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Lonnie Dollarhide, right, of Fortuna along with skipper Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing teamed up to land this 81.5-pound Pacific halibut on Sept. 4 out of Eureka. The big fish took first place in Englund Marine’s “Big Halibut” contest, scoring Dollarhide a gift basket provided by B2 Squid. Photo courtesy of Nick Johnson

Offshore options became a little scarcer this week with the closing of the Pacific halibut season. Without a salmon season, we’re down to rockfish and tuna along the North Coast. Unfortunately, both of these options require some pretty good ocean conditions, especially if you’re fishing out of Eureka, where the rockfish grounds are nearly 20 miles to the south. The ocean was decent a couple days this week, and a handful of the bigger boats motored their way to the Cape. But it wasn’t nearly good enough to head offshore for tuna. But now there’s talk of a one-day weather window on Sunday that has the tuna anglers excited. We’ll see if that comes to fruition, or if Mother Nature has other ideas. And let’s not forget about the California halibut fishery inside Humboldt Bay. It’s been an amazing season, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. Some slugs approaching 30 -pounds were caught this week.

Pacific Halibut season cut short
The recreational Pacific halibut fishery closed on Sunday, Sept. 10 at 11:59 p.m. for the remainder of 2017. Based on the latest catch projections, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife expected to have met the 2017 California recreational quota of 34,580 pounds. For more info, visit https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2017/09/08/recreational-pacific-halibut-fishery-to-end-sunday-sept-10/

Oregon recreational rockfish closed as of Monday
Oregon’s recreational bottomfish season will close to all species but flatfish as of Sunday, Sept. 17 at 11:59 p.m. because the quotas for several species have been reached according to a press release issued on Tuesday. As of Monday morning, Sept. 18, anglers may no longer catch or retain lingcod, any species of rockfish, cabezon, greenling, or other bottomfish. There is a new opportunity for anglers to fish for flatfish (except Pacific halibut) at all depths, also starting Monday.
Good weather in spring and summer, as well as fewer opportunities for other fisheries, have led to more boats and anglers fishing for bottomfish this year. For more information on Oregon’s marine resources and fisheries, please see: http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/

Weekend marine forecast
After some rough seas earlier in the week, the ocean looks like it will begin to lay down by the weekend. As of Wednesday, the forecast out 10 nautical miles for Friday is calling for winds out of the N 5 to 15 knots with NW swells 5 feet at 7 seconds. Saturday looks similar, with winds from the NW 5 to 10 knots and NW swells 5 feet at 7 seconds. Sunday the winds will be from the SW 5 to 10 knots and NW swells 3 feet at 7 seconds and NW 4 feet at 11 seconds.  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. You can also call the National Weather Service at 707-443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 707-443-6484.

Good showing of jacks at Willow Creek weir
According to Mary Claire Kier, an Environmental Scientist on the Trinity River who manages the Willow Creek weir, quite a few jacks are making their way through the Trinity. For the trapping week of Sept. 3 through 9, 79 jacks were trapped. The total number of jacks, both wild and fin-clipped, trapped for the entire 2016 season was 84. Finally some encouraging salmon news.

Youth Fishing Tourney this Sunday
The Trinidad Pier Youth Fishing Tourney will take place this Sunday, Sept. 17 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event is open to all children ages 6 to 15. Prizes will be awarded in each category and fishing gear and bait will be provided. An adult must accompany children. Hot dogs and refreshments will be served following the event. Catch and release is encouraged and no fishing license is required. Look for the sign-up table on the Trinidad Pier. For more information, contact Ken Jones at kenjones@pierfishing.com

The Oceans:
Eureka
With the closure of the Pacific halibut season, we’re down to two offshore options — rockfish and tuna. According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, the tuna water is still straight out of Eureka, but it’s moved out slightly. “It looks like it’s about 30 miles out now compared to 20 last week,” said Klassen. “The ocean hasn’t been good enough to make the run, though Sunday may be doable. We made our way to the Cape on Tuesday, where the rockfish continue to bite anything and everything. Limits are coming easy, with lots of big lings, coppers and quillbacks in the mix,” Klassen added.

Shelter Cove
Rock fishing has been great when we can get north, but it’s been quite slow when we have to stay close,” said Captain Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “I ran for tuna on Thursday up off the Cape and ended up with 28. We should of had more, be we had a tough time hanging on to them. On Tuesday, we ran to Vizcaino Knoll for tuna and fished rockfish on the way home. We ended up with eight albacore, 14 lingcod and 20 rockfish. The weather for more tuna days doesn’t look good for the foreseeable future.”

Crescent City
There hasn’t been much effort on the rockfish this week reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. He said, “We’ve had a little bit of wind, so that kept most of the boats off the water. There’s been a few going out, and the fish are definitely biting. Hopefully we’ll see an uptick in boats and business with the rockfish closure happening in Oregon.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The steelhead action slowed on the lower river this week as the first big push of fish have moved up river. Boats and shore anglers were reporting a really good bite on half-pounders and adults up to eight pounds last week. There should be plenty of fish in the middle Klamath now as the fish are on the move. The river rose roughly 400 cfs late last week, so that should bring in some fresh steelhead into the lower river.

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

Anderson resident Alicia Henthorn landed a nice albacore tuna while fishing out of Eureka on Wednesday. Eureka was the place to be this week for tuna as the warm, blue water was only 20 miles offshore. Photo courtesy of Tim Klassen/Reel Steel Sport Fishing

Calm seas and 60-degree water within 20 miles — the ideal scenario that will make any fanatical tuna angler go nuts — or not show up to work. North Coast fishermen have been devoid of an ocean salmon season this year, but the current tuna frenzy has helped ease that pain. Screaming drags will do that. Since Saturday, boats have set their sights on the warm, blue water, which has been moving steadily closer to shore. The water was 30 miles out over the weekend, but was only 20 miles offshore as of Tuesday. Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, who’s been on the tuna grounds almost daily, reports the bite isn’t quite wide-open, but everyone is catching fish. “We haven’t had this good of water this close in several years, which has allowed more boats to get in on the fun,” said Klassen. “Most of the action has been between the 38 and 48-lines, where the water temps are ranging between 61 and 64 degrees.

Larry Biggs, left, from McKinleyville and John Anderson from Fortuna landed a few albacore this week aboard Reel Steel Sport Fishing

I don’t think there’s big schools of fish, it seems we’re just running into random patches of fish, and they all want to bite. If you can keep the fish around after catching a few on the troll, you can put some big numbers onboard quickly using live bait.” According to Klassen, scores are ranging from six to 30 fish per boat and the fish are anywhere from peanuts (6 to 8 lbs.) to 25 pounds. While it’s been great to have a tuna window that’s lasted for a week, it looks like its’s about to close. The wind is forecasted to blow up to 15 knots on Friday, which will likely bring about rougher seas. Let’s hope this is only a temporary setback.

