Fishing the North Coast

hiking was one of the exceptions to the shelter-in-place rule, we never missed an opportunity,” says Popham. But since members are discouraged from carpooling, they choose trails closer to home. Recent scheduled hikes included Trillium Falls in the Redwood National Park, Patrick’s Point, Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Fortuna Riverwalk, the Hammond Trail and the Hikshari’ Trail. Most hikes are 3 to 4 miles, or about two hours. No dogs are allowed.

During COVID-19, some members continue to walk, while others temporarily dropped out, interpreting the shelter-inplace rules more strictly. Numbers now range from seven to 12 and hikers wear masks or maintain 6-foot separation.

Popham joined the Ramblers three years ago after retiring from her job as a Caltrans biologist. In her role as leader, she sends out the hiking schedule, choosing from a pool of around 50 hikes and alternating between northern and southern locations. During the hike, she keeps an eye on the slower walkers, making sure no one gets lost. (As someone who has gotten lost at Ma-le’l Dunes, I was grateful to be looked after.)

Photographer Gary Todoro says, “I joined as a way to get past my doldrums after my wife’s death.” His friend Annie, who went to the same church, thought he should get out of the house more and go hiking, biking and camping. Eventually, as they spent more time together outdoors, their friendship deepened and last year they got married.

Karen Nessler, a widow from Blue Lake, began hiking with the Ramblers two years ago but had to pause when she broke her arm after tripping on a rock on a hike at Trinidad Head.

Nessler moved to Blue Lake when she was 10. “I spent most of my life here, worked as a clerk for the city of Blue Lake and raised a family,” she says. “I had no idea there were so many beautiful areas to visit nearby. I just love being out in the fresh air with friendly people who enjoy exploring nature.”

The Ramblers, like Coleridge, Wordsworth and others throughout history who’ve taken up this ancient practice, know that walking in areas of natural beauty is a balm for the spirit — even more so during this poignant era of isolation, fear and stress.

People interested in the Ramblers can contact gailpopham@gmail.com. ●

Louisa Rogers (she/her) is a leadership coach and writer who lives in Eureka and in Guanajuato, Mexico.

McKinleyville resident Alyssa Cardoza landed this nice king salmon last weekend while trolling the Chetco River estuary. With very little rain forecasted for the rest of the month, the Chetco estuary is the best bet for fresh kings. Photo courtesy of Curt Wilson

Salmon and Anglers Waiting on Rain

341 West Harris St., Eureka 707 445-3138 poletskis.com

By Kenny Priest

fishing@northcoastjournal.com

In an all too familiar pattern, October is again looking like it will be void of substantial rainfall. Aside from a few weak systems, it seems we won’t see enough rain to put a rise into any of our North Coast rivers or open them up to fishing anytime soon. This is nothing short of torture for coastal salmon anglers chomping at the bit to drift the Smith, Chetco or Eel rivers. What makes it even more painful are the memories that keep popping up on social media showing big green rivers, very large salmon and even bigger smiles.

Humboldt and Del Norte counties have been dry since the weekend of Oct. 11, when just enough rain fell to put the Smith and Chetco on a very slight rise. That got some fish out of the estuary and into the lower sections of the river, but it wasn’t enough to open the rivers to fishing.

There hasn’t been any rain to speak of since then. And there isn’t much on the horizon. “There is a weak front moving into the area on Friday night and into Saturday morning,” said Kathleen Zontos of Eureka’s National Weather Service. “It won’t do much to our river levels. We’re looking at maybe 1/10 of an inch in the Smith basin and less in Humboldt. Another weak system is forecasted for the 27th, but that is looking light as well. A ridge of high pressure has been either blocking or weakening systems that are trying to move onshore and forcing storms to track far to our north, keeping them from sagging into the northern end of the state. The models are showing below normal rainfall at least through the end of the month.”

According to CDFW, the Upper Trinity quota for adult king salmon will be met as of 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 25. This triggers the closure of the adult Chinook salmon fishery downstream of the Old Lewiston Bridge to the State Route 299 West bridge at Cedar Flat. No closure date has been provided for the Lower Trinity. The Upper Klamath, which closed to the reten97 tion of adult kings on Oct. 18, and Upper Trinity will remain open for harvest of jack (2-yearold) 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.

The Rivers: Trinity

We started to see some fresh salmon move into the Junction City area last week, reports Junction City Store owner Frank Chapman. “Right now, there’s a mix of older fall fish and some really bright ones,” said Chapman. “Quite a few steelhead showed up as well, so the fishing has really picked up in our area. Roe under a bobber has been really good for salmon and will also catch steelhead.”

Chetco

Salmon fishing has been fair on the Chetco estuary, reports Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “One or two big fish are being caught a day, along with a decent number of jacks, but boat tra c has increased and overall catch rates are a fish for every fifth or sixth rod,“ said Martin. “The outgoing tide has been best. Lots of salmon moved upriver with the rain in early October, while salmon also are being caught and released by anglers finding for rockfish in the ocean.” l

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Read the full fishing forecast at www. northcoastjournal.com.

Upper Trinity quota update

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.