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Northern CA Saltwater Fishing Report
Salmon fishing best ever, rockfish, crabs and Pacific halibut also on the menu
BY CAPT. DAVID BACON/WON Staff WriterPublished: Jun 04, 2012
EUREKA — Salmon fishing is as good as it gets… ever. Boaters don’t go far and they don’t fish for long before reaching limits. Pacific halibut are on the chew, with some going over 80 pounds. Variety is served by additional options of rockfish and Dungeness crabs.
People are shaking their heads in disbelief, yet the level of action doesn’t lie. Old timers and professional skippers are in agreement that this is the best salmon season, locally, ever! For example, here is a late-week report from Capt. Gary Blasi of the Sea Weasel II: “FRIDAY: It's still wide open with easy boat limits daily. Today was our fastest 14-fish limit by 8:22 a.m., only 5 miles from the bay in 160 feet of water. It's simply awesome. SATURDAY: Limits of 14 today by 8:11 a.m. It’s nuts!”
Capt. Tim Klassen on the Reel Steel and Capt. Phil Glenn on the Shellback both enjoyed the same incredible level of action. On Monday, the report from WON Field Reporter Lonnie Dollarhide was, “We hit Eureka gold today. We got our 10th and final salmon by 8:10 a.m.” For the remainder of the week, the reports were similar and became almost expected. Salmon sizes ranged from 8 pounds to 20 pounds.
After salmon fishing, some boats focused on Pacific halibut straight out from Eureka in 280- to 300-foot depths. It worked out very well for much of the week until a raging current late in the week made it impossible to hold the bottom even with a 3-pound cannonball. “I can confirm 3 big Pacific halibut caught over last weekend. One was 68 pounds, 81 pounds and another that was 82 pounds. And for those who want rockfish, Cape Mendocino is off the hook with quality rockfish and lingcod,” said Dollarhide.
Special report from WON Field Reporter, Lonnie Dollarhide: “I caught the second biggest salmon so far of the season out of Eureka, a 32 pounder. This fish when it first hit ran off over 500 feet of line on a tight drag. I use a line counter reel. A fellow next to me was fighting a salmon, and when mine hit, all I could do was hang on and watch my line disappear off my reel… What a helpless feeling. Finally Capt. Gary Blasi on the Sea Weasel II netted the fellow’s fish next to me and then backed the boat up on my fish. I didn't know if I had a salmon or a shark on because of all the line it peeled off. By now I'm shaking with excitement. When I finally got the fish up to the boat, Capt. Gary told me ‘It’s a big salmon.’ It took a while but we were able to get it into the net. After the fish was on the deck, my hands were still shaking,” said Dollarhide. Lonnie, may it ever be so!
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EUREKA — Salmon fishing is as good as it gets… ever. Boaters don’t go far and they don’t fish for long before reaching limits. Pacific halibut are on the chew, with some going over 80 pounds. Variety is served by additional options of rockfish and Dungeness crabs. People are shaking their heads in disbelief, yet the level of action doesn’t lie. Old timers and professional skippers are in agreement that this is the best salmon season, locally, ever! For example, here is a late-week report from Capt. Gary Blasi of the Sea Weasel II: “FRIDAY: It's still wide open with easy boat limits daily. Today was our fastest 14-fish limit by 8:22 a.m., only 5 miles from the bay in 160 feet of water. It's simply awesome. SATURDAY: Limits of 14 today by 8:11 a.m. It’s nuts!” Capt. Tim Klassen on the Reel Steel and Capt. Phil Glenn on the Shellback both enjoyed the same incredible level of action. On Monday, the report from WON Field Reporter Lonnie Dollarhide was, “We hit Eureka gold today. We got our 10th and final salmon by 8:10 a.m.” For the remainder of the week, the reports were similar and became almost expected. Salmon sizes ranged from 8 pounds to 20 pounds. After salmon fishing, some boats focused on Pacific halibut straight out from Eureka in 280- to 300-foot depths. It worked out very well for much of the week until a raging current late in the week made it impossible to hold the bottom even with a 3-pound cannonball. “I can confirm 3 big Pacific halibut caught over last weekend. One was 68 pounds, 81 pounds and another that was 82 pounds. And for those who want rockfish, Cape Mendocino is off the hook with quality rockfish and lingcod,” said Dollarhide. Special report from WON Field Reporter, Lonnie Dollarhide: “I caught the second biggest salmon so far of the season out of Eureka, a 32 pounder. This fish when it first hit ran off over 500 feet of line on a tight drag. I use a line counter reel. A fellow next to me was fighting a salmon, and when mine hit, all I could do was hang on and watch my line disappear off my reel… What a helpless feeling. Finally Capt. Gary Blasi on the Sea Weasel II netted the fellow’s fish next to me and then backed the boat up on my fish. I didn't know if I had a salmon or a shark on because of all the line it peeled off. By now I'm shaking with excitement. When I finally got the fish up to the boat, Capt. Gary told me ‘It’s a big salmon.’ It took a while but we were able to get it into the net. After the fish was on the deck, my hands were still shaking,” said Dollarhide. Lonnie, may it ever be so! |
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