food | Fishing the North Coast with Kenny Priest

Big Storms on the Way — and So Are the Kings

Big kings, like this one caught by Whitney Floyd on the Smith River, should be showing up after this weekend’s storms. Photo courtesy of Seth Waters Fishing

The season’s first major storms are headed for the North Coast, and they’re shaping up to be impressive. According to the National Weather Service office in Eureka, a deep and expansive Aleutian low will drive an atmospheric river–type system into the Pacific Northwest beginning Friday. Multiple disturbances rotating off this low will impact Northern California, bringing moderate to heavy precipitation from late Friday through Sunday.

Oceanic-to-coastal thunderstorms are also possible from Saturday afternoon into Sunday across Northern Humboldt and Del Norte counties. Rainfall totals are forecast to range from 4 to 6 inches in Del Norte County and 1.5 to 3.5 inches in Humboldt and Trinity counties. Another disturbance is expected to pass through on Sunday, with additional systems following into Monday. These will likely carry weak to moderate atmospheric river characteristics, especially on Sunday.

For salmon anglers, that’s welcome news. Fresh-from-the-salt king salmon — big, bright, and full of energy — will begin making their way up all of our coastal rivers starting this weekend. If you notice a line of drift boats heading north on U.S. Highway 101, this is the reason.

Following an early rise Saturday morning, both the Smith and Chetco rivers could be fishable by Sunday, though anglers should expect off-colored water, plenty of debris, and continued rising flows. Fresh kings should be moving through both systems.

As of Thursday, the Smith River is forecast to peak just over 4,000 cfs at the Jed Smith gauge early Monday morning before beginning a steady drop through the week. The Chetco is expected to follow a similar pattern, peaking around 1,500 cfs Saturday before leveling out and offering good conditions Sunday through Tuesday. Another round of storms predicted for next weekend could push Chetco flows above 2,300 cfs, bringing another pulse of fresh fish upriver.

As of Thursday, all North Coast rivers subjected to low flow fishing closures, including the Eel, Mad, Redwood Creek, Smith, and Van Duzen were closed to fishing. The low-flow closure telephone hotline for North Coast rivers is no longer in service. You can now find river openings and closures online at https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Inland/Low-Flow/North-Coast.
Low-flow information for all North Coast rivers is available here.

NOTE: The main stem Eel from the South Fork to Cape Horn Dam, the Mad River from the mouth to 200 yards upstream and the Mattole River will be closed until January 1, 2026.

Mad River
Predicted to peak at 545 cfs Monday morning. Minimum flows are 200 cfs at the gauging station at the Highway 299 bridge to lift angling restrictions.

Main Eel
Forecasted to reach 1,050 cfs early Monday morning. Minimum flows are 350 cfs on the Scotia gauge to lift angling restrictions.

Van Duzen
Predicted to peak at 340 cfs Monday morning Minimum flows are 150 cfs at the gauging station near Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park to lift angling restrictions.

South Fork Eel
Flows are predicted to peak at 445 cfs Monday morning. Minimum flows are 340 cfs at Miranda to lift angling restrictions.

Smith
The Smith is likely to see heavy boat traffic this weekend. If the predictions hold, it could open sometime Saturday morning. It’s forecast for a steep rise through Sunday, but could be fishable in the afternoon. Monday is looking like the day. It could be a little dirty and leafy, but fish should be coming. Minimum flows are 600 cfs at Jedediah Smith State Park to lift angling restrictions.

Chetco/Rogue
“The Chetco should be high enough to float with a drift boat by the weekend, although bobber restrictions remain in place until early November,” said Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “The estuary has slowed as big schools of kings have moved into the tidewater. Generally, boats can get down river with a little dragging at 800 cfs. Above 1,500 cfs, the lower river is an easy drift, although boats may bump bottom at Willow Riffle and above Moffit Rock. The gate at Ice Box is expected to remain closed until Nov. 3. Flows of 1,000 to 1,500 cfs are expected this weekend and early next week. At flows less than 2,000 cfs, boaters will have to fish next to bank anglers on the lower river.

If rain comes in a little more than expected, the Elk and Sixes could become fishable, although a big surf could reduce the number of kings that move in from the ocean. The Rogue Bay is slow, with an occasional late king or coho moving through. Steelhead fishing has been disappointing upriver.”

Dungeness crab testing continues
Domoic acid testing in Dungeness crabs has begun on the California coast. To date, samples from Trinidad, Crescent City, and Monterey have been reported. Of the five crabs from Trinidad and Crescent City, one or more have exceeded the action level of 30 parts per million. Crabs tested out of Monterey Bay all came back clean. More information regarding Domoic Acid and the latest test results can be found here.

