Kenny Priest

I know everyone is pissed about the upcoming salmon closures, but I wanted to provide some hope for a salmon rebound in the coming years. The last closure we had was in 2017, which included the ocean (CA and Oregon KMZ’s) and the Klamath and Trinity rivers. That year, the ocean abundance forecast was for only 54,200 Klamath fall kings....
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If the forecasts from last Wednesday’s salmon information meeting are accurate, Chinook salmon are going to be few and far between this year. It will also likely result in a complete ocean closure to Chinook fishing state-wide in an effort to protect stocks. Currently, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) is meeting in Seattle to decide the fate of our...
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The Pacific Fishery Management Council released its “Review of 2022 Ocean Salmon Fisheries” report last week and the news wasn’t good. Based on an ocean abundance of 200,100 Klamath River fall Chinook thought to be swimming in the ocean last fall, forecasters predicted roughly 66,759 adults would return to the river. Unfortunately, the run fell a little shorter than the...
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With the majority of our coastal rivers in prime fishing shape, it’s starting to feel like it’s now or never for the 2023 winter steelhead season. In what has been one of the most dismal seasons anyone can remember, if the next couple of weeks don’t produce some quality fishing, it’s likely the season will go down as big, giant...
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Another week gone by and another week of very poor steelhead catching. As we approach mid-February, I’m no longer certain the fish are just running late. I’m starting to think they aren’t coming. At least in big numbers. We’ve had some excellent water conditions on our coastal rivers this season and that still didn’t do the trick. But green rivers...
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After the January storms provided the flushing and scouring our coastal rivers desperately needed, anglers were thinking and hoping the winter steelhead would be there waiting once the rivers turned fishable. So far, that hasn’t necessarily been the case. Up and down the coast, well known steelhead rivers are not seeing the numbers we’re accustomed to. This same scenario happened...
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