adventure | Fishing the North Coast with Kenny Priest

Finally, Calm Seas Ahead

Keith Daniels, right, along with grandson Brian landed this nice Pacific halibut Wednesday while fishing out of Eureka aboard the Sea Weasel II. Photo courtesy of Gary Blasi/Full Throttle Sport Fishing

After a full week of sitting on the sidelines watching the wind blow, the Eureka fleet finally got untied Wednesday. And it looks there’s some really nice weather on the horizon too. Friday looks good, though Saturday is looking a little lumpy. Sunday and into next week are looking nice and calm. As for fishing, the few boats that went out Wednesday found some hungry Pacific halibut. I’d expect to see scores go up over the next few days. The other ports are finally getting in on the action. A few were finally caught out of Shelter Cove and Crescent City this week. Along with Pacific’s showing signs of life, both those ports also saw an uptick in the California halibut catch rate. With the nice weather, the Eureka boats will be able to get down to Cape Mendocino to enjoy some of the wide-open rockfish action that’s happening up and down the coast. The fishing is definitely looking up; all we needed was some nice weather.

Marine Forecast
After a weeklong stretch of rough seas and wind, we’re finally getting a break. As of Thursday, Friday’s forecast is calling for north winds up to 5 knots and waves north 1 foot at four seconds and northwest 5 feet at nine seconds. Saturday, the winds will increase slightly, coming from the north 10 to 15 knots with northwest waves 5 feet at nine seconds. Sunday, winds will be out of the north 5 to 10 knots with waves out of the northwest 4 feet at seven seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/ or www.windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

Sport Crab season coming to a close
The 2025 sport Dungeness crab season in Humboldt, Mendocino and Del Norte counties will close July 30. The season is expected to reopen Nov. 1.

California Halibut Derby on Humboldt Bay this Saturday
The Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association will be holding the first annual California Halibut Derby on Saturday, July 19. The fishing event will be held within the waters of Humboldt Bay. Check-ins, Weigh-ins and Awards Ceremony will be held at Woodley Island, 601 Startare Drive at the East-I Lot Grass Area.

This is a slot size derby, a measurement will be drawn in the morning before the derby and posted to the event’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Adult payouts will be $500 for 1st place, $300 for 2nd place, and $150 for 3rd place. Youth Payouts – $100 for 1st place, $75 for 2nd place, $50 for 3rd place. Youth payouts will be in the form of gift cards. All Youths registered in the Derby will receive a rod and reel combo! Raffle prizes will include fishing trips, rods and reels, fishing tackle and gear, merchandise and more.

Big Fish Prize: entries will be California Halibut 30” and above. ONLY ONE Big Fish can be entered per entrant. In case of a tie, winner will be determined by weight. For the big fish, adult and youth divisions will be combined. Winner to be announced at event.

Entry Fees for adults is $60 (comes with a $30 NCGASA Membership). Youth entry fees are $40, 13 years and under (comes with a $10 NCGASA Membership)

*If you are a current NCGASA member, you will receive $20 in raffle tickets at check-in.

You can register online at https://ncgasa.org/shop. Entrants will need to be signed up and paid for by July 18 at midnight. Derby information and rules can be found here.

The Oceans:
Eureka
It was a quiet week for the Eureka fleet, with boats tied up since the last week, reports Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “Some boats went out for halibut Wednesday and caught a few,” said Klassen. “We have some good weather coming up starting Thursday. Saturday looks a little iffy, but Sunday and next week are looking good at the moment.”

Shelter Cove
Rock fishing remains great, but the lingcod bite has gotten more inconsistent,” said Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “The best rockfish action this week was in close right off the point. The Pacific halibut bite has started to show some signs of life as there were a few caught this week. Some California halibut are being caught as well.”

Crescent City
The California halibut bite has really picked up reports Will Moore of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “Boats trolling South Beach are doing well along with anglers fishing off the rock wall across from the launch,” said Moore. “The Pacific halibut bite is finally showing signs of life. I heard of a couple caught this week. And with better weather coming, we should see those numbers go up. The rockfish and lingcod bite are still excellent, with limits coming pretty easily The Sisters and right out front at the cans have both been very productive.”

