Current Fishing Reports

Petaluma resident Stevan Fontana landed a nice 71-pound Pacific halibut on Sunday off of Eureka while fishing with Capt. Matt Dallams of Northwind Charters. The Pacific halibut season closed on Wednesday, but is scheduled to re-open on Aug. 1. Photo courtesy of Northwind Charters

Boating safety class slated for August 1

The arrival of the wind on Tuesday is likely a blessing as well as a curse. Coming down from the north, it will definitely cool the ocean waters, which had reached 61 degrees just offshore of Eureka. According to Eureka’s National Weather Service, water temperatures at buoy 14 off of Point Arena have already dropped from 61 to 54 degrees in the last 36 hours. With the cold water infusion, the hope is the salmon will move inshore all along the North Coast from Eureka north to Brookings. Although the wind is needed, the timing could have been a little better. A pretty good salmon bite was discovered on Sunday near Cape Mendocino, with a couple boats scoring limits of quality salmon. On Monday, the fleet made a beeline for the same spot, and it was limit-style fishing for all. On Tuesday, most of the boats remained tied to the dock on account of the nasty forecast. A few did head south, but eventually thought better of it and turned around. Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing was the lone boat that stuck with it, making it as far as the Cape to get his clients into quick limits of rockfish before being chased back north by the wind. So now it looks like the wind will once again shuffle the deck, and where the salmon will be once the boats get back on the water is anyone’s guess.

Marine Forecast
After a beautiful weekend, ocean conditions along the North Coast deteriorated quickly on Tuesday. Heavy winds and seas are expected through Friday, with conditions slowly improving beginning on Saturday. Out 10 nautical miles from Pt. St. George to Cape Mendocino, Friday’s forecast is calling for 10 to 20 knot winds out of the north and waves to 10 feet at 10 seconds. Saturday is calling for southwest winds 5 to 10 knots and waves out of the northwest 8 feet at 10 seconds. Sunday’s forecast is looking better, with winds out of the northwest up to 5 knots and waves 6 feet at 13 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/. To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/swan, or you can also verify the conditions as reported by looking at the bar cam at www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/barCam/?cam=humboldtBayBar. You can also call the National Weather Service at 707-443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 707-443-6484.

Pacific halibut closure
Per the new state and federal sport regulations for Pacific halibut, the season closed again on Wednesday, July 15. The season will open back up on August 1. According to the CDFW, the projected catch in net pounds through July is 13,028. The quota is set at 25,220. For more info on the in-season quota tracking, visit https://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/pacifichalibut.asp#tracking

Boat Safety Class
The US Coast Guard Auxiliary is offering a one-day Boating Safety class on Saturday, August 1 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The class will be held at the Woodley Island Marina Conference Room. For more information, contact Thom O’Connor at 707-954-4481 to pre-register. The cost is $20 per person.

Big Fish Competition
Pacific Outfitters of Eureka is hosting the 2015 Big Fish Competition for salmon, halibut & lingcod during the entire season of each species. Each entry gets a ticket towards a GoPro 4 Silver Edition ($399.99). Prizes include a $200 Gift Card for largest salmon; $200 Gift Card for largest Pacific halibut; and a $200 Gift Card for largest lingcod. All fish must be “Gilled & Gutted” before they are weighed in. If there is a tie within a species, the winners will split the gift certificate. All entries will be required to have their photo taken with their fish. If you choose not to have your photo taken, you are choosing not to participate in the competition. For more information, visit http://www.pacificoutfitters.com/2015/05/20/2015-big-fish/

The Oceans:
Eureka
Rough ocean conditions will keep most of the boats tied up until possibly Saturday, when the ocean will begin to come down. Skipper Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing, along with the rest of the fleet, were onto a real good salmon bite at the Pinnacles near Cape Mendocino on Monday. He said, “It was really good fishing, we boated 13 salmon in less than two hours, it was definitely the best bite we’ve seen in a while. And I think those fish have been there for awhile, but it’s such a long way down there, we haven’t had the time to check it out thoroughly. There was definitely some colder water there. Once the wind dies down, it will be interesting to see if those fish will still be there or if they’ve moved north.” He added, “The rockfish bite is still good and the ling action is incredible, we boated a monster on Monday weighing 44-pounds.” The halibut bite really turned on late last week according to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “They bit real well on Friday and Saturday, a lot of the boats had multiple hookups. It slowed a little on Monday and Tuesday, but we were still able to land two each day. Most of the action was from the 44 to 54-line in 250 to 350 feet of water,” Klassen added.

Trinidad
The halibut bite has been wide-open the last 10 days reports Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters. “The bite really turned on, with most of the action coming straight out in 300 feet of water. I heard lots of doubles and triples announced on the radio. The black rockfish action is still going, with easy limits coming over the rails. The lings are biting as well, but it’s taking a knot of drift to really get them on the bite. Salmon fishing isn’t happening yet, very few guys are fishing and not many are being caught. The crab pots have been loaded this past week, which is real encouraging for the upcoming commercial season,” Wilson added.

Crescent City
The rockfish, and especially the lingcod, are still biting anything you throw at them reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “I can’t ever remember this many lingcod around. It’s just unbelievable right now. The halibut bit pretty well this past week too, with one boat landing three on Monday. The salmon remain a no-show, hopefully the wind that’s here now will cool down the water and bring them closer to shore,” Hegnes said.

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Rain fell last weekend along some of the freshly burnt slopes upriver and filled the creeks with mud, with the dirty water finding its way to the lower river on Sunday. Supposedly the river started to clear on Tuesday and should be back to fishing shape by Thursday, or Friday at the latest.

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

After an hour and 15-minute battle, Chuck Chastain, pictured left, landed this 114-pound Opah on Tuesday while tuna fishing 75 miles west of Eureka. Chastain was fishing with Captain Marc Schmidt, pictured right, of Coastline Charters. Opahs are typically found in the warm waters off Hawaii and are rarely caught by sport anglers. The meat is said to be rich and tasty and highly sought after, especially in the restaurant trade. Photo courtesy of Marc Schmidt/Coastline Charters

Calm seas forecasted for the weekend will provide plenty of options for North Coast saltwater fishermen. The salmon action has been fairly consistent the last couple days, with a pretty good bite reported north of the entrance in 40 to 100 feet of water on Tuesday. Boats were back there again on Wednesday, and it sounded like enough salmon were flying over the rails to keep everyone interested. And the fish were a better grade as well. Rockfish will be another good option this weekend, especially with the flat water making it an easy run to Cape Mendocino for the Eureka boats. On the halibut front, there was reportedly a good bite happening on Tuesday and Wednesday, with quite a few fish being caught straight out of Eureka in 250 to 300 feet of water. And finally, not only is the ocean flat, it’s also warming up, which can only mean one thing — Tuna! Marc Schmidt of Coastline Charters ran roughly 75 miles out of Eureka on Tuesday and boated 13 albacore and a 114-pound pound Opah as a bonus. If you’ve been waiting for weekend where targeting multiple species is a viable option, this would be it. An important reminder when combo fishing, the more restrictive gear and depth restrictions apply. Once salmon are aboard and in possession, anglers are limited to using barbless hooks (barbless circle hooks if fishing south of Horse Mountain) when fishing for other species. When targeting rockfish, cabezon, greenling and lingcod, or once any of these species are aboard and in possession, anglers are limited to fishing in waters shallower than 120 feet when fishing for other species.

