Humboldt County Fishing Reports

According to Kenny Priest, the Eel River slid back into fishable shape last week, with the main stem dropping to a clean green while still running on the high side. Flows were around 4,400 cfs late last week, and it should stay in that window through the end of the month before the next storm cycle. Steelhead are around, but the bite has been inconsistent. The South Fork has been the better bet, holding just over 1,000 cfs at Miranda and fishing well for more than a week from top to bottom. It’s continuing to clear, which is tightening the bite somewhat.

Flows on the Trinity River have come up with recent rain, but the river is still producing. That bump in water has helped new steelhead push in, and there’s now a noticeable mix of wild fish alongside hatchery returns. When flows rise quickly, steelhead stop traveling and settle into softer holding water… inside edges, depth breaks, and protected tailouts where they don’t have to fight current. As flows stabilize, movement resumes and fish become more willing to eat.

Black and silver plugs continue to draw grabs when worked through defined travel lanes. As flows settle, deeper nymphing has been more consistent, picking off steelhead holding in buckets and along seam edges.

The upper river below Lewiston remains the most reliable stretch thanks to cold water and predictable flows, but fish are also spread through the mid and lower sections wherever structure breaks up the flow.

According to Kenny Priest, the Mad is starting to come around as flows drop and clarity slowly improves, though it’s still off color. The river has dipped below 1,600 cfs and should continue trending down, but it may still feel pushy in spots. If conditions keep settling, there should be plenty of steelhead in the system as it shapes up into the weekend.