Kenny Priest

Looking at the ocean abundance of Sacramento and Klamath River kings and the numbers that returned to the rivers in 2020, I’d say we’re pretty lucky to have any type of salmon season this fall. But we will and it looks to be comparable to last season. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) last Thursday released three preliminary alternatives for...
Full Story 

As we move toward the end of the winter steelhead season on the coast, river conditions are shaping up nicely for the weekend. All the rivers, except for the main Eel, should be some shade of green. The catching, on the other hand, may be a different story. It’s been a struggle all year as the steelhead seemed in short...
Full Story 

The news wasn’t pretty at Thursday’s annual Ocean Salmon Information meeting. Not only are the Klamath salmon stocks struggling, the Sacramento stocks took a nosedive, as well. The Klamath River fall Chinook ocean abundance forecast in 2021 is 181,500. This is slightly higher than the 2020 forecast but still well below the long-term average. CDFW hinted there will likely be...
Full Story 

Rivers conditions are trending toward perfection this week and it’s pretty much now or never for the 2021 winter steelhead season. In what has been called one of the toughest seasons anyone can remember, if the next week or so doesn’t produce some quality fishing, it’s likely the season will go down as a bust. There are plenty of theories...
Full Story 

Following a disappointing 2019 adult fall run on the Klamath, 2020 proved to be only slightly better. Unfortunately, the numbers weren’t enough to get us out of the “overfished” category, and it’s likely we’ll have some severe restrictions both in the ocean and in the Klamath and Trinity rivers in 2021. “Based on this year’s run size, I’d expect very limited fishing opportunity in the coming...
Full Story 

This past weekend saw all of our coastal steelhead rivers turn some shade of green — some emerald and some olive. Condition-wise, it was probably the best we’ve had this season. But pristine conditions only last so long. The next round of storms is forecast for Thursday and that will likely be the end of the green water for now....
Full Story