Weekend Marine Forecast
Ocean conditions looks to be ideal for all types of fishing this weekend. Friday’s forecast is calling for south winds up to 5 knots and waves out of the west 3 feet at 14 seconds. Saturday’s forecast is calling for winds out of the northwest to 5 knots with northwest waves 3 feet at 13 seconds. Sunday is looking flat as well, with winds out of the northwest to 5 knots and west waves 3 feet at 12 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/. To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/swan, or you can also verify the conditions as reported by looking at the bar cam at www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/barCam/?cam=humboldtBayBar. You can also call the National Weather Service at 707-443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 707-443-6484.

Clam tides coming
Another round of minus tides begin on Sunday and will run through July 19. The lowest tide will be on the Wednesday at -1.0. With calm seas predicted into next week, the clamming could be good. Some decent reports have been coming from Clam Beach, where clamming is open between Strawberry Creek and Moonstone Beach. The limit is 20, and you must retain the first 20 dug regardless of size or broken condition.

Report derelict crab gear
If any ocean fishermen come across old crab floats across the North Coast, there is a new program aimed at helping to remove old derelict crab gear. When you come across gear in which you believe is old, make a note of the GPS coordinates. From there you can enter the information into http://www.seadocsociety.org/report/ or you can email HASA at hasa6191@gmail.com and they’ll report and input the location for you.

The Oceans:
Eureka
Salmon, halibut, rockfish, and tuna – it’s all within reach and they are all biting. The past two days has seen the salmon action move north from the Eel River Canyon to a few miles above the entrance to Humboldt Bay. All the charters made the move as well, including Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing, who fished the canyon area on Monday and Tuesday. He said, “It was pretty good on Monday, but the bite slowed down on Tuesday. Overall the salmon fishing has been solid, with a one fish per rod average. Some days are better, some aren’t. It’s more of what you’d expect from a typical salmon season.” The lingcod bite at the Cape remains wide-open according to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, who was there Monday and Tuesday. “Not much has changed down there, it’s been good the entire season and it’s still red-hot. The lings are biting just about anything, and limits are coming easily.” The halibut bite is also good, with calm seas and just the right amount of drift paying off nicely for those willing to put some time in. The tuna water was within reach from Fort Bragg to Crescent City, but the only positive report so far has come out Eureka.

Trinidad
“The report is basically the same as last week” said Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters. “The lingcod bite continues to be outstanding and the rockfish are snapping just as good. Where you target the lings depends on the drift, if it’s not real fast, you can fish some spots out in deeper water that aren’t fished as heavily. The salmon bite was pretty slow this week; a few smaller fish were caught each day in 250-300 feet of water. A few halibut are being caught, but it might get a little better with the ocean being calm.”

Shelter Cove
The salmon bite turned on last weekend, and Captain Jared Morris of C’Mon Sport Fishing put in double limits of salmon to 30 pounds. He said, “The action is not hot and heavy, but we have been sticking at it for limits for 12 anglers to 26 pounds on Sunday.” The south wind was coming in on Sunday afternoon.  They were trolling hoochies and Pro-Troll E-lures for several bites, losing at least 14 fish to land the limits of salmon. He added, “A private boat was mooching for salmon on Sunday, and they landed limits of both salmon and Pacific halibut to 80 pounds.”

Crescent City
Not much has changed around here; the best action is still from the rockfish reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. He said, “The lingcod bite continues to be over the top and the rockfish are biting as well. There’s been a couple salmon caught per day, but it’s not consistent. One or two fish here and there as it’s been all season. We did see a few halibut caught this week outside of the south reef with the biggest being 65-pounds.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Most of the salmon action continues to be in the estuary where trollers are hooking one to three per day. The cooler weather should help the water temps, which should move some of the salmon upriver as well as the summer steelhead.

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

Batista Bregante from Santa Cruz smiles over a nice king caught on Wednesday out of Eureka with Green Water Fishing Adventures aboard Shellback. The salmon bite has really turned on the past few days, with most of the boats coming back to port with limits. Photo courtesy of Green Water Fishing Adventures

Free fishing day coming Saturday

The salmon bite is finally showing signs of life out of Eureka, and just in time for the holiday weekend. Kings started hitting the decks consistently on Sunday for the boats fishing south of Eureka on the edge of the Eel River canyon. This general area has produced a few fish this season, and it’s been stacked with krill and whales for quite a while now. Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing found the hot spot on Sunday, and was able to bring 14 keepers over the rail in 45 minutes. Since then, all the charters and a handful of sport boats have been working over the same area with limits coming fairly easy the last couple days. It may not be as wide-open as the past few years, but it’s by far the best bite we’ve seen this year. It’s worth mentioning that the fish are coming deep, anywhere from 150 to 200 feet on the wire. Along with fish being caught off the canyon, a few have also been caught near the 43-line in 120 to 140 feet of water. There hasn’t been as many boats working this area, but word has it the fish have been a little bigger than those coming from canyon.

Weekend Marine Forecast
Ocean conditions might be challenging for the next couple days if the forecast holds. According to the National Weather Service, Friday’s marine forecast is calling for winds out of the northwest 5 knots and northwest swells 6 feet at 9 seconds. Saturday forecast is for west winds to 10 knots, with swells out of the northwest 6 feet at 9 seconds and southwest 2-feet at 16 seconds. Sunday’s forecast looks much better, with winds 5 to 10 knots out of the south. Swells will be west 2 feet at 4 seconds and northwest 5 feet at 11 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/. To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/swan, or you can also verify the conditions as reported by looking at the bar cam at www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/barCam/?cam=humboldtBayBar. You can also call the National Weather Service at 707-443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 707-443-6484.

Statewide free fishing day
On Saturday July 4, people may fish California’s waters without a sport fishing license. All regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, report card requirements, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect. On Free Fishing Days, every angler must have the appropriate report card if they are fishing for abalone, steelhead, sturgeon, spiny lobster or salmon in the Smith and Klamath-Trinity river systems. For more information visit, https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Fishing/Free-Fishing-Days

Take a veteran fishing: Volunteers wanted
Purple Heart Anglers, made up of a group of volunteers who take disabled veterans into the outdoors to fish or hunt, are looking for volunteer fisherman to take a group of vets ocean fishing one Saturday this summer in Humboldt County. The dates they are shooting for are August 1, 8, or 15, with the ocean conditions dictating which day is chosen.

