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North Coast rivers that are regulated by low flow closures, including the Eel River, Mad River, Mattole River, Redwood Creek, Smith River and Van Duzen River will begin angling restrictions on Oct. 1, except for the Mad River, which went into effect Sept. 1. The Department of Fish and Game will make the information available to the public by a telephone recorded message updated, as necessary, no later than 1 p.m. each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as to whether any stream will be closed to fishing. The rivers can be opened up at any time. The low flow closure hotline for North Coast rivers is 822-3164.

The main stem Eel from the South Fork to Cape Horn Dam and the Mattole River will be closed until Jan. 1.

Areas subjected to Low Flow Closures:

Mad River — the main stem Mad River from the Hammond Trail Railroad Trestle to Cowan Creek. Minimum flow: 200 cfs at the gauging station at the Highway 299 bridge.

Eel River — the main stem Eel River from the paved junction of Fulmor Road with the Eel River to the South Fork Eel River — minimum flow: 350 cfs at the gauging station near Scotia.

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

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

Mattole River — the main stem of the Mattole River from the mouth to Honeydew Creek.

Minimum flow: 320 cfs at the gauging station at Petrolia.

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

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

Patricia Stockel of Eureka, pictured right, along with skipper Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing landed this whopper Vermilion rockfish on Monday while fishing near Cape Mendocino. The North Coast rockfish season, as well as Pacific Halibut, both come to a close at the end of October. Photo courtesy of Reel Steel Sport Fishing

Fresh kings still entering the Klamath

This week’s lake-like ocean conditions prompted more than a few boats to target late-season rockfish near Cape Mendocino as well as halibut off the coast of Eureka. While the Halibut bite has been spotty at best, the rockfish and lingcod action remains nothing short of stellar. Every boat that’s made the trek south reported limits of fat rockfish, along with limits of lingcod. The halibut bite on the other hand, remains a little tougher. There were lots of skunks reported, and a few boats were lucky enough to land a couple — a true hit and miss report. If you’re planning a trip offshore this weekend, be sure and check the marine forecast prior to leaving as both Saturday and Sunday are looking a little on the rough side. Both rockfish and halibut seasons will come to an end on October 31.

Rain coming next week
Looks like we’re stuck with dry conditions through the weekend, but changes are on the way early next week. According to Reginald Kennedy of Eureka’s National Weather Service, we’ll see some rain begin to fall on Monday afternoon and it should last into the evening. “We could see up to a quarter-inch on Monday, then we’ll dry out on Tuesday. More rain is predicted for Wednesday as a series of systems roll through the area. We should see rain off and on through Saturday the 18th. It looks like we could get anywhere from two to three inches of rain over the four-day period,” Kennedy added.

Weekend marine forecast
As of Wednesday afternoon, the weekend offshore forecast does not look good. Friday’s forecast is calling for N winds 5 to 10 knots with waves W 4-feet at 12 seconds. It starts to get a little ugly on Saturday, with N winds 5 to 15 knots and waves NW 5-feet at 8-seconds and W 8-feet at 17 seconds. Sunday looks similar with N winds 5 to 15 knots and waves NW 5-feet at 8 seconds and W 9-feet at 16 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.

Tuna out of Eureka
With a flat ocean since the weekend, a handful of boats have been targeting tuna out of Eureka. Marc Schmidt of Coastline Charters ran 56 miles on Saturday and boated 16 large tuna, with the biggest tipping the scales at 36-pounds. A few boats ran on Monday as well, but the results weren’t quite as good. The high boat landed eight, while some of the other boats came back wit 4 or less. More boats made the run on Wednesday, but I didn’t hear any scores.

The Oceans:
Eureka
Skippers Gary Blasi of Full Throttle Sport fishing and Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing both have been running trips to the Cape this past week, taking advantage of the calm ocean. Both report a lingcod bite that is completely off the hook. According to Klassen, they come into the shallows this time of the year to spawn. He said, “We’re catching lots of 22 to 24 inchers that I believe are real aggressive males that are sitting on beds. We’ve had a few really good spawning years, and I think we’re seeing the results this year. The halibut bite remains slow, with less than a fish per trip average. “They must be somewhere we haven’t looked yet,” Klassen added. The inshore warm water may have something to do with it added Blasi. “If it’s not affecting the halibut directly, it may be affecting what they’re feeding on this time of year.”

