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Ocean conditions slow North Coast salmon bite

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Kenny Priest/For the Times-Standard

August 22, 2013

Ceremonial water coming Sunday from the Trinity

We all knew this was coming — the out-of-this-world salmon action that we’ve enjoyed since May has finally started to taper off — at least for the last couple of days. After a not so hot bite this past weekend, the action really slowed to a crawl Tuesday and Wednesday. Charter boat scores ranged from nine fish to one fish kept, and everywhere in between. That doesn’t sound horrible on paper, but compared to the salmon fishing we’ve grown accustomed to over the last three months, this rates as headline news. This begs the question — where did the fish go? Well, no one really knows. The reports I heard from Wednesday is there were quite a few biters that just didn’t stick, so maybe the fish are still there. The water temperatures surely played a role in the slowdown. The warm water, which reached 62 degrees out front, pushed all the way to the beach. When this happens, the salmon typically head straight down in search of the cool water they crave. And that’s where the majority of the fish have been coming the last couple days, anywhere between 100 to 200 feet on the wire. With calm seas predicted through the weekend, maybe the large sport fleet can do a little searching and find the schools again.

Marine forecast

Calm seas are predicted through the weekend. Friday’s forecast is calling for winds 5 to 10 knots with 4-foot swells at 8 seconds. The forecast for Saturday is calling for winds 5 to 10 knots, with swells to 3-feet at 7 seconds. Sunday is looking very similar, with winds 5 to 10 knots and seas to 4-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.

Ceremonial water release from the Trinity

Beginning this Sunday at 8 a.m., flows out of the Trinity will increase from 450 cfs to 2,650 cfs. After peaking at midnight Sunday, they will be reduced slowly until reaching 450 cfs on Thursday, August 29 at 8 p.m. The flow increase is due to the Hoopa Valley Tribe’s Boat Dance Ceremony. Hopefully, the 62,000 acre-feet of water that’s currently in the hands of the court will follow closely behind. If it doesn’t, a fish kill could be on the horizon.

Klamath River quota update

According to Sara Borok, an Environmental Scientist on the Klamath River Project,

407 adult Chinook salmon have been harvested on the Lower Klamath as of Tuesday. The quota is 20,003. Of those, 395 were caught below the Hwy. 101 bridge. The trigger number to close the spit fishery is 3,000 adult Chinook salmon.

Klamath salmon health being closely monitored

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is seeking help from the public in monitoring the health of Chinook salmon in the Klamath River and its tributaries. Drought conditions mixed with a larger than normal return of salmon elevate concerns of fish die offs. Small numbers of dead fish are expected this year as an estimated 272,000 fall-run Chinook salmon return. CDFW, in conjunction with The Klamath Fish Health Assessment Team (KFHAT) is asking the public to report any unusual numbers of dead fish they see by contacting Sara Borok at 707-822-0330.

The Oceans:

Eureka

Slow but steady fishing best describes the salmon action out of Eureka this past weekend. Most of the charter boats were able to grind out limits, but they didn’t necessarily come easy. Captain Tim Klassen on the Reel Steel had limits both days before the bite tanked on Monday. “There’s still a wide variety of fish out there, anywhere from 10-inches to 40-pounds. With the ocean calming down over the weekend, we’ll be able to take a look around and see if we can find some colder water. I know there’s some down at the Cape and up closer to Trinidad,” Klassen added. After having the weekend off, Captain Gary Blasi of Full Throttle Sportfishing was back on the water Monday and was able to get a box full before noon. “We found a pretty good school of fish and were able to land five over 20-pounds. The fish were coming deep, about 130-feet down. We definitely need some wind to blow the warm water out of here,” Blasi said. After a weekend in which Phil Glenn skippered the Shellback, Captain Tony Sepulveda was back at it this week. With all the Eureka boats tied up at the dock, he ventured out into pretty rough seas on Tuesday and was able to land six keepers. “The fishing definitely slowed on Tuesday. The water is warm, but I think it will cool itself in the next few days. I don’t think the fish are gone, they’ll show up again,” Sepulveda added.

 

Trinidad

The salmon bite was wide-open over the weekend, but slowed Monday as the ocean got rough reports Curt Wilson, who runs the Wind Rose Charter out of Trinidad. “We tried to go on Monday, but it got real nasty so we turned around with all the other charter boats. The action on Tuesday and Wednesday was spotty at best. The halibut and rockfish were biting over the weekend, but not much effort over the last few days on either. The weather is suppose to lay down real nice over the weekend, so maybe we can go look around for some salmon,” Wilson added.

 

Shelter Cove

Fishing in general has slowed out of Shelter Cover reports Russ Thomas of Mario’s Marina in Shelter Cove. “We’re launching maybe three or four boats per day and most are targeting rockfish. The salmon action has slowed way down; not very many are still trying. The few that are being caught are nice ones however,” Thomas added.

