FISHING
King salmon fishing should be good early this fall in rivers such as the Klamath and Trinity, but there is plenty of concern about the lack of rain and severe to extreme drought conditions. (REDWOOD COAST FISHING)
NORCAL KING FISHING COULD BUCK DROUGHT KLAMATH, TRINITY EXPECTATIONS ARE SOLID, BUT LACK OF RAIN IS POTENTIAL CRISIS By Chris Cocoles
T
he Klamath and Trinity River fall-run king salmon seasons will have opened by the start of this month, but that’s just part of a much bigger story that’s on everyone’s mind. As federal and state agencies face an increasing crisis of how an already tenuous Chinook fishery struggles
through drought conditions affecting all of Northern California (see story on page 17), those who have an emotional and financial stake in the salmon ponder an uncertain future. “I am very concerned about the state of our salmon fisheries on the North Coast. There are myriad factors leading to the decline of salmon, but the most immediate threat is this drought we can’t seem to get
our way out of,” says guide Mike Stratman, who owns and operates Redwood Coast Fishing (707-6018757; redwoodcoastfishing.com) in Eureka. “Simply put, if it doesn’t start raining soon, we’re in real trouble.”
WATER LEVELS LOW While water levels are historically bad at critical Central Valley reservoirs
calsportsmanmag.com | SEPTEMBER 2021 California Sportsman
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