Kenny Priest

With no advance scouting, the dozen or so Eureka boats struggled to find schools of salmon during Sunday’s opener. In a typical year, we’ll see rockfish and Pacific halibut open a few weeks prior to salmon, giving anglers some clues on where the bait is stockpiled and where the birds are spending their time. But this year, there was no...
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The Super Bowl of saltwater sport fishing will take place this Sunday on the North Coast as salmon, rockfish and Pacific halibut are all set to open. It’s pretty rare for the big three to all open on the same day, and there’s a ton of excitement around the docks. And it’s looking like the key marine factors are lining...
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With very little rain falling throughout our region from January to March, most of us were already preparing for summer. However, the April showers hitting the coast are providing a second winter. These rains will definitely impact the health of future salmon and steelhead runs, which will likely be stronger a few years down the road because of it. First off,...
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With a strong ocean abundance of Sacramento salmon and the Klamath numbers trending upward, North Coast sport salmon anglers were rewarded with a generous ocean salmon season. The season within the CA KMZ (Klamath Management Zone), which was adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council Monday, will open May 1 and run through May 31. It will reopen Aug. 1 and...
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Back in mid-March when the recreational salmon season alternatives were released to the public, it was a pleasant surprise to see some fairly generous season options on the table. And one of these options will be selected at the Pacific Fishery Management Council Meetings being held this week in Seattle. Currently, the three alternatives within the California KMZ, which runs...
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Winter steelhead anglers just can’t catch a break. Thursday, March 31, will mark the end of another abnormal steelhead season here on the coast. While the fishing was excellent, the real story was the lack of rain. But if you’ve been fishing the North Coast rivers the last few years, you know there’s very little normal to our steelhead seasons...
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