ocean

North Coast Rivers Likely to Remain Closed

Incoming Storm Won’t Pack Enough Punch To Open Rivers

The Chetco estuary continues to be the hot spot for kings, with plenty of big ones being landed daily. Pictured above is Capt. Rye Phillips, right, of Brookings Fishing Charters holding a client’s salmon. Photo courtesy of Brookings Fishing Charters

The good news is we’re about to see a weather pattern shift, bringing with it the first rainstorm of the season. Unfortunately, it looks like it will fall well short of what we need to open up the rivers to fishing. The bulk of the rain is forecast to fall south of the Mad River. The main stem Eel could see up to a half inch on Saturday while the South Fork Eel may see up to three-quarters of an inch. While this will help, the parched rivers will need inches of rain along with consistent storms to open them up. Hopefully this is just the beginning and the storm door has been pushed open. In the meantime, the Chetco continues to be the bright spot on the coast for kings. If you’re looking for big fish, you’ll want to get there before the rains come and they all make their way 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 5 to 10 knots with northwest waves 4 feet at 11 seconds and southwest 2 feet at 14 seconds. Saturday, winds will be out of the southeast 10 to 15 knots with south waves 4 feet at five seconds and west 6 feet at 11 seconds. Sunday, winds will be up to 5 knots out of the northwest with west waves 6 feet at 11 seconds and south 2 feet at 13 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.

Expired marine flare collection events
In an Oct. 9 press release issued by California Product Stewardship Council (CPSC), 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, Humboldt County, West Contra Costa County, Marin County, the City of Morro Bay, the Port of LA, and the Port of San Diego can take their expired marine flares to their county’s designated marine flare collection events in the fall.

A collection date for Del Norte and Humboldt County has been set for  Saturday, November 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1700 State Street, Crescent City. For more information, visit www.calpsc.org/marineflareswitchcampaign

Warnings lifted for some shellfish in Humboldt County
According to a press release issued by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), shellfish safety notifications have been lifted for sport-harvested mussels, scallops, and most types of clams from Humboldt County. A warning against eating sport-harvested razor clams from Humboldt County remains in effect as razor clams are a high risk for long-term elevated levels of domoic acid. Razor clams are known to retain domoic acid toxin in their meat and tissues much longer than other species of bivalve shellfish. More information can be found here.

Dungeness crab testing continues
Domoic acid testing in Dungeness crabs continues on the California coast. To date, samples from Half Moon Bay/San Francisco (Pidgeon and Pillar Point) and four collection sites off Bodega Bay have been reported. Only the Russian River site exceeded the action level of 30 parts per million. For more information, visit www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CEH/DFDCS/Pages/FDBPrograms/FoodSafetyProgram/DomoicAcid.aspx

The Oceans:
Eureka
“Excellent ocean conditions last weekend allowed boats to venture out to the deep water for rockfish where the fishing was excellent,” said Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “The Pacific halibut bite was slow over the weekend, but there wasn’t much effort. “Ocean conditions are looking good again this weekend.”

Shelter Cove
According to Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing, the deep water rock fishing was really good over the weekend with easy limits, but only a lingcod per rod. “Looks like we have some decent weather coming up this weekend again,” said Mitchell. “Most of the effort was along the edge of the canyon.”

Brookings
Halibut fishing remains decent out of Brookings, while lingcod and rockfish action has been good reports Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Sport crabbing also is good,” said Martin. “The forecast looks promising this weekend.”

North Coast river closures
Currently, all North Coast rivers subjected to low flow fishing closures, including the Eel, Mad, Redwood Creek, Smith and Van Duzen are closed. Sections of rivers that are open include the main stem Smith River from its mouth to the mouth of Rowdy Creek.

The Department of Fish and Game will make the information available to the public no later than 1 p.m. each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as to whether any river 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.

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Water conditions on the lower Klamath remain off color and unfishable. Conditions should begin to improve soon as dam removal work has finished and water clarity is improving upriver. It’s not likely conditions will improve enough for steelhead fishing before the rains come.

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 Fishing Report and Restoration Card in their possession while fishing for steelhead trout in anadromous waters. The recreational fall salmon fishery is closed to the take of Chinook. More information, can be found here.