Crescent City
Leonard Carter of Crescent City’s Englund Marine reports the rockfish bite has been good the last few days. He said, “The ocean has been flat, and the few boats that are going out are coming back with limits. There aren’t many people still trying.”

Port of Brookings Harbor – Chetco Bubble Season
Cindy Jones O’Reilly of Sporthaven Marina (541) 469-3301 reports the bubble season at the mouth of the Chetco is still going strong, with lots of fish still coming in. She said, “I heard the fishing was excellent on Tuesday, but had slowed down as of Wednesday afternoon. The leader in the Chetco Hawg Derby as of Wednesday is still the 38.8-pound king caught last week. The bubble season will wrap up Sunday, October 12. For more information, visit http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/salmon/Regulations/docs/2014_Chetco_SW_Sport.pdf

The Rivers:
Smith River
A few salmon are being caught at the mouth on Kastmasters and Cleo’s according to Carter.

Lower Klamath
There’s still fresh adult kings coming into the lower Klamath, but there aren’t many jacks around reports Alan Borges of Alan’s Guide Service. He said, “The last few days the fishing has been real good as we’re still seeing brand new fish come in. It’s obviously slowed down since the peak of the season, but we’re still hooking upwards of 20 fish per trip. We’ve seen a few Coho around, and there’s some steelhead being caught as well. The river is in great shape, the release from the upper Klamath brought down a little moss, but it’s not bad at all. The water temperature is a cool 63 degrees.”

Middle Trinity
There’s quite a few salmon hanging around below the North Fork reports Tim Brady of Weaverville’s Trinity Outdoors. He said, “The fish are holding all the way down to the Del Loma area right now. The fishing isn’t red-hot, but the guys who know what they’re doing are catching one or two per trip. Panther Martin’s and Blue Fox’s have been the top producers.” Brady also added the smolts have been released from the hatchery and are working their way down, which will make it tough to fish bait. “I haven’t heard any good steelhead reports lately, but that certainly doesn’t mean they’re not around.”

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.

Oct. 6. 2014 — Had an epic day on the Klamath last Saturday with friends Eric and Nicolas. We hooked a ton of fish, including Eric’s fish around 40 pounds.

Eric could barely lift and hold this monster,

Nicholas landed quite a few fish as well.

Janelle Dyleski of Sebastopol landed this bright 25-lb salmon Monday on the lower Klamath River while fishing with guide Alan Borges, pictured right. Photo courtesy of Alan’s Guide Service

Chetco Bubble Season off to fast start

The warm water finally moved in close enough for the Eureka boats to set their sights on oh-so-elusive Albacore tuna. About a half-dozen boats made the 25-mile trek straight out of the Humboldt entrance to where the water hit 62 degrees according to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, who was one of the three charter boats to participate in the hunt. Unfortunately, the day turned out to be nothing more than a beautiful boat ride. No tuna were caught, or even seen for that matter. “We never did see that real blue water, it was mostly green. We saw quite a bit of bait along with dolphins and whales, but the tuna were nowhere to be found. The boats that were out did a good job of covering some water and staying in touch, but we all came up empty,” Klassen added. The next opportunity looks like a one or two day window on the 7th and 8th of October.

Dry weather ahead
After a good start to our rainy season, it looks like we’re going to stay mostly dry for the next couple of weeks according to Reginald Kennedy of Eureka’s National Weather Service. “The next good chance of rain will be around the 14th or 15th, but that’s still a ways out there, a lot can change between now and then,” Kennedy added.

Judge Rejects Agribusiness’ Lawsuit over Trinity River Flows
In a press release issued on Wednesday by Earthjustice, and the Hoopa and Yurok Tribes, a federal judge dismissed almost all claims in a lawsuit brought by a coalition of agribusiness and irrigators seeking to prevent the protection of salmon in California’s Trinity River. Judge Lawrence O’Neill, based in Fresno, largely upheld the Bureau of Reclamation’s ability to provide additional flow in the Trinity to prevent harm to salmon, but indicated that different legal authorities need to be invoked.

The agribusiness-dominated San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority and Westlands Water District brought the case last year against the BOR, which controls water releases from the Trinity Reservoir to the drought-stricken Trinity and Lower Klamath rivers in Oregon. These rivers support huge runs of Chinook and Coho salmon, on which commercial fishing industries and the Yurok and Hoopa Valley Tribes depend for sustenance.