Marine forecast
It’s looking like the tuna window is about to slam shut for now. Thursday still looks fishable out 20 or so miles, but that will change on Friday. Inshore, Friday’s forecast is calling for winds out of the NW 5 to 15 knots and waves NW 4 feet at 5 seconds and NW 4 feet at 14 seconds. Saturday is calling for NW winds 5 to 15 knots and waves N 6 feet at 6 seconds and W 5 feet at 12 seconds. Sunday is looking very similar with N winds 5 to 15 knots and waves N 6 feet at 6 seconds and W 5 feet at 12 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.

Klamath and Trinity both closed to salmon fishing
A reminder that both the Klamath and Trinity Rivers are currently closed to salmon fishing. During the salmon closures, both rivers will remain open to steelhead fishing and no salmon punch card is required for either river. On the Klamath, steelhead fishing is allowed from 3,500 feet downstream of the Iron Gate Dam to the estuary. The daily bag limit is 2 hatchery steelhead. The Trinity is open to steelhead angling from downstream of the Old Lewiston Bridge to the confluence of the Klamath River through Dec. 31. The one exception is the area downstream of the Highway 299 West bridge at Cedar Flat to the Denny Road bridge at Hawkins Bar. This area is closed to all fishing from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. The daily bag limit is 2 hatchery steelhead. When you’re fishing for steelhead and you catch a salmon, it’s a good idea to either move or change up your gear or method. If you do hook a jack or an adult salmon, it is illegal to remove them from the water by any means. For the complete list of Klamath/Trinity regulations, visit http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=147891

The Oceans:
Eureka
The halibut opener came and went last Friday without too much fanfare. Warm water loaded with albacore sitting 25 miles offshore will do that. The focus has been almost entirely on Tuna this week, and rightfully so. Pacific and California halibut, as well as rockfish, will all still be there when the wind and rough seas return. A few halibut were caught this week, including an 81.5 pounder caught by Lonnie Dollarhide while fishing with Klassen near the Eel River Canyon. The big flattie is currently atop the leaderboard of the Englund Marine “Big Halibut” contest. With non-tuna weather expected to return on Friday, look for boats to turn their attention back to halibut and rockfish.

Shelter Cove
“Salmon fishing has been very mediocre, most days you can grind up a few and then some days it will go wide-open,” said Captain Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “Last Wednesday we had limits of salmon to 25 pounds by 11 a.m. fishing just south of the whistle. On Thursday, we had four salmon onboard before the clients decided they’d like to rockfish. The rock fishing remains solid, with limits coming pretty easily. The warm tuna water is within 40 miles, but it seems the water that’s holding fish is a bit further at about 50 miles. There’s been tuna both to the north and south, but the water straight out hasn’t had many fish. My plan for now is to fish tuna on Thursday.

Crescent City
The rockfish and halibut are both going off right now reports Leonard Carter of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “The ocean hasn’t been great, but guys are coming in with rockfish limits daily. All the usual spots are giving up fish, both north and south. The halibut bite is going strong, fish are being caught every day, and some boats are coming in with limits. Most of the action is coming from the backside of the South Reef in 180 to 210 feet of water,” Carter added.

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
A little tougher to get reports with salmon season being closed, but I’m hearing the lower river is full of fresh steelhead. Anglers tossing spinners, spoons, and flies are catching quite a few steelhead from half-pounders up to eight-pounds. Blakes riffle has been one of the better spots, but fish are being caught all the way past Blue Creek.

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

Robbie Young, left, of Roseville and Rocklin resident Chris Baptista were pretty stoked to land this 27-pound albacore while fishing off the coast of Eureka on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Marc Schmidt/Coastline Charters

Free Fishing Day on Saturday

Calm seas and warm water has descended on the North Coast, and boats headed offshore from Fort Bragg to Gold Beach, and all ports in between, were coming home with coolers full of albacore. Fort Bragg was the place to be last weekend. Flat calm water made for an easy run to where the tuna were schooled up, and the boats put the hurt to em’. Some of the top boats put in over 30, and a lot of boats ended with well over 20 fish. Monday was just as good, with the most of the action coming 45 to 55 miles west of Noyo Harbor. A couple boats fishing out of Eureka got in on the action on Monday. The ocean was a little sloppy, but one of the boats put 40 albies on board while fishing roughly 47 miles from the entrance. With good intel in hand, Captain Marc Schmidt of Coastline Charters set his sights on the finger of warm water sitting roughly 30 miles west of the pinnacles. After a relatively slow start to the day, they found the motherlode in the early afternoon. They boated a total of 46 albacore ranging in size from peanuts to 27 pounds. “There is an inside finger and an outside finger of warm water pushing north “said Schmidt. It sounded like a few fish were caught in the inside break at 30 miles, but it was worth the trip to the outside for us today.” Fish were also caught out of Crescent City as well as Gold Beach on Monday and Tuesday. If you’re looking to chase some tuna, now is the time. The next weather window is shaping up to be Labor Day, but the weekend looks like it may be doable as well.

Marine forecast
The ocean looks like it will be plenty fishable for the long holiday weekend, with NW winds forecasted at 5 to 10 knots through Monday. Out 10 nautical miles, Friday’s forecast is calling for waves N 5 feet at 11 seconds. Saturday is calling for waves NW 5 feet at 8 seconds. Sunday is looking very similar with waves NW 5 feet at 7 seconds. Waves will be out of the N 5 feet at 6 seconds on Labor Day. 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.

Saturday is statewide free fishing day
On Saturday September 2, 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. As noted above, salmon punch cards are not required for anglers fishing for steelhead on the Klamath and Trinity Rivers during the salmon closure. For more information visit, https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Fishing/Free-Fishing-Days

No salmon punch cards required for Trinity/Klamath Rivers
According to the CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, during the salmon closures on both the Klamath and Trinity Rivers, you do not need to have a salmon punch card while angling for steelhead. But you will need one if you plan on fishing the Smith River, per usual. As a reminder, the Klamath is currently closed to salmon fishing and the Trinity will close beginning Sept. 1. Both rivers will remain open to steelhead fishing. For the complete list of Klamath/Trinity regulations, visit http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=147891

Halibut season re-opens Friday, Sept. 1
The Pacific halibut season will re-open Friday, September 1 and will remain open through Oct. 31, or until the quota is reached, whichever is earlier. Through August 20, the CDFW has projected 27,989 net pounds have been harvested towards a quota of 34,580 pounds, leaving only 6,591 pounds left to catch. For up-to-date harvest tracking information, visit https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Pacific-Halibut#31670772-in-season-tracking. Regulations can be found here, https://wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/marine/pacific-halibut#31670771-pacific-halibut-regulations

Anglers are reminded to avoid Yelloweye rockfish
In a news release issued on Friday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife would like to remind anglers to avoid yelloweye rockfish when engaging in recreational ocean fishing over the Labor Day holiday weekend. CDFW urges anglers to avoid fishing in areas where yelloweye rockfish are known to occur (e.g., rocky outcrops and pinnacles). If taken, yelloweye rockfish should be immediately returned to the water with a descending device to minimize injury and mortality. CDFW also encourages anglers who encounter them to change fishing locations to prevent catching additional yelloweye rockfish. For more information, visit https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2017/08/25/anglers-reminded-to-avoid-yelloweye-rockfish/

The Oceans:
Eureka
Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing has been making his way to the Cape since the weekend and reports the rock fishing remains excellent. “The fishing has been really good, per usual”, said Klassen. “We’re getting limits of big lings just about every trip, and a nice mixed bag of coppers, vermilions, and cabezon. California halibut fishing in the bay is still going strong, with limits coming pretty easily. There’s a bunch of bait in the bay, so it’s been pretty easy for the boats to load up in the mornings. The bait has been thick from the Simpson dock all the way to the Samoa Bridge, depending on which way the tide was going. We’re seeing mostly sardines, but there are some anchovies mixed in.”

