rockfish

Holiday Weekend Anglers Have a Plenty of Choices

Excellent ocean conditions are forecast for the holiday weekend, providing anglers with a great opportunity to catch a Pacific halibut. Pictured are a couple nice ones caught aboard the Fishy Business a couple weekends ago. Photo courtesy of Matt Dallam/Northwind Charters

For North Coast anglers, Memorial Day weekend provides an excellent opportunity to try your luck at a variety of fish species and locations. With plenty of options on the table, the biggest decision might not be if you want to go, but where. Here are a few of the options that will hopefully make your decision a little easier this holiday weekend:

  • Offshore for Pacific halibut and rockfish — The halibut bite is starting to show signs of life, with a few limits being reported the last couple days. Rockfish is always a good option if you have a means to get offshore. Cape Mendocino, Trinidad, and Crescent City are all kicking out a variety of tasty rockfish.
  • Jetties for rockfish and lingcod —When the windisn’t howling, the jetties have been providing excellent rockfish and lingcod action. Small swimbaits or scampi jigs are catching fish as well as herring fished under a float.
  • California halibut —If bank angling is your only option, check out Fairhaven Beach on the bay side of the Samoa Peninsula. Fishing is best a couple hours before and after high tide. Swimbaits attached to a ¾-ounce jig head is a good bait choice. If you have a boat, a few fish have been caught in the middle channel, with swimbaits working best.
  • Freshwater Lagoon trout —Planted regularly with catchable-sized trout, there should be ample opportunities for shore-based anglers as well as boat fishermen. An easy rig to fish is a Berkley PowerBait with an egg sinker.
  • Ruth Lake trout and bass —Nice weather and a family-friendly atmosphere make this a great spot for the weekend. Reportedly, the trout and bass bite are heating up.
  • Elk River redtail perch —If it’s perch you’re after and the ocean is too rough or not your thing, Elk River Beach is a great spot to target redtails. Two hours prior to high tide and an hour after typically are the optimal times. Shrimp, clams, swimbaits and sand crabs all work.
  • Trinidad Harbor rockfish —A great option for rockfish and crab. Launching a small boat or kayak from the beach is fairly easy in good conditions. Typically getting an early start is best before the afternoon wind kicks in.
  • Dungeness Crab —Anglers dropping pots outside of the bay entrance are still catching a few Dungeness crab when the weather cooperates, though there hasn’t been a ton of effort. If it’s too rough, there’s some good locations inside Humboldt Bay. Out in front of the PG&E plant is a good spot as well as the flat off the South Jetty parking lot. Another top location is either side of the channel leading into the South Bay.
  • North Coast rivers —Many of the local rivers will re-open to fishing beginning Saturday, May 24. Rivers that will open include sections of the main Eel (South Fork to Cape Horn Dam), South Fork Eel (South Fork Eel River from mouth to Rattlesnake Creek) Van Duzen, Mad, Little River, Mattole and Smith. Be sure to check the regulations prior to fishing.
  • Fisheries currently closed: Red Abalone, Mussels, Razor Clams (both Humboldt and Del Norte Counties), Ocean and River Chinook fishing. Ocean salmon will be open June 7-8.

Weekend marine forecast
After a couple weeks of strong winds, we’re finally getting a break just in time for the holiday weekend. Friday, winds will be out of the north 10 to 15 knots with north waves 4 feet at five seconds and west 3 feet at nine seconds. Saturday is looking better, with north winds 5 to 10 knots and northwest waves 4 feet at six seconds and southwest 2 feet at eight seconds. Sunday, the wind will be out of the northwest up to 5 knots with north waves 2 feet at four seconds and northwest 4 feet at 12 seconds. Monday is looking good as well, with north winds 5 to 10 knots forecast along with west waves 5 feet at 11 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.

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.

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.

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
The Pacific halibut bite has been hit and miss so far, but there are some fish around,” said Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “There’s been some limits, and some skunks. Without a hole lot of time on the water, it’s hard to tell if the fish are concentrated or not. They could be out in deeper water. Most of the boats are fishing between 270 and 300 feet of water between the 48 and 50 lines. The Cape rockfish bite has been good the few times we’ve made it down. Monday, we hit Blunts Reef and the rock fishing was excellent. We caught a wide variety along with some really nice lingcod.”

Trinidad
Ocean conditions are looking good for the holiday weekend out of Trinidad. It looks like small boats and kayakers will have a window of opportunity to launch off the beach to target rockfish and crab. The boat launch is scheduled to open sometime in June. For updates and current information, you can call the bait shop at 677-3625.

Shelter Cove
“The rockfish and lingcod bite has been great all week,” said Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “We’ve been able to sneak out and get limits every day before the wind really gets on us. The weather has kept us pretty close to port, so most effort has been from the whistle down to White Rock. We haven’t had the weather to try for halibut yet. Sunday and Monday are looking good, but we’ll see how that turns out.”

Crescent City
The rockfish bite has been excellent, but the ling cod fishing has been slow reports Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. He said, “When the boats can get out, the Sisters has been decent for rockfish. To the north, Star and Long Rock have been good as well as the lighthouse. There hasn’t been much effort at all for halibut yet, I don’t think any have been caught so far.”

Brookings
Ocean salmon has been slow out of Brookings, which is normally the case in mid-May,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “A few kings have been caught in 200 to 250 feet of water, around 100 feet down. Some coho also have been caught, but they can’t be kept until early June. Halibut fishing has improved, mainly off of Thomas Creek Bridge. Lingcod and rockfish action is good.”