“Ultimately this case is also about preserving the California salmon fishing industry,” said Glen Spain, NW Regional Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), which represents commercial fishing families coast-wide. “It makes no sense to sacrifice thousands of fisheries jobs over 700 miles of coastline to provide just a little bit more water to a voracious Central Valley Agribusiness system that has already sucked up far more than its share in a major drought.”

“Straight up, if the Bureau of Reclamation did not make the decision to augment flows on the Klamath, we would be right now cleaning up thousands of salmon carcasses on the river,” said Thomas P. O’Rourke, Sr., Chairman of the Yurok Tribe.

To read the entire press release, visit: http://earthjustice.org/news/press/2014/judge-rejects-agribusiness-water-grabbing-lawsuit-over-trinity-river-flows.

Low Flow River Closures now in effect
North Coast rivers that are regulated by low flow closures, including sections of the Eel, Mad, Redwood Creek, Smith and Van Duzen are all closed to fishing as of Oct. 1 due to low flows. The Mattole, also falls under low-flow regulations, but doesn’t open to fishing until Jan. 1. For more information and up-to-date closure info, call the North Coast low-flow closure hotline at 707-822-3164.

Boating safety class this Saturday
The USCG Auxiliary has scheduled a recreational boating safety class for Saturday, Oct 4 in the Woodley Island Marina Conference Room from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The class is open to all boaters, not just the recreational fishing fleet. Persons wishing to take the class can register by calling Thom O’Connor at 707-954-4481 or email ocowest@charter.net. Cost of the class is $20 per person.

The Oceans:
Eureka
The ocean was a little bouncy over the weekend, though Klassen was able to bring two halibut to the boat on Sunday. He said, “The weather looks better towards the end of the week, we should be able to get some good days in at the halibut grounds and we should be able to run to the Cape too. At least that’s the hope.”

Port of Brookings Harbor – Chetco Bubble Season
Cindy Jones O’Reilly of Sporthaven Marina (541) 469-3301 reports the bubble season at the mouth of the Chetco is off to a really good start. She said, “The weather was nice on Wednesday and lots of fish were being caught. We weighed in several in the 27-34-pound range already and I’m hearing there are some 50-60-pound fish out there. Herring was the top producer on Wednesday. The leader as of Wednesday afternoon in the Chetco Hawg Derby is a 38.8-pound king caught by Greg Kawaguchi. The bubble season will wrap up Sunday, October 12. For more information, visit http://www.dfw.state.or.us/MRP/salmon/Regulations/docs/2014_Chetco_SW_Sport.pdf

The Rivers:
Smith River
Leonard Carter of Crescent City’s Englund Marine reports a good push of fish came in with last week’s rain. He said, “I heard there were fish as high as the Early hole last week, though the river is closed as of Wednesday. A few fish are also being caught in the estuary,” Look for the Smith to bust wide-open on the next big rain.

Lower Klamath
King salmon fishing remains excellent on the Lower Klamath River. Fresh fish continued to pour into the river this week, and so far, there haven’t been any signs of the run coming to an end. The fish are spread throughout the system, with boats working from Johnson’s down to Starwein finding fish in just about every hole. A couple silvers, which normally come into the river on the tail end of the king run, were reportedly caught this week. Water conditions are excellent, with the river flowing at 2,500 cfs and reading a very salmon-friendly 65 degrees.

Middle Trinity
Tim Brady of Weaverville’s Trinity Outdoors reports quite a few salmon have entered the middle of the Trinity. “The biggest concentrations of salmon are between Junction City and Hayden Flat. A few have trickled above, but not in big numbers as of yet. From what I’m hearing, the fish are in real good shape. Spinners and roe have been doing well,” Brady 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.

Fishing the North Coast comes out every Thursday in the Times-Standard newspaper and is listed on the Eureka Chamber of Commerce’s website. For the most up to date information, find FNC on Facebook.

Marc Schmidt of Coastline Charter, shows off two of the 24 albacore tuna he boated on Monday while fishing out of Eureka. Schmidt, along with a couple friends, ran more than 57 nautical miles towards Punta Gorda where they found the warm water and plenty of hungry albacore. (Photo courtesy of Coastline Charters)

Low Flow closures on North Coast rivers begin Wednesday
If I were a betting man, I’d probably lay down a few bucks on the Trinity River being the salmon hotspot this weekend as all signs point towards this coastal gem busting wide-open. The second water release of the season, which pumped 3,400 cfs out of Trinity Lake for the better part of six days, in all likelihood signaled a large amount of king salmon to begin their annual migration from the Klamath into the Trinity. It’s no secret the number of returning kings to the Klamath was underestimated — the fishing has been off the hook for weeks now. And now, as the water releases have been cut back to normal and the tributaries and creeks are flowing again following a few inches of rain, the Trinity is primed and ready to be the top spot for big, fall king salmon.

