Fishing the North Coast

Stellar Season for Sport Dungeness Crabbers

By Kenny Priest

fishing@northcoastjournal.com

North Coast recreational Dungeness crabbers from Shelter Cove to Crescent City are enjoying one of the best seasons in recent memory. Since opening day, the crabs have been abundant and the meat content has been excellent. So good, in fact, that the commercial season has a solid chance of opening on time Dec. 1, barring any last-minute price disputes. Sport boats fi shing out of Eureka are dropping pots anywhere between 80 to 130 feet on either side of the entrance, and are pulling easy limits, according to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “Both sides have been fi shing well but the north might be slightly better,” he said. “We’ve been averaging about 13 keepers per pot and that’s with a lot of gear nearby. Bait jars stu ed with squid along with rockfi sh carcasses in the chew bags has been working well.” Not only is the o shore crabbing going strong, plenty of limits are coming out of Humboldt Bay. The best bite has been south near King Salmon away from the heavy currents coming from north bay. If you haven’t gotten your fi ll of the tasty crustaceans yet, you’ll want to do so before the commercial fl eet hits the water next week.

Weekend Weather and Marine Forecast

According to Eureka’s National Weather Service o ce, we are looking dry through the weekend and into early next week. The next chance of rain is Dec. 1 but rainfall amounts are uncertain.

The weekend marine forecast is looking good for o shore crabbing and possibly rockfi sh. As of Wednesday, Saturday’s forecast is calling for north winds up to 5 knots with west waves 7 feet at 13 seconds. Sunday is looking similar, with winds coming out of the north up to 5 knots with northwest waves 6 feet at 12 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka or www.windy.com. To monitor the latest Humboldt bar conditions, visit www.wrh. noaa.gov/eka/swan. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the o ce on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

Eureka resident Joey Sullivan holds a nice Dungeness crab caught aboard the Reel Steel on Sunday.

Photo courtesy of MackGraphics Humboldt

Eel River salmon returns

As of Nov. 14, a total of 364 Chinook salmon have entered the Van Arsdale fi sh count station, according to Andrew Anderson, an Aquatic Biologist with PG&E. Making up that total are 132 males, 146 females and 69 jacks. A total of 65 Chinook ascended the fi sh ladder in 2020. No steelhead yet but this is typical for Van Arsdale, located high in the Eel River Watershed. For more information, visit www.eelriver. org/the-eel-river/fi sh-count.

The Oceans

Shelter Cove

According to Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing, rock fi shing is still going strong, with limits coming fairly easily. “Ling cod is a little tougher but if you can fi nd them, they’re usually piled up together,” said Mitchell. “We’ve been bouncing around from the Old Man to Rogers; it’s pretty much the same everywhere. The crabbing is still good; we’re getting limits daily of quality crab.” The launch will be closed Tuesday through Thursday this week.

Crescent City

Ocean conditions were good on Monday, and there was quite a bit of e ort on the rockfi sh according to Chris Hegnes of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “South Reef produced some really good ling fi shing,” he said. “The crabbing is still really good. Boats have been doing well south in 40 feet of water and also above Battery Point Lighthouse in 120 to 140 feet of water.”

The Rivers:

Main stem Eel

Flows were down to 1,750 cubic feet per second on Tuesday and it’s getting clear. The king run is pretty much over for the year but there are some coho making their way through the lower river. More salmon should arrive after the next signifi cant rainfall, as well as the fi rst of the steelhead.

Smith

The late-fall run of salmon is just about over on the Smith. Rain is needed to bring in the last of the salmon and to kickstart the steelhead run. Flows were down to 1,700 cfs on Tuesday and the river is low and clear. Roe under a fl oat or back-bouncing the deeper holes are your best bet until we get some signifi cant rainfall. ● Read the complete fi shing report at www.northcoastjournal.com

Kenny Priest (he/him) operates Fishing the North Coast, a fi shing guide service out of Humboldt specializing in salmon and steelhead. Find it on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and www.fi shingthenorthcoast.com. For up-to-date fi shing reports and North Coast river information, email kenny@ fi shingthenorthcoast.com.

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