Chetco/Rogue
According to Martin, lots of big salmon are being caught in the Chetco estuary, while a few salmon also have moved into the tidewater. “The good fishing has attracted big crowds, with more than 30 boats crammed into the small area between the jetties. Fish to 40 pounds are being caught daily. With no major rain in the forecast, the estuary fishing is expected to last for another few weeks. Salmon fishing has slowed in the Rogue Bay, but kings and coho are still moving through.”

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.

Nearshore Rockfish Season Set to Close Aug. 21

Iowa resident Gina Schmidt holds a nice black rockfish caught on a recent trip out of Crescent City. The nearshore rockfish season will come to a close starting Aug. 21. Photo courtesy of Steve Huber/Crescent City Fishing

First ocean and river salmon, then Pacific halibut, and now in what feels like a knockout blow to our fishing community, CDFW has closed the nearshore rockfish season beginning Monday, Aug. 21 for boat-based anglers. In the Northern Groundfish Management Area (GMA), which runs between the CA/OR border and Cape Mendocino, anglers will only be allowed to fish seaward of 50 fathoms (300 feet). Anglers will be able to target lingcod and deepwater shelf and slope rockfish. Nearshore rockfish, cabezon, and greenlings cannot be targeted, taken or possessed. The reason for the shutdown is the reduced number of quillback rockfish. CDFW took in-season action and prohibited the retention of quillbacks starting Aug. 7. But clearly that wasn’t enough as the harvest limit, at least according to CDFW, has been exceeded in the Northern GMA.

CDFW anticipates that additional action may be needed for this and other GMAs for the remainder of 2023 and in 2024, in response to the most recent quillback rockfish stock assessment indicating the population is in severe decline.

Specific information for groundfish anglers within the Northern GMA:

Some of the more widely-caught nearshore rockfish that are now off limits include: Blue, Black, China, Copper, Brown, Gopher, and Olive.

Some examples of Shelf rockfish include Bocaccio, Widow, Canary, Vermilion, and Chilipepper.

Common Slope rockfish include: Splitnose, Darkblotched, Bank, Aurora, Blackgill, and Sharpchin.

CDFW urges anglers to use best fishing practices to reduce impacts to quillback rockfish and other prohibited groundfish species. These include reducing mortality when releasing fish by utilizing a descending device and relocating to different fishing grounds or switching targets if quillback rockfish or other prohibited species are encountered.

For recreational groundfish regulations, visit wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Regulations/Groundfish-Summary. You can read the official press release  announcing the depth change here.

Weekend marine forecast
Northerly winds are expected to increase Wednesday afternoon and then remain steady through the weekend. Friday’s forecast is calling for north winds 5 to 15 knots and northwest waves 8 feet at nine seconds and west 3 feet at 13 seconds. Saturday is calling for similar winds and waves. Sunday’s forecast is better, with winds out of the north 5 to 10 knots and northwest waves 6 feet at nine 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.

Nicole Schaefer of McKinleyville landed a nice California halibut this week while fishing out of Humboldt Bay. Photo courtesy of Lawrence Sobolewski.

California halibut bite remains steady
The California halibut bite has been consistent, with fish being caught daily. Anchovies are starting to show in the bay, and there seems to be plenty of shiner perch for those wanting live bait. Anglers fishing dead bait and even jigs and swimbaits are having plenty of success. The minimum size is 22 inches and the daily bag and possession limit is two.

Trinity River water release
Beginning Friday, Aug. 18, the Bureau of Reclamation will begin to increase flows to the Trinity River for the Hoopa Valley Tribe’s Ceremonial Boat Dance. Lewiston Dam releases are scheduled to gradually increase from the summer base flow of 450 cubic feet per second and are expected to reach a peak flow of 2,000 cfs on Aug. 20 before gradually returning to summer base flows later in the week.