Good start to rainy season
It’s certainly not going to bust us out of the drought, but the first real storm of the year dropped some pretty impressive rainfall totals. According to Reginald Kennedy of Eureka’s National Weather Service, the Smith River basin saw the bulk of the precipitation, with up to 3.5 inches of rain falling. “Down in Humboldt, we’ll see anywhere from 2 to 2.5 inches of rain. I don’t foresee any significant rises to our local rivers, but it should help build the water table and get the creeks running again,” Kennedy added. According to Kennedy we’ll see some on and off again showers through Friday, which could produce up to a half-inch in some locations. Saturday is calling for widely scattered showers as the system moves east, and Sunday should be dry.

Weekend marine forecast
Friday and the weekend aren’t looking great for offshore adventures. Friday, wind is forecasted out of the NW to 5 knots, with swells at 8-feet at 9 seconds. Winds will blow out of the NW both Saturday and Sunday at 5 to 15 knots. Saturday, waves are forecasted at 3-feet at 4 seconds and 9-feet at 12 seconds. Sunday is calling for waves 2-feet at 4 seconds and 6-feet at 10 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.

Boating safety class coming next Sat
The USCG Auxiliary has scheduled a recreational boating safety class for Saturday, Oct 4 in the Woodley Island Marina Conference Room from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The class is open to all boaters, not just the recreational fishing fleet. Persons wishing to take the class can register by calling Thom O’Connor at 707-954-4481 or email ocowest@charter.net. Cost of the class is $20 per person.

Tuna out of Eureka
On Monday, Marc Schmidt, of Coastline Charters took off from Eureka with a couple friends for what he thought was a scouting trip for albacore tuna. Fifty-seven miles later off of Punta Gorda, the trip quickly turned into an epic fishing adventure. The first fish came within five minutes of having the troll gear in the water, and that was followed by six-way, where they put five of them onboard. The rest of the day produced a fairly steady bite, with a couple one-hour lulls mixed in. All told, they boated 24 albies, the smallest weighing 22-pounds and the biggest tipping the scales at 38-pounds. A very excited Schmidt said, “It was a very good day considering how things have been for California albacore fishing this year and with low expectations for the day, we were very happy.”

The Oceans:

Eureka
According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, not much has changed in Eureka. He said, “The halibut bite is still hit and miss. A few here and there are being caught, but not many. Hopefully we’ll get some better conditions next week so we can look around a little more. Most of the fish have been coming from 200 to 300-feet of water. Not much has changed down at the Cape, it’s easy limits of rockfish and quite a few quality lings are coming over the rail too.”

Crescent City
Haven’t heard of any halibut being caught this week, but the rockfish bite is good for the few anglers that are still fishing reports Chris Hegne’s of Englund Marine. “The ocean is going to be pretty rough the rest of the week, and the weekend isn’t looking much better,” Hegnes added.

Low Flow River Closures begin Oct. 1
North Coast rivers that are regulated by low flow closures, including the Eel River, Mad River, Mattole River, Redwood Creek, Smith River and Van Duzen River will begin angling restrictions on October 1st, except for the Mad River, which went into effect September 1st. The Department of Fish and Game will make the information available to the public by a telephone recorded message updated, as necessary, no later than 1 p.m. each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as to whether any stream will be closed to fishing. The rivers can be opened up at anytime. The low flow closure hotline for North Coast rivers is (707) 822-3164. NOTE: The main stem Eel from the South Fork to Cape Horn Dam and the Mattole River will be closed until January 1, 2015

Areas subject to low flow closures:

Mad River: The main stem Mad River from the Hammond Trail Railroad Trestle to Cowan Creek. Minimum flow: 200 cfs at the gauging station at the Highway 299 bridge.

The main stem Eel River from the paved junction of Fulmor Road with the Eel River to the South Fork Eel River. Minimum flow: 350 cfs at the gauging station near Scotia.

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

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

Mattole River: The main stem of the Mattole River from the mouth to Honeydew Creek.

Minimum flow: 320 cfs at the gauging station at Petrolia.

