FISHING THE NORTH COAST
Coastal Rivers Brace for More Rain
341 West Harris St., Eureka 707 445-3138
poletskis.com
By Kenny Priest
fishing@northcoastjournal.com
J
ust as the steelhead season began to show signs of life, another round of wet storms is set to wreak havoc. All the coastal rivers are bracing for increased river flows certain to curtail any hopes of green water for some time. But these storms bring a little good news with them. For the first time this year, we should see a good amount of snow in the hills. That’s money in the bank for winter steelhead fishermen. As the storms move through and the rivers begin to recede, the runoff from the snow will help keep the water at fishable heights and color. Looking ahead, the Smith could be the river least impacted by the storms. It’s predicted for a big rise overnight Wednesday, but a lot of that precipitation could fall as snow. If that plays out, the Smith could remain fishable. All the other coastal rivers will likely be high and off color well into next week.
The weather ahead
According to Kathleen Zontos of Eureka’s National Weather Service office, we’re in for a wet week with very few breaks. From Tuesday through early Friday morning, 2 to 4 inches of rainfall is forecast for the Smith basin,” said Zontos. “We’ll likely see up to 3 inches in Humboldt. A weaker system is predicted for Friday and into Saturday, with a quarter to an inch forecast for Del Norte. Rainfall amounts will be lower here locally. A more powerful storm is forecast for Sunday, bringing another 1 to 2 inches of rain in the Smith and Eel basins. Conditions will begin to calm down Tuesday, as the Climate Center is predicting below normal rainfall through Feb. 9.”
The Rivers Smith River
“Fishing has been pretty good this week,” said guide Mike Coopman. “The
river is low McKinleyville resident Scott McBain holds a nice wild steelhead landed and clear, but on Monday while fishing the Eel River. there’s a few Photo courtesy of Joe Polos spots that are holding fish. If Eel River (South Fork) your timing is right, you can do well. We’re The South Fork was in great shape over averaging between three and six hookups the weekend and there were quite a few per day, and all the fish are nice ones. boats taking advantage of the conditions. Quite a bit of rain is predicted this week There were a few fish caught and scores but if it stays cold, the river could remain ranged from zero to three fish per boat. fishable. It all depends on if it falls as rain It’s also predicted to blow out Wednesday, or snow. Boat pressure has been light,” he with flows pushing 7,500 cfs. It’s forecast added. to be at a fishable level by Monday but Chetco/Elk/Sixes/Rogue that might be pushing it. Bigger tides have brought fresh schools Van Duzen of steelhead into the lower Chetco but The Van Duzen had been in fishable rains could blow the river out again by the shape for the past week, but that looks to end of the week, reports Andy Martin of change. Flows were under 200 cfs Tuesday Wild Rivers Fishing. “Fishing is still slow to but predicted to hit 1,300 Thursday night. fair but some guides are getting two to three steelhead a day,” said Martin. “The Mad River best fishing has been on the lower river, According to Justin Kelly of RMI Outwhere hatchery steelhead are showing doors, fishing remains a little tough on up at Freeman, the North Fork and Glassy the Mad. “It hasn’t been great but it does Flat. Plunkers had a few good days last seem that more fish are starting to show week and should do well again with this up,” said Kelly. “Most of the fish are still week’s rain.” congregating near the hatchery. With the The Lower Rogue has been fishing well storms coming this week, conditions will near the old mill, according to Martin. change dramatically. The river is predicted “Boaters are anchoring and catching wild to blow out Wednesday and will likely be and hatchery steelhead on 3.5 MagLips. dirty through the weekend,” Kelly added. Plunkers are getting fish at Huntley Park and Lobster Creek. The Elk and Sixes l have been slow overall for steelhead, but Read the complete fishing roundup at should see new fish with this week’s bigger www.northcoastjournal.com. tides and rain,” said Martin.
Eel River (main stem)
The main stem Eel has been fishing since last week and was just starting to kick out some decent numbers of fish. It’s predicted to blow out Wednesday with a big rise reaching nearly 19,000 cubic feet per second. It’ll need a week to 10 days of dry weather to clear.
• Servicing Humboldt County for over 40 years • Largest in stock new & used inventory • Competitive price guarantee • Delivery and Service after the sale
“LARGEST BRAND SELECTION IN THE COUNTY”
Kenny Priest (he/him) operates Fishing the North Coast, a fishing guide service out of Humboldt specializing in salmon and steelhead. Find it on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and www.fishingthenorthcoast.com. For up-to-date fishing reports and North Coast river information, email kenny@ fishingthenorthcoast.com northcoastjournal.com • Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021 • NORTH COAST JOURNAL
19