With this being the first trip in Humboldt County, the event will be open to all veterans, disabled or not. After the event, there will be a gathering at a local veteran’s hall or park for a big fish fry and potluck.

Purple Heart Anglers is a nonprofit, nonpolitical group that exists only to support disabled veterans with the therapeutic value of the outdoors. Purple Heart Anglers has one goal: to produce a program that aids in the healing of the disabled veterans of the United States Military. So nothing interferes with the job at hand, Purple Heart Anglers does not take help from corporations or any group wanting a commercial or advertising presence.

If you are willing and able to accommodate one or more veterans on your boat for a day, please call Marcus De La O at 707-726-9040 or email midpac@suddenlink.net to sign up.

Pacific Halibut season opened July 1
The recreational Pacific halibut seasoned opened back up on Wednesday, July 1 for boat-based anglers. For more information, please call the National Marine Fisheries Service hotline at 800-662-9825 or visit the Pacific Halibut webpage at www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/pacifichalibut.asp.

Halibut carcasses wanted
Humboldt Area Saltwater Anglers (HASA) is again partnering with Humboldt State University Fisheries on a Pacific halibut study this season. Anybody with a halibut carcass is asked to contact HSU graduate student Miki Takada at 858-472-4938 and she will come to you to pick up the carcass (or they can be left in the halibut totes on Dock A and Dock D at Woodley Island Marina in Eureka.) This study will provide age, length, and sex data for halibut caught in our area compared to halibut caught in northern waters, and will provide important information about growth, productivity, and reproduction that will help inform Pacific halibut harvest management in California. Unfrozen carcasses (with as much of the gonads intact as possible) are preferred.

Eureka tuna run
With the ocean somewhat flat and the warm water within reach, a small fleet of boats went out of Eureka on Sunday in pursuit of tuna. Most of the boats ended up roughly 15 miles offshore of Punta Gorda, about 35 miles from the jaws. Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing was one of the boats looking and reports the water color and temperature was good, but void of fish. Only one boat got into any sort of bite, Marc Schmidt of Coastline Charters, who boated four albies. The next weather window is looking like next week, possibly beginning on Wednesday.

The Oceans:
Eureka
Gary Blasi of Full Throttle Sport Fishing, Matt Dallam of Northwind Charters along with Sepulveda and Klassen have been working the edge of the Eel River Canyon since Sunday, with pretty good results. It was quick limits on Monday and Tuesday for all, but the ocean roughed up a little on Wednesday and the going got a little tougher. Limits were still had, but they didn’t come as quickly as the previous two days. The salmon have been ranging in size from barely legals to 12-pounds, with the occasional bigger fish in the mix. A few boats have also had some success working around the 43-line off of Table Bluff. Not as many fish have been caught there, but the fish were reportedly a little bigger.
Though the ocean has been a little breezy for a run to the Cape, boats that fished it Sunday reported the ling bite is still on fire, and the black rockfish is wide-open as well. Not much has changed since the season opened.

Trinidad
The lingcod bite is really good, and getting better by the day reports Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters. “The rockfish are still biting strong, but how many and how quickly you get them depends on the drift. Some days it doesn’t take long to catch what you need. The salmon bite hasn’t taken off yet, but my guess is it won’t be long. The crabbing is still pretty consistent, we’re able to give our customers their 10-crab limit almost every trip,” Wilson added.

Crescent City
According to Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, there isn’t much going on with salmon, but the lings and rockfish are still biting. He said, “I did hear of a couple salmon caught yesterday off the Sisters. One weighed 30 and the other 20 pounds, so there are a few around. There just isn’t much effort and there isn’t a lot of sign either. The ling cod continue to bite anything that swims and the rockfish action remains strong. The perch bite has also been real good down at South Beach when the oceans been nice.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
All the salmon action has taken place at the mouth this past week as not many fish are moving up river. Boats trolling spinners in the estuary have landed a few salmon.

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

Joe Munoz of Redding landed a nice salmon out of Eureka earlier this week while fishing with Full Throttle Sport Fishing. The salmon season has yet to take off along the North Coast, but hopes are high the fish will show in big numbers in July and August. Photo courtesy of Full Throttle Sport Fishing

Abalone season closes June 30

As the effects of the ongoing drought continue to mount, the California Fish and Game Commission has put in place emergency regulations that give the CDFW the authority to temporarily close fisheries experiencing low, warm and oxygen depleted water conditions according to a press release issued on Monday by the California Dept. Of Fish and Wildlife.

The press release states that statewide, the water in many systems is likely to be inadequate to support fisheries as the summer progresses, resulting in impeded passage of spawning fish, increased vulnerability to mortality from predation and physiological stress, and increased angling harvest and/or hooking mortality.

The historically low water conditions will concentrate coldwater fish populations into shrinking pools of cold water habitat making them easy prey for illegal angling methods such as snagging, increased hooking mortality due to legal catch and release, over-harvest, as well as other human-related disturbances within their freshwater habitat.

To ensure that fisheries are protected under critical conditions stemming from the drought, the Department is proposing a set of triggers to guide fishing closure and reopening decisions. The Department’s decision to close or open a water will be based on the most current information available, collected by professional staff trained in the associated fields. Criteria for evaluating aquatic conditions are based on site-specific monitoring efforts with an emphasis on listed fish species, species of special concern, and gamefish.

Any water of the state not currently listed in Section 8.00 of these regulations (Section 8 refers to the Mad, Eel, Van Duzen, Mattole and Smith rivers & Redwood Creek) may be closed to fishing by the Department when the Director, or his or her designee, determines one or more of the following conditions have been met:

• Water temperatures in occupied habitat exceed 70° Fahrenheit for over eight hours a day for three consecutive days.
• Dissolved oxygen levels in occupied habitat drop below 5 mg/L for any period of time over three consecutive days.
• Fish passage is impeded or blocked for fish species that rely on migration as part of a life history trait.
• Water levels for ponds, lakes and reservoirs drop below 10% of their capacity.
• Adult breeding population levels are estimated to be below 500 individuals.

If and when these conditions are reversed, the department will re-open any closed waters.

Prior to any closure, CDFW will seek input from local stakeholders and provide information on the approach. CDFW will consider fishing closures as a last resort, and urges all those who fish California’s waters to adopt good preventative practices now.

For more information on the evaluation process and proper catch-and-release techniques, visit cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2015/06/22/emergency-fishery-evaluation-process-adopted-careful-angling-can-help-prevent-closures.

Marine forecast
The ocean is forecasted to be a little bumpy on Thursday and Friday, but the weekend looks much better. Out 10 nautical miles, Friday’s forecast is calling for winds out of the south 5 to 10 knots with NW swells 8 feet at 10 seconds. The weekend is looking much improved, with Saturday’s forecast calling for SW winds 10 to 20 knots and swells NW 5 feet at 10 seconds. The wind will shift on Sunday to the NW, with winds up to 5 knots. Swells will be 4 feet at 10 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484. To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/swan or check out the bar cam located at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/barCam/?cam=humboldtBayBar.