 

Crescent City

Leonard Carter of Crescent City’s Englund Marine reports the Pacific halibut bite has been steady, with fish being landed daily. “Most of the boats are fishing the back side of the South Reef in 190 to 210 feet of water. The Big Reef is also producing a few as well. The salmon has slowed out front, with not many anglers still trying. The best action has been coming around the mouth of the Smith. There have been some real big ones landed the last few days, with a few in the 40-pound class and some 30’s. The lingcod is still red hot and the snapper bite has been sporadic,” Carter added.

The Rivers:

Lower Klamath

Guide Mike Coopman reports the Lower Klamath is fishing decent, with most of the fish landed being steelhead. “There’s not many kings in the river due to the water temps, and that probably won’t change until it cools. The morning bite has been best, and if you choose the right spot first thing, it can make your day,” Coopman added.

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

Numbers don’t always tell the whole story

Fall Klamath/Trinity regulations begin Aug. 15

With the amount of fish being caught in the ocean and record numbers of salmon returning to some of our local rivers, the first thing North Coast anglers usually hear stepping off any river or boat is, “how many did you get?” It’s real easy to get swept up in the “limits” or “how many” game. But, fishing is sometimes more about the experience – I was reminded of that last Sunday on the Klamath River.

It had been awhile since I waded into a river and had it all to myself. As I started to fish and survey my surroundings – perched high above the slot I was casting my line into – an osprey was screeching loudly in excitement and watching the river below intently. Suddenly, the raptor plunged itself into the water with a big splash. It emerged with a fish in its talons, then lifting off and slowly started to gain altitude. The osprey was now deathly quiet and I knew why. The last couple years I’ve seen many meals stolen by those majestic bullies we call Bald Eagles. As I watched the osprey fly up into the morning fog, I said to myself, “I’m about to see a bald eagle.” Within seconds and out of nowhere, an eagle flew into range and had its sights on the osprey and a free meal. The battle was short, with the osprey overmatched in both size and speed. The fish the osprey had so aerodynamically plucked out of the water was gone. It fell to the ground where the eagle swooped it up and flew off to enjoy his lunch.

About an hour later – while standing in the middle of the river – I saw a bear out of the corner of my eye slowly walk from the bushes to the waters edge, within about 50 yards of where I was fishing. Startled, I stood still and watched as the bear tested the water like a 6-year-old sticking its toes in the community pool. It definitely knew I was there as it took a couple long looks in my direction. After a few sniffs of the water and lots of hesitation, the bear inched its way in and swam across the river. I thought to myself, “Wow, how cool is that,” two spectacular wildlife occurrences 30 minutes apart.

For what it’s worth, I did manage to land and release three dime-bright adult steelhead, but I’d rank my catches a distant third behind the other two experiences I had that morning. It’s not always about the numbers.

Weekend Marine forecast

Calm ocean conditions are expected to last through the weekend according to Reginald Kennedy of Eureka’s National Weather Service. Friday’s forecast is calling for NW winds 5 to 10 knots and swells out of the NW 4-feet at 7 seconds and 4-feet at 13 seconds. Saturday and Sunday’s conditions are looking almost the same, with winds out of the NW 5 to 10 knots and swells to 5-feet at 11 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.

Klamath/Trinity 2013 regulations

The fall Chinook season and regulations start August 15 on the Klamath River and September 1 on the Trinity River. The season ends December 31 for both rivers.

The daily bag limit is 4 Chinook salmon, no more than 3 fish over 22 inches. The possession limit is 12 Chinook salmon, no more than 9 over 22 inches. If the quota of 40,006 adult fall Chinook is met, then the previous bag and possession limits apply to “jack” salmon less than 22 inches, i.e. 4 jacks per day and 12 jacks in possession.

Klamath River from 3,500 feet downstream of the Iron Gate Dam to the Highway 96 bridge at Weitchpec: Fall Run Quota 6.801 Chinook salmon

From January 1 to August 14. 0 Chinook salmon; 2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead. From August 15 to December 31. 4 Chinook salmon – no more than 3 fish over 22 inches total length; 2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead

Klamath River downstream of the Highway 96 bridge at Weitchpec to the mouth:Fall Run Quota 20,003 Chinook salmon

From January 1 to August 14. 2 Chinook salmon; 2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead. From August 15 to December 31. 4 Chinook salmon – no more than 3 fish over 22 inches total length; 2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead

Trinity River main stem downstream of the Old Lewiston Bridge to the Highway 299 West bridge at Cedar Flat: Fall Run Quota 6,601 Chinook salmon

From January 1 to August 31. 2 Chinook salmon; 5 brown trout; 2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead. From September 1 through December 31. 4 Chinook salmon – no more than 3 fish over 22 inches total length; 5 brown trout; 2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead

Trinity River downstream of the Highway 299 West bridge at Cedar Flat to the Denny Road bridge at Hawkins Bar.

