Kenny Priest

The warm water that holds all types of tuna continues to sit well offshore from Eureka, Trinidad, and Crescent City. But that hasn’t stopped a few dedicated and hardcore anglers. On Sunday, ocean conditions were ideal and a few boats made the long run leaving from Eureka and Trinidad. The boats needed to travel over 60 miles out, but it...
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Ocean conditions over the weekend were about perfect, and there was tuna to be had. But you had to travel a long way, which plenty of boats did. Starting in Fort Bragg, where boats had the shortest run at 35 miles, at least one charter boat loaded the boat both Friday and Saturday. They were big fish too, with a...
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First ocean and river salmon, then Pacific halibut, and now in what feels like a knockout blow to our fishing community, CDFW has closed the nearshore rockfish season beginning Monday, Aug. 21 for boat-based anglers. In the Northern Groundfish Management Area (GMA), which runs between the CA/OR border and Cape Mendocino, anglers will only be allowed to fish seaward of...
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One of the better Pacific halibut seasons came to a close last Friday, with boats catching limits right up until the end. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Friday’s closure late last week with the expectation that quota would be exceeded if the season remained open. And I don’t think they were wrong. But as the halibut season fades...
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The California Department of Fish and Wildlife projects the combined recreational and commercial take of quillback rockfish will exceed the harvest limits specified in federal regulation for 2023 is prohibiting retention of the fish statewide in both the recreational and commercial fisheries effective Aug. 7. From the CDFW July 28 announcement: “The 2021 stock assessment for quillback rockfish off California indicated severe...
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Anglers fishing out of Eureka and Crescent City enjoyed some of the best Pacific halibut fishing of the season this week. Both ports kicked out limits for boats willing to put in some time. And most days it didn’t take much time. Out of Eureka, charters were loaded up and headed to the dock not long after dropping anchor, sometimes...
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