Current Fishing Reports | Fishing the North Coast with Kenny Priest

Low Salmon Forecast will Constrain 2025 Season

Ocean and River Salmon Closures Likely

An incredibly low ocean abundance forecast of king salmon, like pictured above, was presented to the public Wednesday by CDFW and fishery agencies. Photo courtesy of Lowell Wallace/Humboldt Charter Company

On Wednesday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) hosted its annual 2025 Salmon Information Meeting where fishery agencies provided ocean salmon abundance forecast information to the public. And if these forecasts are accurate, Chinook salmon will once again be scarce this year in both the ocean and rivers. It will also likely result in another year of constrained fisheries, or another state-wide closure in an effort to protect stocks.

Both the Sacramento and Klamath river have incredibly low numbers of salmon swimming in the ocean according to CDFW. The forecast estimates for the Sacramento River fall Chinook, the predominant stock harvested in California fisheries, came in at 165,655 adults, one of the lowest forecasts since the current assessment method came into play in 2008. In 2024, the Sac ocean abundance forecast was 213,600, but the post season estimate came in much lower at 102,965.

The Klamath River Chinook forecast was announced at 82,672 adults swimming in the ocean, the lowest forecast since that body of water’s assessment method started in 1997. In 2024, Klamath ocean abundance was 180,700, with the post-season abundance coming in at 118,415.

These ocean abundance forecasts provide science-based advice to the Pacific Fishery Management Council during its annual salmon fishing season setting process that will take place over the next couple months. The first PFMC meeting will be held March 5-11 in Vancouver, WA. The Council will determine whether any in-season actions are required for fisheries scheduled to open prior to May 16. They will also craft three regulatory alternatives for ocean salmon fisheries in effect on or after May 16. Final adoption of alternatives for public review is tentatively scheduled for March 11. There’s a high probability that closures will once again be in place for all of our salmon fishing in 2025. And don’t be surprised if a couple of the ocean salmon alternatives included the words “closed.”

Please see the ocean salmon webpage at https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Regulations/Salmon/Preseason for a complete calendar of events and contact information regarding the Salmon Preseason Process, including other opportunities for public engagement in the season-setting process. For information on the PFMC meetings, visit pcouncil.org/managed_fishery/salmon/

The weather ahead
According to Eureka’s National Weather Service office, warm and pleasant weather is on tap through Friday. “An abrupt change in the pattern will occur Saturday when an approaching trough drives in an associated cold front and brings in light rainfall. The trough will slowly progress in through the weekend, maintaining the chances for light rainfall. Total rainfall still looks low for the weekend, with, chances for over an inch ranging from 40 to 60 percent. Westerly winds will increase Sunday with the trough passing. Chances for wind gusts over 30 mph are high for the ridges and low to moderate for the coastal ridges and headlands. Chances for at least .25 inches of rainfall in 24 hours are moderate to high through much of next week, so there is a good shot of at least additional light rainfall.”

Perchin’ on the Peninsula makes its return in 2025
After a few-year hiatus, the Samoa Peninsula Fire District will be bringing back their Annual Perchin’ on the Peninsula Surfperch Fishing Tournament and Fish Fry/Oyster BBQ Fundraiser. The 11th annual event will be held on Saturday, April 26, 2025 at the Samoa Women’s Club, 115 Sunset Ave, Samoa. The fish fry fundraiser is open to the public and admission is only $10 for adults and $5 for juniors for just the fish fry. Adult fishing tournament entry is $20 and junior entry (under 16) is $10. Fish fry lunch is included with tournament entry. Lunch begins at noon, weigh-ins end at 2 p.m.

Tournament day registration is available at the Samoa Women’s Club. Entries can be purchased online at www.facebook.com/samoafire or Grundman’s, Pacific Outfitters, Bucksport, Ace Hardware in Fortuna, or A-1 Feed in McKinleyville, or Salty’s Bait in Trinidad. Tournament rules are available at all sign-up locations. For more information, call (707) 599-3383 or email samoafire@gmail.com. All proceeds are a direct donation to the Samoa Peninsula Fire District.

The Rivers:
Mad
The Mad was under 10 feet as of Thursday, but is still high and off color. It’s forecast to drop through Sunday morning when the next round of rain is forecast to arrive. It should have a hint of green by Saturday, but still pushy. Over 150 steelhead arrived at the hatchery Tuesday, so there’s still plenty of fresh fish making their way in.

Main stem Eel
The main stem Eel was running at 10,500 cfs as of Thursday, and is still big and dirty. It will continue to drop through the weekend, but the rain coming Sunday will push flows back up above 10,000 cfs by Monday night. It doesn’t look like it will drop down to a fishable flow for at least a couple weeks.

South Fork Eel
The South Fork dropped into fishable shape around Benbow Thursday where flows were 2,400 cfs at Miranda. It will fish through at least Saturday and possibly Sunday, but it all depends on when and how much rain falls at the slide in the Confusion Hill area. It has been off and on spilling mud this week.

Van Duzen
The Van Duzen dipped below 1,200 cfs Thursday and will continue to drop through Saturday. There’s a chance it could fish Friday and Saturday with flows falling below 900 cfs. Another blowout is predicted for Sunday with flows going to back to 2,000 cfs.

Rob Rowe of Smith River holds a steelhead caught and released last week on a Corky and roe while fishing the Smith River with Wild Rivers Fishing.

Smith
The Smith dropped back into fishable shape Wednesday, when some boats chose to plunk and others drifted from the forks down in the high water. With no rain until possibly Sunday, conditions should be excellent the next few days. The next significant rise is forecast for next weekend. Boat traffic should be light this weekend as the Chetco should begin to fish on Friday. Fresh fish are still making their way through the lower river and a few downers have been caught as well.

Southern Oregon rivers
“Steelhead fishing was fair on the Chetco last week, with guides getting one to two fish a day, and plunkers picking up an occasional fish,” said Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “The river blew out Saturday night and will be high through this week, although it could fish by Friday. The Elk also will come back into play. Rogue River anglers will begin fishing for springers as that river comes into shape.”

Brookings ocean report
After a week of extremely rough conditions, the ocean should be fishable out of Brookings lingcod and rockfish beginning Thursday reports Martin. “Fishing has been good on calm weather days. Surfperch also are biting throughout the Brookings area.”

Kenny Priest operates Fishing the North Coast, a fishing guide service out of Humboldt specializing in salmon and steelhead. Find it on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and fishingthenorthcoast.com. For up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information, email kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com.

Smith and Chetco Only Green Water on the Coast

Brody and his father Jeremy from Monterey County with a nice Smith River steelhead caught Wednesday with guide JD Richey. Photo courtesy of JD Richey Sportfishing.

