Fishing the North Coast

from North Coast Journal 08-25-2022 Edition

Get Out

Albacore Go Wide-Open Monday

By Kenny Priest fi shing@northcoastjournal.com

When the ocean conditions and water temperatures align, there’s always that chance at an epic day of tuna fi shing. And Monday was just that day. It was a one-day weather window and those who jumped at the opportunity were rewarded with coolers full of tuna. This wasn’t a day about trying to come back to port with the highest total. This was all about how much space and ice do we have. And do I have enough strength left in me to possibly reel in another albacore. In other words, it was a pretty good day of fi shing and the boats caught all they could handle. These types of days don’t come often but when they do, they’re extremely rewarding. Most of the fl eet found the tuna just north of Trinidad, roughly 30 miles from Humboldt Bay. Scores ranged from 20 to 60, depending on the size of your boat and the strength of your crew. The fi sh were a good size, too, with just a few in the high teens and most averaging well over 20 pounds.

The Oceans:

Eureka

Like the majority of the fl eet, Tim Klassen, of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, opted to chase tuna Monday. “We were a little south of the fl eet roughly 25 miles from the entrance,” said Klassen. “Water conditions were perfect and the fi sh were coming fast. Most of the day we could only get one or two rods out without having a fi sh on. The fi sh are a really good grade. We only had a few in the high teens and the rest were well over 20 pounds. It sounded like all the boats caught as many as they wanted. There are a few salmon being caught straight out in 180 feet of water and the fi sh are holding right on the bottom. When conditions allow, the rockfi sh bite at the Cape is still really good. There’s lots of variety and some nice lings being caught.” William Justesen, of Carlotta, holds an Albacore tuna caught Monday while fi shing o of

Trinidad. Photo courtesy of Eric Justesen/707 Sport Fishing

Trinidad

Curt Wilson, of Wind Rose Charters, reports the rockfi sh action is cranking right along, with lots of black rockfi sh coming over the rails. “Between the Head and Patrick’s Point is still producing quality limits of black rockfi sh,” he said. “We made a couple trips out to Reading Rock and caught a nice variety of rockfi sh and some big lingcod. A few boats are going straight out and catching a few salmon each day. The fi sh are right on the bottom. The wind is expected to return later this week and into the weekend.”

With the tuna within striking distance, Tony Sepulveda of Shellback Sport Fishing put away the rockfi sh gear for the day and headed 27 miles northwest of Trinidad and found the tuna. “It was a fl at ocean and conditions were perfect,” said Sepulveda. “We found a defi ned break, 64 degree water, great chlorophyll and the fi sh right where satellite images said they should be. The morning bite made me feel like we were well located but they were a touch reluctant. Bites came every few minutes but most were singles or doubles and they were a touch shy, favoring the long lines. We continued to box the area steadily picking away, and about 11 a.m. they came up in force. Lines would just hit the water and three to fi ve rods would go o . Called it good at a touch after noon with 53 in the box.”

Lower Klamath

The water color continues to be an issue on the lower Klamath. Some adult kings and jacks were caught over the weekend, despite the water conditions. The salmon are starting to spread out from the Glen to Blue Creek, but the water clarity is defi nitely hampering the bite.

Fall Quota Update

According to Dan Troxel, an environmental scientist on the Klamath River Project, only 44 adult salmon had been harvested from the State Route 96 bridge at Weitchpec to the Klamath mouth toward the quota of 1,060 for the week ending Aug. 19. Of those, 30 adults were caught at the spit area of the mouth. As of last Friday, 288 adults remained of the 318-adult sub-quota for the mouth. Anglers may monitor the quota status of open and closed sections of the Klamath and Trinity rivers by calling the Klamath information hotline at (800) 564-6479

Read the complete fi shing roundup at www.northcoastjournal.com. ●

Kenny Priest 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.