Month: February 2017

Guide Mike Coopman holds a once-in-a-lifetime steelhead caught by Joanne Ocalaghan of Vacaville last Wednesday on the Smith River. The steelhead, which was released and not officially weighed, measured 42 inches long with a 23-inch girth and was estimated to weight over 28-pounds. The state record for steelhead is 27.4 pounds and was caught on the Smith River in 1976 Robert Halley. Courtesy of Mike Coopman’s Guide Service

There’s hope on the horizon for North Coast steelhead anglers. Even though you’ll see off and on rain through the weekend and into Monday, an extended period of sunshine and warmth is expected to arrive early next week. The dry weather will hopefully stick around long enough to give us a shot at some of the other coastal rivers that have been blown out since early January. The South Fork Eel, Van Duzen, Mad, and Redwood Creek should all have a chance at turning green before the rain returns, which is expected to be sometime around the middle of March. In the meantime, the Smith and Chetco are both receding quickly from the latest storms and will be in great shape this weekend. If you plan to fish either, keep in mind the Rowdy Creek Fish Hatchery Steelhead Derby is taking place Friday and Saturday. A total of 18 teams, consisting of 36 boats will be splitting time between the two rivers.

The weather ahead
“A series of weak systems are forecasted for the area through Monday, and then we’ll see an extended break in the rain,” said Reginald Kennedy of Eureka’s National Weather Service. “The Smith basin will see isolated rain and snow showers on Thursday, but we should be dry in Humboldt. Light showers are on tap for Friday and Saturday, where we can expect around a half-inch of rain over the two-day period. A stronger system is forecasted for Sunday, with the heaviest rainfall hitting Mendocino County. The Eel River should see a slight increase in flows. Up to a half-inch of rain is predicted for Del Norte and Humboldt may see a quarter. We’ll see some lingering showers on Monday, but Tuesday we’ll start to dry out. A warming trend will set in, and it’s possible we’ll stay dry through March 10.”

2017 Salmon Information Meeting
The Department of Fish and Wildlife is holding its Annual Ocean Salmon Information Meeting on March 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Sonoma County Water Agency office located at 404 Aviation Blvd. in Santa Rosa. A review of last year’s ocean salmon fisheries and spawning escapement will be presented, in addition to the outlook for this year’s sport and commercial ocean salmon fisheries. Anglers are encouraged to provide input on potential fishing seasons to a panel of California salmon scientists, managers and representatives who will be directly involved in the upcoming Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meetings in March and April. For more information on the meeting, please contact California Department of Fish and Wildlife Environmental Scientist Kandice Morgenstern at (707) 576-2879 or visit the Department’s Ocean Salmon web page at www.wildlife.ca.gov/oceansalmon

IF4: International Fly Film Festival showing this Saturday as part of Humboldt Steelhead Days
As part of Humboldt Steelhead Days, the IF4: International Fly Film Festival comes to Humboldt on Saturday, February 25 at the Minor Theater in Arcata. The IF4 consists of short and feature length films produced by professional filmmakers from all corners of the globe, showcasing the passion, lifestyle and culture of fly fishing. Admission is $15 for adults and $10 for children under 12 years old. For more information, visit http://www.flyfilmfest.com

Reminder to all Steelhead anglers: receive special hotel rates by calling the front desk of any participating HSD lodging sites for discounts. Just mention Humboldt Steelhead Days when booking. Visit their website for more info.

The Rivers:
Chetco/Elk/Sixes
The Chetco is high and muddy, but looks like it will fall into shape just in time for the Rowdy Creek Derby, which kicks off on Friday,” said Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “It has been unfishable since last week. A couple of boats tried on Sunday but it was still a little too high and there weren’t any fish caught. The plunkers did catch some fish on Saturday at Loeb Park. The Elk was in great shape Saturday and Sunday, but blew out on Monday. It was up to 7 feet on Tuesday, but should be fishable by sometime Thursday. The Elk has been fishing pretty well, although heavy boat traffic has dropped the catch rates. The Sixes has been too high and off color to fish.”

