The Mad is still high and brown, but there’s plenty of fish in the river according to Justin Kelly of Eureka’s RMI Outdoors. “Most of the fish are holding right below the hatchery, and guys are getting quite a few hookups a day. River conditions aren’t going to change much due to Ruth Lake being full and spilling over. It will take at least a week to 10 days of dry weather and cold nights before the river drops enough to turn green,” said Kelly.

Kenny Priest 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.