Kings and cows rule fall waters
November might just be the best month of all for long rangers and salmon fishermen, with the cow tuna and big kings both exciting anglers from Baja to Oregon.

Two of my favorite professional fishermen get fired up equally for both. Phil Desautels of Phil's Smiling Salmon Guide Service is an inveterate long range fisherman and Dharryl Shelbourne of the Royal Polaris would love nothing better than to catch a slab Chinook. Their operations are doing a number on all of the above.

While the bite on the RP slowed yesterday, on Friday and Saturday anglers on the big boat combined for 14 yellowfin over 200 pounds fishing along the Baja coast. That's getting it done and they also had quite a few fish in the upper 100s.

As for the kings, there are just a bunch of the fall run fish headed into the rivers either side of the Oregon border, with the Smith River leading the way after a couple good rises from early season storms.

"So far fishing for kings on the Smith River has been awesome," Phil told me. ?"I have got limits ?every trip since the river opened. ? Here are a couple pictures of Don Nelson and Ed Baker from Danville with 35 and 38 pound chromers. ? The fish were caught backbouncing in the Cable hole and in the Brundean. ? We went 3 for 6 and the next day we were 3 for 4 with fish 22 and 27 pounds. Today (Monday, Nov. 8) I had a guy and two gals out and after the five-foot rise the Smith was in perfect shape for the Kwikfish. We were done by 10:30 with fish at the Early Hole, the Brundean and the Nipple above Ruby."

Word is there are more salmon on the way up from the estuaries, while, as I noted in the last blog, the trips before Thanksgiving have been the best bet for giant yellowfin and the trips after the holiday get their share of cows, too. The RP has one spot left on the Davis Boats trip that leaves Thursday (and you couldn't fish with a better guy than Harold Davis) and Phil has openings for Smith River trips. For more information on both bites, go to www.royalpolaris.com or www.smilingsalmon.com .