The Russian River was in prime shape last week before the rain. Owner of Kings Steve Jackson got out for some action with some float trips and ended up one day going 6 for 6 and another 3 for 4. Both days it was a mixture of hatchery and wild fish as well as fresh and spent fish. Most fish were caught drifting cured roe with a fish pill. Wednesday through Friday of last week brought a freshet of rain that raised the flow to 2000 cfs from 750 at Hacienda. Clarity also went from excellent to murky but the good news is it didn't rain that much and as of Sunday 2/21 the flows have rolled over and are coming down. Hydrograph predictions show Healdsburg being below 1000 cfs by Monday and continuing to drop all week. With the long term forecast calling for a period of dry weather by midweek we should be back in prime shape for fishing again. Drifting cured roe, backtrolling plugs, and casting cleos or spinners will be the ticket and for the fly fisherman larger dark patterns will be productive until we get some clarity back.
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This week we are seeing a huge turn in the conditions on the Russian with the sun finally coming out. Currently as of Sunday 2/6/16, the flows at Hacienda are just under 1600 cfs and in Healdsburg at 1000 cfs. The water is taking its sweet time coming down but we are seeing it drop around 100 cfs a day and slowing. Clarity continues to be an issue in the lower river with only 1-1.5' of visibility but upstream of......
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The River is turning!! Flow is still high at 3000 cfs but the color is just starting to turn green. We didn't get the rain that was predicted but it looks like Ukiah did so the flow is forecast to go up but hopefully not that much. Long term forecast is calling for a possibility of a 10 day break in the rain. If this happens we should be back in the action again. Hatchery update: 1583 steelhead at Warm......