Brookings
The ocean king season ended Tuesday, with the last few days producing surprisingly good fishing considering big swells and strong winds reports Andy Martin, of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Lots of kings were schooled up near the buoys, feeding on baitfish, said Martin. “Kings to 30 pounds were caught, with a mix of hatchery and wild salmon. Fishing remains open for hatchery coho salmon through most of August. Coho have been found in deeper water, three to five miles offshore. Halibut fishing has been fair. Lingcod fishing also is good. Sport crabbing has improved.”

Klamath River
The lower river is still really big, flowing at 4,370 cfs on the lower gauge. There are some steelhead around, including some hatchery fish. As the river drops, which is predicted, we should start to see more fish move into the system.

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, the Rogue Bay is showing signs of life, with a dozen or more kings caught each day. “Fishing generally picks up considerably in August. Hot weather in the Rogue Valley has salmon held up in the bay. The incoming tide has been best. Mossy conditions have slowed the action at low tide.”

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

Eureka’s Pacific Halibut Bite Heating Up

Eureka resident Richard Moody landed this dandy halibut Tuesday while fishing aboard the Sea Weasel II out of Eureka. Photo courtesy of Gary Blasi/Full Throttle Sport Fishing

With the two-day salmon season now in the rearview, Eureka anglers have again set their sites on Pacific halibut. And that looks to be a good call. While the rest of the North Coast has been void of halibut catches, the Eureka fleet has had a pretty good run the last couple weeks. They aren’t flying over the rails quite yet like a couple years ago, but the catch rates have definitely improved over the last few weeks. After a pretty rough go for us on the salmon, it’s nice to have a go-to fishery that’s producing some solid action. It looks like the only obstacle to putting up some really good numbers is the weather. It’s been marginal at best, and that looks to continue through the weekend.

Weekend marine forecast
Ocean conditions look iffy for the upcoming weekend. As of Thursday afternoon, Friday’s forecast is calling for northwest winds 5 to 10 knots and waves northwest 6 feet at 11 seconds, along with a chance of rain. Saturday’s forecast is calling for northwest winds 5 to 10 knots and waves northwest 6 feet at nine seconds. The winds will be out of the north Sunday 10 to 15 knots, with northwest waves 6 feet at nine seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit weather.gov/eureka or windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484.

July 5 is statewide free fishing day
On Saturday, July 5, 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 steelhead, sturgeon, spiny lobster, or salmon in the Smith and Klamath-Trinity river systems. For more information visit, wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Fishing/Free-Fishing-Days

Freshwater Lagoon/Fish Lake trout plants
According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website, Freshwater Lagoon was last planted with trout the week of June 1. Fish Lake also received a fresh batch of trout during the week of June 8. Both are open to fishing year-round and the limit is 5 trout per day and 10 in possession. For more information, visit https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FishPlants/Default.aspx?county=Humboldt&time or call (530) 225-2146.

Entry Fees for adults is $60 (comes with a $30 NCGASA Membership). Youth entry fees are $40, 13 years and under (comes with a $10 NCGASA Membership)

*If you are a current NCGASA member, you will receive $20 in raffle tickets at check-in.

You can register online at https://ncgasa.org/shop. Entrants will need to be signed up and paid for by July 18 at midnight. Derby information and rules can be found here.

The Oceans:
Eureka
The wind continues to keep the Eureka fleet tied up on most days. Conditions were good Tuesday, and there were lots of boats on the halibut grounds and quite a few went south to the Cape. Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing made the left turn and reported some good rockfish action at Cape Mendocino. “The fishing was good, but not great,” said Klassen. “We caught limits of rockfish, but it wasn’t wide-open. The lings were a little tougher to get, we ended up with just half limits. There’s definitely a lot of feed down there right now, which could be slowing down the bite. I haven’t been halibut fishing in a while, but it sounds like the bite is pretty good for a few boats and quite a few limits were reported.”

Shelter Cove
Not much to report out of the Cove this week. Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing was only able to get out a few times due to the weather. “The rock fishing remains solid along with a very good lingcod bite,” said Mitchell. “Most of the action has been around the Old Man. The Pacific halibut bite remains slow.”

Crescent City
“We’ve had some really windy weather this week, so not a lot of boats have been getting out,” said Kevin Hooper of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “When they can get out, boats are finding a good rockfish bite. I haven’t heard of any Pacific or California halibut caught in the last week and a half. The redtail perch bite is really good at South and Kellogg Beach when the wind isn’t blowing.”

