hat’s the best way to shake off the doldrums of another salmon-less summer? How about a red-hot tuna bite? That’s just what we needed, and just what happened. The games began last Friday, with fish being caught out of Fort Bragg, Shelter Cove, and Eureka. For the Eureka fleet, the action started down off of Cape Mendocino where a lone boat did some scouting Friday and found the fish. He boated 16, and then the word was out.
With the conditions perfect for Saturday, quite a few more boats made the run roughly 25 miles southwest of Eureka and found the schools. It didn’t seem to matter what time you showed up as the fish reportedly bit until sunset. There were quite a few boats who made their way to the tuna grounds and boated double-digits having already limited on Pacific halibut. Now that’s a good day!
By Sunday, the word was really out and again the small fleet of eight to 10 boats headed south where the conditions had deteriorated. After bouncing around in rough, but fishable conditions, boats reported some pretty low scores. The top boat reportedly had six, but there were lots of ones and twos. There was one Bluefin landed aboard the Reel Steel.
By Monday, boats were back to halibut fishing, finding a pretty decent bite straight out. More magic was in store for Tuesday, but no one was around to see it. A lone boat saw conditions were lining up straight west of Eureka. Running just 20 miles offshore they landed right on top of a school of albacore and immediately starting putting fish aboard. After couple hours of non-stop action, they had 25 mix-grade albacore on board and called it a day. Trinidad also got in on the action, though the scores weren’t as high. Two boats fishing just 20 miles from Trinidad Head boated 5 and 17.

Now the wind has once again returned, and is forecast to blow hard through Saturday. Conditions will begin to improve starting Sunday, hopefully the warm tuna water isn’t too far out of reach.

Weekend marine forecast
Gales force winds will likely subside by the weekend, though northerlies will remain elevated. As of Thursday afternoon, Friday’s forecast is calling for north winds 15 to 20 knots and waves northwest 10 feet at nine seconds. Saturday forecast is calling for north winds at 10 to 15 knots and waves northwest 9 feet at nine seconds. Winds will be out of the northwest Sunday 5 to 10 knots with northwest waves 6 feet at eight seconds. These conditions can and will change by the weekend. For an up-to-date weather forecast, visit weather.gov/eureka or windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at (707) 443-7062 or the office on Woodley Island at (707) 443-6484.

Eel River Pikeminnow Fishing derby July 20 – Aug. 31
To help aid in the pikeminnow suppression efforts, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Cal-Trout, TRIB Research, Wiyot Tribe, Bureau of Land Management, and Stillwater Sciences are hosting an Eel River Pikeminnow Fishing derby that will run from July 20 through Aug. 31. This derby gives awards to anglers who want to enjoy sport fishing for Eel River pikeminnow while simultaneously helping our native fish populations

Sacramento pikeminnow are a native fish to California but were introduced to the Eel River watershed in the 1970s and can have a significant impact on native fish populations. Therefore, suppression of Sacramento pikeminnow in the Eel River is a tool managers can use to aid in the conservation of our native fish.

To enter into the contest you must provide a valid (google) email address and upload a photo of your fish. Contest rules are as follows:

• Submit entries using one email address. All entries at the end of the contest for the “most pikeminnow…” will be tallied by participant name.
• Individual contestants can win no more than one prize category
• Cheating or falsification of entries will result in automatic disqualification
• Contestants must follow all CDFW fishing regulations, including no bait, barbless artificial lures only. Single barbless hooks are recommended for all manners of effort including, fly, and artificial lures.
• This derby includes all waters open to angling on the South Fork Eel River downstream of Humboldt County line to the confluence with the mainstem and the mainstem Eel from the confluence with the South Fork Eel to the mouth of the Van Duzen.

Eel river regulations currently state there is no bag limit on pikeminnow. Retention of salmonids is strictly prohibited. Strict compliance with Fish and Game Code Section 1.87: WASTE OF FISH; it is unlawful to cause or permit any deterioration or waste of any fish taken in the waters of this state.

Prize categories:

1. Most pikeminnow (greater than 6 inches) removed over the duration of the contest.
2. Most pikeminnow (greater than 12 inches) removed over the duration of the contest. MUST include tape measure in photo.
3. Biggest fish (length). MUST include tape measure in photo.
4. Drawing for anyone that entered a pikeminnow in the contest.
   (prize structure still being finalized)

Suggestions for fish use: consumption, gardening fertilizer, crab bait, or research. Fish to be donated for research purposes can be dropped off in the cooler at Dimmick Road, Highway 271, Piercy, CA or at the Wiyot Tribal Office during business hours.
Prohibited actions: Throwing fish on the bank or into the river, any blatant waste of fish. Any violation of Fish and Game Code Section 1.87 will be subject to law enforcement prosecution.

California halibut update
The CA halibut bite is not red hot, but still decent according to Justin Kelly of RMI Outdoors. He said, “The fish seem to be scattered between the second and third channels. Live bait or trolling dead bait seems to be the most productive now. The California halibut bag and total possession limit is two in California waters north of Point Sur, Monterey County. The minimum size limit is 22 inches total length.

The Oceans:
Eureka
The Eureka fleet finally strung together a few consecutive days on the water, and were treated to some good fishing with quite the variety.  Let’s start with the good stuff. Warm water pushed in close late last week, coinciding with calm seas, and tuna were hitting the deck at a pretty good clip. “The tuna bite on Saturday was wide-open,” said Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sportfishing. “The action was 12 miles straight off Cape Mendocino. It didn’t seem to matter when you showed up as plenty of boats motored south after halibut fishing and boated double-digit scores. Sunday was a little different story. The weather wasn’t nearly as nice, and the bite was tough. I think the top boat had six, and there were a lot of ones and twos. We had one bite and it turned out to be a 40-pound Bluefin. Monday, most of the boats opted for halibut, where the fishing was pretty good, but not great. Boats were back to halibut Tuesday, where the fishing remained solid. One boat decided to try for tuna. They ran straight out 20 miles and found a wide-open bite. They only fished for a couple hours and put 25 mixed-grade albacore on the deck. Overall, the halibut fishing was good over the weekend, and the rockfish action at the Cape was excellent. It looks like we’re stuck with more wind through at least Saturday.”

Shelter Cove
“The weather finally laid down and we were able to travel for the first time in a while,” said Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. “We finally got to fish Rodgers Break and Gorda and it was easy limits of rockfish and lingcod. The Pacific halibut bite was slow overall, but there were a handful caught over the weekend. Boats ran for tuna Friday through Sunday up off Gorda with the high boat getting 36 Saturday. After halibut fishing Saturday morning, we ran to the tuna grounds in the afternoon and quickly put 11 on board.”

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.