“The Smith isn’t red-hot, but we’re still catching a couple fish a day,” said guide Mike Coopman. “The majority of the fish we’re catching are fresh ones, there’s only been a trickle of spent fish coming down. It’s possible after the next big rise we’ll see more downers, but there has yet to be a mass exodus. When they do start to come down, we should see some pretty good fishing.”

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.