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

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

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The Klamath really starting dropping into prime shape earlier in the week, but the rain could potentially change the conditions over the weekend reports Mike Coopman of Mike Coopman’s Guide Service. He said, “The river was still pretty big, but it was starting to clear. There are still lots of fish around, maybe not as many as a few weeks ago, but the fishing is still really good. With the higher water, the fish have been flying up river. Most of the fish we’re catching are coming on the flats, where they’re traveling and resting. The fish haven’t been sitting in the holes due to all the extra current. The grade of fish is still good; we’re catching quite a few adults and roughly 4 to 5 jacks per trip. I think the weekend may be a little tougher fishing. With the rain we’re getting this week, we’ll probably see some dirty runoff in the upper Klamath where the fires are burning. The ocean is also pretty rough with big swells predicted through the weekend, making it tough for salmon to enter the mouth.”

Trinity
If we don’t get too much rain, the entire Trinity should be in good shape for the weekend reports Tim Brady of Weaverville’s Trinity Outdoors. He said, “I spoke with a couple guys who were fishing around Big Bar on Tuesday and reportedly a few fish were caught and quite a few were rolling. With the river on the drop, those fish should begin to slow down and hold up in the holes. My guess is the rise moved a lot of fish into the river, and hopefully some of the larger creeks don’t get too muddy.”

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.

Check out North Fork Studios.net for more information on a film that will be coming up about the history of The Eel River.

Options may be limited for the next four to five days for North Coast steelhead fishermen as the rivers, as well as the weather, remains unsettled. From the Chetco down to the South Fork Eel, every coastal stream is predicted to be on the rise as of Thursday following Wednesday evening’s heavy rains. Expect the rivers to recede on Friday and Saturday, but another rise is forecasted for Sunday morning. Whether some of the smaller streams will drop quickly enough to fish on Saturday remains to be seen. If I were a betting man, I’d bet no. However, there is some dry weather forecasted for next week and all the rivers should come back in to play.

Weather update

According to Reginald Kennedy of Eureka’s National Weather Service, the heaviest rain will have fallen Wednesday night. “Thursday we’ll see showers that should produce some decent rainfall totals. The Smith Basin in Del Norte County could see anywhere from 3/4 to an inch of rain and the Humboldt area could see a 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. A dry pattern will begin Friday and last through most of the day Saturday. Saturday night through Sunday night, the Smith basin is predicted to see from 1.5 to 2 inches of rain. In Humboldt, we could see up to an inch of precipitation. Next week is looking dry, with the next system predicted for the March 17,” Kennedy added.

 2014 Klamath River Regulatory Options

A Klamath River sport fish regulation informational and public input meeting was held on Monday night. The purpose of the meeting, which was attended by roughly 35 anglers and put on the CDFW, was to present the current regulatory options on the table for the 2014 Spit fishery on the lower Klamath. Presentations included historical fishery trends on the lower river as well as 2013 harvest and escapement numbers. A public Q&A discussion was also held where anglers voiced concerns over the methods and ethics of last year’s fishery. Below are the current options for 2014:

Status Quo – 2013 Regulations – Spit area will close after 15 percent of the Lower Klamath River sub quota is taken downstream of the Highway 101 Bridge.  (Note: This provision only applies if the department projects that the total Klamath River Basin quota will be met.) Option 1; Spit Area will close after 15 percent of the total Klamath River Basin Quota is taken downstream of the Highway 101 Bridge. This option also removes the language that states the spit area will close only if the Department projects that the total Klamath River System recreational fishery allocation will be met. Option 2; Spit Area will close after 15 percent of the Lower Klamath River sub quota is taken downstream of the Highway 101 Bridge. Option 3; Spit Area will remain closed to all fishing all year. This option will close the spit area to all fishing year round to provide protection of KRSC, KRFC, and Coho salmon migrating out of the open ocean into the Klamath River estuary; however, it eliminates a historical fishing opportunity for shore based anglers.

Next up, the PFMC is set to meet March 8-13 in Sacramento to determine if any in-season action for fisheries scheduled to open in April is needed. They will also adopt three regulatory alternatives for ocean salmon fisheries in effect on or after May 1. Final alternatives for public review will be decided on March 13. For more information on this meeting, visit www.pcouncil.org/council-operations/council-meetings/current-meeting.

