Kenny Priest

In a press release issued Monday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will lift the recreational crab trap restriction in fishing zones 1 and 2, which run from the California/Oregon border south to Point Arena, on Nov. 28 at 9 a.m. In the meantime, recreational crabbers that take Dungeness crab by other methods, including hoop nets and crab snares, are...
Full Story 

Despite some pretty drastic changes to the sport crab fishing regulations, jumbo crabs in good numbers are now starting to fill the hoops and rings of sport anglers. Between rough ocean conditions and a steep learning curve on how the new hoops and rings fish best, the sport season started a little on the slow side. But now anglers are...
Full Story 

The season’s first big storms hit the North Coast over the weekend and the Smith and Chetco both kicked out good numbers of kings. Both rivers have been loaded with kings in their lower sections for quite some time, and when the rivers finally rose, they were on the move. On Saturday, the Smith turned muddy, forcing anglers to wait...
Full Story 

One of the most popular fisheries on the North Coast will commence Saturday, on time, albeit with a few temporary regulation changes. Due to presence of humpback and blue whales and the potential for entanglement from trap gear, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife restricted the recreational take of Dungeness crab using crab traps statewide. However, the recreational take...
Full Story 

In a press release issued last week, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife projected the Upper Trinity River fall-run Chinook salmon quota would have been met as of 11:59 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21. This triggered the closure of the adult fall-run Chinook salmon fishery on the Trinity River from the Old Lewiston Bridge to the State Route 299 West...
Full Story 

Low Flow River Closures begin Sept. 1 and run through April 30, 2023 North Coast rivers that are regulated by low flow closures, including the Eel River, Mad River, Mattole River, Redwood Creek, Smith River and Van Duzen River will begin angling restrictions on September 1st, and run through April 30th 2023. The Department of Fish and Game will make the...
Full Story