Upcoming events:
July 1 – Northern California red abalone fishery closed through July 31. For more information, visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/invertebrate/abalone.asp
July 4 – Free Fishing Day, statewide. On this day, people may fish California’s waters without a sport fishing license. All regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, report card requirements, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect. Every angler must have the appropriate report card if fishing for steelhead, sturgeon, or salmon in the Smith and Klamath-Trinity River systems. For more information, visit http://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Fishing/Free-Fishing-Days

The Oceans:
Eureka
A few salmon are being caught out of Eureka, but it has yet to catch fire. Both Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing and Gary Blasi of Full Throttle Sport Fishing found some good looking water off the Eel River canyon on Tuesday. The place was loaded with whales and krill, but the bite never materialized for either boat. On the way back from the Cape, where both captains limited on rockfish, Blasi and Klassen dropped the gear just south of Centerville on another fishy patch of birds and bait. Each got bit, but nothing landed. That seems to be the story of the season so far; everything is here but the salmon. “There are a lot of different types of water conditions out there right now, and the temps are all over the place. The fish will show up at some point, the question is where and how many,” said Klassen.
On the other hand, rockfish and lingcod bite continues to be unbelievable at Cape Mendocino. The weather has been decent enough for most boats to get there and it looks like the weather will again cooperate this weekend. A nice plan B for most years, the Cape has been the place to be with the salmon fishing yet to take off.

Trinidad
The rockfish and lingcod bite remain wide-open reports Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters out of Trinidad. He said, “It’s been real good right out front around Flat Iron, there hasn’t been a real big need to travel far. There’s been quite a few fish in the 25 to 27-inch range, as well as fish up to 25-pounds. As for salmon, I heard of about 10 caught on Tuesday, with a couple boats getting limits. Hopefully we’ll start to see a few more show up.”

Crescent City
Rockfish is about the only bite going on right now, and it’s wide-open according to Chris Hinges of Crescent City’s England Marine. “There’s very little salmon fishing happening now, even though there’s quite a bit of bait around. They just don’t seem to be here yet, but I did hear of a pretty good bite happening up into Oregon,” said Hegnes. The rockfish, and especially the lingcod, has been as good as it gets. The Sisters has been one of the better spots from what I’ve heard,” Hegnes added.

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Springer fishing has come to a standstill on the Klamath, with very few boats still sitting on the anchor. The majority of the action has taken place at the mouth of the river, where fish have been moving in and out due to the warm river water temperatures.

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

Young anglers Blake Santos, pictured left, and Conner Jones show off their catch from last Saturday’s SkyCrest Lake Youth Fish Derby held at SkyCrest Lake in Burnt Ranch. Both Santos and Jones, who reside in McKinleyville, caught their limit of trout using bobbers and salmon eggs. Photo courtesy of Mark Santos

Ocean conditions looking good for the weekend

Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation and a desire for a certain thing to happen. I think that pretty much sums up our salmon season so far, don’t ya think? The 2015 ocean salmon season has yet to pan out, but there is still plenty of time left in the season, as well as lots of hope amongst the anglers. The latest bit of news that is sure to keep the fleet going comes to us from Shelter Cove, where reportedly the commercial fleet is into the salmon big time. The sport fleet also put some fish aboard earlier in the week. So I’m expecting those salmon to turn the corner, point their heads north, fulfill our desires and turn our once promising salmon season around. At least that’s the hope…

Weekend Marine Forecast
After a week or so of pretty sloppy conditions, the ocean looks to be much improved later this week and weekend. Out 10 nautical miles, Friday’s forecast is calling for winds out of the north 5 to 15 knots with NW swells 5 feet at 7 seconds. Saturday’s forecast is calling for winds out of the north 5 to 10 knots and 5-foot swells at 7 seconds out of the NW. Sunday looks to be the best day, with winds 5 to 10 knots and swells to 4 feet at 7 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484. To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/swan or check out the bar cam located at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/barCam/?cam=humboldtBayBar.

Blue Creek closure on the Klamath River
As a reminder, the no fishing closure went into effect on Monday, June 15. No fishing will be allowed through September 14 in the Klamath River from 500 feet above the mouth of Blue Creek to one-half mile downstream of the mouth of Blue Creek. Additionally, no fishing is allowed from September 15 through December 31 in the Klamath River within 500 feet of the mouths of the Salmon, Shasta and Scott rivers as well as Blue Creek.

Fish Lake Kid’s fishing derby happening June 27
The 41st annual Kid’s Fish Lake Fishing Derby is taking place on Saturday, June 27 in Orleans. Registration starts at 7 a.m., the derby starts and 9 a.m. and ends at 12 p.m. It’s open to kids from Pre-K to the 8th grade. Poles and tackle will not be provided and an adult must accompany all children. The Orleans Rod & Gun Club hosts the free event for kids.

Clam tides
The latest round of minus tides will be here through the Sunday and according to Justin Kelly of RMI Outdoors, a few limits were taken at Clam Beach on Monday. “The ocean had been pretty rough, but it looks like it’s calming down and the clam digging should get a lot better over the next few days,” Kelly added.

The Oceans:
Eureka
After sitting on the sidelines since last Thursday due to weather, skippers Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing and Matt Dallam of Northwind Charters were back on the water on Monday. With the weather less than ideal for a Cape run, both spent the day trolling for salmon north of the jaws. According to Sepulveda, who boated two kings, the signs still look good out there, but the fish aren’t here yet in big numbers. “There’s a few here and there, but they aren’t schooled up anywhere. The water temps and color both look good,” said Sepulveda. Dallam had a handful of scratched baits, but didn’t bring anything over the rail. On Tuesday, both skippers ran south to the Cape and fished some pretty tough conditions. They quickly limited out their clients on black rockfish and headed north towards better weather. On the way home, they dropped the salmon gear in fishy looking water, but neither landed a fish.

Trinidad
The fishing report hasn’t changed much the past few weeks according to Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters out of Trinidad. “The salmon action has been real slow, though not a lot of effort has been put in lately. Most of the focus has been on the rockfish, which continues to be wide-open. There’s also a good amount of lings around too. Before the last halibut closure, a few were caught despite the rough ocean,” Wilson added.

Crescent City
There doesn’t appear to be many salmon around at the moment reports Leonard Carter of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “The water has warmed up out front and the bait has disappeared, so conditions are tough. I’ve heard there’s colder water outside and the commercial guys were doing ok fishing real deep. The lingcod bite continues to be off the hook, and the rockfish are biting as well. We’ve got some better weather ahead, so we should see more boats getting back on the water,” Carter added.

Shelter Cove:
Captain Jared Morris of C’Mon Sport Fishing was patient on Tuesday, and they stayed true to salmon trolling for the majority of the day for 5 limits of salmon plus a crew fish with three of the salmon in excess of 20 pounds. He was fishing in the slot between the Old Man and the Hat in rough conditions. They also put in limits of rockfish and lingcod and were pulling crab pots in the late afternoon.

