All coastal rivers, except for the Smith, will be high and muddy next week

Just as the steelhead season on the Smith and Chetco rivers was showing signs of life, a couple of good storms have and will put steelhead fishing on the backburner. Rain that fell on Tuesday and Wednesday buckled the knees of the coastal rivers, but the knockout punch is coming late Friday and into Saturday. Wednesday saw the Smith blow by its projections, finally cresting in the afternoon at over 16 feet at the Jed Smith gauge. It’s predicted to be on the drop Thursday and Friday, and should be in great shape. And it will be the only game in town for some time. The Chetco, which doesn’t recover quite as quickly as the Smith, went over 10,500 cfs and was peaking Wednesday evening. Unfortunately, it won’t recover before the next big storm arrives Saturday. If the forecast holds, it will likely be blown out all next week. For the other coastal rivers south of the Smith that aren’t so quick to clear — it could be a week or more before they resemble anything close to green.

Weather outlook
For the next seven days, ending next Wednesday, the North Coast could see 3 to 6 inches of rain. According to Kathleen Zontos of Eureka’s National Weather Service office, most of that rain will fall between Friday night and Saturday. “From the Mad River north to the Smith, we could see 2 to 5 inches Friday and Saturday,” said Zontos. “In the Eel and Van Duzen basins, we’ll likely see between 2 to 3 inches. Sunday is looking mostly dry, and those conditions will likely stick around until at least Tuesday. There are additional chances of rain later next week, but those are looking like they may be weaker systems.”

Perigean spring tides happening this week
Perigean spring tides, the results of either a new or full moon, will be in effect beginning Jan. 9 through Jan 13. The highest tides are predicted for Thursday and Friday. The north spit tide gauge prediction is for a high tide of 8.44 feet at 10:48 a.m. Thursday morning and 8.43 feet at 11:37 a.m. Friday morning. Minor coastal flooding around Humboldt Bay is possible and large surf may wash farther than normal onto the beaches.

Mad River Steelhead Derby Starts Jan. 15
The Mad River winter steelhead run is just starting and with it comes the annual Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen Association’s (NCGASA) Mad River Steelhead Derby. The derby will start on January 15 and will run through February 29. Anglers will have two months to catch a big hatchery steelhead, with the three largest measured in both the adult and the youth divisions eligible to win cash and prizes. Adult division payouts: 1st place: $500; 2nd place: $300, 3rd place: $150. Youth division payouts (16 years and under): $150 RMI Outdoors gift card; 2nd place: $100 RMI gift card; 3rd place: $50 RMI gift card. All the youth winners will also receive donated fishing tackle from our sponsors. Anglers who sign up for the derby will be entered to win weekly raffle prizes starting on Jan. 1.

New this year is a Winner Take All Raffle Package that includes a guided river trip for two, plus crazy amounts of fishing tackle and gear. This package is currently valued at $850. Raffle tickets are $50 and only 100 tickets will be sold. There are other raffles that include several guided ocean and river trips or you can win a two-night Airbnb country home stay, located minutes away from the Mad River. These trips and stay raffle tickets are $20. Sign up online at madriversteelheadderby.com, ncgasa.org or at RMI Outdoors in Eureka.

The Rivers:
As of Thursday morning, all North Coast rivers subjected to low-flow fishing closures were open to fishing. This includes the main stem Eel, South Fork Eel, Van Duzen, Mad, Redwood Creek and Smith rivers. The Department of Fish and Game will make the information available to the public by a telephone recorded message updated, as necessary, no later than 1 p.m. each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as to whether any stream will be closed to fishing. The rivers can be opened at any time. The low flow closure hotline for North Coast rivers is 707-822-3164. More information can be found here.

Mad
After surpassing monitor stage (15 feet) Wednesday, the Mad is now on the drop. It will continue to drop until the next storm hits Saturday. It’s predicted to reach over 17 feet (16,900 cfs) by Saturday evening and will take at least a week of dry weather before it turns close to green.

Main stem Eel
After peaking at 30,400 cfs on the Scotia gauge Thursday morning, the main stem will be on the drop for a couple days before the next big rain event. Saturday’s storm is forecast to push flows to nearly 75,000 cfs. Will need a solid 10 days of dry weather before it’s fishable. Will start to fish well at 3,500 cfs.

South Fork Eel
The South Fork was off and on fishable since last weekend, though conditions were marginal at best. It finally blew out on Wednesday, peaking at 12,500 cfs at Miranda. It’s forecast for a bigger rise Sunday morning where it could surpass 25,000 cfs. If we don’t get a bunch of rain next week, it could be fishable by next weekend. A few adult steelhead have been caught.

Van Duzen
The Duzen got down to a fishable flow earlier in the week, but blew out on Tuesday. It’s forecast to drop through Friday, but won’t be fishable prior to Saturday’s storm. Predicted to hit 11,500 cfs Saturday evening. Will need a week of dry weather before it’s fishable again.

Smith River
The Smith peaked at over 16 feet at the Jed Smith gauge Wednesday, but is in great shape as of Thursday. It’s still a little big, but it’s back to green. It will be in prime shape through Friday when the next big rise is forecast. It’s predicted to reach nearly 21 feet (46,775 cfs) Saturday evening, but should be down to fishable conditions no later than Tuesday. A few steelhead were caught by plunkers on Wednesday, so it looks like more fish are starting to make their way into the river. Conditions look excellent for next week.

Chetco/Southern Oregon rivers
Steelhead fishing finally kicked into gear on the Chetco just before the latest round of winter storms blew the river out this week reports Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “Catch rates spiked as calmer ocean conditions finally allowed bigger numbers of steelhead to move into the river,” said Martin. “But just as the action improved, a major rain storm hit, increasing flows above 10,000 cfs, with the possibility of 45,000 cfs by this weekend. It will take the river several days to recover from the near flood stage expected Saturday. On Sunday and Monday, action was good, with fish spread throughout the river. Mostly wild steelhead were being caught, with an occasional hatchery steelhead. Fishing should be at peak season form when the river drops back into shape next week. The Rogue, Elk and Sixes also have blown out, and will approach minor flooding this weekend.”

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.