Shelter Cove
“We’ve been running all different directions chasing tuna, rockfish and salmon since last week,” said Captain Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “Last Wednesday through Friday, we ran rockfish and salmon combo trips. All of the days except one we had limits of rockfish and a handful of salmon. On Saturday, we fished salmon all day and ended up with five. On Sunday, we ran for tuna north off the Cape and boated 18. On Monday, we went down below Fort Bragg, just south of Moho Canyon, and landed 25. There were plenty of fish in both locations, we just didn’t get a whole lot of time on them due to the long run and sloppy conditions.”

Crescent City
The rockfish bite was pretty good this week reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. He said, “I know some guys who went out to South Reef and caught a few limits of a wide variety of rockfish. I also heard of a couple thresher sharks caught this week. One off the beach and one out front by someone who was rock fishing. There’s quite a bit of interest in Pacific Halibut, so we should see some more boats on the water beginning Friday.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
With only steelhead fishing available, the boat pressure has been fairly light on the Klamath. A good push of steelhead came in with the pulse of water last week, but the bite seemed to slow down on the lower river over the weekend as the fish likely moved up. As steelhead continue to enter the river, the schools will likely be scattered from the Weitchpec area to the Glen.

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

A group of happy anglers landed their limits of salmon while fishing out of Shelter Cove on Tuesday. Since the weekend, the salmon bite has picked up out of Shelter Cove as well as Fort Bragg. Photo courtesy of Jake Mitchell/Sea Hawk Sport Fishing

Our neighbors to the south are currently enjoying a pretty good salmon bite. Charter and sport boats alike have scored limits since the weekend on some very nice sized kings. Out of Shelter Cove, Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing mooched up limits of salmon for his customers on Tuesday fishing in 60 feet of water. A few sport guys also did well mooching over the weekend. The bite out of Fort Bragg has been good since the opener, with quite a few limits being reported. Most of the action has been from the Whistle north to Laguna Point. The fish are hugging the bottom, with the successful boats fishing in 80 to 100 feet of water and their downriggers nearly bouncing off the bottom

Watching from the sidelines as kings are flying over the rails from the Bay Area north to Shelter Cove hasn’t been an easy pill to swallow. It really makes you appreciate how good we had it the past five or six seasons. With any luck, we’ll know that feeling again soon.

Marine forecast
The ocean conditions weren’t very pretty last weekend and that trend continued early this week. The ocean did come down on Wednesday, but it looks like it’s on its way back up for the weekend. Out 10 nautical miles north of the Cape, Friday’s forecast is calling for NW winds 5 to 15 knots and waves out of the NW 7 feet at 8 seconds. The wind decreases slightly on Saturday, coming out of the NW 5 to 10 knots. Waves will be NW 6 feet at 9 seconds. Sunday is looking similar, with NW winds 5 to 10 knots and waves NW 5 feet at 8 seconds and NW 3 feet at 12 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.

Halibut season re-opens Sept. 1
The Pacific halibut season will re-open next Friday, September 1 and will remain open through Oct. 31, or until the quota is reached, whichever is earlier. Through August 20, the CDFW has projected 27,989 net pounds have been harvested towards a quota of 34,580 pounds. For up-to-date harvest tracking information, visit https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Pacific-Halibut#31670772-in-season-tracking

Trinidad Rockfish Wars coming Aug. 26
If you plan on fishing out of Trinidad this Saturday, expect to see quite a few kayaks. Pacific Outfitters will be hosting the 7th annual Trinidad Rockfish Wars kayak fishing tournament. The tournament is open to Kayak, Canoes and SUP’s. For more information and complete details of the tournament, visit http://pacificoutfitters.com/tournament-trinidad-rockfish-wars-7-trw7-082617

Klamath/Trinity regulations
A reminder that the Klamath River is currently closed to salmon fishing, and the Trinity will be closed as of Sept. 1. During the salmon closures, both rivers will remain open to steelhead fishing. A couple of good rule of thumbs with regards to the salmon closure. When you’re fishing for steelhead and you catch a salmon or two, it’s a good idea to either move or change up your gear or method. If you do hook a jack or an adult salmon, it is illegal to remove them from the water by any means. Trolling the estuary, fishing red-cured bait in deep holes, or backtrolling large Kwikfish are some of the methods employed to catch Chinook. These techniques, while not technically illegal, will be frowned upon during the closure and will likely increase your chances of contact with law enforcement. For the complete list of Klamath/Trinity regulations, visit http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=147891

Trinity River salmon trappings
For the week of Aug. 13 through Aug. 19, 27 Chinook salmon were counted at the Junction City weir. Of the 27, 10 were jacks and 17 were adults. To date, this trapping season, which began on July 23, 65 adults and 18 jacks have been counted. The Junction City weir was taken out by a large tree on Monday night, which likely means no trapping will take place this week. The Willow Creek weir is not yet in the water, but could be back in business this week with trapping starting on Aug. 27.

The Oceans:
Eureka
It’s more of the same for the Eureka boats. Pacific halibut is still closed and the ocean’s been too rough for a Cape run. The saving grace continues to be the California halibut fishery within Humboldt Bay according to Tim Klassen of the Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “There’s still a lot of fish around, including lots of undersized fish. The bite slowed a little this week, due largely to the big tide swings. I don’t think they bite as well when there’s a lot of water moving, it seems like they hunker down until the heavy current subsides. It looks like the ocean might be good enough this weekend for a Cape run, but we’ll have to wait and see. The tuna water that had been sitting straight west of Eureka has broken up, hopefully the water that sitting off of Fort Bragg will move south so we can get another shot at some tuna.”

Trinidad
Trinidad has been pretty quiet lately reports Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters.  He said, “The weather hasn’t been great, the tourism has slowed, and halibut won’t open until next Friday. There isn’t a whole lot going on, but the regulars are still going out and catching a few rockfish and some lings. Once halibut opens back up, we should see some more activity.”

