If you’re missing the taste of fresh, ocean salmon, you’ll want to keep an eye on the Chetco River estuary. Salmon have been staging in the tidewater since early September and they’ll be there until enough rain falls and allows them to make their way upriver. And according to Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing, the season at the mouth of the Chetco is heating up. “Action picked up in the Chetco estuary late last week, with a 52-pounder caught on Friday,” said Martin. “There was a wide-open bite during last Wednesday’s rain, and decent fishing through the weekend. Catch rates dropped by Tuesday of this week, with only a few fish caught. Lots of jacks arrived during the weekend, along with adults from 12 to 25 pounds. A few jacks also are now holding in the tidewater area. Most anglers are using 360 flashers, but some of the old timers in Brookings are catching fish with plug-cut herring or straight anchovies without flashers or blades.”

The daily bag limit for salmon on the Chetco is two adult fish per day, no more than one adult wild Chinook. Anglers may harvest adult hatchery Chinook until the daily bag limit has been met. Once the adult daily limit is harvested, anglers cannot continue to fish for jack salmon. Angling restricted to fly fishing (must include a strike indicator) or bobber fishing from RM 2.2 to Nook Creek Sep 1 – Nov 3. For additional Chetco regulations, visit eregulations.com/oregon/fishing/southwest-zone.

Weekend marine forecast
Moderate northerly winds started to build into the outer waters Wednesday. Northerly winds will increase Thursday with gusts possible above 35 knots in the outer waters by early Thursday evening. As of Thursday, out 10 to 60 nautical miles, Friday’s forecast is calling for winds out of the north 25 to 30 knots with northwest waves 10 feet at nine seconds. Saturday, winds will be out of the north 25 to 30 knots with north waves 11 feet at 9 seconds. Sunday looks slightly better but still terrible, with winds coming from the north 20 to 25 knots and north waves 9 feet at eight 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
(Updated) As of September 8, California’s share of Area 2A’s quota, which includes Washington and Oregon, is at 47 percent, with just 18,157 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
Not much activity for the boats out of Eureka this week, mostly due to ocean conditions. Effort typically starts to wean this time of the year. The good news is there’s still plenty of Pacific halibut quota left to catch. The nearshore rockfish season will close after September as of the offshore rockfish season will take place for the month of October. The nearshore fishery will open back up on Nov. 1, just in time for the Dungeness crab opener. The tuna water is still sitting just north of Gorda Valle, roughly 50 miles from Eureka.

Shelter Cove
It was a pretty quiet week at the Cove due to the weather according to Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. He said, “We did get out a couple days for rockfish, and the fishing was great. We fished down off the Ranch House and had quick limits of rockfish and lingcod. It looks like the weekend will be fishable inshore.”

Crescent City
According to Britt Carson of Crescent City’s Englund Marine, there isn’t much happening in Crescent City at the moment. “When the weather cooperates, the rockfish bite is still really good,” said Carson. “But the effort has slowed down, which is typical. It will pick back up in November when crab season opens back up. The tuna has pretty much dried up and the California halibut bite has been nonexistent as well. After a little bit of improvement, the Pacific halibut bite has turned back off.”

Brookings
“Rough weather limited ocean trips to just a few days this last week,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Fishing has been good for lingcod and rockfish. More windy weather is expected this weekend.”

The Rivers:
Lower Klamath
Water conditions on the lower Klamath continue to be unfishable 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.

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, action has slowed on the Rogue Bay, where late kings and hatchery coho are being caught, but catch rates much lower than last month.

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.