From January 1 through August 31. 2 Chinook salmon; 5 brown trout; 2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead From September 1 through December 31 closed to all fishing.

Trinity River main stem downstream of the Denny Road bridge at Hawkins Bar to the mouth of the South Fork Trinity River: Fall Run Quota 6,601 Chinook salmon

From January 1 to August 31. 2 Chinook salmon; 5 brown trout; 2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead. From September 1 through December 31. 4 Chinook salmon – no more than 3 fish over 22 inches total length; 5 brown trout; 2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead

Trinity River main stem downstream of the mouth of the South Fork Trinity River to the confluence with the Klamath River: Fall Run Quota 6,601 Chinook salmon

From January 1 to August 31. 0 Chinook salmon; 5 brown trout; 2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead. From September 1 through December 31. 4 Chinook salmon – no more than 3 fish over 22 inches total length; 5 brown trout; 2 hatchery trout or hatchery steelhead

Tuna out of Eureka

A half-dozen boats made the 55-60 mile trek to the warm water Tuesday according to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “I didn’t hear all the scores, but it sounded like the range was about eight fish to the high 20’s per boat. I heard lots of double, triples and quad hook-ups were had, so it sounds like there’s quite a few fish out there,” Klassen added. “More boats made the run on Wednesday as the ocean was again forecasted to be flat.”

The Oceans:

Eureka

The insanely wide-open salmon bite continues out of Eureka. Charter boat skippers Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing, Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing and Gary Blasi of Full Throttle Sport Fishing continue to score early limits of kings ranging from 12 to 30-pounds, with the occasional 40 in the mix. According to Klassen, fish are spread from the Cape to Eureka and halfway to Trinidad. Blasi, who’s boated limits within 45 minutes this past weeks reports there are so many fish out here, you can’t miss em. “From the 44 to the 51-line in 120 to 200 feet of water is where I’ve spent most of my time,” Blasi said. Sepulveda has also been on the fish, and probably had the best story of the week when he landed what he is calling a “septuplet.” “Fishing my normal seven rod spread late last week, they all doubled over at once. Seven fish on at one time, and we landed every one of em. Two nets flying, a little chaos, and lots of fish flopping on the deck. That sums up how good the bite is right now,” Sepulveda added.

Trinidad

According to Curt Wilson who runs the Wind Rose Charter out of Trinidad, the continued pattern of drive three miles west of Trinidad Head, put anything in the water and catch big kings has continued all week. “There are some real large kings in the mix as well as some big Coho. Halibut efforts are being rewarded nicely all over. An 82-pounder won the July Derby caught on the Foxy Roxy. It seems a lot more lingcod have been hitting decks with a very large grade of rockfish stretched out between the Head and Patrick’s Point,” Wilson said

Shelter Cove

Boats made their first albacore run on Tuesday reports Russ Thomas of Mario’s Marina in Shelter Cove. “Four or five boats made the 40-mile run to 60-degree water and most had some pretty good scores. I heard the top boat landed 25, and they were all decent size. More boats also made the trip on Wednesday and the late word was the bite was red-hot. The salmon bite has slowed considerable, but fish are still being caught. Definitely not red hot by any means and there’s still quite a few commercial boats working the area.” Thomas added.

Crescent City

According to Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, the salmon fishing has fell on its nose a bit. “I’m not sure if it’s a lack of fish or what, but it’s slowed down here as well as in Brookings. From what I’m hearing scores are roughly two fish per boat. The lingcod bite remains wide-open, with boats putting in limits south to the Sisters and north around the Big Reef. The rockfish bite has been best around the Sisters, and not as good south,” Hegnes said.

The Rivers:

Lower Klamath

There’s a pretty good morning bite happening on the Klamath right now reports Mike Coopman of Mike Coopman’s Guide Service. “It definitely gets tougher when the sun hits the water. Boat pressure has also affected the bite, when there’s not a lot of boats, they’ll bite a little longer. We’re landing predominately steelhead right now, but I’ve been averaging one adult king and a couple jacks per trip,” Coopman added.

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

Cool water the hot topic on the Klamath

Abalone season re-opens Aug 1

While North Coast ocean anglers enjoy one of the best Chinook salmon seasons on record, trouble could soon be lurking as huge numbers of large, healthy salmon make their way up the Klamath River this fall. Two back-to-back subpar winters have left rivers, tributaries, and reservoirs, dangerously low. With 272,000 salmon expected to return this year, they’ll need a little help to ensure their survival to avoid repeating the disastrous fish kill of 2002, where a reported 34,000 salmon perished in the low, warm water of the Klamath.