Shelter Cove
“Salmon fishing had been pretty slow this past week for us,” said Captain Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “We had been averaging about 3 fish per day until Tuesday. On Tuesday, the fish finally turned on and went on the bite. We had our 10-fish limit by 1 p.m. We have been mooching them up in Bread N’ Butter in 60 feet of water. The fish have been a pretty fair grade with about a 12-pound average. Rock fishing was pretty mediocre this week but we also didn’t spend as much time on them with more of the effort concentrated on salmon. Conditions look a bit rough until Saturday, but should still be fishable.”

Crescent City
“With the ocean being rough and the halibut closure in effect, it’s been pretty quiet here”, said Leonard Carter of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “I don’t think there was much happening over the weekend. The ocean laid down on Wednesday and some boats went out, but I didn’t hear how they did. Things should start to pick back up a little once the ocean comes down.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The water coming down from the Trinity hit the lower river, peaking at 5,200 cfs early Wednesday morning. The steelhead fishing was excellent over the weekend, and it will likely pick back up once the river settles. With the salmon closure, fishing pressure has been light. The few boats that are out have reported really good steelhead fishing while fishing the riffles from Blue Creek down to Blakes. Reportedly there’s quite a few adults around, with some nice hatchery fish in the mix as well.

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

Trinity salmon season open through Aug. 31

Let’s get the bad news out of the way first….

The Klamath River, for the first time that anyone can remember, is completely closed to salmon fishing as of Tuesday, Aug. 15. With only 12,000 adult fall-run Chinook expected to return, an all-time low, the closure was needed to help protect the stocks. The Klamath fall-run Chinook are currently classified under the federal plan as “approaching an overfished condition.” With poor returns of adults the past two years, coupled with returns this fall that are expected to be just as bad or even worse, the stock is expected to be classified as “overfished” in 2018. Saying that every fish counts, especially returning spawners, would be a huge understatement. The Trinity still has a couple weeks left prior to its closing. It will remain open to salmon fishing through Aug. 31 downstream of the Old Lewiston Bridge to the confluence of the South Fork Trinity River. The limit is two kings of any size.

Now the good news….

Both rivers will remain open to steelhead angling through the salmon closure. On the Klamath, fishing is allowed from 3,500 feet downstream of the Iron Gate Dam to the estuary. The daily bag limit is 2 hatchery steelhead. The Spit Area (within 100 yards of the channel through the sand spit formed at the Klamath River mouth) closed to all fishing on August 15 and will remain closed through Dec. 31.

The Trinity is open to steelhead angling from downstream of the Old Lewiston Bridge to the confluence of the Klamath River through Dec. 31. The one exception is the area downstream of the Highway 299 West bridge at Cedar Flat to the Denny Road bridge at Hawkins Bar. This area is closed to all fishing from Sept. 1 through Dec. 31. The daily bag limit is 2 hatchery steelhead.

For the complete list of fall Klamath/Trinity regulations, visit http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=147891

Trinity River releases scheduled for Boat Dance Ceremony
The Bureau of Reclamation will increase releases from Lewiston Dam to the Trinity River in support of the Hoopa Valley Tribe’s biennial Boat Dance Ceremony Aug. 22 in Hoopa according to a press release issued on Aug. 11. To account for travel time of water released from Lewiston Dam, releases will increase above the base summer flow of 450 cfs at 6 p.m. Aug. 20, and will reach a peak flow of 2,650 cfs between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. Aug. 21. The releases will then gradually decrease back to the base summer flow about 4 p.m. Aug. 24.

The ceremonial flows are separate from the Trinity River restoration flows. The timing and flow rates from Lewiston Dam are preliminary and subject to subtle changes. People near or recreating on the river can expect river levels to increase and should take appropriate safety precautions. For more information, please contact Reclamation’s Northern California Area Office at 530-275-1554 or visit https://www.usbr.gov/newsroom/newsrelease/detail.cfm?RecordID=60266

Trinity River salmon trappings
As of Aug. 12, 48 adult Chinook salmon had been counted at the Junction City weir. Of those, 8 were hatchery fish. With the release of water from the dam starting next Saturday, the fall run kings should begin to make their way upriver.

Weekend Marine forecast
The ocean conditions haven’t been very pretty this week, and it looks like more of the same through the weekend. Out 10 nautical miles north of the Cape, Friday’s forecast is calling for NW winds 5 to 15 knots and waves out of the NW 7 feet at 8 seconds and NW 4 feet at 12 seconds. The wind picks up slightly on Saturday, coming out of the NW 10 to 20 knots. Waves will be NW 8 feet at 8 seconds. Sunday is looking a little worse, with N winds 10 to 20 knots and waves NW 9 feet at 9 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 closed until Sept. 1
The Pacific halibut season closed on August 15 and will open back up on Sept. 1 and run through Oct. 31, or until the quota is reached, whichever is earlier. As of Aug. 13, the CDFW has projected 23,301 net pounds have been harvested towards a quota of 34,580 pounds. For up-to-date harvest tracking information, visit https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Pacific-Halibut#31670772-in-season-tracking

Becka Pearcy of Arcata landed this nice Vermilion rockfish on Saturday while fishing with her dad Bill. The father and daughter duo were fishing along the south jetty. The tasty rockfish weighed in at just over 4-pounds. Photo courtesy of Bill Pearcy

The Oceans:
Eureka
The oceans been rough since Sunday, keeping the fleet either tied up or inside Humboldt Bay reports Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. He said, “The Pacific halibut bite was in a gradual decline. We went from limits, to three to two to none by Sunday. We’ve been fishing in the same general area where we got them last week, but for whatever reason, they just went off the bite. The tuna water is still sitting about 45 miles straight out, but we’ll have to see if these winds will start to tear it up. With the ocean being too rough, most of the action has been on the bay for California halibut. The bite has slowed a little, but there’s still plenty of keepers to be had.”

Shelter Cove
“We were able to make it north a few times this week for rockfish and halibut,” said Captain Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “The rock fishing at Rodgers Break was fantastic with limits every day. We also brought home a halibut each day fishing off Spanish Flat. We had a fair amount of salmon action on Tuesday, but only had two keepers to show for it. There were lots of short kings and some really nice silvers that kept us busy. The fish seem to be spread out from the whistle to the Hat. Some boats definitely did better than us, I think the top boat had eight.”

Crescent City
Quite a few halibut were caught over the weekend reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. He said, “The ocean was nice, and there was more effort on the halibut grounds. Some nice ones came in, the average size was around 30 to 50 pounds. Most of the action was out near the South Reef in 220 to 250 feet of water. We had a bunch of small anchovies pushed up right on the beach over the weekend, and it was pretty good fishing all around the harbor. The black rockfish were thick, and a few lings were caught as well.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The steelhead bite had been excellent on the Lower Klamath up until Sunday. The river colored up on Saturday night, presumably from the rain in the Trinity area, which made fishing a little tougher on Sunday and Monday. There’s plenty of steelhead in the river, both half-pounders and adults. Fishing should only get better from here on out as more fish enter the system.