The Rivers:

Chetco River

Before the river blew out earlier in the week, we were still seeing some fresh fish come in reports guide Alan Borges of Alan’s Guide Service” With the big rise, we’ll should start to see a ton of downers, and the number of fresh ones will start to decline. If the weather does what it’s predicted, we should have a window to fish Saturday on the upper end,” Borges added. More rain is predicted for Saturday and the river will be on the rise as of early Sunday morning.

Smith River

The Smith fished pretty well the last couple days reports Crescent City guide Mike Coopman. “The river has been a little big, but the fishing has been pretty good. We’re seeing about a 50/50 mix of downers to fresh ones. The next rises should bring more of the downers into the mix and the numbers of fresh fish will probably start to go down. There should be plenty of fish around through the end of the month,” Coopman said. The Smith is forecasted to rise on Wednesday, but conditions look good for both Friday and Saturday.

Eel River (main stem)

After a huge rise on Tuesday, the river dropped close to 10 feet on Wednesday reports Fred Grundman of Rio Dell’s Grundmans Sporting Goods. “It looks like we’re going to get a couple more storms this week, so I don’t see it coming back into shape for awhile. Once the rain stops, we’re looking at four to five days easy before its back to a fishable level and color,” said Grundman. The Eel was hovering at 25,000 cfs on the Scotia gauge as of Wednesday, but is predicted to rise again on Thursday and again on Sunday.

Eel River (South Fork)

As of Wednesday evening, the SF was hovering just above 6,000 cfs on the Miranda gauge and starting to rise. It’s predicted to peak at 10,000 cfs on Thursday afternoon, and drop all the way through early Sunday morning, bottoming out at 3000 cfs. There’s a chance the upper reaches will fish Saturday, but it will be a very short window.

Van Duzen

According to Grundman, the Van Duzen is also dirty and will take awhile to clear. As of Wednesday, it was starting to rise and predicted to peak early Thursday morning at roughly 8,000 cfs. It looks like it will drop through Saturday, and be back on the rise Sunday.

Mad River

Anglers hitting the Mad early Wednesday found some fresh steelhead, but the rains turned it off-color by the end of the day reports Justin Kelly of Redwood Marine in Eureka. “I heard there was a small pod of wild fish that moved in, but the river was on it’s way to blowing out. There’s still a bunch of the older fish left, but the weekend rise may see some of those fish move out. Like the rest of the rivers, the Mad is forecasted to rise on Thursday, recede through Saturday and rise again Sunday. My guess is it will be green by mid-week,” Kelly added.

Upper Trinity

The Douglas City area was in great shape on Wednesday, but the winter fish were nowhere to be found reports Steve Huber of Steve Huber’s Guide Service. “The water had a little color and was the perfect height, but we didn’t see any winter fish moving in. Conditions were the best we’ve had in awhile, but the fish just weren’t there. It rained all day Wednesday, so I’m hoping this rise will bring the fish up from the Junction City area,” Huber added.

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

Public salmon meeting next Wednesday in Santa Rosa

It appears Tuesday evening’s rain threw a big, fat “Barry Zito” style curveball at North Coast steelhead anglers. Prior to that unexpected shower, several of our rivers — that have yet to see a boat — were just about to turn green and start to fish. And others that were already fishable were about to become pristine. The Smith would fall into the latter category. It was just beginning to dip below 12-feet on the Jed Smith gauge on Tuesday, and by early Wednesday morning it had spiked to a very big 14.5-feet. Both the middle section of the South Fork and main stem Eel were a couple days away from turning steelhead green. Now we’re looking at a couple more days for the South Fork to turn and 3 to 4 days before the main Eel is fishable. The Benbow area of the South Fork didn’t see the affects of the rain and is still at a fishable height and color. The Mad and the Van Duzen both saw a bump in flows, adding a couple days to when they’ll be fishable. With the rain behind us for a few days and the rivers on the drop, it looks like just about every steelhead river on the North Coast will be fishable by the weekend, a first for 2014.

Weather update
According to Reginald Kennedy of Eureka’s National Weather Service, expect to see dry conditions until at least next Tuesday along the North Coast. “The ridge of high pressure is moving back in, but it looks like it will move to the north next week. There’s a pretty good chance for some fairly wet weather beginning Wednesday,” Kennedy added.

Big Lagoon breaches
Full from the recent rains, the north end of Big Lagoon broke open last Sunday according to Eureka’s National Weather Service. Once the water clears, steelhead and cutthroat fishing should be good as the fish make their way towards Maple Creek.