Smith River
Water levels on the Smith continue to fluctuate wildly. The only thing that’s been consistent is the steelhead. Drift boats were back on the water over the weekend, with quite a few fish being caught on Saturday. The rain machine kicked back in on Sunday, and the catch rate went way down due to the rising water. The river was blown out on Monday and Tuesday, but dropped enough on Wednesday to get the plunkers back on the water. With very little rain in the forecast for the next few days, the Smith will be in great shape for the weekend.

Eel and Van Duzen Rivers
The main stem Eel, South Fork Eel, and the Van Duzen all remain high and unfishable. They are all currently receding, but Sunday’s storm, which will bring heavier rain amounts to Mendocino, will put them back on a slight rise. Dry weather is in the forecast after Monday, so the Van Duzen and South Fork Eel could be down to fishable levels by next weekend. Slides however, could keep both off-color.

Mad River
With the river high and muddy, there’s been very little fishing pressure this week reports Justin Kelly of Eureka’s Redwood Marine “I haven’t heard of any fish being caught, I don’t think there’s many around right now. The river will take a couple weeks with no rain to even have a chance of turning green,” Kelly added.

Find “Fishing the North Coast” on Facebook and fishingthenorthcoast.com for up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information. Questions, comments and photos can be emailed to kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com

San Jose resident Jim Kirkland landed this beautiful steelhead while drifting the Smith River on Monday. Fishing has been excellent on the Smith this week due to ideal flows and water color. It is predicted to blow out on Thursday, but should be back in shape by the weekend. Photo courtesy of Alan’s Guide Service

Still reeling from four years of drought and less than ideal ocean and river conditions, it’s no surprise that the number of returning Fall Chinook to the Klamath Basin in 2016 were the lowest on record. According to the CDFW, the 2016 preliminary postseason river run size estimate for Klamath River Fall Chinook was 27,353 adults compared to the preseason-predicted river run size of 54,000. Only 15,818 adults escaped to natural spawning areas, which was well below the 40,700 adults needed for the conservation objective. While this is the lowest return since 1978, it’s also worth noting that the creel surveys and counts were hampered by storms that began in early Oct.

The estimated hatchery return was 3,578 adults. Jack returns to the Klamath Basin totaled 2,786 including 1,894 that escaped to natural spawning areas. Spawning escapement to the upper Klamath River tributaries (Salmon, Scott, and Shasta Rivers), totaled 5,462 adults. The Shasta River has historically been the most important Chinook salmon spawning stream in the upper Klamath River, supporting a spawning escapement of 27,600 adults as recently as 2012 and 63,700 in 1935. The escapement in 2016 to the Shasta River was 2,889 adults. Escapement to the Salmon and Scott Rivers was 1,058 and 1,515 adults, respectively.

Next up is the annual Ocean Salmon Information meeting, which will be held March 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Sonoma County Water Agency office located at 404 Aviation Blvd. in Santa Rosa. Ocean abundance will be discussed, which will then trickle down to river quotas. For more information on the meeting, please contact CDFW Environmental Scientist Kandice Morgenstern at 707-576-2879 or visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/oceansalmon

The weather ahead
“After a nice little break from the rain, we’re once again heading into a wet pattern,” said Reginald Kennedy of Eureka’s National Weather Service. ”Precipitation is in the forecast for Thursday, where we could see up to an inch of rain throughout the day and evening. A system coming up from the south will bring unstable and cooler air on Friday and Saturday, but not much in the way or rain. We may see only a quarter inch. Light rain on Sunday will be followed by heavier rain in the evening. We’ll see anywhere from a half to an inch and half during the night. Monday looks to be the wettest day, where we could see up to three inches of rain. Lingering showers will persist on Tuesday and Wednesday, but not much will accumulate. As of now, Thursday and Friday are both looking dry.”