While the rest of the North Coast rivers were nearing monitor or even flood stage this week, the Smith and Chetco remained green and fishable. And were actually on the drop. You can chock that up to the frigid temperatures up north that turned rain to snow. These two rivers should remain in good shape, though they will start to clear, until the rain returns by mid-next week. The local rivers won’t be fishable anytime soon and next weeks rain will set them back a few more days. Hopefully we’ll be able to get back on these rivers before the end of the month, but I’m not holding my breath.

Weather ahead
According to Eureka’s National Weather Service office, showers will gradually dissipate into the weekend. “A period of dry weather is then expected this weekend into early next week. Dry conditions, clear skies, and gentle offshore flow will all help contribute to unusually cool temperatures each night. Even along the coast, highs are expected to drop below freezing with lows in the teens for much of the interior. There is high model confidence that moist weather will return around mid-next week, but few ensemble members show a proper atmospheric river or anything more than light rain. Only as far out as February 17th do around 50% of ensemble members show another, stronger rain system.”

Upcoming salmon information meetings
The California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will hold the annual Salmon Information on Wednesday, February 26 starting at 10 a.m. The meeting will be via webinar only and covers 2024 spawner abundances returning to the Central Valley and Klamath Basins, 2025 abundance forecasts, and management context guiding the development and implementation of 2025 ocean salmon fisheries. The public are invited to learn about pertinent data and management context shaping the upcoming ocean salmon season. The meeting link, agenda and other materials will be posted here as they become available.

The Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) will hold its Ocean Salmon Industry Group Meeting on Friday, February 28. This meeting will provide a review of the 2024 seasons, take a first look at the 2025 salmon forecasts, and begin the development of Oregon preferred recreational and commercial ocean salmon season concepts via public input to take forward through the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) regulation setting process. The meeting will be held both in person and virtually this year. This meeting is open to all ocean sport fishing anglers and charter operators, commercial salmon troll fishers, and any others interested in participating in the development of the 2025 ocean salmon seasons. For those attending in person, the meeting will be held in Newport, Oregon.
Links to the agenda and briefing materials for the meeting will be posted on the ODFW Ocean Salmon Management website as they become available.

The Rivers:
As of Thursday, all North Coast rivers subjected to low-flow fishing closures were open to fishing. This includes the Mad, main stem Eel, South Fork Eel, Redwood Creek, Van Duzen, Mattole and Smith rivers. The Department of Fish and Game will make the information available to the public by a telephone recorded message updated, as necessary, no later than 1 p.m. each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as to whether any stream will be closed to fishing. The rivers can be opened at any time. The low flow closure hotline for North Coast rivers is 707-822-3164. More information can be found here.

Low-flow open and closed river regulations now online
Rivers subjected to low flow fishing closures and whether they are open or closed to fishing can now be found online. The site includes three districts, North Coast, Central Coast, and South Central Coast. All rivers, creeks, and streams subjected to low flow fishing closures are listed along with their respective minimum flows. Questions can be sent via email to LowFlows@wildlife.ca.gov.

Mad
The Mad peaked at 21.4 feet (30,500 cfs) Monday evening, and is big and muddy. It’s predicted to drop through the weekend, but another rise is expected early next week. With Ruth spilling over muddy water, it will be some time before the river turns green again.

Main stem Eel
The main stem was flowing at roughly 55,000 cfs at Scotia Thursday after peaking at over 156,000. It’s predicted to drop through early next week before the next round of storms hit. Will need a couple weeks of dry weather before it’s green. It will start to fish once it gets below 5,000 cfs.

South Fork Eel
The South Fork peaked at over 35,000 cfs at Miranda Tuesday morning. After a small rise Friday, it’s predicted to drop through mid-next week before the next storm hits. It will need a solid week of dry weather to get it close to fishable, and that doesn’t look likely any time soon.

Van Duzen
The Van Duzen peaked at nearly 21,000 cfs Monday evening and is back on the drop. Flows are predicted to drop through mid-next week and will be under 1,000 cfs when the next round of rain is predicted to hit. It will need at least a week of dry weather before it’s fishable.

Smith River
The Smith continues to be the lone fishable river on the North Coast. While the rest of the coastal rivers headed towards flood stage, the Smith was holding steady, or even dropping. You can chalk that up to the cold temperatures, which turned the rain to snow in the hills. As of Thursday, it was right around 9 feet at the Jed Smith gauge. A very small rise is predicted for Friday, but after that it will be dropping through mid-next week. Rain is predicted to return next Wednesday, and it remains to be seen if it will blow out for a day or two. Boat traffic has been light, as most have moved to the Chetco. A few fish are being caught daily.

Chetco/Elk/Sixes
The Chetco dropped into prime shape for steelhead this week, but cold weather, and water temperatures close to 40 degrees, made fishing tough reports Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “Plunkers did well over the weekend, but drift boaters reported slow fishing Tuesday and Wednesday, after a good bite on Monday,” said Martin. “The river should be in good shape through most of next week, before more heavy rain returns. The Elk and Sixes have been slow, also because of cold water. The Rogue is dropping into prime shape for the weekend.”

Brookings ocean report
According to Martin, lingcod and rockfish are biting out of Brookings, with limits for charter boats heading north of Twin Rocks. “Crabbing has been decent, with big numbers of females and some keeper males. There is a weather window Friday and Saturday. Surfperch have arrived at beaches close to Brookings.”

Plenty of River Options for the Week Ahead

A couple of happy anglers with a nice South Fork Eel River steelhead caught last weekend. Photo courtesy of Blake Manning/Redwood Fishing Adventures

It’s been a solid couple of weeks since we’ve had any measurable precipitation, and most of the coastal rivers are now feeling the effects. Some good, others not so much. First the good. The Mattole, South Fork Eel, and Van Duzen are all in great shape at the moment and should be through the weekend and into next week. However, it won’t be long before they’ll need a shot of rain. The main stem Eel and the Mad River are just on the cusp of dropping into prime shape. By the end of next week, both should be emerald green. The Smith and Chetco, which are the quickest to clear, could use a few inches of rain as both are now getting low and clear. Reportedly, dry weather is predicted to persist through the end of the month. However, some ensemble forecasts are showing some potential river rises next weekend. I for one am hoping for some rain sooner rather than later.

Mad
The Mad is starting to come around, both in color and height. As of Thursday, it’s dipped below 1,000 cfs (8.15 feet) and should be in decent shape by the weekend with a couple feet of visibility. It may still be a little on the pushy side. Steelhead returning to the hatchery slowed this week, but anglers have been catching a few.

Main stem Eel
The main stem is still big, but starting to turn green as of Thursday, flowing at just above 6,000 cfs at Scotia and dropping. It should be down to a fishable height, though still big, by next week. It’s forecast to be under 5,000 cfs by late in the weekend. With no rain in sight, will be a good option for the next couple weeks.