Eric Howard, a deckhand for Brookings Fishing Charters, holds a king salmon caught by Chris Nolan while trolling an anchovy behind a Fish Flash aboard the Miss Brooke on May 20. Photo courtesy of Brookings Fishing Charters

River openings
Sections of the main Eel (South Fork to Cape Horn Dam), South Fork Eel (South Fork Eel River from mouth to Rattlesnake Creek) Van Duzen, Mad, Little River, Mattole and Smith will re-open on Saturday, May 24. On most rivers, only artificial lures with barbless hooks may be used. Click here for a complete list of CA river openings and regulations. The Chetco opened to trout fishing Thursday.

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, the Rogue is slow for spring salmon, with better action near Shady Cove and Gold Hill. More boats are trolling the bay, but catches are few and far between. Wild salmon can be kept beginning June 1. 

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.

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

‘Offshore Only’ Rockfish Season Begins Oct. 1

Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing and client hold a nice vermilion rockfish from a recent trip to Cape Mendocino. As of Oct. 1, the inshore fishery will close and the offshore only fishery will take place for the month. Angling for rockfish will only be allowed seaward of 300 feet throughout Oct. Photo courtesy of Tim Klassen/Reel Steel Sport Fishing

After a productive, fun-filled five-month season of nearshore rock fishing, the month of October will force anglers back to deeper water. Beginning Oct. 1 within the Northern Management Area, which includes ocean waters between 42°00’ N. latitude (CA-OR Border) and 40°10′ N. latitude (near Cape Mendocino), fishing for rockfish will only be allowed seaward of the 50-fathom boundary line, and only shelf rockfish, slope rockfish and lingcod may be retained. Take and possession of nearshore rockfish, cabezon and greenling are prohibited during the offshore fishery. In the Mendocino Management Area, which includes Shelter Cove and Fort Bragg, all the seasons are the same as the Northern Management Area.

Divers and shore-based anglers will continue to be exempt from boat-based season restrictions affecting rockfish and other federally managed groundfish, which allows for year-round diving and shore-based angling, in line with current regulations.
Just in time for crab/rockfish/halibut combo trips, the Northern Management Area will once again open to inshore fishing on Nov. 1. where take is prohibited seaward of the 20 fathom (120 feet) boundary line.

Weekend marine forecast
Breezy conditions will continue in the outer waters through the weekend. As of Thursday, the forecast out 10 to 60 nautical miles for Friday is calling for winds out of the north 20 to 25 knots with north waves 5 feet at five seconds and northwest 8 feet at 13 seconds. Saturday is calling for winds from the north 20 to 25 knots and north waves 10 feet at eight seconds and northwest 9 feet at 12 seconds. Sunday’s winds will be similar, blowing 25 to 30 knots with gusts to 40 knots and north waves 12 feet at 10 seconds and northwest 5 feet at 11 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.

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 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.

Pacific halibut quota update
As of September 8, California’s share of Area 2A’s quota, which includes Washington and Oregon, is at 47 percent, with just 18,157 net pounds harvested against the 38,220 net pound quota. (500 pounds are set aside for the area south of Point Arena). The Pacific halibut fishery will run through Nov. 15 or until the quota is reached, whichever is earlier. To view the latest catch projection information, visit wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/marine/pacific-halibut#31670772-in-season-tracking.

The Oceans:
Eureka
According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, boats have been tied up all week due to rough seas. “It looks like it will start to come down by Tuesday or Wednesday,” said Klassen. “The tuna water looks to be long gone, but there are plenty of Pacific halibut left to catch. In the meantime, the California halibut bite in the bay is still pretty good. We ran a trip on Tuesday and caught limits up to 32 inches on live bait.”

Shelter Cove
According to Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing, the rockfish bite has been really good. He said, “The lingcod bite has been good as good as well, and seems to be getting better. The Pacific halibut action is decent, a friend of mine landed a 73-pounder Tuesday.”

Crescent City
According to Dan Moore of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, the weather has been a little iffy, but when the boats can get out the rockfish bite has been good. “Limits are still coming pretty easily,” said Moore. “The lingcod bite has been a little tougher. Ocean conditions the last couple weeks have kept boats from targeting Pacific halibut. The perch bite is excellent when the conditions are right.”

Brookings
Halibut fishing has been slow out of Brookings, while lingcod and rockfish action remains good reports Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Crabbing also has improved,” said Martin. “Nice weather the middle of this week could boost halibut catches. Even during last week’s strong winds, limits of rockfish were caught close to the harbor.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Water conditions on the lower Klamath continue to be dirty and unfishable due dam removal work upriver. There are fish making their way into the river, but most anglers and guides have moved to other rivers. Hopefully water conditions start to improve at some point, but it remains to be seen if it happens before the king run is over.
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.

Customers fishing with Capt. Rye Phillips of Brookings Fishing Charters show some of the kings they caught Tuesday in the Chetco estuary, with fish to 38 pounds. Photo courtesy of Brookings Fishing Charters

Chetco/Lower Rogue
According to Martin, salmon fishing remains fair to good on the Rogue Bay, and good at times on the Chetco estuary. “Days with high catch rates have been followed with slow action the next as the fish move in and out with the tides. Tuesday was good, with most guides getting one to two fish a rod. Lots of fish over 25 pounds are being caught. Ocean anglers are encountering salmon while bottom fishing, indicating plenty of kings are staging near the mouth of the river.”

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.