Sport-harvested bivalve shellfish not safe for consumption
In a press release issued on Monday, The California Department of Public Health is advising consumers not to eat recreationally harvested mussels, clams or whole scallops from Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. Dangerous levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins have been detected in mussels from this region. The naturally occurring PSP toxins can cause illness or death in humans. Cooking does not destroy the toxin. Consumers are also reminded to avoid consumption of crab viscera from crabs caught in the affected area as crabs do consume bivalve shellfish and could accumulate some of the PSP toxin in their gut. Crab meat is not affected by PSP toxin. There have been no reports of illnesses related to this event. For additional information, please visit http://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/NR17-022.aspx

The Rivers:
Chetco/Elk/Sixes
“The Chetco fished surprisingly well on Monday, even though it was running at 6,000 cfs,” said Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “I was set to go to the Elk, but heard the plunkers did well over the weekend on the Chetco, so we launched at the South Fork and had 10 hookups on Monday. A slide overnight, however, made the Chetco unfishable on Tuesday. The water was the dirtiest it’s been all season. The slide is somewhere above the South Fork, and as of Tuesday night the river was still too dirty to fish, even though it was down to 3,900 cfs. With more rain, it looks like the Chetco will be too high to fish through the weekend.

The Elk fished well Sunday and Monday, while the Sixes was fair on Tuesday. Most boats had multiple fish on the Elk on Sunday, when it got down to 5.2 feet. On Monday it was down to 4.5 and fished well. The Sixes was in shape Tuesday, but most boats go only one fish.”

Smith River
The Smith dropped back into driftable shape on Sunday, and boats are catching good numbers of big and bright steelhead. Scores ranged from one to four fish per boat, with some real big ones in the mix. As of Wednesday, flows were just above 6,000 cfs at the Jed Smith gauge and the color a perfect emerald green. The forecast is calling for off and on heavy rain starting Wednesday night and into Thursday, pushing the height up to 16-feet by mid-day Thursday. It might be a little high to side-drift on Friday, but the weekend and Monday are looking good.

Eel and Van Duzen rivers
Much like last week, the main stem Eel, South Fork Eel, and the Van Duzen were all on the drop this week. But with the rain returning on Wednesday and Thursday, all are forecasted to be back on the rise. With the storm door open, it’s doubtful any of these rivers will turn green before the end of next week.

Mad River
The Mad was roughly 10-feet as of Wednesday and still off color. According to Justin Kelly of Eureka’s RMI Outdoors, the river is dropping quickly, but is forecasted to rise starting Thursday morning. “There hasn’t been many fish around; the liners haven’t been doing very well. Hopefully this next rise will bring in some new fish,” added Kelly.

Upper Trinity
“The upper Trinity has dropped back into shape,” said Steve Huber of Steve Huber’s Guide Service. “Water levels are a little high right now, but the color is good. As of Wednesday, the river was fishable from Lewiston down to the North Fork. If the rain comes as forecasted, it will push everybody back to Lewiston to Indian Creek Lodge. The fishing pressure has been light, which is to be expected with Hwy. 299 still closed and the issues with the Feather River.”

Find “Fishing the North Coast” on Facebook and fishingthenorthcoast.com for up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information. Questions, comments and photos can be emailed to kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com

Eureka resident Scott Gantt landed a beautiful hatchery steelhead on Sunday while fishing the Mad River. The Mad is currently high and muddy and forecasted to rise above monitor stage on Thursday evening. Photo courtesy of Scott Gantt

