Fishing the North Coast

Klamath Still Kicking Out Plenty of Kings

By Kenny Priest

fishing@northcoastjournal.com

Salmon fishing on the lower Klamath continues to roll on. Fresh schools of jacks (2-year-old males) as well as adults are arriving just about daily. Anglers fishing from the Glen up to Johnson’s are finding fresh fish side-drifting riffles and dragging roe through the deep slots. The rain over the weekend bumped the flows just enough to really put the fish on the move and the fishing was wide-open from top to bottom. And the numbers from California Department of Fish and Wildlife provide plenty of evidence. For the week ending Sept. 16, a whopping 886 jacks were harvested above the U.S. Highway 101 bridge. During the same week, more than 1,000 adults were released along with another 264 jacks. Those are some pretty impressive catch rates. The lower Klamath adult salmon quota was met Sept. 7, but anglers can still keep two jacks (less than or equal to 23 inches) per day with a possession limit of six. You may still fish for adult Chinook salmon in other sections of the Klamath Basin, including the main stem of the Klamath River above Weitchpec and the entire Trinity River, until their quotas are met. Anglers may keep track of the Klamath and Trinity river quotas by calling (800) 564-6479.

Weekend marine forecast

Ocean conditions are expected to be plenty fishable by the weekend. As of Tuesday, the forecast out 10 nautical miles for Friday is calling for winds out of the west up to 5 knots with northwest swells 5 feet at 11 seconds. Saturday is calling for winds from the north up to 5 knots and northwest swells 3 feet at seven seconds and west 5 feet at 18 seconds. Sunday the winds will be from the north up to 5 knots and north swells 3 feet at five seconds and west 6 feet at 13 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-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 office on Woodley Island at 443-6484. Six-year-old Rylan Angeli, along with the help of father Nick, landed this nice king salmon on a recent trip to the Klamath River.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Griffith

The Oceans:

Eureka

The rough ocean kept boats off the water over the weekend and through Monday. Friday, the Pacific halibut fishing was pretty good for the Eureka fleet. According to Tim Klassen, of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, the bite was in the same general area, just north of the entrance in 250 feet of water. “The fish are still on the small size, ranging from 10 to 30 pounds,” he said. “Boats were back on the water Tuesday, but the conditions were a little rough. The fish are definitely still there, however. The rockfish bite at the Cape hasn’t been red-hot; we’ve needed to move around a little to find the biters. Ocean conditions are looking good beginning Friday.”

Shelter Cove

The salmon fishing has slowed down out of the cove, according to Jake Mitchell, of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “We had four salmon on Wednesday but haven’t boated one since,” he said. “There were a few caught on Thursday as well, but I haven’t heard of any landed since then. The rock fishing has been excellent with limits of rockfish and lingcod every day. We made it up to Rodgers break one day and spent the rest of the week off the Ranch House for the rockfish.”

Crescent City

According to Britt Carson, of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, rough ocean conditions had the boats tied up over the weekend. “Late last week, a few Pacific halibut were still being caught and the rockfish bite was still going strong.” The tuna water was within 15 to 20 miles as of Tuesday, but conditions weren’t great. The weather looks much better starting Wednesday, so there should be plenty of boats making the run.

The Rivers:

Lower Klamath

Salmon fishing remains excellent for both jacks and adults on the lower Klamath. Side-drifting roe in the riffles and dragging roe through the deeper holes are both producing fish from the Glen to Johnson’s. Fresh fish are coming into the lower river just about every day. Anglers can keep two jacks (less than or equal to 23 inches) per day with a possession limit of six.

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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

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