Kenny Priest

The surge in flows brought by the atmospheric river in late October was a blessing in so many ways. It put an end to another horrible fire season, began to fill our parched reservoirs, and created perfect river conditions for the late-run fall king salmon to make their way from the Pacific to their spawning grounds. On the flipside, it...
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In a typical year, the sport crab season can go one of two ways. If the crabs are plentiful, the meat content is usually on the lighter side. If there are fewer crabs around, they are typically fuller and in better shape. This is all due to their food source — more crabs means smaller shares of food, while fewer...
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One of the most popular fisheries on the North Coast almost didn’t happen. It was a tense few days waiting to hear if the California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife would delay the sport Dungeness crab opener due to presence of humpback whales and leatherback sea turtles, and the potential for entanglement from trap gear. Turns out, we’re whale and turtle...
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Trying to decipher last week’s rain and river level predictions was not for the faint of heart. But when it was all said and done, all of the North Coast rivers got the flushing they desperately needed. Some rivers, especially to our south, went far beyond what was forecast and eventually hit flood stage. Coastal rivers from the Smith to...
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If you’re looking to harvest an adult Chinook salmon in the Klamath basin, the Trinity River is your only option as of Tuesday. On Monday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife determined the recreational fall-run Chinook salmon catch will have met the Upper Klamath River adult fall-run Chinook salmon quota (of 208) below Iron Gate Dam for the 2021...
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If you’re looking for an opportunity to catch big, ocean-fresh kings, the Chetco estuary is the place to be. Salmon have been staging in the tidewater since the beginning of September. They’ll be there until rain allows them to make their way upriver. Following last Monday’s rain, which bumped the flows from under 100 cubic feet per second to nearly...
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