FISHING THE NORTH COAST
High School Board of Trustees voted Oct. 8 to participate in athletics but continue classes remotely. If Eureka High School and others — possibly Arcata and McKinleyville — also vote for starting athletics with remote education, many may question why other programs, such as agriculture and band, are not granted exceptions, too. Only four schools’ students are currently attending in person: Fortuna High School, Ferndale High School, St. Bernard’s Academy and Del Norte High School. Many (if not all) counties in the North Coast Section are in much worse shape than we are concerning COVID-19 and shelter-in-place restrictions. Humboldt County has recently moved to the yellow “minimal” tier, the least restrictive zone, whereas some East Bay counties are at the highest levels of restriction, purple and red. It is hard to imagine the NCS pulling off a sectional championship series until the COVID crisis is gone. High school sports are not high on the agenda for some of these counties. Ethnic disparities in terms of contraction and impact of the illness makes advancement to less restrictive codes even harder for areas with larger Black and Latinx populations. Face masks will have to be mandated to a certain degree. Despite consensus among county public health departments, there is no agreement among participants and community members concerning how safe masks are to wear during exercise, and there is certainly no agreement about when and where to wear masks in athletics. Schools are always responsible for monitoring themselves concerning violations. I can foresee some major disagreements between schools as guidelines and rules are interpreted differently. The nature of competitive sports is to be closer than 6 feet apart. Even in a low risk sport like cross country, a runner needs to be within 6 feet to pass another. High school sports thrive on fans — there is no policy for allowing fans in any of the models. The COVID-19 crisis is far from being over. There are so many questions and concerns. We want our athletes to compete and have a chance to show themselves to fans, family and, for some athletes, future colleges. This is a heartbreaking time for everyone, including the fans of local high school sports. I feel we have a shot this year to have some version of local high school sports. Even so, it is not going to be the same. ● Rod Kausen (he/him) is a retired teacher and coach.
Eric Woyce, of San Francisco, holds a 25-pound king salmon caught Oct. 7 while fishing the Chetco River estuary with guide Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. He was trolling a herring behind a Fish Flash flasher. Photo courtesy of Wild Rivers Fishing
Chetco Estuary Best Bet for Kings
341 West Harris St., Eureka 707 445-3138
poletskis.com
By Kenny Priest
fishing@northcoastjournal.com
I
f you’re looking for fresh kings with the potential for a big one, the Chetco estuary is the place to be. Salmon have been staging in the tidewater since the latter part of September. And they’ll continue to do so until ample rain allows them to make their way upriver. Following last Saturday’s rain, which bumped the flows from under 100 cubic feet per second (cfs) to nearly 500, some salmon were able to navigate out of the tidewater. But there should be plenty more heading in from the salt to take their place. “The biggest king caught last week was around 45 pounds, with several near 30 and an impressive number of jacks,” said Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “After fishing well for a week, the fishing slowed over the weekend as rain allowed many of the salmon schooling there to shoot upriver.” Catch rates went from two to three fish a rod last week — mostly jacks — to just a handful of fish overall on Sunday and Monday. One adult salmon a day, wild or hatchery, may be kept per day on the Chetco, with an annual limit of two wild fish. Anglers must “rack their rods” once an adult is kept. The river remains closed above mile 2.2 because of low flows. Over on the Smith River, the tidewater fishing hasn’t been as good. But that may not be for a lack of fish. The rain that fell on Saturday pushed the flows up to 600 cfs, which is plenty for the fish to move out of the estuary and into the heart of the river. According to Britt Carson of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, there aren’t many fish staging in the estuary right now. “There’s been one or two fish caught per day,” said Carson. “There’s been a few boats trolling sardines and anchovies as well as bank anglers tossing Kastmasters and Cleos. The Sand Hole has some fish in it but the seals were making their life miserable,” added Carson. Upper Klamath/Trinity quota update According to Dan Troxel, an environmental scientist on the Klamath River Project, the Upper Klamath quota for adult king salmon will be met as of 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 18. This triggers the closure of the adult Chinook salmon fishery on the main stem of
the Klamath River from 3,500 feet downstream of the Iron Gate Dam to the State Route 96 bridge at Weitchpec. The Upper Trinity follows a week later, with no adult retention beginning Oct. 25. No closure date has been provided for the Lower Trinity. The Upper Klamath and Upper Trinity will remain open for harvest of jack (two-year-old) Chinook salmon (less than or equal to 23 inches). All adult Chinook salmon caught must be immediately released and reported on an angler’s North Coast Salmon Report Card. For more information, visit www.cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2020/10/13/ upper-klamath-river-adult-chinook-salmonquota-met.
The Rivers:
Lower Klamath The salmon action has slowed on the lower Klamath but there are still some bright fish around. The few boats still fishing are finding most of their success above Blue Creek. There isn’t much pressure this time of the year but the fishing can be good as some of the late-run kings start to stage in front of the bigger creeks. The daily bag limit is two jack Chinook 23-inches or smaller and two hatchery steelhead. Trinity According to Junction City Store owner Frank Chapman, the section from Junction City to Del Loma is seeing a good number of kings. “There’s lots of jacks and a few adults around,” said Chapman. “Most of the adults I’ve seen are older but there are a few fresh ones mixed in. There are some steelhead around, too, but not a ton.” Reportedly, salmon are in the lower river as well, but the bulk of the salmon are being stopped behind the CDFW weir at Kimtu. ● Kenny Priest (he/him) 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.
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northcoastjournal.com • Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020 • NORTH COAST JOURNAL
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