River recreators can expect a higher volume of water and increased turbidity in the Trinity River during the ceremonial flow. As always, the public is urged to exercise caution when recreating in or around the Trinity River. For more info, visit www.usbr.gov/newsroom/news-release/4598

The Oceans:
Eureka
According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, the rockfish bite at Cape Mendocino has been really good, with plenty of variety. “We made a couple trips down last week, and we’ll try and get a few more in before the closure,” said Klassen. “The tuna water is sitting roughly 36 miles out, but the weather looks marginal this week. There’s a chance you could sneak out a day this week to see what’s out there.”

Shelter Cove
“The weather finally laid down late last week and we were able to make it to Rodgers Break for rockfish,” said Jake Mitchell, of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “It was really good and we were even able to get our lingcod limits fairly easily a couple of days.  Sunday and Monday we ran for albacore straight out 25 to 30 miles. Sunday, they didn’t seem to bite very good and we only ended up with six, but we quit a little early. Monday was a little better and we ended up with 28.  Most boats had 15-25 fish. Tuesday was a pretty good too. Boats averaged in the high teens. I heard the low boat had 5 and high boat had 33.”

Crescent City
According to Britt Carson of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, it was another good weekend for California halibut anglers. “Boats did well trolling anchovies along south beach, with some limits reported,” said Carson. “There were also a few Threshers caught. The rockfish and lingcod bite are still really good when they can get out. Unfortunately, that will come to an end after Sunday.”

Brookings
Tuna has been decent out of Brookings on calm weather days reports Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “The best fishing is to the north, off of Pistol River or Gold Beach,” said Martin, “Boats venturing uphill to the 125 line are getting 50 fish per boat. Straight out along the border, catches are much lighter. Windy weather likely will keep boats away from the tuna grounds this week. Halibut fishing remains good with a fish per rod in 180 to 250 feet of water. Lingcod and rockfish action has been fair to good. California halibut are biting in front of the harbor.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Steelhead fishing has slowed on the lower Klamath the last few days as the water temperatures have increased. It’s been best first thing in the morning and it gets tough when the sun comes out. We should see some improvement next week when the water arrives from the Trinity. Fishing pressure continues to be 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 Fishing Report and Restoration Card in their possession while fishing for steelhead trout in anadromous waters. For more information, visit nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=202686&inline

Lower Rogue “The Rogue Bay remains solid for salmon, but expect a crowd,” said Martin. “With fishing slow on other systems, and closed to the south, the word has gotten out about the big salmon run in the Rogue. Anchovies fished behind 360 flashers are working best.”

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.

Pacific Halibut Season Closes, Tuna and Rockfish on Deck

Customers of Brookings Fishing Charters hold tuna caught aboard the Papa B on Aug. 3. Photo courtesy of Brookings Fishing Charters

One of the better Pacific halibut seasons came to a close last Friday, with boats catching limits right up until the end. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday’s closure late last week with the expectation that quota would be exceeded if the season remained open. And I don’t think they were wrong.

But as the halibut season fades in the rearview mirror, albacore tuna season is dead ahead. The warm water that tuna seek isn’t too far offshore of Eureka, and coupled with south winds starting early next week, it won’t be long. Wednesday’s calm seas provided a window for boats out of Crescent City and Brookings. And we know there’s fish out there. Ports from Charleston to Ilwaco have been hammering the longfins all week. Soon, it will be our turn.

Weekend marine forecast
Winds slowly increase in speed through the end of the week with moderate breezes across the waters by Friday. Friday’s forecast is calling for north winds 5 to 15 knots and north waves 5 feet at six seconds. Saturday is calling for north winds 5 to 15 knots and waves out of the north 6 feet at seven seconds. Sunday gets a little rougher, with winds out of the north 5 to 15 knots and waves northwest 8 feet at nine seconds and southwest 3 feet at 15 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.

