Kenny Priest

When the ocean conditions have been right, both the halibut and rockfish bite out of Eureka has been pretty spectacular. The only thing that has slowed down either fishery has been the wind. And there’s been plenty of it since late last week, although it finally relented enough on Wednesday for the Eureka fleet to get back on the water....
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After a short break due to rough seas, the red-hot halibut bite picked up right where it left off last Thursday. On Monday, a few boats went out of Eureka and fished in marginal conditions. The current was ripping and the wind was blowing, which made it nearly impossible to keep your bait close to the bottom. A few fish...
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A little more than a week on the water isn’t a huge sample size, but if the halibut fishing is anything remotely close to the level of the past week, we’re in for a heck of a season. And potentially a short one. But talk of the impending quota can wait, let’s bask in the glory of a halibut bite...
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Mother Nature can be so cruel sometimes. After months and months of anticipation leading up to Tuesday’s rockfish and halibut openers, boats from Crescent City to Shelter Cove were forced to stay in port due to howling north winds. Blustery winds this time of the year are common, and they actually do way more good than harm. But the timing...
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Next Tuesday marks day one of our ocean sport fishing season on the North Coast as both rockfish and halibut will finally open, bringing with it tons of excitement, optimism and relief. Following a year in which we had a limited abalone season and total closures of both salmon and razor clams, we could all use a little saltwater therapy....
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In an interesting twist of events, the Klamath River will likely provide better fishing opportunities than the mighty Sacramento this season. That’s quite a turnaround from last year when fears of extremely low salmon returns prompted a full closure for ocean salmon within the KMZ and fall kings on the Klamath and Trinity. But it turned out the adult returns...
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