Captain Trent Slate of Shelter Cove Sport Fishing pulled his crab pots in the morning for 60 jumbos before putting in an hour in the same area trolling for salmon. His clients wanted action, so they put in 80 rockfish along with 18 lingcod to 15 pounds. He said, “Rockfishing was particularly good on Monday with some huge vermilion and coppers in the sacks. “ The commercial salmon fleet also did well on Monday for salmon. He added, “It should be really good right now, and I expect the salmon bite to break out since there is so much bait along the coast.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Spring salmon fishing has slowed down to the point that very few boats have been fishing up river the past couple weeks. The water has warmed up, and the reports I’m hearing are that the fish are moving in and out of mouth, but not heading upriver in big numbers.

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

Montana resident Wyatt Sholly landed this nice lingcod on Tuesday while fishing near Cape Mendocino with Matt Dallam of Northwind Charters. Sholly was fishing with his brother Ethan as well as parents Jon and Barb .Photo courtesy of Northwind Charters

Rough seas predicted for the weekend

It’s been awhile since the North Coast has seen this slow of a start to the salmon season. The bar has been set so incredibly high based on the last few seasons that we really have nowhere to go but down. But with a million adult salmon forecasted to be swimming in the ocean this year, the fishing should be a whole lot better. For whatever reason, the fish aren’t here yet, and honestly, it’s making us all a little nervous. The action has been spotty at best, with a little bite popping up here and there, but nothing consistent. Word has it the commercial boats are doing well fishing out in deep water with their baits down 500 to 600 feet. If that’s the case, there’s hope those fish will eventually move closer to shore where the sport fleet will have a shot at them. Another sign things could be looking up is a few boats fishing out of Shelter Cove on Saturday really put the wood to the salmon. The wind is predicted to howl pretty good for the next few days, let’s hope that when the boats get back on the water, the salmon are here waiting.

Marine Forecast
After a week of decent ocean conditions, the wind and seas are forecasted to pick up through the weekend. Friday’s forecast is calling for 15 to 25 knots winds out of the north and swells to 10 feet at 11 seconds. Saturday is calling for north winds 15 to 25 knots with 12-foot swells at 11 seconds. Sunday’s forecast is calling for more of the same, north winds 10 to 20 knots with swells 10 feet at 10 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For up-to-date weather forecast, visit http://www.weather.gov/eureka/. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484.

Potential dangerous bar crossing
With minus tides beginning Saturday and lasting through next week, there could be potential early morning hazardous bar conditions due to the combination of tides and swells converging at the time when boats may be crossing the bar. Hard charging water flowing out of the bay and running straight into large swells can be extremely dangerous and you should always error on the side of caution — even if it means waiting until the out-flowing water from the bay has slowed, which usually occurs within 30 to 45 minutes prior to the tide bottoming out. If you’re planning on hitting the bar at daylight, check the conditions first. To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/swan or you can also verify the conditions as reported by looking at the bar cam at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/barCam/?cam=humboldtBayBar

Youth fishing derby this Saturday
The Willow Creek Fire Safe Council will be holding their 8th annual SkyCrest Lake Youth Fish Derby and Firewise Day on Saturday, June 13. The event will be held at SkyCrest Lake on Underwood Mtn. Road in Burnt Ranch. This is a free event for any youth and their family. It is open to youths 3 to 15 years old for fishing, prizes, and a goody bag containing bait, stringers, hooks, and promotional items from sponsors. This event gives the W.C.F.S.C. an opportunity to educate the attendees on wildfire safety to make their homes, neighborhoods, and community fire safe. For more information, call (707) 499-0767 or 530-629-2770. You can also email barbaradarst@yahoo.com.

More clam tides coming
Another good set of minus tides will begin on Saturday and will run through next Sunday, June 21. The lowest tides will range from a low of -1.3 on Monday, June 15 to -1.0 on Friday June 19. The best tide will be on Tuesday, June 16 with a low of -1.5. According to Justin Kelly of RMI Outdoors in Eureka, the clamming was real good last week. He said, “The guys that I talked to who were out there did the best in ankle-deep water hitting the newly formed sandbars. It wasn’t as good up on the dry sand.” Ocean conditions are forecasted to be rough this weekend, which could make the digging a little tougher.

Sport Fishing Regulation Supplement now available online
CDFW’s annual California sport fishing regulations supplement is now available online at https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=100968&inline. This year, the supplement includes 2015 ocean salmon fishing regulations, updated groundfish (rockfish, lingcod, and other species) fishing regulations, updated  Pacific halibut fishing regulations, and information about upcoming changes this summer to bluefin tuna fishing regulations.

Paper copies of the supplement are expected to arrive at license sales locations and CDFW offices by mid-June. The supplement also includes freshwater salmon regulations for the anadromous waters of the Klamath River Basin and other, related sport fishing information.

Pacific Halibut closes after Monday
Per the new state and federal sport regulations for Pacific halibut, the season will close again on June 15. The season will open back up on July 1. For information about the seasons and regulations, visit https://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/pacifichalibut.asp.

The Oceans:
Eureka
The excellent rock fishing around Cape Mendocino remains the focus for the Eureka charter and sport fleet. The salmon fishing was tough all week, with only a handful landed. Gary Blasi of Full Throttle Sport Fishing spent the day on Tuesday trolling for kings, and came up empty. He said, “Everything is here except the fish. We’ve got the brown water, birds and bait, but there just isn’t many salmon around. The water has warmed to 56 degrees in spots, but there are areas that are colder that should be holding fish. Like everyone else, I’m hoping they’re still out deep and haven’t made their way in yet.”

With the weather just good enough to make the run to the Cape, skipper Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing has opted to stick with what’s biting. “The rockfish bite continues to be amazing. We’ve been catching some real big lings, with quite a few in the 30 to 35 pound range. The halibut have been a little more fickle. I spent all day Tuesday targeting halibut and came up empty. And I didn’t hear of any being caught by the other boats. There are a few salmon around, but they’re pretty scattered. The conditions have been ideal, but it just hasn’t lined up yet. There’s still a long way to go in the season though,” Sepulveda added.

Trinidad
The rockfish bite is still excellent, but there seems to be very few salmon around reports Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters out of Trinidad. He said, “The rockfish bite, particularly the blacks, is still wide-open, but we’ve been forced to fish out in a little deeper water lately due to the bumpy ocean. I’ve spent a few days trolling for salmon, and we’re getting a couple opportunities per trip. There are a few around, but it’s been tough. A few halibut are still being caught, with the best spot being straight out of the harbor in 250 to 300 feet of water.”

Crescent City
Rockfish and halibut have been the main focus for anglers reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “There hasn’t been any salmon to speak of, and not many people have been trying. After this weekend’s blow, I think we’ll see a lot more boats on the water looking. There’s lots of bait around, so they we should be able to find a few. In talking with the commercial guys, it sounds like the fish are out in deep water and are staying deep. There’s been a few halibut caught this week, including a 68-pounder,” Hegnes said.

