Kenny Priest

After sitting on the sidelines for four days, the weather finally cooperated Monday and the Eureka boats were back on the water looking for kings. Salmon have been easy to come by this brief season and Monday proved no different. Quick limits were reported by the handful of boats. “The best bite was straight out […]

If you love to salmon fish and have yet to hit the ocean, you are seriously missing out. The number of fish swimming offshore of Eureka, and the entire North Coast for that matter, is impressive. It’s been at least 10 years since we’ve seen fishing this good so you’ll want to take advantage while […]

After sitting on the sidelines for nearly a week due to terrible ocean conditions, the Eureka fleet was finally back on the water Tuesday. And the salmon were waiting. Early reports indicate there’s a large area full of fish right out front of Eureka and most of the boats that ventured out scored limits. And […]

With no advance scouting, the dozen or so Eureka boats struggled to find schools of salmon during Sunday’s opener. In a typical year, we’ll see rockfish and Pacific halibut open a few weeks prior to salmon, giving anglers some clues on where the bait is stockpiled and where the birds are spending their time. But […]

The Super Bowl of saltwater sport fishing will take place this Sunday on the North Coast as salmon, rockfish and Pacific halibut are all set to open. It’s pretty rare for the big three to all open on the same day, and there’s a ton of excitement around the docks. And it’s looking like the […]

With very little rain falling throughout our region from January to March, most of us were already preparing for summer. However, the April showers hitting the coast are providing a second winter. These rains will definitely impact the health of future salmon and steelhead runs, which will likely be stronger a few years down the […]

With a strong ocean abundance of Sacramento salmon and the Klamath numbers trending upward, North Coast sport salmon anglers were rewarded with a generous ocean salmon season. The season within the CA KMZ (Klamath Management Zone), which was adopted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council Monday, will open May 1 and run through May 31. […]

Back in mid-March when the recreational salmon season alternatives were released to the public, it was a pleasant surprise to see some fairly generous season options on the table. And one of these options will be selected at the Pacific Fishery Management Council Meetings being held this week in Seattle. Currently, the three alternatives within […]

Winter steelhead anglers just can’t catch a break. Thursday, March 31, will mark the end of another abnormal steelhead season here on the coast. While the fishing was excellent, the real story was the lack of rain. But if you’ve been fishing the North Coast rivers the last few years, you know there’s very little […]

As we move toward the last weekend of winter steelhead season on the coast, river conditions continue to be less than ideal. Not only for the anglers but for the adult steelhead and their soon-to-be offspring. As of Tuesday, only a few rivers remain open to fishing. The Smith and main stem Eel have been […]

Even though ocean abundance forecasts have increased over the prior year for both the Sacramento River and Klamath River Fall Chinook, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) is taking a precautionary approach to the 2022 ocean salmon seasons. When the PFMC released its ocean sport salmon season options March 14, there was a mix of […]

The number of adult fall-run Chinook salmon forecast to be swimming off the coast of California seems to be trending upward from last year. That was the good news delivered at last Wednesday’s annual Ocean Salmon Information meeting hosted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The number of Sacramento River fall-run Chinook salmon […]