Lovely. Brings back some old memories. I lived in Sacramento for several years and spent a lot of time on the Smith and Klamath in norcal. Was also able to fish the Rogue, Alsea and Nestucca Rivers. Good times.
You are lucky to get to hit those rivers during a low runoff period. The Smith is especially beautiful and productive when low and clear. Some BIG steelies in there too. Had more than a few trips wiped out after the normal winter storms had the rivers running high and muddy. I’m attaching a couple of pics of a steelhead I caught while fishing with legendary (long since deceased) fishing guide Al Kutzkey. The first pic shows the lovely clear blue Smith River under ideal conditions. The second is of Al holding one of my newly caught steelies.
Just got back from 5 days of fishing for steelies on 3 different rivers, middle Rouge, Klamath and the Smith. With the dry spell the last couple of weeks all rivers were clear and low but we were able to get fish in each of a decent size along with a lot of the “half pounders “. Side drifting soft beads, yarn and a puff ball with a small amount of bait was the tactic used. Had a great time and already getting dates set for next years trip, this year I flew into Sacramento which eliminated the the long haul across Nevada.