Fishing Articles

South Fork closes March 31
Kenny Priest
by Kenny Priest, MARCH 30, 2017
Eel River - South Fork

The South Fork is fishable above the East Branch, and should fish below Benbow on Friday if the rain doesn’t pan out. You’ll want to take advantage as the South Fork will close on Friday, March 31.

Main stem out of shape
Kenny Priest
by Kenny Priest, MARCH 30, 2017
Eel River

“The main stem is still big and brown,” said Paul Grundman of Rio Dell’s Grundmans Sporting Goods. “We’ll need a couple weeks of dry weather before it drops into shape.”

Fishing to a trickle
Kenny Priest
by Kenny Priest, MARCH 30, 2017
Smith River

“Fishing is pretty tough on the Smith right now,” said guide Mike Coopman. “For whatever reason, we haven’t seen a good push of downers in the lower river yet. They’re getting some upriver, but they seem to be just trickling down. We’ve been getting one to two hookups per trip this week.”

Chetco/Elk/Sixes
Kenny Priest
by Kenny Priest, MARCH 30, 2017
Chetco River

The Chetco was still too high to fish this week and will probably be above 4,000 cfs through Friday, the last day of the season,” said Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “The river has been blown out for the past two weeks, pretty much ending steelhead season early. The river re-opens in late May for cutthroat trout. The Elk...
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Shelter Cove outlook
Kenny Priest
by Kenny Priest, MARCH 30, 2017

“It’s going to be a pretty tricky launching situation this weekend with big swells and low tides.” said Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “I would try to avoid coming or going during low tide. My guess is it will be fishable on Saturday and questionable on Sunday. The cove can surprise you quite often, for better or worse,...
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Shelter Cove salmon opener set for Saturday
Kenny Priest
by Kenny Priest, MARCH 29, 2017
Klamath River - Lower

On Saturday, California’s recreational ocean salmon season will open from Horse Mountain south to the U.S./Mexico border. The area to the north of Horse Mountain, which includes Eureka, Trinidad, and Crescent City, will be sitting on the sidelines this season due to a record low 54,200 Klamath River fall Chinook salmon forecasted to be swimming in the ocean. The ocean...
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