. Yesterday I had a double hook-up, to bad we lost both fish. ( they got tangled with one another ) Tomorrow is the last day of King season, then it is on to silvers. I will keep you posted.

-Matt Gertsch

7-20-10 Fishing Report:

The fishing has stayed steady the last few days. There had been enough fish in the system to consistently have a very successfully day on the river. The commercial nets have stayed out of of the way and fishing should continue to be good if they stay that way.

-Matt Gertsch

7-18-10 Fishing Report:

Yesterday was the first day of the month we had really good fishing on the Kasilof. I hooked eight fish yesterday, many of witch were nice fish. The fish we landed and many of the fish we saw landed by other boats were big bright fish. From now until the end of the season the fishing will hinge on the commercial fishing schedule. If the commercial set-nets are only in the water a couple days a week we will have a great end to the season.

-Matt Gertsch

7-9-10 Fishing Report:

The second run of Chinook have started to run on the Kasilof, these fish are big and fresh. The Kasilof is such a short river the fish can move through the tidal area and spread out in the entire system in only one day. This results in opportunities to hook big fresh fish in just about every spot down the river. The fishing should steadily improve as this month continues. I am currently booking fall salmon trips in both southern Oregon and northern California. I have days available for the Rogue and Klamath in September and October. I also have Smith River and Chetco River trips available in October and November...give me a call or e-mail

-Matt Gertsch

7-1-10 Fishing Report:

I have had a mixture of king and sockeye trips the last few days. It has been slow for kings on the Kenai and Kasilof but the sockeye fishing on the Kasilof has been good. The sonar counts have shown solid sockeye numbers several of the last few days and the fishing should continue to be steady for a while. On my king trip today I saw a bald eagle take a 5 or 6 pound salmon off the line of a nearby boat, this was the first time I saw any thing like that....pretty neat.

-Matt Gertsch

6-23-10 Fishing Report:

The last few days have been filled with Cook Inlet driftboat halibut trips. The trips had mixed results but over all fishing was above average. I did have the most exiting encounter of any fishing trip...ever. About the mid-way point of one of the halibut trips we got a bite and hooked a fish. The fish was coming towards the boat when the rod folded down and the line started screaming out. Suddenly the fish jumped in front of the boat about thirty yards and we realized we had a salmon shark that was 300 to 400lbs. The shark had ate the halibut we had hooked and took out a bunch of line out before breaking off. It was crazy to watch a fish that size jump that close to a driftboat. The July fish will be here before too long and salmon fishing on the peninsula will be hot and heavy. I will keep you posted.

-Matt Gertsch

6-12-10 Fishing Report:

The summer salmon season has started off slow

but this last week of fishing has been great. I have

been fishing the Kasilof river and the first run kings

are running at full force. The Alaska Department of

Fish and Game has re-opened the Kenai for catch

and release, after a brief closer due to low sonar

counts of king salmon. The closure has added to

the boat traffic on the Kasilof but the fishing has

been good enough to handle the added pressure.

I will try to keep a current fishing report for the

remainder of the salmon season.

-Matt Gertsch

3-27-10 Fishing Report:

I am wrapping up my winter steelhead season for 09-10 and getting ready for the summer. I have to go to maritime school and the Kenai guide classes to prepare for this summer up north. When I get done with the school there will be an opportunity for some spring Chinook trips in late April and May. I would like to thank everyone who booked trips with me during these tough economic times and made this season a success.

-Matt Gertsch

3-9-10 Fishing Report:

There has been a steady flow of down runners "post-spawn steelhead" on the Chetco and Smith moving down the rivers. These fish mixed with the last of the fresh fish "pre-spawn steelhead" in the systems make for a good day. The river levels are getting lower and lower, this can make fishing tougher on the smaller rivers. The Rogue was OK for a while and it still plenty has pre-spawn steelhead in the system. I have another Friends of Cal-Ore Fish derby this weekend on the Smith and Chetco. After the derby most of the remainder of my steelhead season will be spent on the upper Rogue.

-Matt Gertsch.

3-3-10 Fishing Report:

My clients and I were lucky enough to win a knife and a belt buckle at this past weekends "Friends of Cal-Ore Fish" steelhead derby. We had a 3rd place finish that earned each of our team members a very nice 2010 Cal-Ore Derby Knife. We also boated the big fish of the tournament to win the buckle. The real winners were the fish however, with well over 20 thousand dollars raised for our local hatchery programs.

-Matt Gertsch

2-19-10 Fishing Report:

The last few days I have fished in high water conditions and in low clear water conditions. At the beginning of the week the Chetco was high and that made for so-so results. As the week wore on the Chetco got better, but the Smith, Elk, and Sixes rivers all got lower and clearer every day. The low clear conditions made for some tough fishing. The Chetco has had a lot of boat traffic that has affected the fishing and when the river gets low this has been an added obstacle. If the rivers continue to drop the Rogue will be an option for the near future.

-Matt Gertsch