It’s been an epic 10-day run on the North Coast for albacore anglers. Since last Tuesday, boats leaving ports from Eureka to Brookings have loaded up on longfins. It’s fairly rare to string to together that many calm ocean days with the warm water sitting just off the beach. Some days you didn’t need to travel more than 15 miles before you were on the fish.

For the Eureka fleet, most days were spent north off of Trinidad where there didn’t seem to be a shortage of tuna. But that warm water started to move north and break up slightly. Monday and Tuesday were both slow, with most boats getting less than double-digits.

For Crescent City boats that made the run south to the same patch of warm water, they scored about the same. Boats that decided to make a longer run straight west some 50 miles were rewarded with totes full of tuna. Tuna fishing out of Brookings has been equally as good since mid-last week. Boats have been averaging around 20 fish, with one boat putting in 50 albies on Monday.

Looking ahead, the south wind will make it’s return on Friday, which will likely keep most boats tied up. Conditions improve dramatically on Sunday and Monday, which should provide another couple potential tuna days before conditions begin to worsen mid-week. Sometimes a good shuffling of the deck is just what’s needed.

Weekend marine forecast
After Thursday’s excellent offshore conditions, a brisk south wind will return Friday, which will probably sideline the tuna fleet for a couple days. Out 10 nautical miles, winds will be out of the south 15 to 20 knots. Seas will be from the northwest 5 feet at nine seconds and northwest 3 feet at 19 seconds. Saturday is calling for south winds up to 5 knots and waves northwest 4 feet at nine seconds and northwest 3 feet at 16 seconds. Sunday’s forecast looks much better for the tuna fleet, with winds out of the north 5 to 10 knots and waves northwest 2 feet at eight seconds and northwest 2 feet at 13 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. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

August 31 is statewide Free Fishing Day
The last chance of the year to fish for free arrives over the Labor Day holiday weekend. Free Fishing Day is offered by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Saturday, Aug. 31. While no fishing license is required on free fishing days, all fishing regulations, such as bag and size limits, gear restrictions, report card requirements, fishing hours and stream closures remain in effect. Every angler must have an appropriate report card if they are fishing for steelhead or sturgeon anywhere in the state or salmon in the Smith and Klamath-Trinity river systems. For more information, visit wildlife.ca.gov/Licensing/Fishing/Free-Fishing-Days

Pacific halibut quota update
As of August 11, California’s share of Area 2A’s quota, which includes Washington and Oregon, is at 33 percent, with just 12,759 net pounds harvested against the 38,220 net pound quota. (500 pounds are set aside for the area south of Point Arena). The Pacific halibut fishery will run through Nov. 15 or until the quota is reached, whichever is earlier. To view the latest catch projection information, visit wildlife.ca.gov/conservation/marine/pacific-halibut#31670772-in-season-tracking.

The oceans:
Eureka
“After some really good fishing last week and over the weekend, the tuna bite slowed out of Eureka this week,” said Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “Monday and Tuesday were slow days, with boats picking up a fish here and there. No big numbers were reported. It looks like the water that was sitting off Trinidad slid to the north and broke up a bit. Straight out of Eureka 30 to 35 miles there’s good conditions, but most boats have been going north. For now, that water is staying put, but we’ll have to see what happens once the storm blows through. The Pacific halibut bite has been decent. We’ve had some good days fishing in shallower water. We’ve also traveled up off Trinidad and did well. There seems to be a better grade of fish up there. The rockfish are still biting at the Cape, though it’s not red-hot. Some darker water moved in, which made it a little tougher. Limits of rockfish are still being had along with about one lingcod per rod.”

Shelter Cove
According to Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing, the Cove saw a pretty good week of rock fishing. “But the lingcod bite was on the slower side,” said Mitchell. “Most of our efforts were down off the Ranch House. The Pacific halibut bite was pretty slow as well this week. We went and scouted some warm water that had moved in fairly close over the weekend, but our scores were pretty minimal. Hopefully the water will hang in there and the fish will fill in.”

Crescent City
According to Britt Carson of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, the tuna fishing has been good this week. He said, “Boats that went straight out 50 miles did really well, with some boats getting over 50. Boats that traveled south towards Trinidad found fewer fish, but still did ok. The Pacific halibut bite is still really slow, with just a fish being caught here and there. Most of the fish being caught are coming while anglers are targeting rockfish. The California halibut bite has slowed this week, but I think that has more to do with most of the effort shifting to tuna. The rockfish and lingcod bite continues to be excellent. We weighed in a 37.5 ling this week, which the new leader in our contest.”

Brookings
“Albacore tuna moved within 30 miles of Brookings this week, with good fishing for most boats that ventured slightly north,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “The action to the south of the harbor was hit and miss. Most boats had no problem filling their kill bags and coolers with tuna. Pacific halibut fishing also is good out of Brookings, with a few fish topping 80 pounds. The best fishing has been in 200 to 250 feet of water. Lingcod and rockfish action also is very good. Trolling for salmon has been slow.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
The river is slightly off color this week with a couple feet or so of visibility, but it didn’t seem to slow the steelhead bite down. Fishing was good over the weekend and this week, with lots of half-pounders and adults in the lower river. Some salmon are starting to show as well. The rain coming this weekend has the potential to bring more sediment from upriver and could potentially blow it out for a few days. Flows are prediction to go from 2,500 cfs to 3,200 cfs on the lower Klamath gauge. The daily bag limit is two hatchery steelhead or hatchery trout per day on both the Klamath and Trinity rivers, with a possession limit of four. Anglers must have a Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card in their possession while fishing for steelhead trout in anadromous waters More information can be found here.

Lower Rogue/Chetco
According to Martin, last weekend’s rain drew a few early jacks to Tide Rock and Social Security bar on the Chetco. “Trolling is still slow in the estuary. The Rogue Bay is crowded, but there are plenty of kings being caught. Best fishing has been at the end of the incoming tide.

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.