South Fork Eel
The South Fork is green, and was holding right around 1,500 cfs at Miranda Thursday. It dropped into shape over the weekend, but boat traffic wasn’t too bad. Not a wide-open bite by any means, but there were some nice fish caught.

Van Duzen
The Van Duzen was down to 325 cfs as of Thursday and has been fishable since last week. It should be a good option for the weekend, especially for bank anglers. Flows are predicted to be just above 280 cfs by Saturday morning.

Smith River
The Smith is getting low and clearing, sitting at just below 8 feet at the Jed Smith gauge as of Thursday. There are fish to be had, but you’ll need to be stealthy with these conditions. Most anglers have moved north to the Chetco where conditions are a little better. Predicted to be 7.6 feet on the Jed Smith gauge by Saturday morning.

Chetco/Lower Rogue
Steelhead are spread throughout the Chetco, but catch rates have been best on the lower half reports Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “Fishing is fair, with most guide boats getting one to three fish a day, and plunkers getting fish at Social Security Bar,” said Martin. “The river is dropping fast, but still had good color. No rain is in sight. The lower Rogue has yet to take off for steelhead. Plunkers have caught a few fish, but overall fishing has been slow.”

Storms and Steelhead Headed Our Way

Chris Silkowski of Portland holds a steelhead caught last week on an M2 FlatFish while fishing with guide Rye Phillips of Brookings Fishing Charters.

Winter steelhead season isn’t in full swing yet on the North Coast, but that is about to change. A few storm systems are currently impacting the rivers, putting them all on the rise. According to the National Weather Service, three separate storms will hit the coast between Wednesday and Monday, which is just what we needed. Steady rain and pulse flows should do the trick in enticing the first big wave of winter steelhead from the salt. If the rains come as predicted, the Smith should be in great shape early next week followed closely behind by the Chetco.

The Eel, South Fork Eel, Van Duzen and Mad are all on the rise as of Thursday and will be blown out from some time. Once all the rivers crest and begin to recede to fishable levels, we should see the first wave of winter steelhead. After a stellar late-fall salmon season, seeing the rivers loaded with bright steelhead would be icing on the cake.

Weather ahead
Thursday, showers are expected behind Wednesday’s main front, according to Eureka’s National Weather Service office. “Snow levels will be lower across the area, likely dropping to around 4,000 feet or even slightly lower for much of the area. Models are still not in very good agreement on how much rain will fall with these showers.

The next system starts to move into the area Friday. The models are showing a warm frontal boundary out ahead of the main cold front. Rainfall amounts for Friday look to range from over an inch in the King Range to a quarter of an inch in southern Lake County. This looks like a highly favorable pattern for low elevation snow, with levels down to 2,500 to 3,500 feet across most of the inland areas Friday morning. Breezy south winds are expected, but these look to mainly be over the higher terrain due to the fairly stable temperature profile.

Friday evening and Friday night the cold front is expected to bring strong winds and heavy rain to the area. Rainfall amounts from Friday morning through Saturday afternoon look to be around 2 to 4 inches across much of the area. This may cause some minor flooding due to the fairly short period of time that it is expected to fall over. This flooding is expected to be exacerbated around they bays where streams will have trouble draining during high tide. Sunday there is expected to be some lingering showers around, but overall, it looks like it will be a break in the rain. Another fairly strong system is expected on Monday with additional rain, wind and snow. At this point it looks weaker than the Friday night system, but it is still 5 days out.”

Sport Dungeness crab season now open to CA/OR border
As of Dec. 9, the sport Dungeness crab season is now open from the California/Oregon border (42° 0.00’ N latitude) to the southern boundary of the Reading Rock State Marine Reserve (41° 17.6’ N latitude). State health agencies determined that consuming the meat of Dungeness crab no longer poses a significant threat for domoic acid exposure. More information can be found here.

Commercial Dungeness crab season delay continues
The ocean commercial Dungeness crab season for Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties remains closed due to poor quality crab. Crab meat quality tests were not conducted due to continued high domoic acid concentrations at one of the northern sampling locations. The season is currently closed until 12:01a.m. Dec. 31, 2024. Another round of testing is anticipated to occur around Dec. 15 to determine whether the fishery may open on Dec. 31, or be delayed an additional 15 days until Jan. 15, 2025. For more information, visit the Marine Management News Blog.

Shelter Cove update
“We only fished a couple days this week, and the rockfish bite was a little tougher, but still good,” said Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “We spent most of our time just outside the Hat. Crabbing is still going strong, with easy limits of nice crab.”

The Rivers:
As of Thursday, all North Coast rivers subjected to low-flow fishing closures were open to fishing, except for the Van Duzen. (The recording should be updated sometime today) This includes the Mad, main stem Eel, South Fork Eel, Redwood Creek, and Smith rivers. The Department of Fish and Game will make the information available to the public by a telephone recorded message updated, as necessary, no later than 1 p.m. each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as to whether any stream will be closed to fishing. The rivers can be opened at any time. The low flow closure hotline for North Coast rivers is 707-822-3164. NOTE: The main stem Eel from the South Fork to Cape Horn Dam, the Mad River from the mouth to 200 yards upstream and the Mattole River will be closed until January 1, 2025. More information can be found here.

Mad
The river has been in great shape this week, but that’s going to come to an end sometime Thursday as the river was on the rise. Flows are predicted to peak at 13,400 cfs Saturday afternoon. It will likely be blown out for quite a while, especially with Ruth Lake being full. A few steelhead have been caught, and there’s been quite a few coho around. Look for that to change once the flows come back down.

Main stem Eel
Flows dipped under 3,500 cfs Wednesday and the river was in perfect shape. Unfortunately, Wednesday was probably the last fishable day for a while as lots of rain is in the forecast. Flows are predicted to reach nearly 113,000 cfs early late Saturday. It will be off color for some time if the predictions are correct. There have been a few adult steelhead caught and quite a few coho.

South Fork Eel
River conditions were about perfect as of Wednesday, but that is going to change Thursday. The river is predicted to rise beginning Thursday afternoon, with flows peaking at 32,900 cfs at Miranda Saturday evening. The river has been full of coho as well as some older kings. No big numbers of steelhead have entered the river yet, but that could change after the latest round of storms. A week of dry weather could get it back to fishable shape, but that may not be in the cards.

Van Duzen
The Van Duzen has been closed the last few days due to low flows, but that is changing Thursday. The CDFW recording still said the river was closed, even though flows were well above 400 cfs in the morning. It’s predicted to peak at nearly 33,000 cfs Saturday evening. Will likely be blown out the next couple weeks.

