Chetco River Fishing Report

Report updated Feb. 21, 2012

FINALLY…SOME RAIN!

The river has been fishing pretty tough due to the low, clear conditions. However, rain has started falling and things are likely to change, depending on how much we get. We’ll check in with guides Mike Stratman and Tony Sepulveda as conditions change.

Trusted Guides

GREENWATER FISHING ADVENTURES
Tony Sepulveda offers drift boat fishing adventures on California & Southern Oregon’s best salmon & steelhead streams. Good fisherman, good guy…need we say more?

REDWOOD COAST FISHING
“Steelie” Mike Stratman specializes in drift boat trips for salmon and steelhead in off-the-beaten path corners of California’s North Coast and Southern Oregon. Simply put, he’s a great fisherman…and a really nice guy to boot!

River Conditions

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Current Weather

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Chetco River map

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About the Chetco River

We aren’t exactly sure of the origins of the name “Chetco,” but if it is something like “fish factory” we wouldn’t be surprised. The Chetco is a prolific producer of Chinook salmon and steelhead of both hatchery and natural origins.

Things get cracking here in the fall when giant kings — fish in the 50- to 60-pound range are taken every season — start rolling into the estuary. When the first rains of the fall raise the river, big schools of Chinook pour into the system and the fishing can be nothing short of epic.

The kings keep on coming into December…there is a shift to steelhead. Chrome bright steelies sometimes top the 20-pound mark here and provide excellent angling into April.

Unlike its neighbor to the south, the Smith River, the Checto colors up quickly after and rain. While it takes longer to clear after a storm, anglers are able to catch fish here long after the rains have subsided and other rivers have dropped out of shape. That lingering twinge of “steelhead green” coloration makes the fish here stay on the chomp! The Chetco’s lower gradient and generally smooth bottom also make it a very easy stream to fish.