Following another week of heavy rain and soaring river levels, green water is finally on the horizon for two of the quick-clearing coastal rivers. Sunshine is in the forecast for the weekend, and Monday and Tuesday are looking dry as well. For steelhead anglers, this means both the Smith and Chetco will be on the drop and heading towards greener waters. Boats should be back to side-drifting Sunday on the Smith, and possibly by Monday on the Chetco. For the rest of the coastal rivers, no such luck. They’ll remain high and muddy and won’t clear before the next round of storms roll through starting next Wednesday. As it’s been the case all year, expect a crowd if you plan to fish either of these rivers once they turn green.
The weather ahead
“Precipitation will be with us through Friday, but we’ll finally see a few nice days beginning this weekend,” said Ryan Aylward of Eureka’s National Weather Service. “We’ll likely see anywhere from three to five inches fall between Wednesday and Thursday, with the heaviest rain falling Thursday morning. Showers are in the forecast for Friday, with possibly an inch falling in Del Norte and a half-inch in Eureka. A high pressure will build, keeping us dry from Saturday through Monday. We may see a slight shower on Tuesday, with rain returning on Wednesday as we head into another wet pattern. Several systems are forecasted to hit the North Coast through the following weekend.”

HSD Peak of the Run dinner this Saturday
The Sequoia Conference Center in Eureka will be hosting the Humboldt Steelhead Days “Peak of the Run” dinner starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday Feb. 11. Over 250 guests are invited to watch presentations from anglers and river experts concerning Humboldt Steelhead. There will be a silent auction, raffles, prizes, steelhead photo slideshow, fine art show, Mad River beer on tap, plus wine donated by Moonstone Crossing and the Fish Friendly Farming Organization. A tri-tip dinner will be catered by Blackberry Bramble BBQ. Tickets are available at humboldtsteelheaddays.com/register, Wildberries Marketplace, or at the door.

2017 rockfish regulations approved
The state’s 2017 recreational groundfish fishing regulations became effective as of Feb. 7 following the California Fish and Game Commission adoption back in December.
For the first time in more than a decade, anglers will be allowed to retain canary rockfish beginning in 2017. After being declared overfished in 2000, the population has been rebuilt to healthy levels quicker than anticipated based on a combination of conservation efforts and restrictive management.

Additional changes include:
A new sub-bag limit of one canary rockfish within the 10-fish Rockfish, Cabezon and Greenling Complex bag limit; a decrease in the sub-bag limit of black rockfish from five to three within the 10-fish RCG Complex bag limit; elimination of the sub-bag limit of bocaccio within the 10-fish RCG Complex bag limit; a decrease in the lingcod bag limit from three to two fish; allowance of petrale sole and starry flounder to be retained year- round at all depths.

Within the Northern Management Zone, which runs from the Oregon border to Cape Mendocino, the season for boat-based anglers will now run from May 1 through Oct. 31 within 180 feet and Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 with no depth restrictions. For more information about recreational groundfish regulations, please call the hotline at 831-649-2801 or visit www.wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/marine/groundfish

The Rivers:
Chetco/Elk/Sixes
“The Chetco was fishing fair last week before the big rain started on Friday”, said Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “Now it looks like it will be blown out until early next week. We should see good numbers of hatchery and wild fish when it comes back into shape, although there were some down runners already being caught before the river blew out. The Elk and Sixes, along with the Rogue, are also blown out and will be for several days. Fishing was good late last week on the Rogue before the rain.”

Smith River
The Smith has been bouncing back and forth between 14 and 19 feet on the Jed Smith gauge since last weekend. It was back on the rise as of early Wednesday, and predicted to reach nearly 25 feet by midday Thursday. With very light rain forecasted for Friday, it will drop quickly and should be under 13 feet and driftable by Sunday. Earlier this week, boats plunking between Ruby and the water tower were picking up a few steelhead while the flows were receding.

Eel and Van Duzen Rivers
The main stem Eel, South Fork Eel, and the Van Duzen were all on the drop as of Wednesday. That’s the good news. Bad news is they are all forecasted for steep rises on Thursday, with the main Eel and Van Duzen both predicted to surpass flood stage. The South Fork Eel is supposed to hit monitor stage Thursday evening. It’s doubtful any of these rivers will fish prior to the next round of storms, especially the main Eel.