CDFW offshore fishing closures/openings

Pacific halibut season closed
The recreational Pacific halibut fishery closed statewide on Friday, Aug. 4 at 11:59 p.m., CDFW announced August 2. Based on the latest catch projections, CDFW expects the 2023 California recreational quota of 39,520 net pounds will be reached by this date. For more information, visit https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/Archive/recreational-pacific-halibut-fishery-closure-2023#gsc.tab=0

Quillback rockfish closed for retention
Retention of quillback rockfish is prohibited statewide in both the recreational and commercial fisheries effective Aug. 7, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced July 28. For more info, visit https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/Archive/quillback-rockfish-retention-prohibited#gsc.tab=0

Razor clam fishery reopens
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has reopened Humboldt County beaches to sport clammers seeking tasty North Coast razor clams, effective August 7, 2023. CDFW reopened the fishery following a recommendation from state health agencies that eating razor clams from this area no longer poses a significant public health threat. In odd-numbered years, between Moonstone Beach and north of the boundary line due west from the Clam Beach south parking lot trailhead (40° 59.67′ N. lat.) is open. The limit is 20 and the first 20 clams dug must be retained as the bag limit regardless of size or broken condition. For more information, visit https://cdfwmarine.wordpress.com/2023/08/07/cdfw-reopens-humboldt-county-razor-clam-fishery/

The Oceans:
Eureka
According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, the halibut season ended on a high note. “The last four days of the season was pretty wide-open action,” said Klassen. “The ocean was too rough over the weekend to head south for rockfish, but excellent conditions look to begin Wednesday. I’m sure there will be plenty of boats headed to the Cape for rockfish. The tuna water is still a little too far out there for us, but we have some southerly winds starting early next week which should bring the warm water closer.”

Shelter Cove
Spending most of this week fishing off the Ranch House, Jake Mitchell, of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing reports a pretty good rockfish bite. “We had easy limits every day, but the lingcod are still hit and miss,” said Mitchell. “A couple of days we had limits while others were a struggle.”

Crescent City
According to Britt Carson of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, one boat did well last Thursday on tuna, landing 16. “If the weather holds, boats will be headed out Wednesday as the warm water looks to be only 25 miles out,” said Carson. “The California halibut bite exploded over the weekend, with plenty of limits being caught along South Beach. They were really thick, and anglers trolling anchovies did really well. The rockfish and lingcod bite are still going strong, with both reefs and the lighthouse giving up plenty of nice limits.”

Brookings
Charter boats out of Brookings found big schools of tuna last week, but had to venture well offshore to get them,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters “The five boats fishing out of the Brookings Fishing Charters office averaged 50 fish a boat last Thursday, fishing halfway between Brookings and Gold Beach, 30 miles offshore. Pockets of warmer water along the border didn’t produce for private boaters from Brookings that headed south instead of turning north. A break in the weather Wednesday and Thursday will give anglers another shot at tuna. Pacific halibut fishing has been good, with the best action in 180 to 240 feet of water. Combinations of herring and squid are working best.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Steelhead fishing has improved on the lower Klamath, but it’s still not red hot. Fishing pressure has been light, and the few boats out are catching a handful of adults each day. Some more half-pounders are finally starting to show up. Fishing should only get better as we head into the first few weeks of August. 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 Fishing Report and Restoration Card in their possession while fishing for steelhead trout in anadromous waters. For more information, visit nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=202686&inline

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, the Rogue Bay is fishing well, but is crowded. “Most fish are coming on 360 flashers and anchovies. Lots of big fish are being caught, with salmon topping 40 pounds showing up daily at Jots or Lex’s Landing.”

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 www.fishingthenorthcoast.com. For up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information, email kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com.

Epic tuna bite off coast of Eureka

Image

Photo Caption: Kayla from Roseville, CA had her hands full landing this 25-pound Chinook on Tuesday while fishing with John Klar’s Guide Service on the Klamath River. 

Fishing the North Coast
Kenny Priest/For the Times-Standard
Published 9/5/2013

Free fishing day this Saturday

Calm seas and 60-degree water — the two ideal conditions that make any fanatical tuna angler go nuts — or call in sick to work. North Coast fishermen had been targeting salmon all summer, but now, tuna has become the new holy grail and catch of the day. For the last couple of weeks, conditions have provided a few opportunities for boats willing to run 50 to 60 miles out, but Wednesday, with warm water inching closer towards shore, seemed to be THE day. The word was out!

