Kenny Priest

Winter steelhead season hasn’t yet taken off on the North Coast but that will soon change. Numerous storm systems headed our way beginning this weekend should put all of the coastal rivers on the rise. According to the National Weather Service, more rain is in store for us most of next week, which will likely […]

With very little rain over the past couple weeks and the rivers on the drop, the end is in sight for the late, fall-run salmon season on the North Coast. The season has been somewhat of a disappointment to fishermen, as only a couple storms hit the coast and dropped enough rain to keep the […]

North Coast recreational Dungeness crabbers from Shelter Cove to Crescent City are enjoying one of the best seasons in recent memory. Since opening day, the crabs have been abundant and the meat content has been excellent. So good, in fact, that the commercial season has a solid chance of opening on time Dec. 1, barring […]

The surge in flows brought by the atmospheric river in late October was a blessing in so many ways. It put an end to another horrible fire season, began to fill our parched reservoirs and created perfect river conditions for the late-run fall king salmon to make their way from the Pacific to their spawning […]

In a typical year, the sport crab season can go one of two ways. If the crabs are plentiful, the meat content is usually on the lighter side. If there are fewer crabs around, they are typically fuller and in better shape. This is all due to their food source — more crabs means smaller […]

Trying to decipher last week’s rain and river level predictions was not for the faint of heart. But when it was all said and done, all of the North Coast rivers got the flushing they desperately needed. Some rivers, especially to our south, went far beyond what was forecast and eventually hit flood stage. Coastal […]

The season’s first big storms are bearing down on the North Coast and they look formidable. And that means fresh-from-the-salt king salmon — big and bright — will make their way up all of our coastal rivers starting this weekend. If you see a steady stream of drift boats heading north on U.S. Highway 101, […]

If you’re looking to harvest an adult Chinook salmon in the Klamath basin, the Trinity River is your only option as of Tuesday. On Monday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife determined the recreational fall-run Chinook salmon catch will have met the Upper Klamath River adult fall-run Chinook salmon quota (of 208) below Iron […]

If you’re looking for an opportunity to catch big, ocean-fresh kings, the Chetco estuary is the place to be. Salmon have been staging in the tidewater since the beginning of September. They’ll be there until rain allows them to make their way upriver. Following last Monday’s rain, which bumped the flows from under 100 cubic […]

When the ocean has been fishable, the Pacific halibut have been chomping baits at a pretty good clip out of Eureka. Most of the charters and sport boats still fishing are scoring their one-fish-apiece limit. The biggest detriment has been the weather. Large swells have been the norm over the past few weeks, limiting the […]

Salmon fishing on the lower Klamath continues to roll on. Fresh schools of jacks (2-year-old males) as well as adults are arriving just about daily. Anglers fishing from the Glen up to Johnson’s are finding fresh fish side-drifting riffles and dragging roe through the deep slots. The rain over the weekend bumped the flows just […]