A reminder that the Klamath River is now closed to Chinook salmon fishing. The Spit Area is closed to all fishing through the end of the year. 

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

McKinleyville resident Bob Hoopes landed this 79-pound halibut on a recent trip to Cape Mendocino. The big halibut is the current leader of Englund Marine’s BIG FISH Halibut Contest. Pacific halibut season will close on Aug. 15 and re-open on Sept. 1 and remain open through Oct. 31, or until the 34,580-pound quota is projected to have been taken, whichever is earlier. Photo courtesy of Sherry Klassen

Triples, doubles, limits, back to the dock by 10 a.m.!

No folks, we’re not talking about salmon or California Halibut — we’re talking Pacific Halibut.

The bite was fast and furious over the weekend out of Eureka, the type of action that is rarely seen in this neck of the woods. Charter and sport boats alike were landing on large schools of flatties, making for some short days and big smiles. The bite was, and has been, equally as good in Trinidad. Limit-style fishing has been going on there pretty much since the season opened back up on the first. Good reports have also been coming out of Shelter Cove and Crescent City. They don’t have quite the number of boats, but they’ve put up some pretty impressive scores this week. If you need a halibut fix, you better make it quick. The season will close again on Aug. 15 and re-open on Sept. 1 and run through Oct. 31, or until the quota is reached, whichever is earlier. With the amount of fish that have been flying over the rails lately, I’m guessing the quota took a pretty good hit. For up-to-date harvest tracking information, visit https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Pacific-Halibut#31670772-in-season-tracking

Weekend Marine forecast
After a week of beautiful ocean conditions, we’re going to start to see a little more wind and swell. Out 10 nautical miles from Pt. St. George to Cape Mendocino, Friday’s forecast is calling for NW winds 5 to 10 knots and waves out of the N 4 feet at 4 seconds. Saturday’s forecasts is calling for NW winds 5 to 15 knots and waves NW 4 feet at 5 seconds. Sunday is looking similar, with winds out of the NW 5 to 15 knots and waves NW 6 feet at 6 seconds. 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. You can also call the National Weather Service at 707-443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 707-443-6484.

North Coast tuna
Late last week and over the weekend, ocean conditions were about perfect for tuna. Quite a few boats ran offshore from Shelter Cove, Eureka, Trinidad and Crescent City. Shelter Cove seemed to be the top port, with boats coming back with 30 to 60 albacore. According to the Humboldt Tuna Club, the Eureka fleet scores were ranging from 10 to 30 fish per boat, but were hampered by the longer run to the fish. One boat from Crescent City boated 26 on Friday. The weather is definitely looking better out of the northern ports this week, with quite a few launching out of Brookings on Thursday and Friday.

Shelter Cove/Fort Bragg salmon seasons set to reopen
The recreational salmon season from Horse Mtn. to Point Arena will reopen next Tuesday, Aug. 15 and remain open to Nov. 12. The minimum size limit is 20 inches total length with a daily bag limit of 2 salmon of any species except Coho. For more information, please visit the Ocean Salmon webpage at www.wildlife.ca.gov/oceansalmon or call the Ocean Salmon Regulations Hotline at 707-576-3429.

The Oceans:
Eureka
Halibut and rockfish have been the two main targets this week according to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. He said, “The halibut bite finally slowed down on Monday after a few days of red hot fishing. The last few days boats were averaging about three fish per trip. Most of the action is happening just south of Trinidad in 150 feet of water. I’m not sure what slowed the bite, but it likely has something to do with the tides. The rockfish bite at the Cape is still really good, with lots of variety to be had. We’re still getting limits of quality ling cod, and we’re seeing quite a few quillbacks around.”

Trinidad
According to Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters, the Pacific halibut bite out of Trinidad was wide-open this week. He said, “Almost all of the Trinidad boats have been scoring limits each day. They’ve been in shallower water, with most of the action coming in 100 to 150 feet of water. It hasn’t really mattered if you went north or south. The rockfish and lingcod bite has been really good as well. We’ve been getting limits or close to it just about every trip. There’s fish from outside Flat Iron all the way to Patrick’s Point.”

Shelter Cove
“We ran a halibut and rockfish combo trip on Wednesday up near Rodgers Break area,” said Captain Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “We landed two halibut to 47-lbs and had limits of rockfish, but fell a couple of lings short. Thursday through Saturday we fished albacore and put 140 fish on the boat in those three days. Our best day was Friday with 60 fish by 1:30 p.m. Most of our tuna success was on the edge of the Vizcaino Canyon. The weather doesn’t look good for tuna for the rest of the week, but it’s been a lot nicer that I was expecting the last couple days. Sunday we were back on the halibut grounds but we weren’t able to bring any on board. We switched over to bottom fish and got limits of lings and rockfish in just a couple hours. I spent the last two days down at the Hat for quality limits of rockfish and lingcod. Looks like it will mainly be rock fishing and halibut this week unless the forecast changes.”

Crescent City
According to Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, the Pacific halibut bite really picked up this week. He said, “I saw a half-dozen come in on Wednesday, and there’s definitely more anglers out fishing. The best bite has been outside the South Reef in 220 to 250 feet of water. We had a pretty decent albacore bite over the weekend too. A couple boats came back with 21-26 fish and another came in with 60. I’m not sure the weather will hold for this weekend, it looks a little better to our north.” Hegnes said.

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The steelhead action picked up the last couple days on the Lower Klamath as a group of adults and half-pounders made their way through the mouth over the weekend. The salmon bite is still sporadic, but there’s definitely more salmon in the estuary at the moment. The key is to be there when they go on the bite. Both Kastmasters and spinners have worked well.

A reminder that the Klamath River will close to Chinook salmon fishing after Aug. 14. This includes the Spit Area. During the salmon season closure, steelhead angling will still be allowed. For more info, visit http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=147891

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

Fortuna resident Nathan Graham landed a nice pair of female Rock greenlings on a recent trip to the south jetty. In the Northern Management Area, which runs from the CA/OR border to Cape Mendocino, rock fishing is open year-round to shore-based anglers and divers. Photo courtesy of Joe Graham

Rockfish, Pacific halibut, tuna, and even salmon.

It’s been an arduous wait, but we finally have a variety of offshore options to choose from along the North Coast. And a pretty nice ocean to boot. The Pacific halibut season opened back up on Tuesday, but the ocean and the halibut weren’t fully cooperating for the Eureka boats. They were reportedly biting pretty good in Trinidad however. After being stuck inside the bay or not fishing, boats finally made their way easily to the Cape, where the fishing remains lights-out. Tuna is currently all the rage from Fort Bragg to Eureka. A few Fort Bragg boats did really well on Tuesday, with a much larger fleet expected on Thursday and Friday. The warm water is currently sitting about 28 miles off of Noyo Harbor. There’s also a good chunk of warm water sitting about 20 miles off of Cape Mendocino, which is where you’ll find the Shelter Cove and Eureka boats on Friday. The recreational salmon season for Fort Bragg and Shelter Cove is on the horizon, opening back up on Aug. 15. Always good to have options…

Klamath and Trinity regulations reminder
A reminder that there will be no fall-run Chinook fishery on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers in 2017. The Klamath River is closed to Chinook salmon fishing between August 15 and December 31. The Trinity River is closed to Chinook salmon fishing between September 1 and December 31. This fall, roughly 12,000 spawners are predicted to return, an all-time low. To help protect the stocks, all fishing for Klamath River Fall-Run Chinook Salmon, including jacks (salmon less than 22 inches) is prohibited.

