4 minute read
Fishing the North Coast
Wide-Open Pacifi c Halibut Bite Continues
By Kenny Priest
Halibut continues to be the shining light out of both Eureka and Trinidad as the sizzling bite continues this week. Boats fi shing just north of the entrance in 270 to 300 feet of water are boating limits well before 9 a.m. It’s looking like the only thing that will slow you down is if you can’t get to the fi shing grounds. And that’s exactly what happened late last week and over the weekend. With a third of the 39,000-pound quota already chewed up, it was nice to give the Pacifi c halibut a breather. However, following the short break, the halibut bite picked right back up. Hopefully, next Tuesday’s salmon opener will take some of the pressure o the halibut. If not, we may be lucky to get through July before the season comes to a close.
Weekend marine forecast
Ocean conditions look plenty fi shable through the weekend. As of Tuesday afternoon, Friday’s forecast is calling for northwest winds 5 to 10 knots and waves northwest 5 feet at seven seconds and west 4 feet at 13 seconds. Saturday’s forecast is calling for northwest winds 5 to 10 knots and waves west 5 feet at 12 seconds. The winds will be the same Sunday, with waves northwest 4 feet at seven seconds and west 3 feet at 12 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an upto-date weather forecast, visit www. weather.gov/eureka/ or www.windy. com. To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh.noaa.gov/ eka/swan. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the o ce on Woodley Island at 443-6484.
Freshwater Lagoon trout plants
According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website, Freshwater Lagoon has been planted with trout since late May. Reportedly, the fi shing has been excellent this month for keeper-sized rainbows. Freshwater is open to fi shing year-round and the limit is 5 trout per day and 10 in possession. For more information, visit www.nrm.dfg. ca.gov/FishPlants or call (530) 225-2146.
Frank Spallino, of McKinleyville, landed this 46-pound Pacific halibut recently while fishing
out of Trinidad. Photo courtesy of Matt Spallino
The Oceans:
Eureka
The boats left the Pacifi c halibut biting last Wednesday after being chased o the water due to high winds and rough seas. According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, boats were back on the water Monday and didn’t miss a beat. “The limits didn’t come quite as fast but it was still really good,” said Klassen. “Tuesday the bite was even better, with plenty of limits reported well before 9 a.m. The Cape is still producing quality rockfi sh limits. We didn’t fi nd a big variety on Monday, mostly due to the choppy conditions. But we managed to put in limits along with some nice lings.”
Trinidad
Rough conditions over the weekend kept the charter boats close to port, but conditions improved Monday and boats were back targeting halibut. Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters battled through some heavy currents to put fi ve on board up to 20 pounds. “Conditions look good through the week, so I’d expect the halibut bite to pick right back up,” said Wilson. “The rockfi sh bite between the Head and Patrick’s Point continues to be really good, with lots of black rockfi sh being caught,” added Wilson.
Shelter Cove
main draw out of Shelter Cove. Windy conditions kept most of the boats o the water over the weekend, but the charters are fi nding quality rockfi sh close to home. Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sportfi shing reports the rockfi sh bite has been stellar any direction you go. “The lingcod bite has been a little more fi ckle,” said Mitchell. “The Pacifi c halibut bite is still slow around the cove but we did manage a couple near Gorda last week. We’re averaging about one per trip when we put in some e ort. Conditions look good through the week.”
Crescent City
The wind fi nally calmed down Monday and the boats were back on the rockfi sh. “The fi shing has been excellent all season, no matter which direction you go,” said Britt Carson of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “There were a couple of 30-pound Pacifi c halibut caught last week, hopefully that fi shery will start to pick up. We’re back to minus tides this week, so we should see some good clamming. The lowest tide will be Friday at -2.26 feet. The redtail perch bite continues to be excellent o of Kellogg Beach.”
● Read the complete fi shing roundup at www.northcoastjournal.com.
Kenny Priest (he/him) operates Fishing the North Coast, a fi shing guide service out of Humboldt specializing in salmon and steelhead. Find it on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and www.fi shingthenorthcoast.com. For up-to-date fi shing reports and North Coast river information, email kenny@ fi shingthenorthcoast.com
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