Smith
The Smith had been low and clear, but it’s now receiving some much-needed rain. As of Thursday morning, flows were 4,000 cfs on the Jed Smith gauge and starting to peak. The next round of rain will be more substantial, and should see flows reach roughly 16,500 cfs (13.8 ft.) by Saturday afternoon. If the rain comes as predicted, it should be fishable by Sunday and all next week. We should see the first wave of steelhead by the weekend or early next week.

Eel River Chinook salmon returns
From Nov. 25 through Dec. 1. 497 Chinook salmon (female 162, male 179, unknown 56, Jack 100) were observed moving upstream through the fishway at Cape Horn Dam. The season total for upstream migrating Chinook salmon stands at 713 (female 244, male 249, unknown 78, Jack 142). The last year the Chinook count went over 500 at Van Arsdale Reservoir was during the 2014-15 season. For more information, visit https://eelriver.org/the-eel-river/#fishcount.

Chetco/Elk/Sixes
“A mix of late salmon and early steelhead were caught the past week on the Chetco, but fishing likely will come to a standstill beginning Saturday as heavy rain is expected to blow the river out for several days,” said Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “More than a week of high water conditions are expected. There could be a window to fish the Elk between storms, while the Sixes is also expected to be blown out. The number of early steelhead caught by drift boaters and shore-based plungers is promising for the latter part of this month, when the river drops back into shape.”

Brookings rockfish update
According to Martin, sport crabbing has been very good out of Brookings, but catches likely will drop significantly once the commercial crab season begins Monday. “Commercial fishermen may drop pots as early as Friday. Rockfish and lingcod action has been good out of Brookings. High surf conditions and stormy weather begins Friday.”

Kenny Priest operates Fishing the North Coast, a fishing guide service out of Humboldt specializing in salmon and steelhead. Find it on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and fishingthenorthcoast.com. For up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information, email kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com.

Low-Flow River Information for the North Coast – 2024/2025

Low Flow River Closures begin Sept. 1 and run through April 30, 2025.
North Coast rivers that are regulated by low flow closures, including the Eel River, Mad River, Mattole River, Redwood Creek, Smith River and Van Duzen River will begin angling restrictions on September 1st, and run through April 30th 2025. . As a reminder, in 2022, a low-flow angling restriction was added to the section of the Eel River from the mouth to Fulmor Road (Eel estuary) at its paved junction with the south bank of the Eel River. When a low-flow closure occurs in this section of the Eel, it will be closed to hook-and-line fishing; other legal fishing methods are allowed during this timeframe. The Department of Fish and Game will make the information available to the public by a telephone recorded message updated, as necessary, no later than 1 p.m. each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as to whether any stream will be closed to fishing. The rivers can be opened up at anytime. Rivers will not automatically open to fishing once minimum flows are reached. The low flow closure hotline for North Coast rivers is (707) 822-3164. NOTE: The main stem Eel from the South Fork to Cape Horn Dam and the Mattole River will be closed until January 1, 2025.

Section of river that is open to fishing is the main stem Smith River from the mouth of Rowdy Creek to its mouth.

Areas subject to low flow closures:

Mad River: The main stem Mad River from the Hammond Trail Railroad Trestle to Cowan Creek. Minimum flow: 200 cfs at the gauging station at the Highway 299 bridge. The Mad River from the mouth to 200 yards upstream is closed until Jan. 1, 2025.

The main stem Eel River: New in 2022, a low-flow angling restriction was added to the section of the Eel River from the mouth to Fulmor Road at its paved junction with the south bank of the Eel River, Sept. 1 through April 30. The stream flow will be monitored as follows: Minimum Flow: 350 cubic feet per second at the gauging station near Scotia.

The South Fork of the Eel River: The South Fork of the Eel River downstream from Rattlesnake Creek and the Middle Fork Eel River downstream from the Bar Creek. Minimum flow: 340 cfs at the gauging station at Miranda.

Van Duzen River: The main stem Van Duzen River from its junction with the Eel River to the end of Golden Gate Drive near Bridgeville (approximately 4,000 feet upstream of Little Golden Gate Bridge. Minimum flow: 150 cfs at the gauging station near Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park.

Mattole River: The main stem of the Mattole River from the mouth to Honeydew Creek. Minimum flow: 320 cfs at the gauging station at Petrolia.

Redwood Creek: The main stem of Redwood Creek from the mouth to its confluence with Bond Creek. Minimum flow: 300 cfs at the gauging station near the Highway 101 bridge.

Smith River: The main stem Smith River from the mouth of Rowdy Creek to its confluence with Patrick Creek; the South Fork Smith River from the mouth upstream approximately 1000 ft to the County Road (George Tyron) bridge and Craigs Creek to its confluence with Jones Creek; and the North Fork Smith River from the mouth to its confluence with Stony Creek. Minimum flow: 600 cfs at the Jedediah Smith State Park gauging station.

Eureka Full of Saltwater Options

Brent Hackworth of Redding, CA landed a nice Pacific halibut on a recent trip out of Eureka aboard the *Fishy Business*. Photo courtesy of Matt Dallam/Northwind Charters

It’s a good time to be a saltwater angler right now, especially if Eureka is your home port. Options on the table right now are Pacific halibut, rockfish, and tuna. And they’re all biting! It’s been a pretty sluggish season for halibut, but the bite really started to pick up steam in August. Recently, the best action has been straight out from Trinidad, which is exactly where the Eureka fleet has been heading. Most of the charters are reporting limits of halibut up to 60 to 70 pounds. The rockfish bite around Cape Mendocino has been excellent as well. Limits of a wide variety of fish are coming easily for all who make the run south. The lingcod bite has been a little up and down. But if you specifically target them, you can do really well. The tuna water is still hanging around too. It’s currently about 25-30 miles southwest of Eureka, and we know the spot is holding fish. Outside of Fort Bragg and Shelter Cove, this is one of the better options on the coast. And it looks like we’ll have some decent weather through the weekend, and even better the beginning of next week. If you haven’t got your saltwater fix as of yet, you’ll want to keep an eye on Eureka.

Weekend marine forecast
Steep wind waves in the outer water are forecast to subside Wednesday, with light northerly winds around 5 to 10 kts expected for the remainder of the week. Out 10 to 60 nautical miles, Friday’s forecast is calling for north winds 10 to 15 knots and waves out of the north 4 feet at five seconds and west 5 feet at 12 seconds. Saturday is calling for north winds 10 to 15 knots and waves north 5 feet at seven seconds and northwest 4 feet at 11 seconds. Sunday, winds will be out of the north 5 to 10 knots and waves north 5 feet at nine seconds and south 2 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 or www.windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

The Oceans:
Eureka
“We have some pretty good options out of Eureka this week,” said Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “The Pacific halibut bite has been really good straight out of Trinidad for a while now. There’s been some nice ones caught, with the average being between 20 and 60 pounds. The rockfish action at the Cape is still going strong. Limits are coming pretty easily, and there’s a nice variety to catch right now including blacks, blues, coppers, and vermilions. The lingcod bite has been a little more inconsistent, but they are there. Boats that target them are doing well. The tuna water is still hanging around. It’s about 25 to 30 miles southwest now, but it’s moving up and in. We fished that general area Saturday and did well in 58-degree water. Some bigger fish have showed up, with about a 15-pound average and a few over 20 pounds.