Rowdy Creek Steelhead Derby this weekend
If you plan on heading to the Smith or Chetco this weekend, keep in mind Rowdy Creek Fish Hatchery Steelhead Derby is taking place Friday and Saturday. A total of 13 teams, consisting of 26 boats will be splitting time between the two rivers.

CDFW to Hold Public Meeting on Ocean Salmon Fisheries
The Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) invites the public to attend its upcoming annual ocean salmon information meeting. A review of last year’s ocean salmon fisheries and spawning escapement will be presented, in addition to the outlook for this year’s sport and commercial ocean salmon fisheries. The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 26 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Sonoma County Water Agency, 404 Aviation Blvd. in Santa Rosa. For more information, visit www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/salmonpreseason.asp or contact Erick Anderson at (707) 576-2879.

Regulation changes for Eel and Van Duzen Rivers in 2014
After last year’s controversial change to the Eel River system, which made targeting Chinook salmon against the law, “catch and release” will be allowed in 2014/15.

On page 33 of the online 2014-2015 booklet under General Provisions, the sentence that reads, “every body of water listed below (meaning the alphabetical list of waters with special fishing regulations) is closed to the take of salmon and salmon fishing, unless otherwise noted” remains unchanged. However, on pages 41 and 42, in the alphabetical list of waters, the main stem Eel, South Fork Eel, and the Van Duzen, all have “catch and release of Chinook salmon” in the daily bag and possession limit column. Hats off to our local CDFW folks for pushing this change through. For more information, visit http://www.dfg.ca.gov/regulations.

2013 Klamath River Fall Chinook returns
According to preliminary estimates, 179,541 Fall Chinook salmon made their way back up the Klamath in 2013. Of those, 165,125 were adults and 14,415 were jacks, or two-year old salmon. The preseason predicted run size estimate was roughly 272,000. According to Sara Borok, an Environmental Scientist on the Klamath River, the floor escapement was met as 69,989 total natural spawners returned (59,619 adults and 10,367 jacks). “The numbers are looking good for 2014 said Borok. “We should see a lot of jacks coming back from the record 2012 run, in which 291,877 adults returned.” That was the largest return since DFGW began compiling data from the entire basin back in 1977.

The Rivers:
Chetco River
As of Wednesday, the Chetco was still running close to 10,000 cfs, but is predicted to drop quickly through the weekend. Forecasted at a pushy 5,500 cfs for Friday’s derby opener, it should be in perfect shape by Sunday, running at 3,500 cfs.

Smith River
After Tuesday’s rain, the Smith was big on Wednesday, but there were fish to be had reports guide Mike Coopman. “The water color was good on Wednesday, and it looks like conditions will only get better prior to the weekend. The river should be in perfect shape and there should be plenty of fish around. With the derby, expect lots of pressure, which could make catching a little tougher,” Coopman said.

Eel River (main stem)
Fred Grundman of Rio Dell’s Grundmans Sporting Goods reports the main stem Eel was starting to turn, but the rain that fell on Tuesday was just enough to set it back a few days. “My guess is it will be at least 3 to 4 days at the earliest before the upper reaches of the main stem are fishable,” said Grundman.

Eel River (South Fork)
Darren Brown of Brown’s Sporting Goods in Garberville reports anglers were fishing down to Sylvandale on Wednesday, and it will probably fish all the way down to the forks by the weekend.

Van Duzen
After a slight rise Tuesday evening, it was flowing at 1,000 cfs and dropping on Wednesday. Predicted to be in the 500 cfs range by the weekend, fishing above Yager Creek would be your best bet.

Mad River
Tuesday’s rain bumped up the flows about 400 cfs, but I think it will be fishable for the bait guys by the weekend reports Justin Kelly of Eureka’s Redwood Marine “Before Tuesday’s rain, there were a lot of older fish in the river. Hopefully this little bump will bring in some new, bright fish,” Kelly added. The Mad was at 1,800 cfs as of Wednesday, but predicted to drop below 800 cfs by Saturday.

Upper Trinity
Steve Huber of Steve Huber’s Guide Service reports the Douglas City area is back to low and clear after seeing a slight increase in flows from last weeks storm. “Conditions are once again low and clear, but we are seeing some winter fish move in. They were moving pretty good earlier in the week with the higher flows, but they’ve probably slowed down. My guess is there’s a bunch of fish below Junction City that are slowly making their way up,” Huber said.

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