Additional regulations include:

• The Spit Area (within 100 yards of the channel through the sand spit formed at the Klamath River mouth) is closed to all fishing from August 15 to December 31.
• No fishing is allowed from June 15 through September 14 in the Klamath River from 500 feet above the mouth of Blue Creek to 500 feet downstream of the mouth of Blue Creek.
• No fishing is allowed from September 15 through December 31 in the Klamath River within 500 feet of the mouths of the Salmon, the Shasta and the Scott rivers and Blue Creek.

In the meantime, spring-run regulations are in effect on both rivers. Chinook fishing will be allowed through Aug. 14 on the Klamath downstream of the Highway 96 bridge. On the Trinity, fishing is open downstream of the Old Lewiston Bridge to the confluence of the South Fork Trinity River through August 31. The limit is two kings of any size on both rivers. After these dates, both fisheries will be closed for salmon for the remainder of the calendar year. Important Reminder: During the salmon season closure, steelhead angling will still be allowed in both the Klamath and Trinity rivers. Where fishing is allowed, the daily bag limit is two hatchery steelhead. For the complete list of Klamath/Trinity regs, visit http://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=147891

Shelter Cove/Fort Bragg salmon seasons set to reopen
The recreational salmon season from Horse Mtn. to Point Arena will reopen on Aug. 15 and remain open to Nov. 12. The minimum size limit is 20 inches total length with a daily bag limit of 2 salmon of any species except Coho. For more information, please visit the Ocean Salmon webpage at www.wildlife.ca.gov/oceansalmon or call the Ocean Salmon Regulations Hotline at 707-576-3429.

Weekend Marine forecast
We finally have some decent ocean conditions, which should stick around through the weekend. Out 10 nautical miles north of the Cape, Friday’s forecast is calling for NW winds to 5 knots and waves out of the NW 3 feet at 8 seconds. Saturday is calling for NW winds 5 to 10 knots and waves NW 3 feet at 4 seconds and NW 3 feet at 9 seconds. Sunday’s conditions are looking similar, with winds out of the NW 5 to 10 knots and waves 4 feet at 5 seconds. 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. You can 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.

The Oceans:
Eureka
Another weekend of rough ocean conditions are in the books, but that’s all starting to change. Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing broke the ice and made his way to the Cape on Monday in so-so conditions. The fishing, as usual, was wide-open with limits of big lings and rockfish reported. More boats headed that way on Tuesday and Wednesday and the reports were more of the same. Pacific halibut opened back up on Tuesday, and it sounds like the few who fished didn’t put much of a dent in the quota. Look for the bite to pick up as the ocean continues to improve. “The warm tuna water is sitting off of Gorda about 45 miles from the jaws,” said Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “Conditions look great for Friday, I’m sure a lot of boats will be running from Eureka. Hopefully the water will continue to move a little closer to us. The California halibut bite is still going strong in Humboldt Bay, there still seems to be lots of them around.”

Trinidad
Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters reports the rockfish and halibut bite is getting good with the improved ocean conditions. He said, “The ocean has laid down, and the fish are biting. When it’s calm, we’ve been able to score a pretty wide variety of rockfish, including lots of blues. We should start to see the ling bite improve as well. The halibut fishing has been really good since the opener, with plenty of limits to be had. Most of the fleet are fishing straight out and maybe a little south in 100 to 200 feet of water.”

Shelter Cove
“Rock fishing was mediocre this week and it took us some time to get limits,” said Captain Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “I ran for tuna on Tuesday and found the edge at 30 miles. We only boated eight, it just didn’t seem to be our day. They were getting them pretty good off of Fort Bragg, but by the time I figured it out it was too late for me to run down there. The weather looks great the rest of the week, so we’ll be chasing tuna.”

Crescent City
“I haven’t heard of any halibut caught the last couple days, but we should see more effort now that the ocean is calm,” reports Leonard Carter of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. He said, “The rock fishing continues to be excellent when the boats have gotten out. The weekend should be really good. We also have some 60-degree water sitting offshore about 25 miles just outside the 125-line. I’m guessing we’ll see a few boats venture out for tuna.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The bite on the Lower Klamath was hit and miss this week for both salmon in the estuary and steelhead upriver. It seems to be feast or famine at the moment. The salmon bite in the estuary was pretty good on Monday and Tuesday, then fell flat on Wednesday. The summer steelhead bite has been decent, with boats getting three to five hookups per day working the river from Blue Creek down to the Glen. Water temps are on the rise, and in some locations, it’s approaching 75 degrees.

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

Hayfork resident Zac Scott landed a nice albacore tuna on Tuesday while fishing out of Shelter Cove. Scott and a couple of other anglers, along with Skipper Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing, took a chance and ran 42 miles to the Gorda Valley and landed a total of 26 tuna for the day. Photo courtesy of Jake Mitchell/Sea Hawk Sport Fishing

Captain Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing had a hunch, and it paid off in a big way. On Tuesday, despite a mediocre forecast, he ventured from Shelter Cove out to the Gorda Valley where the water was warm, and hopefully loaded with tuna. “The wind was forecasted to stay outside of the 125 line, so I figured it was worth a shot,” said Mitchell. “I had some pretty salty clients and let them know there was a good chance we may not make it out to the warm water. They didn’t care, they wanted to catch a tuna. They’ve been coming to the Cove for eight years and have never caught one.” Mitchell pounded his way through some pretty sloppy conditions, and contemplated turning around at one point. But the weather slowly improved the further out they went. “Eventually we made it to the edge, which had pushed out a couple more miles then I expected. We trolled out through the break and into clear-blue 61degree water. We trolled for an hour and a half with no biters, and no signs of life, before we finally got a single. We spent the next couple hours boxing that area for four more singles and one double. Eventually that area dried up, so we moved on. Finally at about noon, we saw our first jumpers and got an eight-way out of them and landed seven. We finished up our day there with a couple more quads and a few singles. For the day, we boated 26 mid-grade albacore about 42 miles from the Cove on the edge of Gorda Valley.” Sometimes it pays to follow your hunch…

Weekend Marine Forecast
Not a lot of inshore wind this weekend, but the ocean conditions will be marginal at best. Friday’s forecast is calling for 5 to 15 knot winds out of the N and NW waves 5 feet at 6 seconds. Saturday is calling for NW winds 5 to 15 knots and waves out of the NW 7 feet at 7 seconds. Sunday’s forecast is roughly the same, with winds out of the NW 5 to 15 knots and waves 6 feet at 7 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.

