Up and down the North Coast, the story has been very similar. Where are the Pacific halibut, and when will the bite turn full tilt? To date, it’s been a slow start to the season, but certainly no need to panic. To be fair, the month of May has seen its share of wind and unfishable days, which has put a big dent in the effort. Other than Eureka, where the fishing has been “fair”, the other ports from Shelter Cove to Crescent City have yet get on the board. A couple were caught out of Trinidad this week, so maybe that will kickstart their season. But right on que, after a few days on the water this week, the wind machine will kick in Friday. We’re looking at gale force winds late Saturday and lasting through at least Tuesday. I sure hope it calms before the weekend, otherwise we’ll have a lot of unhappy salmon anglers.   

Weekend marine forecast
After a beautiful day on the ocean Thursday, the wind is forecast to return in big way. Friday, winds will be from the north 10 to 15 knots and north waves 5 feet at six seconds and west 5 feet at 12 seconds. The winds will increase Saturday, coming from the north 15 to 20 knots with north swells six feet at seven seconds and west 3 feet at 11 seconds. Sunday looks worse, with north winds up to 35 knots possible. Waves will be out of the north 13 feet at 10 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit weather.gov/eureka or windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484.

Ruth Lake Bass tournament coming June 7
Southern Trinity Area Rescue will be holding the annual “Paul Jadro Memorial Bass Tournament” on Saturday, June 7. Blast off will be at 5:45 a.m. or at first safe light, by draw. The one-day tournament event offers a first prize award of up to $1,000 with payout to 1 in 3 in addition to door prizes and sponsor products. The entry fee is $140 per team with a big fish buy in option of $10. The tournament is catch and release and all competitors must fish from boats that are required to have operational live wells on board. Life jackets are required. Check in at the Marina on Friday June 6 at 4:30-6 p.m. or Saturday 4:30 – 5:15 a.m. For more information, contact Lon Winburn at 707-499-2490.

California Halibut Derby on Humboldt Bay coming July 19
The Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association will be holding the first annual California Halibut Derby on Saturday, July 19. The fishing event will be held within the waters of Humboldt Bay. Check-ins, Weigh-ins and Awards Ceremony will be held at Woodley Island, 601 Startare Drive at the East-I Lot Grass Area.
This is a slot size derby, a measurement will be drawn in the morning before the derby and posted to the event’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Adult payouts will be $500 for 1st place, $300 for 2nd place, and $150 for 3rd place. Youth Payouts – $100 for 1st place, $75 for 2nd place, $50 for 3rd place. Youth payouts will be in the form of gift cards. All Youths registered in the Derby will receive a rod and reel combo! Raffle prizes will include fishing trips, rods and reels, fishing tackle and gear, merchandise and more.

Big Fish Prize: entries will be California Halibut 30” and above. ONLY ONE Big Fish can be entered per entrant. In case of a tie, winner will be determined by weight. For the big fish, adult and youth divisions will be combined. Winner to be announced at event.

Entry Fees for adults is $60 (comes with a $30 NCGASA Membership). Youth entry fees are $40, 13 years and under (comes with a $10 NCGASA Membership)
*If you are a current NCGASA member, you will receive $20 in raffle tickets at check-in.

You can register online at https://ncgasa.org/shop. Entrants will need to be signed up and paid for by July 18 at midnight. Derby information and rules can be found here.

The Oceans:
Eureka
According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, the Pacific halibut bite so far has been fair. “Some days have been better than others, there really isn’t a consistent bite yet,” said Klassen. The fish and the catching seem to be spread out. Fish are being caught from the 44-lin up to the 51. And there’s been fish caught down at the canyon as well. The rockfish bite at the Cape has been good, but we’ve only been down there a few days. The lingcod bite has been good, and there’s plenty variety of rockfish. The wind looks like it will return Friday, and the weekend doesn’t look good at all.”

Trinidad
“The rockfish bite has been pretty killer this past week and the weather has been beautiful,” said Curt Wilson of Wind Rose Charters. “We’re catching all kinds of different species, and there’s also quite a few lingcod around. We haven’t had to travel far to find the fish as we haven’t ventured past Flat Iron. The Pacific halibut bite hasn’t taken off yet, but there’s been a few caught straight out in 300 feet of water. There hasn’t been much effort as of yet. The crabbing hasn’t been great yet, but we’re catching some each trip.”

Shelter Cove
“Rock fishing is still going strong as well as the lingcod,” said Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “It’s been fairly quick limits for both on most days.  We were able to make it up to Rodgers Break a couple times. The Pacific halibut bite has been almost nonexistent so far, we finally had some decent weather to try for them Sunday but there were zero hookups reported between the half dozen boats that tried.”

Crescent City
The rock fishing is still going strong out of Crescent City reports Will Moore, of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. He said, “The rockfish bite has been excellent at the Sisters, the cans right out front, and up at the lighthouse. The lingcod bite however, is slower. Boats are catching a lot of undersized ones right now. A couple California halibut have been caught off the beach, so that’s a good sign. I have yet to hear of anyone catching a Pacific halibut yet. There have been a few salmon incidentally caught the last few days.”

Brookings
​“Salmon fishing remains slow off the coast of Brookings, with just a few kings caught since the opener, and increasing numbers of coho, which can’t be kept until June 7,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters.  “A few salmon were caught near the buoys this week, closer than the beginning of the season, when most were well offshore. A few Pacific halibut a day are being caught, while rockfish action has been good.”

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, the Rogue is slow for late springers. “Wild salmon may be kept beginning June 1. Catch rates are still slow in the bay, but typically begin to improve in early June.”

Send in your fish photos
Land a big lingcod or halibut lately? Or maybe your friend or relative has reeled in their first perch. Email your fishing photo to kenny@fishingthenorthcoast.com and I’ll run them with the “Fishing the North Coast” weekly blog. Just include the name of the angler in the photo, where and when it was taken and any other details you’d like to share.

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.