Shelter Cove
Captain Trent Slate of Shelter Cove Sport Fishing said, “The salmon bite was on for a day, but things slowed way up with only one salmon taken out of a number of boats. I do think the bite will go off soon since there is so much bait in the area.” He reported terrific rockfish and ling cod action, and he was heading to Punta Gorda on Tuesday to take advantage of the weather. They went below the point on Monday for limits of big rockfish, lings, and Dungeness crab. He added, “When I say big rockfish, I mean we have been landing some huge vermilions, coppers, and even boccaccios.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The spring salmon action has been real hit and miss this past week. Boats are getting a chance at one to two fish per day, and there’s been lots of zeros as well.

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

A trio of happy anglers had themselves quite a day on Monday, scoring limits of Pacific halibut while fishing out of Eureka with Gary Blasi of Full Throttle Sport Fishing. The halibut season opened June 1 and will close again on June 15. Photo courtesy of Full Throttle Sport Fishing

Ruth Lake bass tourney this Saturday

The wide-open rockfish bite continues coast-wide, and boats from Shelter Cove to Crescent City are taking full advantage. With the salmon continuing to be somewhat scarce, limits of rockfish has been a sure bet for both sport and charter boats. “I’d compare the current lingcod bite to how the salmon bite has been the previous three years,” said Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing. “I’m not sure how it can get much better.” It looks like the only thing that could slow the fishing down is to keep the boats tied up, and that looks to be the case for the next couple of days. If the forecast holds, it may be Sunday before the ocean is back to being fishable.

Marine Forecast
The next several days don’t look too promising for saltwater anglers. Friday’s forecast is calling for winds out of the north 15 to 20 knots and waves from the NW 9 feet at 9 seconds and 2 feet at 16 seconds. Saturday is not much better, with NW winds 5 to 10 knots and waves 8 feet at 10 seconds. Sunday looks to be the better day, with NW winds 5 to 10 knots and waves 5 feet at 12 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484. To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/swan or check out the bar cam located at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/barCam/?cam=humboldtBayBar.

More clam tides coming
The current set of minus tides will last through Monday, June 8, with the next round beginning on Saturday, June 13. The lowest tides will be June 16 and 17, with tides ranging from -1.4 to -1.5. The clamming has been excellent the last few days according to Justin Kelly of RMI Outdoors in Eureka. “The majority of the clams have been coming in the water, very few are being found in the dry sand,” added Kelly.

Ruth Lake Bass tourney this Saturday
Fortuna Fire Department CO-2’s will be holding the 2nd annual “Paul Jadro Memorial Bass Tournament” this Saturday, June 6. Blast off will be at 5:45 a.m. The one-day tournament event offers a first prize award of up to $1,000 with payout to 1 in 3 in addition to door prizes, and sponsor products. The entry fee is $120 per team with a big fish buy in option of $10. Children under 16 years of age can compete in the youth angler awards. The tournament is catch and release and all competitors must fish from boats that are required to have operational live-wells on board. Check in at the Marina on Friday June 5 at 4:30-7 p.m. or Saturday 4-5 a.m. For more information, contact Mike Ransford at 725-6310 or Lon Winburn at 725-5021 / 725-78804.

The Oceans:
Eureka
A red-hot bite and favorable ocean conditions has made Cape Mendocino the focus of attention for most of the boats fishing out of Eureka. Much like the salmon the last few years, it’s about as close to a guarantee as you can get. Gary Blasi of Full Throttle Sport Fishing made a few runs south and reports a wide-open ling bite. He said, “Anytime you can make one drift and catch 15 lings, that’s pretty good fishing.” Blasi also ventured to the halibut grounds on the opener and landed three nice halibut to 40-pounds. And to keep the variety going, while running home from the Cape on Tuesday, he found some fishy water near the mouth of the Eel and quickly boated 4 salmon ranging from 12 to 20-pounds. “It’s all about variety at the moment.” Skippers Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing and Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing have both filled most of their days down at the Cape. “The weather has been decent enough to get down there and the fishing is lights out. It’s tough to pass up,” said Klassen. “We did run a halibut trip on Tuesday, but we had a tough time finding any biters. It’s tough when the season closes every two weeks; you’re forced to start over trying to find out where they are.” As for the salmon fishing, Sepulveda is optimistic. “The signs have been building the last few days. There have been some good patches of birds and bait that have produced fish and it’s starting to look better every day. With what’s going on with the rockfish, no one is really putting in full days fishing for salmon. There was a decent bite to the north on Monday in 140 feet of water and yesterday we saw a little flurry near the Eel River in 50 feet of water. I don’t think there’s a huge volume of fish around, but things are looking better,” Sepulveda added.

Trinidad
There’s been a few small salmon caught out in the deep water, but overall the bite is still pretty slow reports Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters out of Trinidad. He said, “The water has cleared up some, but I’ve seen some very large schools of bait out there, mostly herring. But we just haven’t seen the salmon amongst these big bait balls yet. The rockfish bite is still wide-open with limits coming easily. When targeted, the lingcod bite has been red hot as well. There were three halibut caught on the June 1 opener, and I’ve heard of a couple being caught daily.”

Crescent City
A few salmon are being caught, but the bite is definitely scattered reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “I haven’t heard any specific locations where the salmon fishing is better than others, the fish seem to be spread out. A few halibut were caught on Tuesday, with most coming outside of the South Reef. I think most of the halibut were small, around 25 lbs. The rockfish bite has been solid and the lingcod is absolutely on fire right now,” Hegnes said.

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The spring salmon bite improved this week, possibly due to the rain showers and cooler temperatures. The river is in good shape, and boats are getting anywhere from 1 to 3 hookups per day.

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

Jake Martin of Eureka landed this 15-lb. lingcod on Wednesday while fishing near Cape Mendocino with Reel Steel Sport Fishing. The rockfish action has been wide-open from Shelter Cove to Crescent City, but the salmon bite has been hit and miss. Photo courtesy of Reel Steel Sport Fishing

Halibut season re-opens June 1

The good news is the Eureka area is once again the hot spot for salmon up and down the coast of California. The bad news is the bar has been set so low by the rest of the state; it didn’t take much for the light to shine squarely upon Eureka. And our fishing has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride at best. One day you find a bunch of fish and you’re thinking maybe the fish have finally shown up and things will get back to normal. The next day, you’re right back to the exact location and it looks like a desert. That pretty much sums up the season so far, as well as the last few days. If there’s a million adult salmon swimming off our coast, they’re sure doing a heck of a job staying out of sight. The only place where boats have been able to put some fish aboard has been down around the Eel River Canyon. Gary Blasi of Full Throttle Sport Fishing found limits of kings there on Saturday and that’s where the majority of the salmon have been taken since. Boats did well on Tuesday fishing amongst the krill and pods of whales, but didn’t fair quite as well on Wednesday. Hopefully this ride will come to an end soon.

