After a full week of sitting on the sidelines watching the wind blow, the Eureka fleet finally got untied Wednesday. And it looks there’s some really nice weather on the horizon too. Friday looks good, though Saturday is looking a little lumpy. Sunday and into next week are looking nice and calm. As for fishing, the few boats that went out Wednesday found some hungry Pacific halibut. I’d expect to see scores go up over the next few days. The other ports are finally getting in on the action. A few were finally caught out of Shelter Cove and Crescent City this week. Along with Pacific’s showing signs of life, both those ports also saw an uptick in the California halibut catch rate. With the nice weather, the Eureka boats will be able to get down to Cape Mendocino to enjoy some of the wide-open rockfish action that’s happening up and down the coast. The fishing is definitely looking up; all we needed was some nice weather.

Marine Forecast
After a weeklong stretch of rough seas and wind, we’re finally getting a break. As of Thursday, Friday’s forecast is calling for north winds up to 5 knots and waves north 1 foot at four seconds and northwest 5 feet at nine seconds. Saturday, the winds will increase slightly, coming from the north 10 to 15 knots with northwest waves 5 feet at nine seconds. Sunday, winds will be out of the north 5 to 10 knots with waves out of the northwest 4 feet at seven 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. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

Sport Crab season coming to a close
The 2025 sport Dungeness crab season in Humboldt, Mendocino and Del Norte counties will close July 30. The season is expected to reopen Nov. 1.

California Halibut Derby on Humboldt Bay this Saturday
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
It was a quiet week for the Eureka fleet, with boats tied up since the last week, reports Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “Some boats went out for halibut Wednesday and caught a few,” said Klassen.  “We have some good weather coming up starting Thursday. Saturday looks a little iffy, but Sunday and next week are looking good at the moment.”

Shelter Cove
Rock fishing remains great, but the lingcod bite has gotten more inconsistent,” said Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “The best rockfish action this week was in close right off the point. The Pacific halibut bite has started to show some signs of life as there were a few caught this week. Some California halibut are being caught as well.”

Crescent City
The California halibut bite has really picked up reports Will Moore of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “Boats trolling South Beach are doing well along with anglers fishing off the rock wall across from the launch,” said Moore. “The Pacific halibut bite is finally showing signs of life. I heard of a couple caught this week. And with better weather coming, we should see those numbers go up. The rockfish and lingcod bite are still excellent, with limits coming pretty easily The Sisters and right out front at the cans have both been very productive.”

Brookings
The ocean king season ended Tuesday, with the last few days producing surprisingly good fishing considering big swells and strong winds reports Andy Martin, of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Lots of kings were schooled up near the buoys, feeding on baitfish, said Martin. “Kings to 30 pounds were caught, with a mix of hatchery and wild salmon. Fishing remains open for hatchery coho salmon through most of August. Coho have been found in deeper water, three to five miles offshore. Halibut fishing has been fair. Lingcod fishing also is good. Sport crabbing has improved.”

Klamath River
The lower river is still really big, flowing at 4,370 cfs on the lower gauge. There are some steelhead around, including some hatchery fish. As the river drops, which is predicted, we should start to see more fish move into the system.

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, the Rogue Bay is showing signs of life, with a dozen or more kings caught each day. “Fishing generally picks up considerably in August. Hot weather in the Rogue Valley has salmon held up in the bay. The incoming tide has been best. Mossy conditions have slowed the action at low tide.”

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.