5 Year Old Lands 28.5 Inch Steelhead

Five year-old Hazel Sloan was excited to say the least after landing this nice hatchery steelhead over the weekend on the Mad River. According to her dad Justin, pictured left, the steelhead was close to nine pounds and was 28.5 inches long.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Justin Sloan

by Kenny Priest
1-16-2020
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The Mad blew out last week, and remains high and muddy. According to Justin Kelly of Eureka’s RMI Outdoors, there are a few fish being caught right at the hatchery and along the willows. He said, “There aren’t many anglers trying, but there’s fish in the river. Quite a few have made their way up the ladder in the last week, so there’s fish coming.” The Mad is predicted to be high through the weekend, hovering around 10-feet on the Arcata gauge. It will need a good week of dry weather before it’s green.

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 www.fishingthenorthcoast.com. For up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information, email kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com.