Weekend marine forecast
The ocean looks to be much improved heading into the weekend. Saturday’s forecast is calling for NW winds 5 to 10 knots and swells to 5 feet at 11 seconds. Sunday’s prediction is W winds 5 to 10 knots and swells 4 feet at 7 seconds. Monday is looking real good, with winds coming out of the NW up to 5 knots and W waves 4 feet at 12 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For up-to-date weather forecast, visit http://www.weather.gov/eureka/. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484. To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/swan or check out the bar cam located at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/barCam/?cam=humboldtBayBar.

Halibut season re-opens June 1
As part of the new state and federal sport regulations for the Pacific halibut fishery off of California, the Pacific halibut season will re-open June 1 and will remain open through June 15. During the first session of the season, which went from May 1 to 15th, a projected amount of 310 net pounds were harvested towards a quota of 25,000 pounds. For up-to-date harvest tracking information, visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/pacifichalibut.asp#tracking.

More clam tides coming
Another round of minus tides will begin on Sunday and last through June 8. Lowest tides will be next Thursday and Friday, both with a low of -1.3. With the ocean forecasted to lie down nicely on Monday, conditions should be ideal.

The Oceans:
Eureka
With the salmon bite unpredictable at best, Capt. Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing has spent most of his days jigging up rockfish at Cape Mendocino. “The lingcod bite is wide-open, and as good as I’ve seen it in years with fish to 35 pounds devouring anything that you drop in the water,” Sepulveda said. “On Friday we kept our limit of 18 in the first hour so we took all the lingcod gear off and switched everything over to shrimp flies to keep them off and get the rockfish we needed. We still landed another 20 plus lings. It really doesn’t get any better. The salmon have been a little harder to come by, though we did manage to put together a good day on Tuesday boating nine fish for six passengers. The best bite has been at the southern edge of the Eel River canyon. There’s tons of krill down there along with lots of whales.” Gary Blasi of Full Throttle Sport Fishing has been after salmon since the opener, and has had more success than most. His best days have also come down off of the Eel River Canyon, which is where he scored limits for his 6 clients on Saturday. He was back down that way on Tuesday with the rest of the fleet, and put in seven salmon for his crew of four fishing deep at 200-feet on the wire. He said, “The ocean conditions have been changing every day, there is no real pattern yet. Our best days have come fishing around all the krill and whales. We’ve caught a few fishing out front of Eureka, but they don’t seem to be there in any big numbers yet. We did see a bunch of bait around the entrance on Tuesday afternoon, so things could be changing.”

Trinidad
Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters reports the salmon bite continues to be slow out of Trinidad, with a couple salmon being caught straight out each day. He said, “The conditions are decent, the water has some good color and there’s scattered bait, but the salmon aren’t around in big numbers as of yet. There have been just a handful of boats out each day. The rockfish bite has been a different story. The bite has been wide-open, with easy limits of rockfish as well as lings. We’re also finding a few keeper crabs in our pots.”

Shelter Cove
Commercial fish buyer Pat O’ Shea reports a solid salmon bite between Delgada and the Hat, with commercial boats bringing in 30 to 40 fish per day. The sport boats have been doing well on the rockfish, but salmon reports have been hard to come by.

Crescent City
There were a few salmon caught this past weekend reports Leonard Carter of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “I heard about eight to 10 fish were caught, but not in any one area. Guys were fishing both north and south, and a few were caught in each direction. It’s good to see a few more starting to show up. The rockfish bite remains excellent; boats working around the Sisters and the south reef were doing well. All the usual spots have been producing plenty of fish,” Carter said.

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

Arcata resident Jenna Kennedy landed a nice pair of kings on Sunday while fishing out of Eureka aboard the Shellback with Capt. Tony Sepulveda. The salmon bite is heating up and the ocean should be plenty fishable for the Memorial holiday weekend. Photo courtesy of Green Water Fishing Adventures

Ruth Lake bass tournament coming June 6

For anglers across the North Coast, Memorial Day weekend provides an excellent opportunity to get out of the house and do a little fishing. With a multitude of choices on the table, the biggest decision might not be if you want to go — but where. Here are a few of the options that will hopefully make your decision a little easier this holiday weekend:

• Razor Clam dig – The tail end of the minus tides will be here through Saturday, and Sunday’s tide should be low enough to dig. When the conditions have allowed, the clamming has been excellent this year. Even though the ocean might be a little rough this weekend, you shouldn’t have any trouble finding enough clams to wet your appetite. According to Justin Kelly of RMI Outdoors, plenty of limits were taken this past week during some of the lowest tides of the spring. Friday’s tide will be -0.7 at 7:42 a.m. and Saturday’s low will be -0.2 at 10:29 a.m. Fishing hours are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. The limit is 20 and the first 20 clams dug must be retained regardless of size or broken condition. In Humboldt, clamming is allowed between Strawberry Creek and Moonstone Beach. In Crescent City, clamming is open North of Battery Point.
• Freshwater Lagoon trout – Planted regularly in April and May with catchable-sized trout, there should be ample opportunities for shore-based anglers as well as boat fishermen. An easy rig to fish is a Berkley PowerBait with an egg sinker.
• Ruth Lake trout and bass – Nice weather and a family-friendly atmosphere make this a great spot for the weekend. The lake has plenty of water and the trout and bass fishing is usually in full swing this time of the year.
• Redtail perch –If it’s perch you’re after and the ocean is too rough, Elk River Beach is a great spot to target redtails. Two hours prior to high tide and an hour after typically are the optimal times. Shrimp, clams, and sand crabs all work. If the ocean is fishable, all the local beaches are loaded with redtails. Centerville, Table Bluff, and Gold Bluff Beach are always reliable spots.
• Trinidad Harbor rockfish – A great option for rockfish, especially if the ocean is rough. Launching a small boat or kayak from the beach is fairly easy. You’ll want to get an early start before the afternoon wind kicks in.
• Abalone – Memorial weekend is historically one the most popular times to try for Abs, with Mendocino and the Fort Bragg areas the most popular locations. If the ocean is rough, there are plenty of coves and inlets to get away from the heavy surf.

Weekend marine forecast
The ocean looks like it will remain fishable through the holiday weekend, at least for the salmon trollers. It may be a little bumpy for those wanting to run to the Cape for rockfish. Saturday’s forecast is calling for N winds 5 to 15 knots and swells to 5 feet at 8 seconds and NW 3 feet at 15 seconds. Sunday’s prediction is NW winds 5 to 10 knots and swells 5 feet at 8 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For up-to-date weather forecast, visit http://www.weather.gov/eureka/. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484.

To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/swan or check out the bar cam located at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/barCam/?cam=humboldtBayBar.