Mad River
According to Justin Kelly of Eureka’s RMI Outdoors, the liners did pretty well this past weekend. “From what I heard, it was probably the best fishing so far this season. I also heard there’s quite a few fish in the ladder. The next storm coming will likely push the water level past monitor stage on Thursday, but it looks like it will drop quickly. Liners should be able to get back on the water by Sunday,” Kelly added.

Find “Fishing the North Coast” on Facebook and fishingthenorthcoast.com for up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information. Questions, comments and photos can be emailed to kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com

 Chuck Brinker of San Francisco landed this nice hatchery steelhead while fishing the Smith River on Saturday. Rain is back in the forecast, with all of the coastal rivers expected to see steep rises beginning Friday morning. Courtesy of Kenny Priest/Fishing the North Coast

I know we need the rain, but “C’Mon Man!” It’s getting a little discouraging, especially for steelhead anglers hoping to fish somewhere other than the Smith or Chetco. Since early January, each time the Humboldt rivers started to turn green, another round of storms blew through and turned them all back to brown. Redwood Creek, the Mad, Van Duzen, and South Fork Eel — all were headed towards emerald green this week. But now with rain in the forecast for at least the next week, we’ll be right back to square one. The Smith and Chetco on the other hand, will welcome the rain as both were dropping and clearing. For the foreseeable future, it appears those two rivers will remain the only options for coastal steelhead fishermen.

The weather ahead
“After a nice break from the rain, our weather pattern is changing back to a wet one,” said Reginald Kennedy of Eureka’s National Weather Service. “A series of frontal systems are moving in beginning Wednesday night, bringing rain for the next seven days. On Thursday and Friday, we could see anywhere from one and a half to three and a half inches of rain in the Smith and Eel basins. Light rain is forecasted for Saturday, with heavier rain in store for Sunday, with up to two inches falling. More light rain is forecasted for Monday, with up to an inch predicted to hit the ground. Tuesday and Wednesday are looking wet, with another one to three inches falling over the two-day period.”

Razor Clam fishery remains closed in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties
Due to lingering high levels of domoic acid, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has acted to extend the closure of the recreational razor clam fishery in Humboldt and Del Norte counties. According to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the California Department of Public Health, the fishery will remain closed until the health agencies determine clams to be safe and recommend reopening the fishery.

State health agencies determined last spring that razor clams in Humboldt and Del Norte counties had unhealthy levels of domoic acid and recommended fishery closure in April 2016. The California Fish and Game Commission closed the fishery under emergency rules from April to October 2016 and extended the closure to Jan. 26, 2017. For more info, visit https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2017/01/30/recreational-razor-clam-fishery-closure-in-humboldt-and-del-norte-counties-extended-due-to-ongoing-public-health-concerns

Halibut Commission announces 2017 catch limits and seasons
The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) completed its Ninety-third annual meeting in Victoria, BC, Canada on January 27, 2017.  More than 200 halibut industry stakeholders attended the meeting, with over 80 more participating in web broadcasts of the public sessions. The Commission is recommending to the governments of Canada and the U.S. catch limits for 2017 totaling 31.40 million pounds. The California sport harvest will be 34,580 pounds, up from 29,640 pounds in 2016. For more info, visit http://www.iphc.int/news-releases/491-nr2017-01.html

Fish and Game Commission meeting next week
California Fish and Game Commission meeting will be held Feb 8-9 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Sonoma Wine Country, One DoubleTree Drive, Rohnert Park. The meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 8 and 8 a.m. on Feb. 9. To view the meeting agenda, visit http://www.fgc.ca.gov/meetings/2017/Feb/02080917agd.pdf. Topics include recommendations concerning the Klamath River Basin salmon sport fishing regulations, recreational ocean salmon fishing regulations, and Pacific halibut regulations.