Shelter Cove
The tuna bite was pretty good this past week reports Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “Most of the effort was from 15 to 25 miles out from the 00 down to the 30 line. Boats were averaging about 20 to 25 tuna per trip. The weather looks like it will remain fishable for the next few days before it could come up for the weekend. Rock fishing was pretty solid this week for the few that that chose that option.”

Crescent City
“We finally saw an uptick in Pacific halibut this week,” said Dan Moore of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “We’ve seen five or six come in this week, with most coming off the reef in 200 feet of water. The California halibut bite is still going strong along South Beach. Cold water did push in, but there’s still warm water at the beach. Some Threshers are being caught there as well. The rockfish action is still good, anglers fishing the Sisters and North Reef are getting easy limits. The perch bite has been good all year at Kellogg Beach. Anglers are also catching quite a few at South Beach. The tuna water has moved way offshore, about 70 or so miles this week.”

Brookings
“Tuna moved further offshore this past week, with boats having to run 60 miles one-way to get into albacore,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Scores were still good, with most boats getting a couple dozen or more. Halibut fishing is hit-and-miss. A few fish are being caught a day, but less than a halibut per rod. Ocean salmon is now closed out of Brookings. Lingcod and rockfish action has been good.”

North Coast river closures
All North Coast rivers subjected to low flow fishing closures, including the Eel, Mad, Redwood Creek, Smith, and Van Duzen were closed to fishing. The Department of Fish and Game will make the information available to the public by a telephone recorded message updated, as necessary, no later than 1 p.m. each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as to whether any stream will be closed to fishing. The rivers can be opened up at any time. The low flow closure hotline for North Coast rivers is 707-822-3164. NOTE: The main stem Eel from the South Fork to Cape Horn Dam, the Mad River from the mouth to 200 yards upstream and the Mattole River will be closed until January 1, 2025.

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Water conditions on the lower Klamath took a turn for the worse this week when the dirty water arrived from the dam removal process going on upriver. There are fish in the river, but the bite has been really off. Water conditions should start to improve soon, but it remains to be seen if the fish will want to bite or just move quickly upriver.

The daily bag limit is two hatchery steelhead or hatchery trout per day on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers, with a possession limit of four. Anglers must have a Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card in their possession while fishing for steelhead trout in anadromous waters. More information, can be found here.

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, the Rogue Bay has started to slow. “The early rains are already drawing salmon upriver. Hatchery coho also are arriving early. Summer steelhead fishing is good near Agness.”

Eureka resident Tim Call with a lower Rogue River salmon caught Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Alan Borges/Alan’s Guide Service

Lower Klamath Full of Steelhead

Bob Hurst with a nice adult steelhead landed on the Lower Klamath Tuesday. The Klamath is currently loaded with steelhead and fishing has been excellent. Photo courtesy of Michael LeGrand

Steelhead have been pouring into the Klamath for the last couple weeks, and the fishing is excellent right now. Even with the water being a little on the dirty side from the rain, it hasn’t slowed down the bite. Cooler water temps have also helped. There’s a good mix of half-pounders and adults from the Glen all the way up past Blue Creek. Up until now, the angling pressure has been extremely light, though that probably won’t be the case over the holiday weekend.

Fishing conditions could be in for a change as early as the weekend, however. With the breaching of the final two dams, there is some dirty water coming down. How that will affect conditions remains to be seen. When the water will arrive is tough to predict as well. In the past, water releases out of Iron Gate typically took about two and a half days to arrive on the lower river, so that’s a pretty good indicator.

Weekend marine forecast
Conditions will begin to improve late Wednesday as north winds will decrease and some mild offshore and southerly winds develop later in the week and the steep seas diminish. Out 10 to 60 nautical miles, Friday’s forecast is calling for south winds up to 5 knots and waves out of the northwest 5 feet at eight seconds. Saturday is calling for south winds up to 5 knots and waves northwest 5 feet at 12 seconds. Sunday, winds will be out of the south up to 5 knots and waves northwest 4 feet at 10 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka or www.windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

Pikeminnow Fishing Derby ends Saturday
There are just a few days remaining to bring home some cash as the Eel River Pikeminnow Fishing Derby ends after Saturday, Aug. 31. As of a couple days ago, over 265 fish have been caught, including 100 over 12 inches and the biggest fish (so far) measuring 29 inches. Visit https://tribresearch.org/pikeminnow/ to learn more, sign up for the derby, and submit your catch to the contest before it ends.

Low Flow River Closures begin Sept. 1
North Coast rivers that are regulated by low flow closures, including the Eel, Mad, Mattole, Redwood Creek, Smith and Van Duzen begin angling restrictions on Sept. 1 and will run through April 30 2025. As a reminder, in 2022, a low-flow angling restriction was added to the section of the Eel River from the mouth to Fulmor Road (Eel estuary) at its paved junction with the south bank of the Eel River. When a low-flow closure occurs in this section of the Eel, it will be closed to hook-and-line fishing; other legal fishing methods are allowed during this timeframe.

The Department of Fish and Game will make the information available to the public by a telephone recorded message updated, as necessary, no later than 1 p.m. each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as to whether any stream will be closed to fishing. The rivers can be opened up at any time. The low flow closure hotline for North Coast rivers is 707-822-3164. NOTE: The main stem Eel from the South Fork to Cape Horn Dam and the Mattole River will be closed until January 1, 2025.

Areas subject to low flow closures:
Mad River: The main stem Mad River from the Hammond Trail Railroad Trestle to Cowan Creek. Minimum flow: 200 cfs at the gauging station at the Highway 299 bridge. The Mad River from the mouth to 200 yards upstream is closed until Jan. 1, 2024.

The main stem Eel River: New in 2022, a low-flow angling restriction was added to the section of the Eel River from the mouth to Fulmor Road at its paved junction with the south bank of the Eel River, Sept. 1 through April 30. The stream flow will be monitored as follows: Minimum Flow: 350 cubic feet per second at the gauging station near Scotia.

The South Fork of the Eel River: The South Fork of the Eel River downstream from Rattlesnake Creek and the Middle Fork Eel River downstream from the Bar Creek. Minimum flow: 340 cfs at the gauging station at Miranda.

Van Duzen River: The main stem Van Duzen River from its junction with the Eel River to the end of Golden Gate Drive near Bridgeville (approximately 4,000 feet upstream of Little Golden Gate Bridge. Minimum flow: 150 cfs at the gauging station near Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park.

