Don’t Forget About Feather River Steelies

The following appears in the October issue of California Sportsman:

By Mark Fong

The Feather River below Lake Oroville is a diverse fishery. Perhaps best known for its striped bass and salmon runs, the river also plays host to a thriving steelhead fishery. September and October are typically the peak months of the fall season, but this is dependent on the water flow releases from Oroville Dam.

VALLEY’S UNTAPPED GEM

The Feather has a mixed of wild and hatchery-raised steelhead.
“About 80 percent of the steelhead are hatchery fish,” says local guide Dakota Townley. “We get a few fish upto8to10pounds,andalotof them range from 3 to 6 pounds, as well as a mix of half-pounders. The limit is two hatchery fish, and all wild steelhead are released.”

According to Townley, the Feather River is an underrated steelhead fishery. He primarily targets the stretch below the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet all the way downriver towards Gridley.

“I think (the Feather River) is a great introduction to steelhead fishing,” he says. “I’ve done a lot of coastal steelhead fishing where you’re fishing all day, with (getting) maybe, if you’re lucky, five or six bites. These are well-known fisheries like the Eel, the Smith and the Chetco in southern Oregon. On the Feather, you tend to get a lot of action, and limits of hatchery fish are more the rule than the exception.”

For anglers who live in the Central Valley, to have such a great fishery within a relatively short drive is truly a gift.

“When I was guiding on the coast, that was always a tough deal because guys would drive six or seven hours and then it would rain all night and boom, all of a sudden the water was blown out,” Townley explains. “The Feather is all dam-controlled water, and for the most part you know what you are getting as far as the water flows.”

Once the steelhead arrive, they start milling around and getting on the runs and looking for food. Early on they will feed heavily on insects, but once the salmon arrive in the river and start to spawn, the steelhead will sit downstream of the redds and eat salmon eggs. This is when the action becomes very consistent.

A DAY ON THE FEATHER

Over the years I have fished the Feather for salmon, striped bass, shad and smallmouth bass, but never for steelhead. Recently, my fishing buddy Ian Rigler and I had the opportunity to join Townley and his longtime friend, mentor and fellow guide Brett Brady for an early-season scouting session.

After launching his Willie Legend jet sled, Townley idled away from the ramp and gave us the rundown on the day’s fishing. He explained to us that we would be drifting roe on light spinning gear.

While the Feather may not have the top-end grade of fish found in some of the coastal rivers, a steelhead is a steelhead no matter where it swims. Townley likes to size down the gear and utilizes a Kevin Brock 7-foot, 6-inch, 4- to 8-pound spinning rod paired with a Daiwa 2000 reel spooled with 8-pound-test monofilament line.

He’ll use that gear accordingly to allow his clients to fully experience the hard-fighting fury and wild acrobatics that steelhead are known for.

Once we cleared the no-wake zone, Townley hit the throttle and we sped downriver to our first spot of the morning. Positioning the boat above the riffle, Townley instructed us where to cast. Several drifts and repeated casts yielded no takers, so it was off to the next hole. When we reached our second stop, it did not take long for Brady to hook up with a beautiful Feather River steelhead. He had a spirited fight, and after a quick scoop of the net the fish was released to fight another day, an exercise that Brady has clearly performed countless times.

FINDING THE HONEY HOLES

As the morning unfolded, Townley continued to move from spot to spot on the lookout for concentrations of fish. While we did not catch steelhead in every location, there certainly was plenty of action, as the pikeminnows and suckers also showed quite a liking for our bait.

The highlight of my day came when I hooked into my first Feather River steelhead. It put on quite a show as it went airborne and then took off on a number of spirited runs before I could bring it boatside for Townley to net.

By the time we got off the water at noon, we had caught and released a dozen or more steelhead, mostly hatchery fish with a few wild steelies in the mix as well. I certainly had a great time and I can’t wait to fish the Feather again. CS

Editor’s note: To book a trip with Dakota Townley’s Guide Service or to learn more, you can follow him on Facebook (facebook.com/dakotatowney) or contact him directly at (530) 680-3717.