Ruth Lake Bass tournament
Fortuna Fire Department CO-2’s will be holding the 22nd annual “Paul Jadro Memorial Bass Tournament” on Saturday, June 6. Blast off will be at 5:45 a.m. The one-day tournament event offers a first prize award of up to $1,000 with payout to 1 in 3 in addition to door prizes, and sponsor products. The entry fee is $120 per team with a big fish buy in option of $10. Children under 16 years of age can compete in the youth angler awards. The tournament is catch and release and all competitors must fish from boats that are required to have operational live-wells on board. Check in at the Marina on Friday June 5 at 4:30-7 p.m. or Saturday 4-5 a.m. For more information, contact Mike Ransford at 725-6310 or Lon Winburn at 725-5021 / 725-78804.

River openings
Sections of the Eel (South Fork to Cape Horn Dam), Van Duzen, Mad, Mattole and Smith will re-open on Saturday, May 23rd. On most rivers, only artificial lures with barbless hooks may be used. For a complete list of river openings and regulations visit https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Regulations

The Oceans:
Eureka
Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing reports the salmon bite had been good this past weekend, but has tapered off the past couple days. He said, “Most of the fish have been coming from the east edge of the Eel River canyon, about five to six miles offshore on the 38-line. The area was loaded with whales, krill and herring, and that’s where we found most of the salmon. It was really good fishing on Sunday, with most of the boats limiting out. The fish have been coming in three different size classes; we’re seeing quite a few shakers 20 to 23 inches as well as fish from seven to 10 pounds. There’s also been a few caught in the 15 to 20 lb. class. The rockfish bite at the Cape has been excellent so far. Catching a limit of three lings and five black rockfish has been easy, but filling out those last five with other species has been a little tougher.

Trinidad
Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters reports the salmon bite has been a little slow out of Trinidad, with just a handful being caught daily. He said, “The water was 47 degrees on Wednesday, which is probably not helping the bite. I did see more life along with more bait the last couple days, so things could be turning around. The rockfish bite has been wide-open, but the lings have been a little tougher to come by at the spots where we’ve found them in the past. Reading Rock is probably the best option for lings at the moment.”

Crescent City
The rockfish have been biting since it opened last Friday according to Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “Most of the boats are getting limits, but the minus tides we’ve had this week has made the bite a little sporadic. It’s been really good during the high afternoon tides. The salmon action has been slow, with not many boats trying yet. It’s been one’s and two’s for the most part,” Hegnes said.

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

Asheena Santos of Garberville landed this nice Chinook salmon during the opening weekend of salmon season out of Eureka. Santos was fishing aboard the charter boat Reel Steel. Photo courtesy of Reel Steel Sport Fishing

Good tides on the way for clammers

The handful of boats that fished the opening few days of the sport salmon season out of Eureka were limited to fishing close to home due to the strong north winds and sloppy conditions. Most of the sport fleet thought better of it, choosing to sit out the first week knowing better days lie ahead. Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing was one of a handful of boats that ventured out, along with a few of the other Woodley Island charter boats including the Shellback, Full Throttle, and Northwind Charters. The action over the weekend was a little slow, with boats landing between two and four fish per trip. According to Klassen, the ocean conditions aren’t bad and appear typical for this time of the year. He said, “With all the wind we’ve had, the upwelling has really cooled the water temperatures. There was quite a bit of bait around along with some nice edges. The fish we caught were full of squid and day fish, but I’m not sure if that’s what we were seeing on the meter. When the oceans rough like it’s been, it makes it tough to run and look for fish so we’re all fishing in fairly close proximity. There’s a chance the fish could be further offshore, but we won’t know until we get some better days where the fleet can get out and explore.”

Marine forecast
After a windy start to the ocean season, the wind is finally predicted to subside slightly this weekend. Saturday’s forecast is calling for NW winds 5 to 10 knots and swells to 5 feet at 8 seconds and W 3 feet at 14 seconds. Sunday’s prediction is NW winds 5 to 15 knots and swells 6 feet at 12 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For up-to-date weather forecast, visit http://www.weather.gov/eureka/. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484.

To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/swan or check out the bar cam located at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/barCam/?cam=humboldtBayBar

Crescent City
Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine reports the weather kept most of the boats tied up for the salmon opener. He said, “The wind was blowing pretty good, so there wasn’t much effort on salmon. I did hear that the water is pretty cold out front, which may make for a tougher bite. I think once we get some decent weather and some more boats on the water, we should be able to find some fish.” Hegnes also reports that the Redtail perch bite has been over the top at all the beaches. “We saw some big fish caught this past week.”

Clam tides
The current round of minus tides, in which none are lower than a foot, will last through the weekend. However, it’s the next set of tides, which are the lowest of the summer that has the clammers excited. They’ll begin next Friday, May 15 and go through Saturday, May 23. The lowest tides will be Sunday through Thursday, with tides ranging from -1.1 to -1.6 feet. In 2015, Little River Beach is open to razor clamming between Strawberry Creek and Moonstone Beach. In Del Norte County, the beach north of Battery Point is open to clamming. The limit is 20 clams and you must keep the first 20 dug regardless of size or broken condition. For tide information, visit http://www.saltwatertides.com/dynamic.dir/californiasites.html#humboldt

Rockfish opener May 15
The 2015 rockfish season will open next Friday to boat-based anglers within the Northern Management Area — which runs from the Oregon border south to the Cape Mendocino Area. The recreational rockfish and lingcod season will run from May 15 through October 31. The daily bag limit per person is a 10 fish combination, except only three cabezon and bocaccio are allowed per person. Cabezon have a minimum 15-inch size limit. There is no size limit for Boccaccio.

New regulations announced in March include:

• A sub-bag limit of five black rockfish within the 10-fish rockfish, Cabazon, greenling (RCG) complex bag limit
• An increase in the lingcod bag limit from two to three fish, 22-inch minimum.
• Statewide closure of the California scorpionfish fishery from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31.

The depth limit remains the same as last year; fish may only be taken or possessed in less than 120 feet (20 fathoms) of water. The take and possession of bronzespotted rockfish, canary rockfish, cowcod and yelloweye rockfish will remain prohibited statewide.

Trinity/Klamath Rivers
Water releases from Lewiston Dam into the Trinity River reached their peak flow of 8,500 cfs on Wednesday and will be reduced beginning Thursday. Release rates will be reduced to 2,000 cfs over a period of 11 days. As the flows recede, several days of flows at 2,000, 1,200, and 700 cfs will follow for monitoring purposes. The summer base-flow rate of 450 cfs will begin on June 30.
Spring salmon fishing on both the Trinity and Klamath should pick up when the flows taper off and the rivers begin to clear, which should be sometime next week.

Send in your fish photos
Land a big halibut or perch lately? Or maybe your friend or relative has reeled in their first salmon. Email your fishing photo to kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com and I’ll run them with the “Fishing the North Coast” weekly column and also post them on the digital version on times-standard.com. Just include the name of the person in the photo, where and when it was taken and any other details you’d like to share.

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