Mattole River: The main stem of the Mattole River from the mouth to Honeydew Creek. Minimum flow: 320 cfs at the gauging station at Petrolia.

Redwood Creek: The main stem of Redwood Creek from the mouth to its confluence with Bond Creek. Minimum flow: 300 cfs at the gauging station near the Highway 101 bridge.

Smith River: The main stem Smith River from the mouth of Rowdy Creek to its confluence with Patrick Creek; the South Fork Smith River from the mouth upstream approximately 1000 ft to the County Road (George Tyron) bridge and Craigs Creek to its confluence with Jones Creek; and the North Fork Smith River from the mouth to its confluence with Stony Creek. Minimum flow: 600 cfs at the Jedediah Smith State Park gauging station.

Saturday is statewide Free Fishing Day
The last chance of the year to fish for free arrives over the Labor Day holiday weekend. Free Fishing Day is offered by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Saturday, Aug. 31. While no fishing license is required on free fishing days, all fishing regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, report card requirements, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect. Every angler must have an appropriate report card if they are fishing for steelhead or sturgeon anywhere in the state or salmon in the Smith and Klamath-Trinity river systems. For more information, visit wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Fishing/Free-Fishing-Days

Tuna Update
Another week of solid tuna fishing on the coast. A few other ports joined the party as Fort Bragg and Shelter Cove finally got their shot and have been hammering the albacore. Fish were also caught as far south as Santa Cruz, and the Bay Area boats got in on the bite as well. Crescent City was probably the hot port, with fish reportedly being caught ten miles out Monday. And then the wind came, bringing with it a marine hazard risk warning for Wednesday and into the evening with 15-foot waves predicted. Wind and seas will start to come down Thursday, and Friday through the weekend look like conditions will be prime for more tuna. But will they want more? How many times can you go back for more at the all you can eat buffet? They answers are yes and numerous.

As mentioned above, the warm water finally moved within reach of the Fort Bragg and Shelter Cove ports last weekend. The water is now within ten miles of Fort Bragg and will be the go-to port this weekend, so expect a crowd it you go. Closer to home, the wind blew the water a little further off of Crescent City than expected. As of Thursday, the edge is now close to 40 miles out. The same conditions exist in Eureka, though the water is a little closer. Expect boats from both ports to take a look as the offshore ocean forecast is looking excellent for the weekend.

The oceans:
Eureka
“The tuna water is still hanging around,” said Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “It looks like it’s roughly 30 miles, we’re going to go take a look on Saturday. The Pacific halibut bite has been decent, with the best fishing coming off of Trinidad in 250 feet of water. The good news is the black cod have gone away for now. Rockfish at the Cape is still really good, with limits coming pretty easily. The lingcod bite is good too, and if you target them, you’ll be able to get what you need.”

Shelter Cove
“With the warm water moving closer, we were finally able to run for tuna over the weekend,” said Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “Scores were pretty decent, but the fish seemed to be spread out over a very large area. It was a mixed grade of peanuts with a few fish up to 25-pounds. The rock fishing has been pretty solid the last few days with limits of lingcod as well.”

Crescent City
According to Britt Carson of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, the only change this week is the tuna water has moved offshore quite aways. He said, “After being within 10 miles earlier in the week, the wind pushed it back offshore close to 40 miles. When the boats can get out, the rockfish and lingcod bite remain excellent, no change there. The California halibut bite has slowed down as well as the effort. There have been a couple Thresher sharks caught off of South Beach in the last week. The perch bite is still going strong off of Kellogg Beach.”

Brookings
“Albacore tuna were within 15 miles of Brookings this past weekend, with most private boats getting decent numbers of fish,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Jumpers were reported as close as 8 miles. The next tuna window appears to be Friday. A gale warning kept most boats at the dock Tuesday and Wednesday. Pacific halibut action has been fair. Calm weather this weekend could boost catch rates. Ocean salmon closes this week. Action has been slow, with mainly coho, which must be released, showing up in the catch. Lingcod and rockfish is very good on calm weather days.

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, the Rogue has been fair to good for salmon, although lots of fish shot upriver with the weekend rains. “Hatchery coho are now being caught, along with kings to 30 pounds. Summer steelhead are being caught near Agness.”

North Coast Anglers Feast on Tuna

Mark Aviles of Eureka holds a couple nice albacore caught Sunday while fishing out of Trinidad aboard the *Norwegian Jewel*. Photo courtesy of Micah Woolworth/Lost Coast Sport Fishing

It’s been an epic 10-day run on the North Coast for albacore anglers. Since last Tuesday, boats leaving ports from Eureka to Brookings have loaded up on longfins. It’s fairly rare to string to together that many calm ocean days with the warm water sitting just off the beach. Some days you didn’t need to travel more than 15 miles before you were on the fish.

For the Eureka fleet, most days were spent north off of Trinidad where there didn’t seem to be a shortage of tuna. But that warm water started to move north and break up slightly. Monday and Tuesday were both slow, with most boats getting less than double-digits.

For Crescent City boats that made the run south to the same patch of warm water, they scored about the same. Boats that decided to make a longer run straight west some 50 miles were rewarded with totes full of tuna. Tuna fishing out of Brookings has been equally as good since mid-last week. Boats have been averaging around 20 fish, with one boat putting in 50 albies on Monday.

Looking ahead, the south wind will make it’s return on Friday, which will likely keep most boats tied up. Conditions improve dramatically on Sunday and Monday, which should provide another couple potential tuna days before conditions begin to worsen mid-week. Sometimes a good shuffling of the deck is just what’s needed.

Weekend marine forecast
After Thursday’s excellent offshore conditions, a brisk south wind will return Friday, which will probably sideline the tuna fleet for a couple days. Out 10 nautical miles, winds will be out of the south 15 to 20 knots. Seas will be from the northwest 5 feet at nine seconds and northwest 3 feet at 19 seconds. Saturday is calling for south winds up to 5 knots and waves northwest 4 feet at nine seconds and northwest 3 feet at 16 seconds. Sunday’s forecast looks much better for the tuna fleet, with winds out of the north 5 to 10 knots and waves northwest 2 feet at eight seconds and northwest 2 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 or www.windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

August 31 is statewide Free Fishing Day
The last chance of the year to fish for free arrives over the Labor Day holiday weekend. Free Fishing Day is offered by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Saturday, Aug. 31. While no fishing license is required on free fishing days, all fishing regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, report card requirements, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect. Every angler must have an appropriate report card if they are fishing for steelhead or sturgeon anywhere in the state or salmon in the Smith and Klamath-Trinity river systems. For more information, visit wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Fishing/Free-Fishing-Days

Pacific halibut quota update
As of August 11, California’s share of Area 2A’s quota, which includes Washington and Oregon, is at 33 percent, with just 12,759 net pounds harvested against the 38,220 net pound quota. (500 pounds are set aside for the area south of Point Arena). The Pacific halibut fishery will run through Nov. 15 or until the quota is reached, whichever is earlier. To view the latest catch projection information, visit wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/marine/pacific-halibut#31670772-in-season-tracking.

