Salmon fishing has hit full stride across the North Coast, with excellent action both offshore and in the rivers.

Offshore, boats from Shelter Cove to Crescent City are enjoying some of the best fishing of the season. Limits have been coming early at most ports, with anglers finding eager schools of Chinook. Eureka was the lone exception on Wednesday, when the larger fish seemed to disappear and the bite slowed. That proved to be short-lived, however, as the action rebounded Thursday with both steady catches and some quality fish. Chinook in the 20-pound class have become much more common, along with plenty of fish in the mid- to upper-teens—a welcome change from the smaller salmon that dominated catches earlier this season.

Inland, the news is just as encouraging. The Trinity River weir at Junction City continues to show a strong return of spring-run Chinook, with a healthy number of fish already moving through the system and more expected to follow. Downstream, the Klamath estuary is packed with salmon, and anglers trolling anchovies or spinner blades are putting together quick limits on bright kings.

The Trinity River is currently open from the South Fork confluence upstream to the hatchery, while the Klamath River is open from the Highway 96 Bridge downstream to the mouth, providing anglers with plenty of opportunities to enjoy outstanding salmon fishing throughout the region.

Sport ocean salmon season closing
The ocean sport salmon season will close after July 19 from the OR/CA border down to Point Arena. This includes the Klamath Management Zone (KMZ) and the Fort Bragg areas. The season is scheduled to open back up August 1 in both zones but will be dependent on the harvest guideline.

Marine Forecast
The long run of fishable conditions should continue through the weekend. As of Thursday, Friday’s forecast calls for northwest winds 5 to 10 knots, with northwest waves 4 feet at seven seconds and southwest waves 1 foot at 15 seconds. Saturday’s winds are expected to remain the same, with northwest waves 3 feet at eight seconds and west waves 4 feet at 15 seconds. Sunday’s forecast calls for northwest winds 5 to 10 knots, with northwest waves 4 feet at seven seconds and west waves 3 feet at 15 seconds. Conditions can change by the weekend. For the latest forecast, visit www.weather.gov/eureka/ or www.windy.com. You can also call the National Weather Service at 443-7062 or the Woodley Island office at 443-6484.

Sport Crab season coming to a close
The 2026 sport Dungeness crab season in Humboldt, Mendocino and Del Norte counties will close after Friday, July 30. The season is expected to reopen Nov. 1.

California Halibut Derby on Humboldt Bay next Saturday
The Nor-Cal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association will be holding the second annual California Halibut Derby on Saturday, July 25. The fishing event will be held within the waters of Humboldt Bay. Check-ins, Weigh-ins, and Awards Ceremony will be held at Woodley Island, 601 Startare Drive at the East-I Lot Grass Area.

This is a slot size derby; a measurement will be drawn in the morning before the derby and posted to the event’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Adult payouts will be $500 for 1st place, $300 for 2nd place, and $150 for 3rd place. Youth Payouts – $100 for 1st place, $75 for 2nd place, $50 for 3rd place. Youth payouts will be in the form of gift cards. All Youths registered in the Derby will receive a rod and reel combo! Raffle prizes will include fishing trips, rods and reels, fishing tackle and gear, merchandise and more.

Big Fish Prize: entries will be California Halibut 30” and above. ONLY ONE Big Fish can be entered per entrant. In case of a tie, winner will be determined by weight. For the big fish, adult and youth divisions will be combined. Winner to be announced at event.

Entry Fees for adults are $60 (comes with a $30 NCGASA Membership). Youth entry fees are $40, 13 years and under (comes with a $10 NCGASA Membership)

*If you are a current NCGASA member, you will receive $20 in raffle tickets at check-in.

You can register online at https://ncgasa.org/product/california-halibut-derby/. Entrants will need to be signed up and paid for by July 24 at midnight.

The Oceans:
Eureka
Salmon fishing was strong for most of the week, reports Tim Klassen of Reel Steel Sport Fishing. “Up until Wednesday, limits came pretty easily each day,” Klassen said. “For whatever reason, boats had a hard time finding fish Wednesday, and when they did, they were small. By Thursday, things were back to normal, with some nice fish caught. Most of the salmon have been holding in 200 to 220 feet of water, though quite a few have also been caught in 120 feet. The fish are moving a little shallower in the water column, with many coming 30 to 50 feet down on the wire. The grade has improved, with about half of the fish in the 6- to 20-pound range and several in the teens. While most boats are targeting salmon, some Pacific halibut are also being caught. “We landed four Wednesday, with the biggest right around 60 pounds,” Klassen said. “They seem to be in the same general area, just to the north in 250 to 320 feet of water.”

Shelter Cove
The rockfish and lingcod bite was great this week with most the action being around the Old Man reports Jake Mitchell of Sea Hawk Sport Fishing. He said, “The salmon bite has been hit and miss, good one day and kind of slow the next. Salmon are being caught from the harbor out to the buoys. The grade has been excellent, with most in the 10 to 25 lb. range with the occasional smaller one and bigger one in the mix. A couple Pacific halibut were caught last week.”

Crescent City
The Pacific halibut bite has really picked up reports Will Moore of Crescent City’s Englund Marine. “We’ve had about a dozen come in this past week, including a couple nice ones. The salmon bite is still going strong, with most boats getting limits. They don’t have to go far, just past the third can in 120 feet of water has been the area. Rockfish and lingcod are both wide open. South Reef and Little South Reef have both been producing.”

Brookings
“Ocean salmon fishing busted completely open this week, as a new batch of larger kings arrived off of Brookings, along with schools of coho,” said Andy Martin, of Brookings Fishing Charters. “Kings to 35 pounds are being caught in front of the beach just south of the jetties, while the coho are schooling up in 110 to 150 feet of water out from the buoys. Action was wide open Tuesday and Wednesday. Anchovies fished behind Fish Flash flashers are working best, with some guides relying on 360 flashers. Many boats limited, with kings making up most of the catch, but some anglers fishing further out coming back with coolers of hatchery coho. Lingcod and rockfish action has been fair, while sport crabbing is very good. Halibut remains hit and miss.”

Klamath River
The lower Klamath was loaded with kings as of last weekend, with schools pushing in on the tides. Boats trolling spinner blade rigs with anchovies are seeing multiple hookups per trip. The best bite has typically come two hours before high tide through about an hour after, though there also seems to be consistent action at first light, regardless of the tide.

Lower Rogue
According to Martin, the Rogue Bay showed signs of life this week, but heavy moss, and shallow water along the jetties and sand spit has limited catches. “Morning minus tides haven’t helped.”