Brookings
Fishing for coho salmon has been fair out of Brookings, with large numbers of wild silvers and some hatchery fish being caught close to the surface in 220 to 300 feet of water,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Windy weather has limited the offshore opportunity, but nicer conditions are expected this weekend. Anglers trolling closer to shore are finding plenty of salmon, but they are nearly all kings, which cannot be kept until June 30. Fishing for halibut is fair on calm weather days. Lingcod and rockfish action has been good. Surfperch are still biting at most beaches around Brookings and Gold Beach. Commercial trollers have been switching gear to albacore, with several boats about to depart to search for tuna.”

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, salmon fishing is already picking up in the Rogue Bay, with a handful of kings caught every day this past week. “A mix of adults and jacks has anglers excited about the end of June and early July, when fishing begins to rapidly improve.”

With Much Excitement – Salmon season Opens Saturday

Following a two-year closure, salmon season will open Saturday for two days. Anglers are hoping for a couple salmon like the one pictured with Calvin Wagner of Boulder City, Nevada, who boated this nice king back when the season was open in 2022. Wagner was fishing out of Shelter Cove with Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. Photo courtesy of Jake Mitchell/Sea Hawk Sport Fishing.

After a two-year hiatus, the recreational ocean salmon fishery will open statewide for two days on June 7-8, 2025. Even though the ocean abundance of Sacramento and Klamath Chinook are well below average, there’s still a good chance to catch a king based on good return numbers of other Chinook stocks last fall. Taking into account the low Chinook abundance, CDFW will implement a statewide quota of 7,000 Chinook salmon for a series of potential short seasons scheduled between June and August. If the quota isn’t reached in the June 7-8 opening weekend, the summer season will reopen statewide July 5-6, July 31-August 3, and August 25-31, or until the harvest guideline is reached.

CDFW has hired field staff to monitor vessels returning to launch and dock sites to collect catch and effort information and coded wire tag data that is essential to managing California’s salmon fisheries. CDFW will be collecting heads from hatchery salmon, which contain coded wire tags that have information about the salmon’s hatchery of origin, release strategy, brood year, and run type. Anglers are required by law to relinquish the head of any adipose fin-clipped salmon upon request by a CDFW representative.

Here on the North Coast, expect every boat ramp to be plugged, and boats loaded with smiling anglers headed out Saturday morning. What will they find? No one really knows as the windy conditions have kept boats tied up and unable to do any advanced scouting. But no one really cares. After two consecutive years of salmon closures, we’re all just looking forward at the chance to catch and keep a salmon.

Important reminder:
When fishing for halibut, rockfish and salmon, or any combination of the three, the more restrictive gear and depth restrictions apply. When targeting salmon, or once salmon are aboard and in possession, anglers are limited to using barbless hooks when fishing for other species.
When targeting rockfish, cabezon, greenling and lingcod, or once any of these species are aboard and in possession, anglers are limited to fishing in waters shallower than 120 feet when fishing for other species.

General sport salmon regulations:
The minimum size limit is 20 inches total length. The daily bag limit is two Chinook salmon per day. No more than two daily bag limits may be possessed when on land. On a vessel in ocean waters, no person shall possess or bring ashore more than one daily bag limit. All salmon must be brought ashore prior to the end of any open season. Retention of coho (silver salmon) is prohibited in all ocean fisheries off California; information on how to distinguish coho from Chinook salmon can be found here. While salmon fishing north of Point Conception, anglers are required to use barbless hooks, and once salmon are aboard, barbed hooks may not be used to target other species. Anglers are encouraged to visit the Ocean Salmon Project’s webpage for details and complete regulatory information, or call the Ocean Salmon Regulations Hotline at 800-662-9825.

Weekend Marine Forecast
Gale force winds have turned the ocean upside down, but that all looks to change Saturday for the salmon opener. Saturday’s forecast is calling for winds out of the west up to 5 knots and waves northwest 5 feet at 8 seconds. The forecast is a little better on Sunday, with winds coming out of the NW up to 5 knots and northwest waves 3 feet at eight seconds and 4 feet at 11 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit weather.gov/eureka or windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484.

Humboldt Bay weekend tides
The tidal exchanges when boats will be headed out in the morning should be relatively low, which should make for safe bar conditions. Recreational anglers can provide bar reports on VHF channel 68 while the Coast Guard emergency channel is 16 on the VHF.