Help could be on the way as the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has proposed releasing 62,000 acre-feet of cold water from the Trinity Dam into the Klamath between August 15 and September 21. An acre-foot is enough water to cover an acre of land with a foot of water, or roughly 326,000 gallons. However, that water won’t flow freely down the Trinity without a fight. Central Valley farmers, who rely on that water for agriculture, have threatened to sue the bureau if the water spickets are turned on. A decision is pending, with a resolution coming next week. If the water release moves forward, it will come as a relief not only to the adult salmon moving in, but also to the offspring of last year’s record return, which was estimated at 323,000.

According to Sara Borok, Environmental Scientist on the Klamath River, both the Klamath and the Trinity are loaded with juveniles slowly making their way downstream. “We’re seeing about 10 to 15 times the number of juveniles in the system from last year’s huge return. It’s easy to lose sight of juveniles, but they are equally important as the adults coming in. With water temperatures hovering in the mid-70’s, we’re really hoping they can hang in there until we see the temperatures start to decline,” Borok added. “While the cold water coming out of the Trinity will certainly help, it will take a combination of cooler inland temperatures and the marine influence to get temperatures where they need to be.”

The gradual flow of water coming out of the Trinity could be a blessing for anglers as well. “We should see more steady pulses of fish coming in from the ocean this year with the water spread out of the course of six weeks. The bigger releases last year pushed the fish upriver quickly. This year we should see them make their way upriver on a more normal rate.”

Weekend Marine Forecast

Ocean conditions have been very pleasant the last few days, and it looks like we’re in for a nice weekend as well. Out 10 nautical miles north of the Cape, Friday’s forecast is calling for north winds five to 15 knots and seas out of the NW five-feet at seven seconds. The weekend forecast is calling for winds out of the northwest five to 10 knots with NW swells five-feet at seven seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For up-to-date weather forecast, visitwww.weather.gov/eureka/.

Abalone season re-opens

A reminder that the recreational abalone season will re-open August 1 following a July closure. For more information, visit www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/invertebrate/abalone.asp.

The Oceans:

Eureka

The bite slowed for most on Monday, but Tuesday and Wednesday the fleet was back to Eureka-style salmon fishing. The best action has been coming south, where the brown water the baitfish crave has finally returned. On Tuesday, Gary Blasi of Full Throttle Sportfishing scored limits for his clients by 9 a.m. on the 45-line, ending the day with a 31-pound dandy. Wednesday’s action was further south, between the 37 and 39-lines where the limits came quick and the fish were a nice grade. Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing boated a heavy limit of kings, with half of his fish weighing over 20-pounds, with the biggest tipping the scales at 27-pounds. The sport fleet reported lots of fish in the 20-pound class and even a few thirties.

Trinidad

Since the weather calmed down Monday, the salmon bite has been red-hot from sun up to sundown reports Curt Wilson, who runs the Wind Rose Charter out of Trinidad. “Most of the effort has been from the 03 to 06-lines in 120 to 180 feet of water. The bite has been right on top in the morning, and in the afternoon, 75-feet has done well. Limits have been very easy to come by. Rockfish has been a bit of a grind, but you can get limits if you stick with it,” Wilson added.

Shelter Cove

According to Russ Thomas of Mario’s Marina in Shelter Cove, the salmon bite has slowed. “There’s fish being caught, but I haven’t heard of very many limits being taken. The guys mooching have done well the last few day’s as there’s some nice balls of bait around. The rockfish action is still good and should get better with some nice, flat days in the forecast,” Thomas added.

Crescent City

The salmon fishing remains off and on reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “The conditions have changed the last few days as we’ve had some different currents and a bunch of eel grass moved in. The boats and the fish seem to be scattered, but once you find a pod of fish, you can limit quickly. There’s still quite a bit of krill around as well as some nightfish. Fish are being caught from Castle almost to the Sisters, so there’s a huge area of salmon out there. The halibut bite has picked up, with a 90 and two 70’s weighed in last week. Out near the south reef in 200-feet of water has been the place. The lingcod bite remains red-hot, with a 42-pounder weighed in last week. The rockfish is still hit and miss. One minute they’re biting, and then they’ll just shut off,” Hegnes said.

The Rivers:

Lower Klamath

Conditions have improved and the water has cooled on the lower Klamath reports Mike Coopman of Mike Coopman’s Guide Service. “There’s a good amount of summer steelhead in the river right now and we’re catching the occasional king. Trollers are catching a few salmon in the estuary, with Kastmasters the top producer,” Coopman added.

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