Fall regulations go into effect on the Klamath River for fall-run Chinook salmon fishing beginning Aug. 15 and run through Dec. 31. The daily bag limit will be three Chinook, no more than two adults (greater than 22 inches) and the possession limit is nine, no more than six adults. Two hatchery steelhead or hatchery trout may also be retained, with a possession limit of four each. Spring-run Chinook salmon fishing regulations will run through Aug. 14, with a daily bag and possession limit of two salmon.
The entire 2015 quota for the Klamath River basin is 14,133 adult fall-run salmon based on 120,000 adult salmon predicted to return. On the Lower Klamath, from the mouth to the Highway 96 bridge at Weitchpec, 7,067 adults will be allowed for sport harvest. The mouth of the Klamath (spit area) will get 15 percent of the basin quota in 2015, which equals 2,120 adults. This area will be closed to all fishing after the quota has been met. New for 2015, all legally caught Chinook salmon must be retained. Once the adult (greater than 22 inches) component of the total daily bag limit has been retained, anglers must cease fishing in the spit area.
The section above the 96 bridge at Weitchpec to 3,500 feet downstream of the Iron Gate Dam will get 2,403 adults. The take of salmon is prohibited on the Klamath River from Iron Gate Dam downstream to Weitchpec from Jan. 1 through Aug. 14.
On the Trinity side, which will be open to fall-run Chinook salmon fishing Sept. 1 and run through Dec. 31, the quota is set at 4,663 adults. The quota will be split evenly, 2,331 adults from the main stem downstream of the Old Lewiston Bridge to the Highway 299 West bridge at Cedar Flat and the main stem downstream of the Denny Road bridge at Hawkins Bar to the confluence with the Klamath. The main stem downstream of the Highway 299 Bridge at Cedar Flat to the Denny Road Bridge in Hawkins Bar is closed to all fishing September 1 through Dec. 31.
Once these quotas have been met, no Chinook salmon greater than 22 inches in length may be retained (anglers may still retain a limit of Chinook salmon under 22 inches in length). For more information on bag and possession limits, visit the DFG website at https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Regulations. All anglers on the Trinity and Klamath rivers must have Salmon Harvest Cards in their possession when fishing for salmon. The full regulation package approved by the Commission is available at http://www.fgc.ca.gov/regulations/2015/ktfregs.pdf
Fishing the North Coast with Kenny Priest 