Kenny Priest

What was once a promising looking week of rain has taken a dramatic turn towards dry. Both the Smith and Chetco were expected to receive substantial rises on Saturday, which would have potentially opened both to fishing. As of Thursday morning, those predictions did an about face. Storms that had their sights set on the North Coast are now trending...
Full Story 

The always-popular recreational Dungeness crab season is expected to open statewide this Saturday, Nov. 7. The season’s first traps can legally be deployed at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday morning. Anglers, weather permitting, will get their first peek into the number of crabs on the sea floor as the quality and domoic acid testing has already begun. The early round of...
Full Story 

The lack of rain isn’t doing the run of late-fall kings any favors but it is keeping the California halibut fishery alive. Without an influx of freshwater from the rains and with enough food to keep them happy, there’s no reason for the halibut to leave. Though the effort has dwindled, there are still enough halibut in the bay to...
Full Story 

In an all too familiar pattern, October is again looking like it will be void of substantial rainfall. Aside from a few weak systems, it seems we won’t see enough rain to put a rise into any of our North Coast rivers or open them up to fishing anytime soon. This is nothing short of torture for coastal salmon anglers...
Full Story 

If you’re looking for fresh kings with the potential for a big one, the Chetco estuary is the place to be. Salmon have been staging in the tidewater since the latter part of September. And they’ll continue to do so until ample rain allows them to make their way upriver. Following last Saturday’s rain, which bumped the flows from under...
Full Story 

As the fall salmon season begins to wind down on the Klamath River, salmon anglers will no doubt turn their attention to the late-fall coastal salmon runs. The Smith, Chetco and Eel rivers will take center stage for the next couple months. That is if we get some timely rain. The last few years, consistently targeting kings on any of...
Full Story