Halibut season re-opens August 1
The Pacific halibut season will re-open on Tuesday, August 1 and will remain open through August 15. The season will open up again on Sept. 1 and run through Oct. 31, or until the quota is reached, whichever is earlier. Through July, the CDFW has projected 11,664 net pounds have been harvested towards a quota of 34,580 pounds. For up-to-date harvest tracking information, visit https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Pacific-Halibut#31670772-in-season-tracking

Abalone season part 2
Abalone season re-opens on Tuesday, August 1 along the North Coast from the San Francisco Bay north. After being closed for the month of July, the season will remain open through October. Diving is legal from 8 a.m. to 30 minutes after sunset. The daily bag and possession limit is three. For complete list of regulations, visit http://www.eregulations.com/california/fishing/saltwater/invertebrate-fishing-regulations/

Sport Crab season coming to a close
The 2017 sport Dungeness crab season in Humboldt, Mendocino, and Del Norte counties will close on Sunday July 30. The season will re-open on Nov. 4.

Tuna update
Shelter Cove wasn’t the only local port where tuna was caught on Tuesday. A boat from Fort Bragg made a 37-mile run to Noyo Canyon and loaded the boat with 47 albies. The warm water that had been sitting off of Eureka has reportedly broken up, but there’s a warm patch sitting off of Crescent City. When the wind and seas calm down, it should be game on with the tuna water in range of multiple ports.

The Oceans:
Eureka
The ocean conditions out of Eureka continue to be borderline, with Friday and the weekend looking much the same according to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “We were able to get offshore last Thursday, but that’s been it. The fishing was excellent at the Cape as always, and the quality of lings was outstanding. Limits came easy, with about a 15-pound average. The rock fishing is still lights out, and we landed some of the biggest blacks and vermillion I’ve seen. Most of the action has been in Humboldt Bay the last week, where the California halibut bite is still wide-open. The only time they’re a little finicky is when they are some big tide swings. They seem to bite better on the moderate tides. Drifting live anchovies in the middle and north channels is still the ticket.”

Trinidad
Before the weather picked up on Sunday afternoon, the ling cod bite had been epic reports Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters out of Trinidad. “Late last week and up until Sunday, the lings were biting like crazy. We had some pretty decent conditions, which helped. All the boats were getting limits. The rockfish are still going strong. On the flatter days, we seem to get a much wider variety. We haven’t had any problems catching our limits of blacks. The crabbing has slowed as they’ve started to molt. But we’re still able to send the customers home with ten each,” Wilson said.

Crescent City
The wind has been blowing and the oceans been rough, so it’s been pretty quiet up here reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “A few of the local guys have gone and stayed close to the harbor, but it hasn’t been that good. Those in-close places get fished pretty hard. There hasn’t been many, if any, boats headed offshore. Once the wind quits we’ll start to see the effort pick back up, especially with halibut season opening back up on Aug. 1.” Hegnes said.

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The summer steelhead bite picked up this week for the few boats side-drifting roe, with the best bite happening from Blue Creek down. The salmon action in the estuary also picked up on Wednesday, with quite a few more fish caught. It’s been on the slow side, but now and then a boat will pick up three or four a day. Like any estuary fishing, you have to be there when they’re biting. There seems to be a decent bite first thing in the morning, then it becomes a tidal bite. The best time is typically a couple hours prior to high tide, but not always.

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

Lonnie Dollarhide with a nice albacore landed on July 19th off the coast of Eureka. Photo courtesy of Tim Klassen/Reel Steel Sport Fishing.

Tuna fever is spreading quickly among Humboldt County saltwater fishermen. There’s warm water sitting off the coast of Eureka, and there’s patches lined up all the way to Charleston, OR., giving anglers a few different options. A small three-day weather window opened up for Eureka on Wednesday, and a few boats made the 27-mile run straight west to the where the water turned 60 degrees. Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing was one of the boats to venture out and boxed 11 albacore in the 12 to 20-pound range. Most of the other boats fishing in the same location landed a few fish as well.

Quite a few local boats opted to tow to Charleston on Tuesday, taking advantage of some really good fishing and calm seas. Boats put up some good scores over the weekend, prompting anglers to head for more of a sure thing. All signs are pointing to a really good tuna season along the North Coast. After a couple of subpar years, it feels good to get the fever back. 

Marine Forecast
Following a short reprieve from the wind, it looks like it will be back for the weekend. Out 10 nautical miles from Pt. St. George to Cape Mendocino, Friday’s forecast is calling for 5 to 15 knot winds out of the NW and NW waves 3 feet at 5 seconds. Saturday is calling for NW winds 10 to 20 knots and waves out of the NW 7 feet at 7 seconds. Sunday’s forecast is a little worse, with winds out of the NW 10 to 15 knots and waves 8 feet at 9 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.

California halibut remains wide-open
The California halibut action is still wide-open within Humboldt Bay, with limit-style fishing the norm. Boats drifting live anchovies in the north and middle channels are finding easy limits. Reportedly, there’s quite a few more keepers around now as well. The daily bag and possession limit is 3 per person. The minimum size limit is 22 inches total length.

Humboldt Crabs baseball coaches Robin Guiver, left, and Ryan Dettman made the most of their day off on Monday. The angling duo scored limits of California halibut while fishing in Humboldt Bay. Photo courtesy of Mike Stratman/Redwood Coast Fishing

Crabs close/Abalone opens
The 2017 sport Dungeness crab season in Humboldt, Mendocino, and Del Norte counties will close on Sunday July 30. Recreational abalone season will re-open on August 1, following a July closure. For more information, visit https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Invertebrates/Abalone

The Oceans:
Eureka
The wind has been the story out of Eureka this past week reports Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “We haven’t been able to get offshore this week. It’s been too rough to make it all the way to the Cape, and with halibut closed, there isn’t much going on. The California halibut inside Humboldt Bay is still producing limits for boats, with more keepers starting to show up. The ocean is forecasted to lay down Wednesday through Friday, so we’ll be trying to find some Tuna,” Klassen added.

Trinidad
The rockfish and ling cod are really on the bite reports Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters. “The weather and ocean has been pretty good up here, so we’ve been able to get out into some deeper water where the fishing has been excellent. Straight out in 100 to 120 feet of water has produced some quality lings in the 20-pound range as well as a variety of rockfish,” Wilson added.

Crescent City
Ocean conditions have improved the last couple days, and the rockfish bite is still going strong reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “It’s been kind of quiet, but the locals are still catching some nice rockfish and lings at all the usual spots. We did weigh in a 34-pound ling this week, so there’s definitely some big ones out there. I also heard some good Redtail perch reports coming from the mouth of the Klamath.” Hegnes said.

