The Wilson was a little slow last week, mostly due to low and clear conditions making it challenging. There are still plenty of steelhead around, and a few were caught. A little rain predicted for this weekend probably won’t be enough to raise the river, but may add a little color, and possibly even get a few fish moving.

Adapting to the low water by using light line, small terminal presentations, dark colors, and stealthy tactics will improve anglers’ odds of success. It’s prime time for broodstock hatchery and wild (catch-and-release only) on the Wilson. 

The Wilson is one of the more popular steelhead rivers on the North coast, mostly due to a large hatchery steelhead release and the wild broodstock program. The Wilson broodstock hatchery fish are available late December through mid-April. These fish are known to be large, aggressive fighters as well as excellent table fair.

There is good drift boat access to the mid and lower river, and public land bank access on the upper river available off of Hwy 6.