The first time I visited Crescent City was during a vacation trip in the mid 80′s. My wife and I were touring southern Oregon and northern California and we stopped over for a couple of days. We stayed at a local motel, The Curly Redwood Lodge, which I found to be very unique. I was impressed by the story of this building and the beauty of the wood used in its construction.
We took walking trips around town, the marina and the park and the little fishing pier at the north end of town. We also found a wonderful little French restaurant. The chef was Cordon Bleu trained and the food was delightful. Their desserts were fantastic. Unlike so many french restaurants, this one served up portions that satisfied the local lumberjacks. I went back several years later on a fishing trip with my son and we ate there again and were again impressed. However on later trips I could no longer find the restaurant and was disappointed.
While there, on the advice of the motel manager, we decided to go fishing on the Smith River. This was not part of our original plan and since it was mid February we had to buy appropriate clothing for a long cold day on the river. Throughout that day of fishing we were very pleased for those purchases. There was snow on the gunnels of the boat in the morning.
For scenery alone the Smith is fantastic. There are no dams on the Smith river, the only one like it in California, and water levels are determine solely by the extent of the rainy season. Flowing through some steep-walled canyons and bordered by magnificent stands of Douglas Fir and Giant Redwood, it also is a gem of white water rapids. The Smith lies in a very rocky watershed with very little mud and silt in it, so with its crystal clear water the rocks on the bottom seem much closer than they really are.
We only had one bite that day and that was had by, as usual, the lady of the house whose only real interest in fish is eating them and not catching them. Once again she out fished me. But she hooked into a big salmon and fought it for nearly 30 minutes. We saw it once and the guide told us it was “foul hooked” and we would not be able to keep it. Eventually the salmon got off on its own.
Also
Read about Steelhead fishing on the Smith River
and
Did you know that Crescent City and the Smith River are in the mythical state of Jefferson?
Where are those giant Redwoods?
What about that Curly Redwood Lodge?