Expired marine flare collection events
The California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC) and the Make the Electronic Marine Flare Switch campaign have partnered with CalRecycle, and the California State Parks and Coastal Commission’s California Boating Clean and Green Program to collect expired marine flares and educate residents about marine flare management safety, including the advantages of reusable distress signals, to protect California communities and the local environment.
Residents and boaters berthing their boats in Alameda County, Del Norte County, West Contra Costa County, Marin County, and Santa Cruz County can take their expired marine flares to their county’s designated marine flare collection events in the fall. Click here for all the Bay Area times and locations.
A collection date for Del Norte has been set for Saturday, November 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1700 State Street, Crescent City. For more information, visit www.calpsc.org/marineflareswitchcampaign

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.

Storm Door Cracking Open on the North Coast

The Chetco estuary continues to be the hot spot for kings, with plenty of big ones being landed daily. Pictured above is one of the kings caught this week with guide Rye Phillips of Brookings Fishing Charters. Photo courtesy of Brookings Fishing Charters

The good news is we’re starting to see a shift in the weather pattern, bringing with it the second rainstorm of the season. Unfortunately, it looks like it will still fall short of what’s needed to open the coastal rivers to fishing. The one possible exception could be the main stem Eel River, where flows are predicted to surpass the 350 cfs threshold at Scotia.

From the Smith down to the South Fork Eel, roughly three-quarters to an inch of rain is forecast between Friday and Saturday. Another small storm is expected Monday, but it doesn’t appear strong enough to make much of a difference. While this rain will help, our parched rivers will need several inches and a series of consistent storms before they open up. Hopefully this is just the beginning and the storm door has been pushed open.

As a reminder, the low-flow hotline has been disconnected. River openings and closures can now be tracked in real time at wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Inland/Low-Flow/North-Coast. Low-flow information for all North Coast rivers is available here.

In the meantime, the Chetco continues to be the bright spot on the coast for fall kings. If you’re looking for big fish, now’s the time to go — before the rains come and the salmon make their move upriver.

Weekend marine forecast
South winds, albeit slight, are in the forecast for Friday and Saturday. As of Thursday afternoon, out 10 nautical miles, Friday’s forecast is calling for winds out of the south 10 to 15 knots with south waves 4 feet at five seconds and northwest 5 feet at 10 seconds. Saturday, winds will be out of the south up to 5 knots with west waves 3 feet at seven seconds and northwest 4 feet at 10 seconds. Sunday, winds will be 5 to 10 knots out of the north with northwest waves 2 feet at five seconds and northwest 6 feet at 10 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/ or https://www.windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484.

Warnings lifted for some shellfish in Humboldt County
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has lifted the shellfish and seafood safety notification today related to certain sport-harvested bivalve shellfish from Humboldt County. The warning no longer applies to scallops, oysters and clams (except for razor clams). An advisory for razor clams in Humboldt County remains in effect.

CDFW Statement:

The safety notification for Humboldt County was issued on September 9, 2025, due to dangerous levels of domoic acid in mussels. This naturally occurring toxin can cause illness or death in humans. Recent testing shows domoic acid has decreased to safe levels in shellfish other than razor clams in this area.

A warning against eating sport-harvested razor clams from Humboldt County remains in effect as razor clams are at high risk for long-term elevated levels of domoic acid. Dangerous levels of naturally occurring domoic acid, also referred to as amnesic shellfish poisoning, have been detected in the razor clams. Razor clams are known to retain domoic acid toxin in their meat and tissues much longer than other species of bivalve shellfish. The annual mussel quarantine also remains in effect, which means that while scallops, oysters, and most types of clams can be harvested from Humboldt County, mussels remain under quarantine. The annual quarantine prohibits the sport-harvest of mussels for human consumption and applies to all species of mussels harvested along the California coast, as well as all bays and estuaries, and will continue through at least October 31. This warning does not apply to commercially sold mussels, clams, scallops, or oysters from approved sources. State law permits only state-certified commercial shellfish harvesters or dealers to sell these products. Shellfish sold by certified harvesters and dealers are subject to frequent mandatory testing to monitor for toxins. More information can be found here.

The Oceans:
Eureka
“Excellent ocean conditions earlier this week allowed boats to make it down to the Cape for the first time in a while,” said Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “We fished down there on Tuesday and the bite was excellent. We landed a really good variety of rockfish along with some nice lings. There’s been just a few boats fishing for halibut, and it sounds like they’re still biting. Most of the action has been north of the entrance. Ocean conditions for the weekend don’t look great, with the south wind returning on Friday.”

Jesse Mela and Shaun Mitchell of Benbow with a couple Albacore landed Monday out of Shelter Cove. Photo courtesy of Jake Mitchell/Sea Hawk Sport Fishing

Shelter Cove
According to Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing, the rock fishing was good as usual. He said, “It’s been really quick and easy limits. We also got some nice weather Monday and Tuesday and we were able to get back offshore and look for tuna. It was a 45-mile run but the fish were there and bit pretty good. We ended the day with 36 and the boats that went Tuesday landed between 20 and 30. We fished outside the Knoll.