Saturday June 7: Low 4:36 a.m. (.31 ft.) and High: 11:19 a.m. (4.6 ft)
Low: 3:50 p.m. (2.8 ft.) and High 10:20 p.m. (7.1 ft.)

Sunday June 8: Low 5:15 a.m. (.18 ft.) and High: 12:12 p.m. (4.8 ft)
Low: 4:32 p.m. (3.1 ft.), High 10:54 p.m. (7.2 ft.)

Fish for free this weekend in Oregon
Oregon will be having a Free Fishing Weekend June 7 and 8. On those two days, no license, tag or endorsement is required to fish, crab or clam anywhere in Oregon. This applies only to waters already open to fishing, crabbing or clamming. All other regulations, such as bag limits, still apply. More information can be found here.

California Halibut Derby on Humboldt Bay coming July 19
The Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association will be holding the first annual California Halibut Derby on Saturday, July 19. The fishing event will be held within the waters of Humboldt Bay. Check-ins, Weigh-ins and Awards Ceremony will be held at Woodley Island, 601 Startare Drive at the East-I Lot Grass Area.
This is a slot size derby, a measurement will be drawn in the morning before the derby and posted to the event’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Adult payouts will be $500 for 1st place, $300 for 2nd place, and $150 for 3rd place. Youth Payouts – $100 for 1st place, $75 for 2nd place, $50 for 3rd place. Youth payouts will be in the form of gift cards. All Youths registered in the Derby will receive a rod and reel combo! Raffle prizes will include fishing trips, rods and reels, fishing tackle and gear, merchandise and more.

Entry Fees for adults is $60 (comes with a $30 NCGASA Membership). Youth entry fees are $40, 13 years and under (comes with a $10 NCGASA Membership)

*If you are a current NCGASA member, you will receive $20 in raffle tickets at check-in.

You can register online at https://ncgasa.org/shop. Entrants will need to be signed up and paid for by July 18 at midnight. Derby information and rules can be found here.

The Oceans:
Eureka
Like every other port on the North Coast, there hasn’t been much activity out of Eureka because of the wind. “The Eureka fleet hasn’t been offshore all week,” said Skipper Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “The wind has been blowing and it’s just been too rough. Looking ahead to salmon, it looks like the wind will die down for the weekend. The last time we were on the water, the salmon signs looked pretty good. We were marking all kinds of bait, seeing some nice edges with birds, and seen salmon swimming on the surface. But all of that may be gone due to the wind. The good news is there’s lots of upwelling keeping the water temps cold. We’ll probably head straight out to 180 feet and see if there’s any fish. If not, we’ll head south to the canyon where there’s usually all kinds of life.”

Trinidad
We haven’t fished since last Sunday due to weather reports Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters. He said, “The rockfish bite is really good, way better than last year. Same with the lingcod. And we’re not having to travel very far. There’s a lot of unknowns with the salmon opener Saturday. There was a lot of life out there before the last round of wind, but that could have changed. I imagine the water will be dirty, so I’d be looking for some cleaner water out in 30 to 40 fathoms,” added Wilson.

The Trinidad Harbor boat launch is offering a “Salmon Season Mooring Special” for $135. You can launch your boat on Friday and pick it up on Monday. There are limited spots available. To reserve your mooring, call or message 707-677-3625.

Shelter Cove
Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing reports he was only able to get out a couple days this week and they stayed pretty close to the buoys, but still managed to get limits of rockfish and lings pretty quickly. “The weather looks pretty good this weekend for the salmon opener,” said Mitchell. “So far, I haven’t seen hardly any salmon sign, but we did have some dirty water show up a couple days ago so hopefully something will show up. There will be lots of boats out trying so we should be able to find something.”

Crescent City
“It’s been windy all week, and nobody has really been out,” said Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “All signs are pointing to a good salmon opener. The water temps are good, and there’s lots of bait around. There are anchovies right on the beach. And a few salmon have been incidentally caught rock fishing. A good place to start would be between the Sisters and the South Reef in 30 fathoms. There’s been a few California halibut caught off the rocks at South Beach by guys tossing swimbaits.”

Brookings
Coho season opens Saturday out of Brookings reports Andy Martin, of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Fishing for kings has been slow, with anglers encountering coho while targeting chinook salmon,” said Martin. “Coho have also been seen by halibut anglers fishing deeper water the past two weeks. Coho season runs through late August. Two hatchery coho a day may be kept.
Halibut fishing is fair out of Brookings, with a few fish a day being caught when the weather is calm. Best action has been in 200 to 250 feet of water along the border, with combinations of herring and squid working best. Lingcod and rockfish action has been good.”

