Fishing the North Coast

taken in the expanse of water — calm or rippled by a breeze — the tall Sitka spruce, the dark beach, great egrets and great blue herons, while on the other side of the spit, the ocean rumbled.

I had seen brown pelicans there before but nothing prepared me for what I witnessed one morning in early October after a few weeks of absence: a congregation of them had gathered at the south end of the lagoon. They reminded me of a group of teenagers hanging out, content to spend time together. Every now and then a group of them took off, ruffling the water while getting up to speed, then soared. Others landed with a splash, oblivious, I felt, to my presence as I observed them from shore, then later tried to skirt them on my paddleboard.

I watched in silence and awe with a few other people. When we spoke, we whispered. There was something exhilarating about being vastly outnumbered by the birds and it felt good to be ignored by them. It warmed my heart to see they liked Big Lagoon. Though the smallest of the world’s eight pelican species, the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is still a big seabird. It has a thin neck and long bill equipped with a stretchy throat pouch used for capturing fish. It plunge-dives from high up, stuns small fish with the impact of its large body and scoops them up into its pouch. I had seen brown pelicans glide in V formation, their long, broad wings bowed, then perform their fishing stunt, but being close to so many of them was a new experience.

And being ignored by them was a balm for my brain. Sometimes I get wrapped up in work and fall into the trap of giving outsized importance to small details, of treating every deadline like an emergency. Being out there with large birds oblivious to my presence put certain things into a different perspective, made some tasks more manageable.

That is why I think it is so beneficial to spend time outdoors — nature invites us to drop our shields and to adjust the size of elements of our life, weigh them differently, to view time as a dimension in which we thrive, rather than a scarce resource we are ever trying to obtain. Get out in nature more in 2022, get lost in familiar places again and again. Find your balance there. l Simona Carini (she/her) shares photographs of her outdoor explorations (and of food) on Instagram www.instagram.com/simonacarini. Castro Valley resident Corey Kramer landed a nice winter steelhead on a recent float down

the South Fork Eel River. Photo courtesy of Fishing the North Coast

Weekend Looks Excellent for Winter Steelhead

By Kenny Priest

fishing@northcoastjournal.com

If you’re looking to hit one of our local rivers in search of winter steelhead, this is your weekend. The lack of recent rainfall, both a blessing and a curse, has allowed the rivers to drop and turn the shade of emerald green steelhead anglers dream about. From the Chetco to the South Fork Eel, all the coastal rivers will be fishable, though some could use a little of the wet stuff. The Smith, always the first to fish and first to clear, is running clear but still producing. Here in Humboldt the Mad should be about perfect by the weekend for bank anglers and boats. The main stem Eel is also finally rounding into shape and has turned green. It’s still running high but will be fishable by late this week or the weekend. The South Fork Eel is also in pristine shape and giving up a few bright winter steelhead. If it’s steelhead you’re after, you’ll want to take advantage of the river conditions this weekend.

Weather outlook

According to James White of Eureka’s National Weather Service office, we’ll remain dry through the rest of the week and through the weekend. “The 8–14day outlook is no longer showing below normal precipitation,” said White. “There’s a chance that late next week we could finally see a change in the weather pattern.”

Low flow fishing closures extended

As a reminder, low flow regulations that went into effect on Oct. 1 for the Eel River, Mattole, Redwood Creek, Smith, Van Duzen, and Sept. 1 on the Mad, will be extended to April 30 in 2022. The California Fish and Game Commission unanimously approved the extensions back in December due to drought conditions. Low flow regulations will begin Sept.1, 2022 on all rivers subjected to low flow fishing closures.

The Rivers Mad

The Mad is still pushy and flowing at 1,775 cubic feet per second as of Tuesday and turning green. The conditions drew some boats and plenty of bank anglers over the weekend, and the fishing was pretty good. The river will be in great shape the rest of the week and prime by the weekend. If you’re looking to catch a steelhead, it’s probably your best option.

Main stem Eel

The main stem was running at 5,780 cfs as of Tuesday and is dropping into shape. The water color is good, but the volume of water is still a little high. Should be in good shape by the weekend.

South Fork Eel

The South Fork was in great shape over the weekend and drew quite the crowd. The fishing wasn’t red hot. Most boats got the opportunity at a few fish but there were plenty of skunks. It’s predicted to be around 800 cfs by the weekend.

Van Duzen

The Van Duzen was down to 650 cfs as of Tuesday and is very fishable. There were a few bank anglers taking advantage over the weekend but reports were hard to come by. Will be in excellent condition all week.

Smith River

Flows were down to 3,700 cfs on the Jed Smith gauge Tuesday. Conditions are low and clear and the fishing pressure is light as a lot of anglers have moved to the Chetco. There are fish in the river, but you’ll need to be stealthy to be successful.

Chetco/Rogue

Steelhead fishing remains good on the Chetco, with most guides getting two to four fish a day reports Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “Big crowds on Saturday and Sunday cut into the impressive catch rates from a few days earlier, but fishing was still decent,” said Martin. “The boat pressure eased on Monday and catch rates improved to limits or near limits again. A mix of wild and hatchery steelhead are spread throughout the river. Plunkers have switched over to drift fishing gear and are getting a few steelhead from shore. The lower Rogue is fishing well for steelhead as the winter run appears to be above average. Anchoring and finding 3.5 MagLips has been the best bet. Shore anglers are using Spin-N-Glos at Lobster Creek and Huntley Park.” l

Read the complete fishing roundup at www.northcoastjournal.com.

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