Ocean conditions, lack of effort, or lack of fish, whatever the reason may be, it’s contributing to a much slower start to the Pacific halibut season than in years past. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s a combination of the first two. Since the season opened on May 1, there’s been just a handful of days which boats were able to get far enough offshore to where the halibut frequent. And Eureka isn’t alone, anglers from Shelter Cove up to Crescent City have been stymied by conditions which are leading to the lack of success. But don’t expect this trend to continue. Once we get a steady dose of flat water, you can bet the boats will hone in on the fish and we’ll begin to see some big bites taken out of the 38,220 pound quota. To keep an eye on the in-season Pacific halibut catch rate, visit https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Marine/Pacific-Halibut#31670772-in-season-tracking.

Marine Forecast
Ocean conditions have been horrible all week, and that trend looks to continue through the weekend and into next week. As of Thursday, Friday’s forecast is calling for north winds 20 to 30 knots with waves north 10 feet at nine seconds and northwest 3 feet at 12 seconds. Saturday, the winds will be out of the north 15 to 25 knots and waves will be out of the north 11 feet at 10 seconds. Sunday, winds will come from the north 15 to 25 knots with waves out of the north 10 feet at 10 seconds and southwest 2 feet at 18 seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit https://www.weather.gov/eka/ or https://www.windy.com/. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at 443-6484.

USCG Captains Course offered in Eureka
The USCG Master 100ton/OUPV course will be held here in Humboldt Bay from June 17-28. Hosted by the City of Eureka, tuition for 15 students will be fully funded by Vineyard and RWE. Information on requirements and a link to the course registration are can be found here. You will need to reserve your seat with a deposit.

Kids free fishing derbies this Saturday
On Saturday, May 18, 2024 all kids 15 years old and younger are invited to the Ruth Lake Marina for the Kids Free Fishing Derby. The event will be from 8 a.m. until noon. Kids must bring their own fishing poles and must be accompanied by an adult. There will be a hot dog feed at noon. For more information, call the Ruth Lake Community Services District at 707-574-6332 or visit https://www.ruthlakecsd.org/local-events/
On Saturday, May 18, 2023, all kids age 4 to 15 are invited to the Carrville Dredger Pond for the 50th annual Trinity Lake Lions Fish Derby. The pond is located five miles north of the Trinity Center. Registration is from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. The fishing derby will last until 11 a.m. Free fishing tackle will be provided to the first 100 kids registered. Kids must bring their own fishing poles, and only bait will be allowed. Prizes will be awarded in many categories, along with a grand prize.  Free hot dogs, chips and drinks for everyone. For more information, call Scott at 408-401-8333.

Ruth Lake Bass tournament coming June 1
Southern Trinity Area Rescue will be holding the annual “Paul Jadro Memorial Bass Tournament” on Saturday, June 1. Blast off will be at 5:45 a.m. or at first safe light, by draw. The one-day tournament event offers a first prize award of up to $1,000 with payout to 1 in 3 in addition to door prizes and sponsor products. The entry fee is $140 per team with a big fish buy in option of $10. The tournament is catch and release and all competitors must fish from boats that are required to have operational live wells on board. Life jackets are required. Check in at the Marina on Friday May 31 at 4:30-6 p.m. or Saturday 4:30 – 5:15 a.m. For more information, contact Lon Winburn at 707-499-2490.

Klamath basin and Central Valley rivers closed for Chinook
In the May 15 California Fish and Game Commission meeting, Commissioners voted unanimously to again enact a full closure of California’s recreational salmon fishing season in the Klamath River Basin and Central Valley rivers through its annual process for adjusting seasons and bag limits. The Commission also voted to close the springer fishery in the Klamath and Trinity rivers. Unlike last year, the Smith River and Eel Rivers will be open to salmon fishing in 2024.

The regulations are expected to take effect no later than July 1, 2024, following approval by the Office of Administrative Law. The low ocean abundance forecasts, coupled with low 2023 returns, led the Commission to recommend closure of California’s in-river recreational salmon fisheries, which include the Klamath and Trinity rivers within the Klamath Basin, the Sacramento, Feather, American and Mokelumne rivers in the Central Valley.

The Oceans:
Eureka
Wind and rough ocean conditions continue to be the story out of Eureka as boats haven’t been on the water since last weekend. “Halibut fishing was slow for everyone last Friday and Saturday,” said Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “There were a few caught, but there was also a lot of skunks. With very few days on the water so far, no one has really looked around yet. It’s possible the fish may be further offshore. We just need some good weather to figure out where they are. As of now, it looks conditions will improve late next week.”

Trinidad
Ocean conditions have kept small boats and kayaks from launching this week. And it looks like more of the same through the weekend. The boat launch will be open Wednesday through Sunday, closed Monday and Tuesdays. The launch fee this season is $45. For updates and current information, you can call the bait shop at 677-3625.

Shelter Cove
The last few days was some of the slowest rock fishing that I’ve ever seen at the Cove,” said Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “We managed limits for two of the days, but it took us all day.  And we only got one or two lingcod each day as well. We fished everywhere from Bear Harbor to Rodgers Break and it was more less the same every location we tried.”

Crescent City
Wind and rough seas have kept boats off the water this week, reports Britt Carson of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. He said, “Over the weekend, the rockfish bite was really good, with most of the boats heading south towards the Sisters. I’ve heard of one Pacific halibut caught so far, coming in last Friday and weighing 38.5 lbs. The lingcod bite has been really good off the jetties and rocks and the redtail perch bite at Kellogg Beach has been excellent.”

Brookings
Windy weather is expected to put a damper on this week’s ocean salmon opener out of Brookings,” said Andy Martin of Brookings Fishing Charters. “With schools of anchovies at the mouth of the Chetco, large numbers of pelicans and other birds, and reports of bottom fish anglers encountering salmon, the opener was expected to be good, but rough seas will prevent boats from getting to the best areas. Typically, salmon fishing is best 3 to 5 miles offshore in May and early June. Salmon season runs through August out of Brookings. Lingcod and rockfish action has been hot, but halibut season has been off to a slow start. Fishing has been good further up the coast in deeper water. Rough weather is expected through the weekend and will likely limit halibut trips until next week. Surfperch action continues to be good.”

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, spring salmon fishing has slowed, but Monday produced the best catches in nearly two weeks, with fresh schools of springers caught at the head of the bay. “Wild springers can be kept beginning June 1.”

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.