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, the Rogue is now open to wild kings, but windy weather kept anglers off the water. “Expect a few boats trolling the bay this weekend with light winds expected. Late springers are being caught at first light upriver by plunkers, but low, clear water has made for slow fishing the rest of the day.

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

Pacific Halibut Season Off to Sluggish Start

Happy anglers hold a 38-pound Pacific halibut caught Friday off of Eureka while fishing aboard the *Seaweasel II*. Photo courtesy of Gary Blasi, Full Throttle Sport Fishing.

Lack of effort, ocean conditions, or lack of fish, whatever the reason may be, it’s contributing to another slow start to the Pacific halibut season, eerie similar to last year. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a combination of the first two. Since the season opened on May 1, there’s been just a few days which boats were able to get far enough offshore to where the halibut live. And it’s not just Eureka, anglers from Shelter Cove up to Crescent City have been dealing with similar conditions, which has led to limited success. Hopefully this trend won’t continue too long. An you can bet once we get a steady dose of flat water, the boats will hone in on the fish and we’ll begin to see some big bites taken out of the quota. To keep an eye on the in-season Pacific halibut catch rate, visit https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Pacific-Halibut#31670772-in-season-tracking.

Marine Forecast
According to the Eureka’s National Weather Service, north winds will generally peak Thursday afternoon with weak gale force gusts in the southern waters. “Conditions will slightly calm Friday with gusts in the northern waters dropping below 20 knots, but reaming higher in the south. Strong north winds and some marginal gale force conditions will return by Saturday afternoon and through the end of the weekend.” As of Thursday, Friday’s forecast is calling for north winds 5 to 10 knots with waves north 4 feet at five seconds and northwest 3 feet at 11 seconds. Saturday, the winds will be out of the northwest 10 to 15 knots and waves will be out of the northwest 4 feet at five seconds and west 5 feet at 11 seconds. Sunday, winds will come from the north 15 to 20 knots with waves out of the north 7 feet at seven seconds and west 3 feet at 10 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit https://www.weather.gov/eka/ or https://www.windy.com/. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

Kids free fishing derbies this Saturday
On Saturday, May 17, 2025 all kids 15 years old and younger are invited to the Ruth Lake Marina for the Kids Free Fishing Derby. The event will be from 8 a.m. until noon. Kids must bring their own fishing poles and must be accompanied by an adult. There will be a hot dog feed at 11:30. For more information, call the Ruth Lake Community Services District at 707-574-6332 or visit https://www.ruthlakecsd.org/local-events/

On Saturday, May 17, 2025, all kids age 4 to 15 are invited to the Carrville Dredger Pond for the 51st annual Trinity Lake Lions Fish Derby. The pond is located five miles north of the Trinity Center. Registration is from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. The fishing derby will last until 11 a.m. Free fishing tackle will be provided to the first 100 kids registered. Kids must bring their own fishing poles, and only bait will be allowed. Prizes will be awarded in many categories, along with a grand prize. Free hot dogs, chips and drinks for everyone. For more information, call Scott at 408-401-8333.

Ruth Lake Bass tournament coming June 7
Southern Trinity Area Rescue will be holding the annual “Paul Jadro Memorial Bass Tournament” on Saturday, June 7. Blast off will be at 5:45 a.m. or at first safe light, by draw. The one-day tournament event offers a first prize award of up to $1,000 with payout to 1 in 3 in addition to door prizes and sponsor products. The entry fee is $140 per team with a big fish buy in option of $10. The tournament is catch and release and all competitors must fish from boats that are required to have operational live wells on board. Life jackets are required. Check in at the Marina on Friday June 6 at 4:30-6 p.m. or Saturday 4:30 – 5:15 a.m. For more information, contact Lon Winburn at 707-499-2490.

Klamath basin and Central Valley river season updates
In the May 14 California Fish and Game Commission meeting, Commissioners voted unanimously to again enact a full closure of California’s recreational salmon fishing season in the Klamath River Basin through its annual process for adjusting seasons and bag limits. The Commission also voted to close the springer fishery in the Klamath and Trinity rivers. More information can be found here.