Brookings
“Lingcod, rockfish and crab action remains good out of Brookings, with halibut biting on calm weather days,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “This weekend looks decent. Lingcod are already staging in shallow water for the winter spawn.”

Low flow river closures in effect since Sept. 1
As Sept. 1, all North Coast rivers subjected to low flow fishing closures, including the Eel, Mad, Redwood Creek, Smith, and Van Duzen were closed to fishing. The low flow closure hotline for North Coast rivers is no longer in service. You can now find river openings and closures in real time online at https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Inland/Low-Flow/North-Coast.

Low-flow information for all North Coast rivers is available here.

NOTE: The main stem Eel from the South Fork to Cape Horn Dam, the Mad River from the mouth to 200 yards upstream and the Mattole River will be closed until January 1, 2026.

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The Klamath is back under 3,000 cfs as of Thursday, but the mouth reportedly remains plugged or severely restricted. There hasn’t been much in the way of new fish entering the lower river for quite some time. Rain is on the way, hopefully it will be enough to blow it out. There should be quite a few more kings, along with coho, still waiting to make their way into the river. Fishing pressure has been very light.

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

Chetco/Rogue
According to Martin. salmon fishing has been good at the mouth of the Chetco, but the estuary is crowded with upwards of 30 boats a day along the jetties. “Salmon to 30 pounds are being caught daily, with wild and hatchery adults and lots of jacks. Salmon also are biting bobbers and eggs in the tidewater.
The Rogue Bay is still a solid bet, with late kings, lots of wild coho and a few hatchery coho. Crowds also have thinned out.”

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.

Sport Crab Opens Saturday South of Reading Rock

Crescent City opener delayed due to domoic acid

Eureka resident Joey Sullivan holds a Dungeness crab caught a couple seasons ago aboard the *Reel Steel*. The sport Dungeness crab season will open this Saturday statewide, except for Crescent City. Photo courtesy of MackGraphics Humboldt

In a last minute twist to the Dungeness crab season opener, it was announced Wednesday the sport crab season will open statewide Nov. 2 with the exception being from the CA/OR state line (42° 0.00’ N latitude) south to the southern boundary of the Reading Rock State Marine Reserve (41° 17.6’ N latitude) in Humboldt County. State health agencies determined that Dungeness crab in the Crescent City area have unhealthy levels of domoic acid and recommended the delay.

For Trinidad, Eureka, Shelter Cove, and Fort Bragg, it’s business as usual and the use of recreational crab traps will be allowed when the season opens Saturday. The season’s first traps can legally be deployed at 12:01 a.m. Saturday morning. Anglers, weather permitting, will get their first peek into the health and weight of this season’s crop as the pre-season quality tests have not taken place or the results have yet to be made public.

Also, due to the presence of whales, ports to our south will be temporarily restricted to the recreational take of Dungeness crab using crab traps between the Sonoma/Mendocino County line and Lopez Point, Monterey County (Fishing Zones 3 and 4) when the season opens on Saturday. Recreational take of Dungeness crab by other methods, including hoop nets and crab snares, is not affected by the temporary trap restriction in these areas.Sport crabbers should also implement best practices, as described in the Best Practices Guide.

The season runs from Saturday, Nov. 2 through July 30, 2025. The minimum size is 5 ¾ inches measured by the shortest distance through the body from edge of shell to edge of shell directly in front of and excluding the points (lateral spines). The limit is 10 and a valid California sport fishing license is required along with the new annual crab trap validation ($2.98).

CDFW anticipates the next risk assessment will take place on or around Nov. 15, 2024, at which time the Director will re-evaluate risk for the Dungeness crab fisheries. That risk assessment is expected to inform the potential for a statewide commercial fishery opener on Dec. 1, 2024, and the potential to modify the recreational trap restriction.

On the commercial side, the season south of the Sonoma/Mendocino county line was scheduled to open on Nov. 15, 2024.This fishery has been delayed in zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 due to presence of high numbers of humpback whales. More information can be found here.

Top crabbing locations
With offshore conditions looking rough over the weekend, you can still find plenty of crab. One of the top spots to soak a few rings is Crab Park, located at the end of Cannibal Island Road in Loleta. There’s access to launch a kayak or canoe in the estuary of the Eel River. You can also launch your boat at Pedrazzini Park at the end of Cock Robin Island Road and make your way up the estuary towards the mouth of the Eel.