The oceans:
Eureka
“After some really good fishing last week and over the weekend, the tuna bite slowed out of Eureka this week,” said Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “Monday and Tuesday were slow days, with boats picking up a fish here and there. No big numbers were reported. It looks like the water that was sitting off Trinidad slid to the north and broke up a bit. Straight out of Eureka 30 to 35 miles there’s good conditions, but most boats have been going north. For now, that water is staying put, but we’ll have to see what happens once the storm blows through. The Pacific halibut bite has been decent. We’ve had some good days fishing in shallower water. We’ve also traveled up off Trinidad and did well. There seems to be a better grade of fish up there. The rockfish are still biting at the Cape, though it’s not red-hot. Some darker water moved in, which made it a little tougher. Limits of rockfish are still being had along with about one lingcod per rod.”

Shelter Cove
According to Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing, the Cove saw a pretty good week of rock fishing. “But the lingcod bite was on the slower side,” said Mitchell. “Most of our efforts were down off the Ranch House. The Pacific halibut bite was pretty slow as well this week. We went and scouted some warm water that had moved in fairly close over the weekend, but our scores were pretty minimal. Hopefully the water will hang in there and the fish will fill in.”

A double hook-up for anglers fishing tuna out of Crescent City Tuesday while fishing with Steve Huber of Crescent City Fishing.

Crescent City
According to Britt Carson of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, the tuna fishing has been good this week. He said, “Boats that went straight out 50 miles did really well, with some boats getting over 50. Boats that traveled south towards Trinidad found fewer fish, but still did ok. The Pacific halibut bite is still really slow, with just a fish being caught here and there. Most of the fish being caught are coming while anglers are targeting rockfish. The California halibut bite has slowed this week, but I think that has more to do with most of the effort shifting to tuna. The rockfish and lingcod bite continues to be excellent. We weighed in a 37.5 ling this week, which the new leader in our contest.”

Brookings
“Albacore tuna moved within 30 miles of Brookings this week, with good fishing for most boats that ventured slightly north,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “The action to the south of the harbor was hit and miss. Most boats had no problem filling their kill bags and coolers with tuna. Pacific halibut fishing also is good out of Brookings, with a few fish topping 80 pounds. The best fishing has been in 200 to 250 feet of water. Lingcod and rockfish action also is very good. Trolling for salmon has been slow.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The river is slightly off color this week with a couple feet or so of visibility, but it didn’t seem to slow the steelhead bite down. Fishing was good over the weekend and this week, with lots of half-pounders and adults in the lower river. Some salmon are starting to show as well. The rain coming this weekend has the potential to bring more sediment from upriver and could potentially blow it out for a few days. Flows are prediction to go from 2,500 cfs to 3,200 cfs on the lower Klamath gauge. The daily bag limit is two hatchery steelhead or hatchery trout per day on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers, with a possession limit of four. Anglers must have a Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card in their possession while fishing for steelhead trout in anadromous waters More information can be found here.

Lower Rogue/Chetco
According to Martin, last weekend’s rain drew a few early jacks to Tide Rock and Social Security bar on the Chetco. “Trolling is still slow in the estuary. The Rogue Bay is crowded, but there are plenty of kings being caught. Best fishing has been at the end of the incoming tide.

Weather Window Wide Open for Tuna

Excellent ocean conditions are forecast to stick around through at least Monday

Matt Drummond of Eureka holds a nice albacore caught Wednesday out of Trinidad aboard the Shellback. Photo courtesy of Tony Sepulveda/Green Water Fishing Adventures

To all the Pacific halibut and rockfish swimming off the North Coast, you can rest easy for a while. The weather window has busted open and tuna fanatics are all over it, as to be expected. The ocean is and will be flat for quite a few days, the warm water is close and getting closer, and there’s a huge swath of fish. Boats fishing out of ports from Eureka to Brookings are reporting some really good scores since Tuesday, ranging from 20 to 50 fish. Or in other words, you can catch as many as you can handle. Most of the Humboldt boats are finding the fish northwest of Eureka towards Trinidad. Fish are as close 11 miles straight off of Trinidad, and within 20 miles from the entrance of Humboldt Bay. The warm water appears to be pushing slightly in and north towards Crescent City. With excellent weather in the forecast going into next week, everyone who wants in on the tuna should have plenty of opportunity.

Weekend marine forecast
Nearshore conditions, out 10 nautical miles, look excellent for the weekend. But since most anglers will be further offshore, we’ll post conditions out 10 to 60 nautical miles. Friday’s forecast is calling for north winds 5 to 10 knots and north waves 3 feet at four seconds and northwest 3 feet at nine seconds. Saturday is calling for similar winds and waves. Sunday winds will be out of the southwest 5 to 10 knots and northwest waves 3 feet at eight seconds and south 2 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/ or www.windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

Klamath River water release
The Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) began releasing water from Upper Klamath Lake via Keno dam Tuesday morning for the Yurok Tribe’s Boat Dance ceremony. No less than 7,000 acre-feet will be released until the flows begin to ramp down on Monday, Aug. 19. As always, the public is urged to exercise caution when recreating in or around the Klamath River.

The Oceans:
Eureka
According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, there’s a large area of warm water off of Eureka that connects all the way north of Trinidad. “There’s a lot of fish out there,” said Klassen. “Most of the boats are fishing 20 to 25 miles northwest of Eureka off of Trinidad. There’s lots of life out there right now, lots of birds and jumpers. The fish are averaging a little bigger than peanuts, I’d say 12 to 14 pounds. On Wednesday, we were able to catch a few on live bait and iron, which is always fun. Wherever you saw birds, there were tuna around. It looks like the good ocean conditions and warm water will stick around at least into next week.”

McKinleyville resident Marisa Crone holds a 42-pound albacore she caught Wednesday while fishing out of Eureka with Todd Arnold, also pictured. It was her first-ever albacore. Photo courtesy of Beth Rynearson.

Trinidad
With the warm tuna water well within reach, Tony Sepulveda of Green Water Fishing Adventures put away the halibut and rockfish gear to join the tuna party. “It was a funny bite Wednesday,” said Sepulveda. “It felt like a big volume of fish that wasn’t overly aggressive. We had mostly singles and doubles picking at the long lines and showing favor to the smaller lures. But we were busy all day. It was you spot em’, you got em’ kind of fishing. Find a jumper, turn on it, a rod or two was going to fold. We pointed the Shellback to the east around 1:00 pm with 49 albacore.”