For the Central Valley rivers, there will be some Chinook retention opportunities. The main stem Sacramento will remain closed in 2025, while the Feather, American, and Mokelumne will have sections open for nearly a full season. The proposed bag and possession limit will be one Chinook Salmon. More information can be found here.

The regulations are expected to take effect no later than July 1, 2025, following approval by the Office of Administrative Law.

The Oceans:
Eureka
Wind and rough ocean conditions continue to be the story out of Eureka as boats haven’t been on the water since last weekend. “The water has been pretty dirty, and it’s not a hot halibut bite right now,” said Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “There were a few halibut caught last Friday and Saturday by a few boats, but it’s not red hot. Hopefully we’ll be able to get out Friday, and then it looks like the wind will return over the weekend.”

Trinidad
Ocean conditions have kept small boats and kayaks from launching this week. Friday looks doable, but more wind will return by the weekend. The boat launch is scheduled to open sometime around the first of June. For updates and current information, you can call the bait shop at 677-3625.

Shelter Cove
“Rock Fishing was pretty decent all of last week, but the wind made it pretty tough last couple days,” said Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “The lingcod bite was very good as well. Most of our effort was from the whistle down to the Old Man. I haven’t spent much time for halibut, and I’ve heard of one caught so far. Looks like the wind may keep us of the water for a couple days.”

Crescent City
Wind and rough seas have kept most boats off the water this week. The bigger boats on most days have been able to get out in the morning for quick limits of rockfish and some lings. Most of the action has been to the north due to conditions. Conditions don’t look favorable for the coming weekend either.

Brookings
“Halibut fishing is still slow out of Brookings, but a few nice fish were landed over the weekend,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Lingcod and rockfish action is good, while sport crabbing has improved. Ocean salmon opens Friday out of Brookings. Late-arriving Rogue springers are the primary target, with the best success typically near Mack Arch trolling 50 to 100 feet down over 200 feet of water.”

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, a few spring salmon are still being caught on the lower Rogue, but catch rates have dropped significantly with just a handful of fish a day landed. “Fishing has improved near Shady Cove, where drift boat anglers are back-bouncing roe and running MagLip plugs. Some guides are limiting out.”

Boat-Based Deep Water Rockfish Open as of April 1

Iowa resident Gina Schmidt holds a nice black rockfish caught a couple years ago out of Crescent City. The offshore rockfish season opened on April 1, while the nearshore rockfish season will open May 1. Photo courtesy of Steve Huber/Crescent City Fishing

As of April 1, the 2025 boat-based season for rockfish and lingcod is officially open state-wide. This year’s season and depth structure is identical to 2024 for the Northern Management Area, which runs from the CA-OR border to the 40°10′ N. latitude (near Cape Mendocino). The seasons in Mendocino, San Francisco, Central GMA North of 36º N. Latitude, Central GMA South of 36º N. Latitude and Southern GMA are the same as 2024 as well. The species authorized, specific bag and possession limits for each Groundfish Management Areas are different across the state, so be sure and check before you head out.

The season and depth structure are as follows:

Apr. 1 – Apr. 30: 50-fathom offshore only fishery
May 1 – Sept. 30: 20-fathom inshore only fishery
Oct. 1 – Oct. 31: 50-fathom offshore only fishery
Nov. 1 – Nov. 30: 20-fathom inshore only fishery

During the months of offshore fisheries, it is unlawful to possess in all waters: black, black and yellow, blue, brown, calico, China, copper, gopher, grass, kelp, and olive rockfishes; treefish Cabezon and Greenlings.

Take is prohibited shoreward of the 50 fathom (300 feet) Rockfish Conservation Area boundary line, which is a series of connected waypoints defined in Federal regulations. Only Shelf and Slope rockfish can be retained.

During the inshore fishery, take is prohibited seaward of the 20 fathom (120 feet) boundary line, which is defined by connecting the appropriate set of waypoints adopted in Section 35.00 of the regulations. The fishery allows opportunity to retain nearshore, shelf and slope rockfish, lingcod, cabezon and greenling.

In Oct. 2024, the California Fish and Game Commission adopted proposed changes to the 2025 groundfish regulations so the state recreational fishing regulations matched their federal counterparts. These regulation changes went into effect January 1, 2025 and include the following:

Copper rockfish limit: The copper rockfish sub-limit is one fish within the Rockfish, Cabezon, and Greenling (RCG) Complex 10-fish aggregate limit, statewide. The one fish sub-bag limit is designed to keep catches within established harvest limits.

