FISHING THE NORTH COAST
2015 GMC YUKON DENALI 4WD
ONLY 45,000 MILES!! 20” WHEELS WITH NEW TIRES, HEATED AND COOLED LEATHER SEATS, B/U CAMERA AND MORE! #08319
REDUCED $39,995
V I E W OU R I N V E NTORY ON LI N E AT
ROYSAUTOCENTER.COM
5th & Broadway Eureka
707-443-3008
Like us on facebook! facebook.com/roysautocenter
5th & A Street Eureka
707-443-7697
RESERVE SPACE
Big, late-fall kings will be making their way into the coastal rivers this weekend following the first real storms of the year. Pictured is Jeremy Baker, of Santa Cruz, with a nice king taken on the Chetco in 2018. Photo courtesy of Mike Stratman/Redwood Coast Fishing
IN THE NEXT ISSUE
NOW
Storms Will Kick Off Late Run of Fall Kings By Kenny Priest the season’s first sizeable storms are bearing down on the North Coast. And that means hard-charging, fresh-fromthe-salt king salmon — big and bright — will be making their way up all of our coastal rivers starting this weekend. So, if you see a steady stream of drift boats heading north on U.S. Highway 101, you’ll know why. The Smith and Chetco rivers should be fishable on Saturday, but both will be on a pretty decent rise. Both rivers should have fresh kings moving through, and expect plenty of debris and leaves, as well. As of Wednesday, the Smith is predicted to peak at just over 1,100 cubic feet per second on the Jed Smith gauge on Saturday evening. With the rain tapering off over the weekend, the river will drop slightly on Sunday. The next big weather system arriving Monday will put the river on an even steeper rise the first half of next week. The Chetco flows should mirror the Smith. Following a decent rise on
Saturday, it will drop on Sunday. As the rain ramps up on Monday, expect a steady rise all week and reaching roughly 5,500 cfs on Friday. According to Kathleen Zontos of Eureka’s National Weather Service, the North Coast will see pulses of rain Thursday through Sunday. “The bulk of the rain will fall on Thursday and Friday, with lighter rain in the forecast for the weekend,” said Zontos. “The first half of next week is looking wet as well before letting up late next week. For the sevenday period ending next Tuesday morning, the Smith basin could see 5 inches of rain. Here in Humboldt, 3 to 5 inches are likely and the lower Eel basin could see 3 to 4 inches. The Mad, Eel and Van Duzen rivers are all expected to rise slightly this weekend, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be enough to open them to fishing. With more rain coming early next week, they should open to
707- 442-14 0 0 EXT. 31 5 KY LE @ N ORT H COASTJ OU RN AL.CO M
KNIFE SHARPENING Knives • Blades • Shears Trimmers • Custom Orders Pick Up and Drop Off at
LITTLE JAPAN In Henderson Center, Eureka 2848 F Street • 798-6003
HARVEY’S SHARP-N-THINGS 707 616-7022
CONTINUED ON PAGE 13 →
T H E T R A D E R 7 0 7. C O M • N O V. 1 7 - N O V. 3 0 , 2 0 2 0
11
