NORTH COAST CHINOOK OUTLOOK

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

The 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

like Shasta, Oroville and Folsom, and in the rivers they feed, the coastal rivers are enduring their own issues with rainfall deficits.

“Our North Coast rivers definitely reflect our severe drought status. It seems all of California is in more or less the same unprecedented boat,” Stratman says.

“While the Trinity and Klamath still have decent flow to them, they are lower than average and some of our coastal rivers are totally dry in many places. These are tough times all around for our anadromous fish,” he bemoans.

While there have been some cancelled reservations – many caused by an increase of COVID-19 cases – there will still be good fishing opportunities on North Coast rivers this month.

(REDWOOD COAST FISHING)

FISHING PROSPECTS

In the short term, there will be some nice salmon to catch this fall from the Oregon border south. The region’s major rivers, the Klamath and Trinity, are now both open (Aug. 15 for the Klamath; Sept. 1 for the Trinity).

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced the Klamath Basin’s inriver quota of 1,221 adult fall Chinook for the 2021 recreational season.

“Fall Chinook regulations on length have changed since 2019, with the adult size now being greater than 23 inches in total length (previously 22 inches),” a CDFW press release stated. “Bag limits will remain the same as 2020, with a two-fish daily bag limit, with no more than one fish over 23 inches (such as one adult and one jack). The possession limit remains the same at six fish, with no more than three fish over 23 inches (effectively three daily bag limits).”

As has been the case, the fall-run projections are lower than the longterm average (181,500 adult kings for the Klamath River), but Stratman notes that there have been a lot of tidewater fish this summer.

“I actually think the Klamath and Trinity Rivers should fish better than expected this year,” he says. “The mouth of the Klamath is deep and well-connected to the ocean at this point and has not been sanding over. This is a huge factor to there being good numbers of fish in the lower Klamath for September.”

OTHER RIVERS

Stratman’s guide service typically features plenty of late-season trips on other rivers such as the Chetco just across the Oregon border and fisheries further south such as the Smith and Eel. But the lack of rain has taken a toll on potential business (and Stratman had nearly full reservations set before presumably the latest COVID-19 outbreak prompted multiple cancellations).

“I’m just hoping for rain, honestly. Our last legit wet November was in 2016 and, not coincidentally, the last banner late-fall king season we’ve had,” Stratman says. “In fact, this is the first year I’m not doing any advanced bookings for November. I’m tired of cancelling 90 percent of my trips due to lack of sufficient flow in the rivers. If it rains, I will fill dates on a last-minute basis, as the list of people that want to catch big salmon is long.”

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“I actually think the Klamath and Trinity Rivers should fish better than expected this year,” Redwood Coast Fishing guide Mike Stratman (right) says. “The mouth of the Klamath is deep and well-connected to the ocean at this point and has not been sanding over. This is a huge factor to there being good numbers of fish in the lower Klamath

for September.” (REDWOOD COAST FISHING)

WHY NOT MORE HATCHERY FISH?

With dwindling salmon returns, drought conditions and tense conflicts amongst those with a stake in water issues, there has been a push for state and federal hatcheries to produce and send more fish into the state’s rivers. We asked guide Mike Stratman about his opinions on the need for hatchery fish.

“The subject of hatchery fish is a touchy one. I don’t necessarily think we should fill every river with hatchery salmon, but yes, I think hatchery salmon in certain systems will be very important going forward if we want our salmon fisheries to remain.”

“It has been extremely frustrating to watch hatchery programs that are vital to our state’s salmon fisheries be downsized or eliminated. And it seems this has mostly come about due to idealistic special interest groups lacking any sense of real-world pragmatism.”

“For example, why people would want to try to recreate the Central Valley rivers into wild salmon rivers is confusing at best. It’s a pipe dream that only accomplishes the death of the most economically important salmon river (the Sacramento) in the state. The Central Valley should be treated like a hatchery salmon factory, in my opinion, as the habitat is simply not available to restore the Sac system back into a self-sustaining run of wild salmon and be able to support the state’s ocean salmon fisheries. It’s sad, but that’s the reality of the situation.” CS TACTICAL TIPS

Stratman says he’ll mix up techniques for different rivers and situations. On the lower Klamath, jet boat anglers do a lot of side drifting and boondogging with eggs, but Stratman and others will certainly switch over to pulling plugs or back-bouncing.

“Drift boat fishing on the coastal rivers or the Trinity usually have me pulling out back-bounce and plug setups, and sometimes floats if the flow is minimal,” he says.

“Back-bouncing good eggs is really my favorite,” Stratman adds. “It can be the most frustrating thing for me to coach, but it’s so damn effective and really one of my favorite bites to watch go down.” CS

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