Size Limits Eliminated for Some Species
The minimum size limits for cabezon, California scorpionfish (sculpin), kelp greenling, and rock greenling have been eliminated.

Regulations for Fish Filleted at Sea
Lingcod: When possessed onboard any boat or brought ashore (for example, when filleted at sea), lingcod fillets must have the entire skin attached. Fillets must still be at least 14 inches long.

California Scorpionfish (sculpin): When possessed onboard any boat or brought ashore (for example, when filleted at sea), California scorpionfish fillets can be of any size, and must have the entire skin attached.

Cabezon, Kelp Greenling, and Rock Greenling: Cabezon, kelp greenling, and rock greenling may now be filleted at sea. When possessed onboard any boat or brought ashore, cabezon, kelp greenling and rock greenling fillets must have the entire skin attached.

Marine forecast
Winds and seas will diminish significantly by Friday and Saturday, but another frontal system is forecast to arrive Sunday as a large long period swell fills into the waters. Friday is calling for north winds 5 to10 knots and northwest waves 4 feet at eight seconds. Saturday is calling for winds out of the southwest up to 5 knots with northwest waves 3 feet at eight seconds. The wind will increase slightly Sunday, coming out of the south 10 to 15 knots. Waves will be from the south 3 feet at seven seconds and west 6 feet at 13 seconds. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/ or www.windy.com/. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

Upcoming salmon meetings

April 9-15: PFMC April Meeting in San Jose, CA. The Council will adopt final regulatory measures for analysis by Salmon Technical Team. Final adoption of recommendations to the National Marine Fisheries Service will also occur and is tentatively scheduled for April 15.

April 16-17: CDFW Meeting in Sacramento, CA. The Commission will receive an update on 2025 ocean salmon sport fishing regulations, with the public invited to ask questions or provide input.

Upcoming events

Bass Tourney coming to Ruth Lake April 5
The Alderpoint Volunteer Fire Department is hosting the Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial Bass Tournament on Saturday April 5th at Ruth Lake. Check in is Friday night between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. or Saturday morning between 4 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. This is a catch and release tournament with a 13-inch minimum length. Blast off is 6 a.m. or at first safe light. For more information, call Thomas Bruce at 707-223-6258 or Roger Coleman Jr., 707-223-3858.

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

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

The Rivers:
Reminder: The South Fork Eel, Van Duzen, Mattole, Mad, Redwood Creek and the Chetco all closed to fishing March 31.

Eel (main stem)
The main stem Eel is back on the drop after reaching 56,500 cfs at Scotia Wednesday. Needless to say, it remains high and off color. It will need up to 10 days of dry weather before it drops to a fishable level. With more rain on top for Sunday and Monday, it doesn’t look like it will fish for quite some time. The main stem Eel to the South Fork is open all year. Only artificial lures with barbless hooks may be used from April 1 through Sept. 30.

Smith River
Storms earlier in the week pushed the Smith up and over 14 feet on the Jed Smith gauge Tuesday. It’s now back in prime condition and should remain that way through Sunday afternoon, when the next rise is forecast. These late-season rises should flush some of the last spawned-out steelhead downriver and could bring in a few fresh ones. The main stem of the Smith will remain open through the end of April from its mouth to the confluence with the Middle and South Forks. The Middle Fork will also remain open through April from its mouth to Patrick’s Creek. The South Fork is open through April, as well, from its mouth upstream approximately 1,000 feet to the County Road (George Tryon) bridge and Craig’s Creek to Jones Creek.

Southern Oregon rivers
“Spring salmon are being caught on the Rogue, both by plunkers fishing the lower river gravel bars, and jet boats anchoring on the side with anchovies”, said Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “With decent catches in high water, anglers expect catch rates to sore late this will as the river drops into prime shape. Huntley Park has produced a handful of springers a day for shore anglers, while boaters are anchoring at the old mill, Elephant Rock and above Canfield Bar. The Chetco, Elk and Sixes are now closed for the season.”

Brookings ocean update
According to Martin, lingcod and rockfish action is good out of Brookings on calm weather days. “Good weather returns the second half of the week. Bird Island and House Rock have been solid producers for quick bottom fish limits. Surfperch fish also has improved.”

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