Shelter Cove

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.”

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.

Smith and Chetco both kick out big kings

Haley Richards, who grew up in Crescent City but now lives in Salem, Ore., holds a salmon caught over the weekend with guide Rye Phillips of Brookings Fishing Charters.

The season’s first big storms hit North Coast over the weekend and the Smith and Chetco both kicked out good numbers of kings. Both rivers have been loaded with kings in their lower sections for quite some time, and when the rivers finally rose, they were on the move.

On Friday evening, the Smith went well over river level projections, but peaked and was on the drop Saturday morning, providing nearly perfect conditions from the forks to below the 101 Bridge. Fishing was wide-open, with most drift boats putting up double-digit scores on salmon of all sizes and colors. Fishing continued to be excellent through the weekend, but the river dropped quickly.

With the Smith dropping and clearing, the focus Sunday was squarely on the Chetco. After going over river level projections and peaking at 10,000 cfs Friday, it needed Saturday to clear up and by Sunday it was game on with wide-open fishing. By Monday the river had dropped to under 4,000 cfs and was clearing quick. Fishing has been decent all week, with most of the action on the lower end.

Both rivers are now low and clear and in need of rain. And it’s on the way. Large rises are predicted starting Monday, and both should see a push of fresh salmon.

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 next week. 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
Fishing slowed this week on the Smith as the river dropped and cleared quickly. Flows were down to 850 cfs by Thursday, and it could close prior to the weekend. If it does close, it will be short lived as the next storm is forecast to hit Sunday night. The river is expected to peak at 7,300 cfs Tuesday morning. Rain is in the forecast for most of the week, so conditions should be good. 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. cnrfc.noaa.gov/graphicalRVF.php?id=CREC1

Mad
Forecast to reach 880 cfs by Tuesday and should have some color. Rain is in the forecast for much of next week. Minimum flow: 200 cfs at the gauging station at the Highway 299 bridge. cnrfc.noaa.gov/graphicalRVF.php?id=ARCC1

Main stem Eel
Flows are predicted to surpass 800 cfs Tuesday morning, and could be fishable. With more rain in the forecast next week, it could remain open to fishing all week. 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.
cnrfc.noaa.gov/graphicalRVF.php?id=SCOC1

South Fork Eel
As of Thursday, it looks like the South Fork could rise above the minimum flow requirements by mid next week. Flows are predicted to peak next Tuesday and could remain above the minimum flow threshold all week. Minimum flow: 340 cfs at the gauging station at Miranda. cnrfc.noaa.gov/graphicalRVF.php?id=MRNC1

Van Duzen
If the storm prediction is correct, the Van Duzen should approach 250 cfs by next Tuesday morning. It’s predicted to remain above the minimum flow threshold all week. Minimum flow: 150 cfs at the gauging station near Grizzly Creek Redwoods State Park.
cnrfc.noaa.gov/graphicalRVF.php?id=BRGC1

Chetco/Elk/Sixes
“Salmon fishing has been decent on the Chetco, with hot fishing following last week’s rain, and plenty of fish with tougher conditions as it drops out this week,” said Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “Back-bouncing roe is accounting for most of this fish as the river becomes low and clear. Plugs worked well over the weekend. The river crested at 10,000 cfs, and was down to 3,900 cfs the next morning. It is now down to 600 cfs. More rain is expected to begin next week, which should kick the Elk and Sixes into high gear.”

Sixes River low flow angling closure lifted
Beginning Nov. 1, the Sixes River low flow angling closure was lifted according to a press release issued by the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. It states, “ODFW closed a portion of the river to angling Oct. 1 to protect wild fall chinook salmon vulnerable to snagging or poaching while staging between Crystal Creek and Hughes House Boat Ramp. With increased flows, salmon are now migrating upstream.

Anglers are reminded the bag limit for wild adult chinook in the Sixes River is one adult chinook per day, 10 for the season. Elk River, just south of Sixes River is closed to retention of wild fall chinook this year.” For more information, check the ODFW Recreation Report.

Sport crabbing update
The sport Dungeness crab season opened Saturday, but the weather failed to cooperate. Boats didn’t make it offshore out of Eureka due to large swells. The ocean finally laid down enough Wednesday, and Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing was one of the boats setting gear for Thursday’s crab trips. With a 24-hour soak, Klassen needed just 4 pots to get 60 crabs. “The crabs were all good size, we only had a couple shorts,” said Klassen. “The crabs were really clean and looked pretty full.”

Inside Humboldt Bay, which is typically a good plan B, was reportedly slow for the handful of boats that braved the weather. Offshore conditions look decent for Friday, but a south wind is predicted for the weekend with seven to eight-foot swells.

Nicole McCain of Carson City NV., holds a nice ling cod caught this week out of Shelter Cove. Photo courtesy of Jake Mitchell, Sea Hawk Sport Fishing

Shelter Cove
According to Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing, rock fishing was pretty good over the weekend in marginal conditions. He said, “The lingcod bite was really good. Crabbing started a little on the slow side, but we managed limits and the meat quality was excellent. Conditions look good the next few days before they start to deteriorate towards the end of the weekend.”

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.