Close to 30 boats launched out of Eureka area and made the trek out to the spot where the boats left them biting days prior. Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport fishing was part of the fleet and reported the bite was pretty unbelievable. According to Klassen, they ended up 43 miles out on the 46-line and found lots of fish on the surface as well as “jumpers” where the water temps were in the mid-60s. “We probably caught about a third of our fish on live bait, caught a few on the troll and a few on dead bait. They were biting everything we threw at them. The fish were big too — all of our fish were in the 20-pound class,” Klassen added. Though I didn’t get any totals for the day, I’m assuming when Klassen says they “plugged the boat”, they got all they needed.

Marine forecast

It doesn’t appear Mother Nature will be too kind to the salmon anglers looking to get on the water for the final weekend of salmon season. Out 10 nautical miles, Friday’s forecast is calling for winds out of the north 10 to 20 knots and waves NW 9 feet at 9 seconds. Saturday is calling for north winds 5 to 15 knots and waves NW 8 feet at 8 seconds. Sunday is looking very similar with north winds 10 to 20 knots and waves NW to 8 feet at 9 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For up-to-date weather forecast, visit http://www.weather.gov/eureka. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484.

 Klamath River salmon

The Labor Day weekend saw a huge push of salmon enter the river according to Sara Borok, an Environmental Scientist on the Klamath River. “As of Monday, 7,030 adult Chinook have been harvested out of the lower river quota of 20,003. Of those, 6,561 were harvested at the mouth. Because we don’t anticipate hitting the basin quota of 40,006 the mouth will not close,” Borok added. With the water temperatures again on the rise, the DFW is encouraging anglers to catch their three adult salmon and not catch and release attempting to harvest a jack to fill their limits.

Free Fishing Day on Saturday

This Saturday, September 7 is the second of California’s two 2013 Free Fishing Days, when people can try their hand at fishing without having to buy a sport fishing license. All fishing regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, report card requirements, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect. For more information on Free Fishing Days, please visit www.dfg.ca.gov/licensing/fishing/freefishdays.html

Rockfish and Halibut seasons

Though sport salmon season closes on September 8, both rockfish and Pacific Halibut seasons are open until October 31 in the Northern Management Zone.

The Oceans:

Eureka

The finish line is in sight for the ocean sport salmon season, and may not end up quite like it started. For the better part of four months, we’ve had great weather and phenomenal fishing. If the rough seas don’t materialize for the weekend, you’ll more than likely find the fleet working south off Centerville beach anywhere from the 32 to the 37-line. That’s where Captains Gary Blasi of Full Throttle Sport Fishing, Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, and Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing have been doing there time. Limits, or close to it have been the norm since the weekend, and the fish have been a real nice grade. The boats have been working in tight from 100 feet of water out to 190 and all the fish have been coming right off the bottom. The area has been one of the few spots holding cold water, but that may change this weekend as the warm water is once again pushing right into the beach.

Trinidad

Phil Pritting of Eureka’s Englund Marine reports the salmon has slowed and not many are still trying. ‘I did see one of the charter boats come in on Tuesday with a bunch of salmon, so I know there’s still some around. The halibut fishing has been pretty good for the guys willing to put in some time. Best action has been off of Patrick’s Point in 270 to 310 feet of water. The rockfish bite has also been decent, but now and then they just won’t bite,” Pritting said.

Crescent City

Warm water has pushed the salmon far and deep reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “I heard of a few caught, but they were out in deep water by guys targeting halibut. The water was 64 degrees to the beach on Wednesday, which is good for the tuna fishermen, but not salmon. The halibut bite is still going strong, we weighed a 98-pounder on Sunday that was caught near the South Reef,” Hegnes added.

The Rivers:

Lower Klamath

Not many adult salmon are making their way upriver reports Mike Coopman of Mike Coopman’s Guide Service. “The mouth is full of fish and could bust wide-open open any time, but as of today, we are only seeing a few make their way upriver. We are seeing a good amount of steelhead however, both half-pounders and adults,” Coopman added. Alan Borges of Alan’s Guide Service has also been working the Klamath and reports the fishing over the last week has been up and down. “Some days we are catching quite a few, with the majority being half-pounders and adult steelhead with a nice king in the mix here and there. It seems like the fish are coming in spurts and water temps still need to drop a little more for things to really take off. It’s keeping the kings from really pushing in the mouth in good numbers,” Borges 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.