It’s been a pretty good season for albacore tuna off the North Coast, but it now looks to be slowing down as the warm, blue water has faded off our coast. Scores and effort over the past couple weeks have dwindled as the water has dissipated and/or moved out. But there is one glimmer of hope on the horizon. The warm water that the Fort Bragg and Shelter Cove boats have feasted on the past few weeks is slowly making its way north. It’s currently sitting just north of the Gorda Valley, roughly 50 miles from Eureka. The hope is it will reload with albacore, and possibly some big eye and bluefin, and present itself right on our doorstep. Whether or not that plays out will depend on what happens after the next round of wind events. It’s forecast to blow up to 35 knots Friday night on the tuna grounds. After calming over the weekend, it’s once again predicted to howl beginning Sunday evening. We’ll have to wait and see how this turns out, but I’m hopeful we’ll get a few more days on the tuna grounds.

Weekend marine forecast
North winds will ramp up again to 20 to 25 knots out 10 to 60 nautical miles Thursday afternoon through Friday before easing through the weekend. As of Thursday, the forecast from 10 to 60 nautical miles for Friday is calling for winds out of the north 20 to 25 knots with north waves 7 feet at seven seconds. Saturday is calling for winds from the north 10 to 15 knots and north waves 5 feet at five seconds and northwest 3 feet at nine seconds. Sunday the winds will be from the north 10 to 15 knots and north waves 3 feet at four seconds and northwest 4 feet at 11 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.

Low flow river closures in effect since Sept. 1
As Sept. 1, all North Coast rivers subjected to low flow fishing closures, including the Eel, Mad, Redwood Creek, Smith, and Van Duzen were closed to fishing. 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 up at any time. The low flow closure hotline for North Coast rivers is 707-822-3164. NOTE: The main stem Eel from the South Fork to Cape Horn Dam, the Mad River from the mouth to 200 yards upstream and the Mattole River will be closed until January 1, 2025.

Pacific halibut quota update
There hasn’t been any updates to the Pacific halibut quota in a month. 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.

Trinidad launch closing for the season
The launch facility will close after Sunday, Sept. 15 for the season. The floating dock and moorings will be removed shortly after.

The Oceans:
Eureka
According to Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing, the tuna bite has slowed this week due to the warm water fading out. “We made a couple trips out, with Monday being the better day,” said Klassen. “We were able to land 14 roughly 20 miles straight out. We went a little further out on Wednesday and only got 2. There were only a few boats out and it sounded slow for everyone. There’s better water off Gorda right now, we’ll have to see where it is after the wind dies down. The halibut bite wasn’t as red hot as it has been, but there’s still fish being caught. Most of the boats are still fishing off of Trinidad. The rockfish action at the Cape is really good. Our last trip down on Saturday was wide-open. There’s a really good variety of fish right now, along with some nice lingcod.”

Shelter Cove
According to Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing, the weather was pretty nice this week and the majority of the fleet took advantage to run offshore for albacore. He said, “The fishing was pretty good with a mixed grade of peanuts and fish up to 25 pounds. We averaged just over 40 fish per trip this week, with most of the effort straight out 18 to 25 miles. Ocean conditions aren’t looking great, it’s looking like it’s going to blow at least through the weekend.”

Crescent City
“A few more Pacific halibut were caught this week,” said Dan Moore of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “It wasn’t as good as last week, but we’ve seen a few come in, with most being caught in 200 feet of water. The California halibut bite really slowed down this week, along with the effort. The cold water pushed right on the beach, which slowed the bite. The rockfish action is still good, anglers fishing the Sisters and North Reef are getting easy limits. The perch bite has been good all year at Kellogg Beach. Anglers are also catching quite a few at South Beach. The tuna water has moved way offshore, so that’s not even an option right now.”

Brookings
“Pacific halibut action has been fair out of Brookings, and when the fish bite, fish up to 50 pounds have shown up in the catch,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “The season is expected to continue through October. Best action has been in 200 to 240 feet of water. Lingcod and rockfish action has been good. A few boats ventured offshore for tuna last week, but fish have been 50-plus miles out.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Water conditions on the lower Klamath are extremely dirty due to the dam removal process. There are fish making their way upriver, but most anglers and guides have moved to other rivers. Water conditions should start to improve at some point, but it remains to be seen if it happens before the run is over.

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. The recreational fall salmon fishery is closed to the take of Chinook. More information, can be found here.

Chetco/Lower Rogue
According to Martin, salmon are being caught daily in the Chetco estuary, with some days producing more than a dozen fish caught, but typical catches a king for every five boats. “Action will improve later in September, with peak season for the estuary the beginning of October. Salmon action remains good in Gold Beach on the Rogue Bay, although this week’s rain will send most of the fish held up to the middle section of the river near Grants Pass.”

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.