Humboldt Bay also has a few good locations to catch some crab. Out in front of the PG&E plant is a good spot as well as the flat off of the South Jetty parking lot. Another top location is either side of the channel leading into the South Bay. Up north, inside Trinidad Harbor is another popular spot among the locals. You can launch your small boat, kayak or drift boat right off the beach and head out to Prisoner Rock, where the bottom is sandy and 40 to 50-ft deep. Launching here requires a relatively calm ocean, which doesn’t look to be the case for the weekend.

Weekend Marine Forecast
Ocean conditions don’t look good for Saturday’s crab opener. As of Thursday, north winds and six to nine-foot swells are in the weekend forecast. Saturday’s forecast is calling for north winds 5 to 10 knots with northwest waves 9 feet at 11 seconds with a chance of showers. Winds will increase Sunday, coming out of the north 10 to 15 knots with north waves 5 feet at six seconds and northwest 6 feet at 10 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.

Weekend Tides – Humboldt Bay
• Sat., Nov. 2: high: 1:41 a.m. and 12:37 p.m.; low: 7:59 a.m. and 8:56 p.m.

Standard time begins at 2:00 a.m. Sunday
• Sun., Nov. 3: high: 2:23 a.m. and 1:03 p.m.; low: 8:29 a.m. and 9:33 p.m.

Mussel quarantine lifted for most of the California coast
In a press release issued by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Wednesday, the statewide annual quarantine on mussels taken for human consumption by sport-harvesters from California’s ocean waters ends at midnight Thursday, October 31, 2024, for all coastal counties except Del Norte, Marin, and Monterey.

CDPH statement
“CDPH warns against eating sport-harvested bivalve shellfish (including mussels, clams, and scallops) from Del Norte, Marin, and Monterey counties, due to elevated levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins detected in mussels from these counties and/or absence of recent data to lift the advisories. The naturally occurring PSP toxins can cause illness or death in humans. Unfortunately, cooking does not destroy the toxins.

The annual quarantine on sport-harvested mussels for human consumption, which typically runs May 1 through October 31, is intended to protect the public from shellfish poisoning caused by marine biotoxins. There have been no reports of shellfish related poisonings in California during this quarantine period.” More information can be found here.

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

Smith
The Smith opened to fishing last Sunday afternoon after topping out at 1,130 cfs on the Jed Smith gauge. There was a good push of fish moving above Rowdy Creek on the rise. By Monday, conditions were stable and the fishing was excellent with fish stacked in the holes from the forks down. There were lots of jacks being caught, along with some nice adults. Some bright fish were in the mix as well. Flows were on the drop Tuesday and the bite slowed. The river closed to fishing Wednesday, but that was short lived. Rain began to fall Wednesday afternoon, and the river opened back up Thursday. With a couple days of good rain, the Smith is forecast to peak at 7,300 cfs (10.3 feet) on the Jed Smith gauge late Saturday morning. Conditions should be prime for Saturday and Sunday. The daily bag limit is one Chinook salmon per day and no more than five wild Chinook salmon over 22 inches per year. Minimum flow: 600 cfs at the Jedediah Smith State Park gauging station. www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/graphicalRVF.php?id=CREC1

Carrie McNeill landed her first-ever Smith River salmon on Saturday. The king weighed in at 16 pounds. Photo courtesy of Jesse McNeill,

Mad
Forecast to reach 335 cfs by Saturday afternoon and may have some color. Minimum flow: 200 cfs at the gauging station at the Highway 299 bridge. www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/graphicalRVF.php?id=ARCC1

Main stem Eel
Flows are predicted to hit 700 cfs Sunday morning, and could be fishable. The Eel River is open to catch and release of salmon in 2024/25. Minimum Flow: 350 cubic feet per second at the gauging station near Scotia.
www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/graphicalRVF.php?id=SCOC1

South Fork Eel
As of Thursday, it looks like the South Fork could open to fishing by Saturday, but flows are expected to fall under the minimum by Sunday. There’s a good chance it will stay closed. Minimum flow: 340 cfs at the gauging station at Miranda. www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/graphicalRVF.php?id=MRNC1

Van Duzen
If the storm prediction is correct, the Van Duzen won’t reach the flow threshold in order to open to fishing. It’s forecast to peak at 115 cfs Saturday afternoon. Minimum flow: 150 cfs at the gauging station near Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park.
www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/graphicalRVF.php?id=BRGC1

Chetco
“Big numbers of jacks were caught on the Chetco Sunday and Monday before fishing slowed dramatically Tuesday as river levels dropped,” said Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “Lower river holes were plugged full of salmon before the weekend rains, and by Tuesday the fish appeared to have shot upriver. Fresh schools of kings moved into the tidewater on Tuesday evening. Heavy rain this week should result in prime conditions the beginning of next week. Ice Box is expected to open after the big rains. Launch permits are available at the Chetco Outdoor Store.”

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.