If you’re looking to chase some winter steelhead between now and Christmas, you should have a few good options. Following a good amount of rain earlier in the week, all the North Coast rivers not named Smith and Chetco are brown and swollen. But with no rain forecast until next week and no snow in the hills, we should see some of these rivers quickly drop into fishing shape prior to the next round of storms that are forecast for Tuesday. The South Fork Eel and Mad rivers should be fishable by the sometime this weekend. The Van Duzen will likely be off color through the weekend, but could fish by Monday. The main Eel won’t come around quickly enough, and will be back on the rise by next week. The Smith was high, but fishable, Wednesday. The Chetco, after reaching 4,600 cfs Tuesday, was green as of Thursday. As the rivers drop down to fishable heights and color, we should see some decent numbers of winter steelhead making their way into the rivers.

Weather ahead
After some wet days that dropped a few inches of rain, the North Coast will begin to dry out through the weekend. According to Kathleen Zontos of Eureka’s National Weather Service office, there’s a chance for some very light rain in Del Norte on Friday, but after that we’ll remain dry until Tuesday.  “We’re looking at the potential for an Atmospheric River developing for Tuesday and Wednesday of next week,” said Zontos. “One to three inches could fall in Northern Humboldt and the Smith Basin. We might see a short break on Thursday, but the rain is expected to return Friday and the weekend.”

Mad River Steelhead Derby Starts Jan. 15
The Mad River winter steelhead run is just around the corner and with it comes the annual Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen Association’s (NCGASA) Mad River Steelhead Derby. The derby will start on January 15 and will run through February 29. Anglers will have two months to catch a big hatchery steelhead, with the three largest measured in both the adult and the youth divisions eligible to win cash and prizes. Adult division payouts: 1st place: $500; 2nd place: $300, 3rd place: $150. Youth division payouts (16 years and under): $150 RMI Outdoors gift card; 2nd place: $100 RMI gift card; 3rd place: $50 RMI gift card. All the youth winners will also receive donated fishing tackle from our sponsors. Anglers who sign up for the derby will be entered to win weekly raffle prizes starting on Jan. 1. Early bird sign-ups for the derby that come in before Jan. 1 are eligible to win two free tickets to the International Sportsmen’s Expo (ISE Show) in Sacramento (Jan. 18-21). New this year is a Winner Take All Raffle Package that includes a guided river trip for two, plus crazy amounts of fishing tackle and gear. This package is currently valued at $850. Raffle tickets are $50 and only 100 tickets will be sold. There are other raffles that include several guided ocean and river trips or you can win a two-night Airbnb country home stay, located minutes away from the Mad River. These trips and stay raffle tickets are $20. Sign up online at madriversteelheadderby.com or ncgasa.org.

The Rivers:
As of Thursday morning, all North Coast rivers subjected to low-flow fishing closures were open to fishing. This includes the main stem Eel, South Fork Eel, Van Duzen, Mad, Redwood Creek and Smith rivers. 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, 2024. More information can be found here.

Mad
The Mad is high and muddy after peaking at 10.8 feet Wednesday. It’s dropping quickly Thursday as flows were down to 2,500 cfs (9.0 ft.). It’s predicted to get down to 7.5 feet by Sunday and the color could come around by Sunday or Monday. For current river conditions, visit https://cdec.water.ca.gov/river/madStages.html

Main stem Eel
The main Eel hit 34,500 cfs Wednesday night at Scotia, but was dropping quickly Thursday. It’s predicted to dip below 5,000 cfs by Monday, but it probably won’t fish prior to the next round of storms. For current river conditions, visit https://cdec.water.ca.gov/river/eelStages.html

South Fork Eel
After peaking at over 9,000 cfs Wednesday at Miranda, flows were already down to 3,400 cfs by Thursday morning. If it keeps dropping as predicted, it should be in good shape by Saturday. For current river conditions, visit https://cdec.water.ca.gov/river/eelStages.html

Van Duzen
Peaked at over 5,000 cfs Wednesday morning and was down to 1,500 cfs Thursday. It’s predicted to be at 750 cfs by Monday morning, so there could be a short window where it’s fishable. For current river conditions, visit https://cdec.water.ca.gov/river/eelStages.html

Smith
The quick-clearing Smith was fishable Wednesday, but still a little on the high side at just under 11 feet at the Jed Smith gauge. A few boats made the drift from the forks down, but the scores weren’t great. But there are reportedly some steelhead in the river. The river is dropping quickly and will be clear by the weekend, but will remain plenty fishable. The next rise is predicted to start early Tuesday morning. For current river conditions, visit https://cdec.water.ca.gov/river/smithStages.html

Chetco/Elk/Sixes
December rains have brought fishable numbers of steelhead into Southern Oregon coastal rivers according to Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing. “Plunkers are doing best on the Chetco, with a fairly good bite Monday morning at the head of tide,” said Martin. “Last week, drift boaters caught a few adult steelhead side-drifting, with the best action on the lower river. The Elk and Sixes also have adult steelhead showing in the catch. Lots of half-pounders are being caught on the Upper Chetco, where salmon are still spawning. Conditions look good until Christmas Day, but all the rivers are likely to blow out between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Current river conditions can be found here.

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.