Shelter Cove:
The rockfish bite has been a bit inconsistent with Captain Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing saying, “One day we’ll get limits of rockfish and lings fairly quickly, and the next day we’ll struggle a bit. It seems the only thing consistent lately has been the wind as it’s forced us to stay pretty close to home. There have been a few California halibut showing in the harbor as well lately. After getting our limits of rockfish and lings on Tuesday, we spent an hour and a half in the harbor and landed three halibut to 12 pounds while losing a couple others.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Most of the action has now moved to the estuary where a handful of salmon are being caught each day by boats trolling Kastmasters. The number of fish and the bite seems to be improving each day. The best action has been at first light and then an hour prior to high tide.

Junction City weir update
The Junction City weir will be installed on Monday, July 24 in the same location as previous years, near Evan’s Bar. The first TRP weekly trapping summary should be out one or two weeks after installation. Installation dates for the Willow Creek weir have yet to be determined. Questions about the weirs should be directed to John.Hileman@wildlife.ca.gov

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

Redding resident Kinsey Hansen, along with son Clark, landed a nice pair of California halibut on a recent trip to Humboldt Bay. The recreational fishery for California halibut is open year-round. The daily bag and possession limit is three fish north of Point Sur, Monterey County. Photo courtesy of Matt and Lisa Dallam/Northwind Charters

Having a backup plan — whether in life or in fishing — is always a good idea.

In fishing, having a solid plan B can sometimes save the day, or even a season. For Eureka anglers, heading offshore to fish for salmon, halibut or rockfish is always plan A. With no salmon season and lots of wind and rough seas to squash any thoughts of heading out the jaws, we’re pretty darn lucky to have the California halibut fishery within Humboldt Bay as our offshore alternative. It has certainly saved a lot days for the charter fleet, and it’s been blessing for the smaller boats and kayaks that can’t or don’t want to venture offshore. Currently the bay is full of both shaker and keeper-size halibut. According to Fish and Game, they typically migrate into bays and estuaries during warmer water periods associated with El Niño events, which we had in 2015. With the numbers of juvenile halibut in the bay, the fishery should continue to be productive for the next few years.

The preferred angling method is drifting using live anchovies or shiner perch. Artificial lures and drifting or trolling dead bait both work well at times, although not always as effective.

Recreational Regulations
22 in. minimum total length. Total length: tip of the snout to the longest lobe of the tail without tail manipulation.
3 fish bag and possession limit north of Pt. Sur, Monterey County
5 fish bag and possession limit south of Pt. Sur, Monterey County

The 22 in. minimum size limit protects immature CA Halibut from fishery take.
No more than one daily bag limit may be taken or possessed by any one person, regardless of whether the fish are fresh, frozen, or otherwise preserved. For more information see: www.wildlife.ca.gov/regions/marine

Best methods for handling short undersize (AKA a ‘shaker’) halibut that don’t need to be measured:

• Leave the fish in the water or dangling over the water, and shake the fish off the hook. If necessary, hold the leader line and use pliers to unhook the fish without touching it.
• If handling the fish is necessary to remove the hook, gently clamp down on the gill cover with one hand. Remove the hook using your other hand, while the fish is held over the side of the boat.

If the Halibut is close to the minimum size and it must be brought onboard to be measured:

• Wet your net/measuring device/hands/cloth before handling the fish.
• Use a soft, knotless landing net with small-mesh and avoid contact with the deck.
• Handle the fish by supporting both the head and tail. Place the fish on top of the measuring device.
• Ease the fish back into the water if it is short.

What to avoid when handling short Halibut:

• Do not allow the fish to come into contact with the deck or any other rough surface. This can cause boat rash, which makes the fish more susceptible to infection.
• Do not let fingers or pliers come into contact with the gills.
• Do not hold the fish only by the tail without supporting the head or body.
• Do not use large-mesh nets to land short Halibut. These nets cause tail-splitting which makes the fish more susceptible to infection.

Tip: If the Halibut is gut-hooked, cut the leader line and leave the hook. Attempts at hook removal may increase the chance of death. However, if the Halibut is mouth-hooked attempts should be made to remove the hook instead of cutting the line.

Marine Forecast
If the forecast holds, it looks like it may be another windy weekend. Out 10 nautical miles from Pt. St. George to Cape Mendocino, Friday’s forecast is calling for NW winds 5 to 15 knots and NW waves 4 feet at 6 seconds and NW 4 feet at 10. For Saturday, winds will be out of the N 10 to 20 knots and waves N 6 feet at 6 seconds. On Sunday, winds will be out of the NW 10 to 20 knots and waves NW 7 feet at 8 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 closes after Saturday
The Pacific halibut season will close on July 15 and open back up on August 1 and run through the 15th. The remainder of the seasons open dates are: Sept. 1-Oct. 31, or until the quota is reached, whichever is earlier. As if July 9, the CDFW has projected 11,190 net pounds have been harvested towards a quota of 34,580 pounds. For up-to-date harvest tracking information, visit https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Pacific-Halibut#31670772-in-season-tracking

The Oceans:
Eureka
“Not much has been happening offshore as there doesn’t appear to be an end to the wind,” said Skipper Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “Late last week and over the weekend the Pacific halibut bite was excellent, with lots of limits reported. We haven’t been able to get back out there since Saturday, and the long range forecast doesn’t look to promising. I’ve heard the tuna water is about 24 miles off of Eureka, but it doesn’t look like we’ll get a shot at it until maybe late next week. Hopefully it will still be in range once the wind stops.”

Trinidad
According to Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters, the halibut bite was wide-open earlier this week. “It was fairly easy limits for boats fishing 40 fathoms straight out of the harbor last week and over the weekend. There wasn’t much current, and there seems to be a lot of fish out there. The rockfish continue to bite when the ocean conditions are good. It looks like we won’t be going offshore for halibut this weekend due to the wind, but we may be able to sneak in a rockfish trip,” Wilson added.

Shelter Cove
“Despite the wind, the rock fishing has been great the past couple weeks,” said Captain Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “We’ve been getting limits just about every trip, mainly fishing the Old Man and the Hat. The weather has kept us off the halibut grounds for the most part, but we have been getting a couple while rock fishing. Some boats ran for tuna last week and they all got pretty good scores. Also, the salmon have shown up and we’ve hooked and released a couple this week on shrimp flies.” The recreation salmon season will re-open in the Shelter Cove/Fort Bragg area on Aug. 15 and remain open through Nov. 12.

Crescent City
Ocean conditions have been pretty sloppy since the weekend reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “We had a decent halibut bite last week, including one that came in around 105 pounds. Most of the halibut success has been outside of the South Reef in 300 feet of water. The lingcod and rockfish bite has been good when the boats are able to get out and the current is good.” Hegnes said.

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The handful of boats still sitting on the anchor are catching a few spring salmon each day, but the scores haven’t been great. A couple fish have been caught in the estuary by boats trolling Kastmasters and that fishery should heat up any time. There’s a few more steelhead around now, flows are low enough to start side-drifting some of the riffles.

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