Ocean and River Salmon Closures Likely in 2023

By Kenny Priest fishing@northcoastjournal.com

If the forecasts from last Wednesday’s salmon information meeting are accurate, Chinook salmon are going to be few and far between this year. It will also likely result in a complete ocean closure to Chinook fishing state-wide in an e ort to protect stocks. Currently, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) is meeting in Seattle to decide the fate of our ocean and in-river seasons. While still not finalized, an early version of the three alternatives for our ocean fisheries was released today, and all three included the words “closed.” This is far from unexpected as most fishing groups and anglers are urging the PFMC to curtail any Chinook salmon fishing in 2023 in California.

The fate of both the Sacramento and Klamath Rivers will be decided in the coming days but will likely be closed to fishing for fall kings. The last such closure was in 2017, when the Klamath Management Zone (California/Oregon border to Horse Mtn.) was closed to fishing along with the Klamath River beginning Aug. 15. This year is shaping up to be a whole lot worse, with ocean fall Chinook fishing potentially closed from Southern Oregon to Mexico.

The culprit is the extremely low number of both Sacramento and Klamath fish swimming in the ocean. The forecast estimates Sacramento River fall Chinook, the predominant stock harvested in California fisheries, at 169,767 adults, one of the lowest forecasts since the current assessment method came into play in 2008.

Klamath River Chinook is forecast to be 103,793 adults, the second-lowest forecast since that body of water’s assessment method started in 1997. Please see the ocean salmon webpage at wildlife.ca.gov/ Fishing/Ocean/Regulations/Salmon/preseason for a complete calendar of events and contact information regarding the Salmon Preseason Process, including other opportunities for public engagement in the season-setting process. For information on the PFMC meetings, visit pcouncil.org/managed_ fishery/salmon/.

The weather ahead

The next round of precipitation will arrive Thursday afternoon according to Matthew Kidwell of Eureka’s National Weather Service o ce. “We’re looking at 1.5 to 2 inches before the rain starts to taper o on Friday afternoon,” said Kidwell. “The next round of showers is forecast for Saturday where we’ll see o and on rain, but it won’t add up to much. A more noteworthy system will arrive on Sunday and stick around through Tuesday. This will be a fairly warm and wet system. We could see 3 to 5 inches over the course of the three days, with higher totals in the mountains. We may see some flooding in the low-lying areas, but the rivers should remain intact.”

The rivers: Mad

The Mad reportedly saw a good push of fish come in late last week. River conditions are still far from ideal, and they’re about to get worse. As of Tuesday, flows were right around 2,000 cubic feet per second (9.4 feet). The rain coming Thursday night will push flows up to 9.500 cfs by Friday afternoon. It’s unlikely we’ll see the river green prior to closing at the end of the month.

Main stem Eel

The main Eel has been high and o color since late last week and won’t be fishable anytime soon. It’s predicted to peak at over 108,000 cfs early Saturday morning.

South Fork Eel

The South Fork blew out last weekend and it hasn’t been close to fishable since. Another big rise is slated for Friday when flows could reach over 22,000 cfs at Miranda. Will need at least a week of dry weather before the upper reaches drop into fishable shape.

Van Duzen

The Van Duzen hasn’t been fishable all week and more rain is on the way. Flows were right around 835 cfs Tuesday, but it’s forecast to peak at 7,500 cfs Friday. With more rain coming next week, it won’t be fishable anytime soon.

Smith

The Smith is low and clear but it’s in fishable shape. As of Tuesday, flows at Jed Smith had risen to 3,200 cfs. It will be receding slowly until Friday when it’s predicted to rise quickly to over 13,000 cfs. It’s predicted to drop Saturday before rising again Sunday. Despite the conditions, some steelhead are being caught. Boat pressure has been light. The rise in flows should bring in some fresh fish and could bring some spawners downriver.

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Kenny Priest operates Fishing the North Coast, a fishing guide service out of Humboldt specializing in salmon and steelhead. Find it on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and fishingthenorthcoast.com. For up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information, email kenny@ fishingthenorthcoast.com.