Shelter Cove
Jake Mitchell, of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing reports the weather wasn’t great this week, so we stayed close to home. He said, “It was hit and miss overall. Some days it was easy limits of rockfish and lings and other days it was a real struggle. It looks like we could finally have a weather window to get offshore by the end of the weekend, but the tuna water is still about 60 miles out.

Crescent City
According to Britt Carson of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, most of the effort has shifted towards tuna this week. “Boats that went straight west 40 to 50 miles the last couple days did well,” said Carson. “Scores were in the 20 to 25 range for most. It looks like the water and weather will cooperate for quite a while. The Pacific halibut bite is still really slow. There are a few anglers who are sticking with it, but not having much luck. California halibut has been excellent this week, the guys trolling South Beach are catching quite a few on anchovies. The rockfish bite is still good, with the Sisters and North Reef being a couple of the top spots. Quite a few lings are being caught as well. The nice ocean conditions should help anglers find the redtail perch at Kellogg Beach.”

Brent Foster of Brookings is excited about his albacore catch early Tuesday morning 30 miles out from the harbor. Photo courtesy of Brookings Fishing Charters

Brookings
Boats fishing out of Brookings scores big numbers of tuna 30 miles straight out from the harbor reports Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Fishing was pretty much wide open for the 15 or so boats that left port just before daylight,” said Martin. “More boats are planning trips throughout the week with a nice forecast. Closer to shore, lingcod and rockfish action has been good, while halibut are biting in 200 feet of water. A 58-inch halibut was brought in Monday. Salmon fishing is slow.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Steelhead fishing has slowed on the lower Klamath the last few days as the water has taken on some color due to upriver dam removal. Conditions will likely get worse as water from Upper Klamath Lake is expected to arrive this weekend for the Boat Dance. Fishing pressure continues to be light. The daily bag limit is two hatchery steelhead or hatchery trout per day on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers, with a possession limit of four. Anglers must have a Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card in their possession while fishing for steelhead trout in anadromous waters More information can be found here.

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, the Rogue Bay is fishing well for fall salmon, but is crowded. “Most guides are getting better than a fish per rod. Fishing has been good for a week straight.”

Pacific Halibut Action Hit and Miss

Cottonwood resident Jason Solada boated this nice Pacific halibut while fishing aboard the Shellback on a recent trip out of Trinidad. Photo courtesy of Tony Sepulveda/Green Water Fishing Adventures

Around this time the past couple years, our Pacific halibut seasons were coming to a close as good fishing made quick work of the quotas. The same cannot be said of this year. Though we’ve had some pretty good flurries, the bite remains fairly inconsistent. Boats have been covering a lot of ground, searching from Trinidad south to the Eel River Canyon in looking for schools, but have to yet to locate any spots that will offer consistent fishing for multiple days. As of Thursday, our projected catch rate still stood at 8,024 net pounds harvested against the 38,220 quota. But we know we’ve caught quite a few since the catch estimate was last updated on July 14. There is one silver lining to the slow fishing – halibut, rockfish, and Dungeness crab combo trips are a real possibility come November.

Weekend marine forecast
Much like last weekend, the nearshore conditions look excellent but offshore looks a little iffy for the tuna chasers. For coastal waters out 10 nautical miles, Friday’s forecast is calling for northwest winds 5 to 10 knots and northwest waves 4 feet at six seconds and west 2 feet at 10 seconds. Saturday is calling for north winds 5 to 10 knots and waves out of the northwest 3 feet at six seconds. Sunday looks similar, with winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 knots and waves northwest 4 feet at seven seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/ or www.windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

California halibut update
The CA halibut bite picked up this past week according to Justin Kelly of RMI Outdoors. He said, “There seems to be more bait in the bay now. From what I’m hearing, fishing has been best in the second channel. Guys tossing 4 to 5 inch swimbaits with 1 to 2 ounce Underspin jig heads are doing well. The California halibut bag and total possession limit is two in California waters north of Point Sur, Monterey County. The minimum size limit is 22 inches total length.

The Oceans:
Eureka
According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, the Pacific halibut bite has been really inconsistent as of late. “We’ve been fishing all over the place, and each day has been different,” said Klassen. “One day we’ll get limits, the next day is a struggle to get a couple. We’ve been covering a lot of ground as well, all the way from Trinidad south to the Eel River Canyon. It’s possible we just haven’t found where the fish have landed. The one consistent has been the black cod. They’ve eaten a year’s supply worth of bait in just a few months. The rockfish bite at the Cape hasn’t been spectacular all year, but that changed when we were there on Monday. It was the best fishing I’ve seen down there in a while. We got a pretty good picture Tuesday of the tuna water. It’s still sitting straight off of Trinidad, hopefully we’ll get a break in the weather next week so we can run up there.

Shelter Cove
Spending most of this week fishing close to home due to weather, Jake Mitchell, of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing reports a slow rockfish bite. “We managed limits every day, but we had to work really hard to get them,” said Mitchell. The lingcod bite was pretty slow as well with the exception of Monday when we got our limits fairly quickly. It doesn’t look like we’ll have the weather for tuna anytime soon.”

Crescent City
According to Britt Carson of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, the California halibut bite continues to be excellent, with plenty of limits being caught along South Beach. Anglers trolling Rogue River setups with anchovies or swimbaits are finding success. The rockfish and lingcod bite are still going strong, with both reefs and the lighthouse giving up plenty of nice limits. The Pacific halibut remains really slow.”

Brookings
“The coho salmon season closed Sunday, while king salmon remains open through the end of the month,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “A few kings are being caught, with wild and even hatchery coho outnumbering them in catches around 10-to-1. Pacific halibut fishing is good offshore, while California halibut are biting along the beaches at the mouth of the Chetco. Fishing is good for lingcod and rockfish. Tuna were 30 miles offshore, but windy conditions limited effort to just two days late last week.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Steelhead fishing has improved on the lower Klamath, but it’s still not red hot. Fishing pressure has been light, and the few boats out are catching a handful of adults each day. Some more half-pounders are finally starting to show up. Fishing should only get better as we head into the first few weeks of August. The daily bag limit is two hatchery steelhead or hatchery trout per day on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers, with a possession limit of four. Anglers must have a Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card in their possession while fishing for steelhead trout in anadromous waters. More information can be found here.

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, salmon fishing picked up in the Rogue Bay, with Tuesday producing perhaps the best fishing of the year. “Most of the action has been in the deeper trench between the sand spit and north jetty. Some kings also are being caught in the ocean just offshore of the jetties.”

Kenny Priest operates Fishing the North Coast, a fishing guide service out of Humboldt specializing in salmon and steelhead. Find it on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and www.fishingthenorthcoast.com. For up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information, email kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com.