The Rivers:
Chetco River
“Fishing was really good at the end of last week on the Chetco before things slowed down over the weekend,” said Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “I think the heavy pressure had something to do with the bite slowing down. It seemed to be hit and miss on Monday and Tuesday. My customers only hooked two on Monday, and then hooked five on Tuesday. The river is getting low, but still has great color on the lower end. The fish have been spread out, so there hasn’t been a need to race down river.”

Smith River
The Smith has dropped and cleared, creating tougher conditions this week for steelhead anglers. The fishing has dropped off from last week, but most boats are still landing a couple fish per trip. If the rain comes as planned, the Smith will see a significant rise beginning Friday morning. Rain is in the forecast for all of next week, so we’ll have to see if the river will drop back down to a driftable level in between storms.

Eel River (main stem)
The Main stem was still off color and big as of Wednesday, and it’s set to get even bigger with more rain on the way. “We were about four to five days away from the river starting to turn,” said Paul Grundman of Grundman’s Sporting Goods in Rio Dell.

Eel River (South Fork)
The South Fork dropped into fishable shape and was running around 1,800 cfs on the Miranda gauge as of Wednesday. It’s predicted to blow out again sometime Thursday with the latest rounds of storms.

Van Duzen
The Van Duzen dropped to a fishable level earlier in the week. It was hovering around 850 cfs on Wednesday, but is predicted to rise beginning Thursday morning.

Mad River
According to Justin Kelly of Eureka’s RMI Outdoors, fishing has improved, but it’s still not red-hot by any means. “There was about a foot of visibility on Wednesday, and the liners were doing just ok. A few were also being caught on bait above the Blue Lake Bridge. With the rains coming again, we’ll be back to muddy conditions by Friday,” Kelly added.

Humboldt Steelhead Days
The HSD crew will be pouring wine at the Arts Alive! in Old Town Eureka this Saturday night showing off steelhead-inspired paintings, prints, sculptures, wood-working and other media. Local artists from the group known as the Ink People created more than 20 pieces of art to be auctioned off during the ‘Peak of the Run’ Steelhead fundraising dinner on Sat., Feb. 11 in Eureka. You can view all the artwork up for auction at Just My Type Letterpress gallery and storefront on 3rd street this Saturday starting at 6pm.

Next weekend will be the kick off to all the HSD designated watershed and river clean ups being produced by the HSD Crew and the Pacific Outfitters Green Team. Every Saturday from 9am to 10am, a group of volunteers and anglers will spend one hour cleaning up trash near the three watersheds that area designated for the HSD fishing contest. Check out Humboldt Steelhead Days on Facebook and look at all their EVENT pages for more details.

Mad River cleanup
Mad River Clean Up: Saturday, February 11 at 9am.
From Hwy 101 take Hwy 299 East to exit 2 then look for the yellow PacOut Green Team signs. We will meet at 8:45 am, start the cleanup at 9am and we’re done at 10am and off to enjoy the rest of the day!

The PacOut Green Team will meet along the Mad River and a dedicated group of volunteers and river advocates will spend an hour cleaning up trash on the Mad River. Once the clean up is over, everyone will take a group photo that will be posted to the Humboldt Steelhead Days Facebook page. Anyone can participate and volunteer.

ALL HUMBOLDT STEELHEAD DAYS Clean Up Dates: Dates may change due to weather.
• Sat., Feb. 11: Mad River Clean Up, sponsored by Salty’s Supply Co., Bait, Tackle and Surf
• Sat., Feb., 18: Eel River Clean Up, sponsored by Trim Scene
• Sat, Feb., 25: Trinity River Clean Up sponsored by Royal Gold
For more information, contact Tim Haywood at thaywood@pacificoutfitters.com or (707) 296-4375. Or visit http://pacoutgreenteam.org

Find “Fishing the North Coast” on Facebook and fishingthenorthcoast.com for up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information. Questions, comments and photos can be emailed to kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com