After weeks of nonstop downpours that turned every coastal river into a chocolate milk torrent, the Pacific Northwest finally caught a break. The rain stopped, the skies cleared, and now the long-awaited dry stretch is here. For steelhead anglers who have been watching gauges and waiting for the right color of water, this is the moment they've been holding out for.
The change came fast. A final round of showers rolled through earlier this week, dumping between 0.3 and 0.6 inches along the coast with heavier amounts up in the mountains around Del Norte County. Since then, the forecast has turned promising. The National Weather Service out of Eureka says weak high pressure is building in, bringing dry conditions through the weekend and into next week. Temperatures are climbing too, with interior daytime highs expected to reach the low 70s by early next week. Rain chances? Almost zero. Only about one in ten weather models even hints at anything wet. For the first time in a while, the rivers get a real chance to settle.
Right now, the Smith River sits in the sweet spot. It dropped into shape earlier this week, and anglers wasted no time. Crescent City local Kam Hafezi hooked a solid winter steelhead while plunking on Monday, proof that fish are already in the system and willing to bite. Both boat drifters and bank plunkers reported multiple hookups and landed fish through the week. As of Thursday, the Jed Smith gauge read 11.25 feet and the river was still dropping slowly after a small overnight bump. Expect prime conditions through the weekend, though it will start running lower and clearer by later next week. If you're planning a trip, the next few days look ideal before it gets too skinny.
Just to the north, the Chetco has already begun its drop and should offer some of the best fishing next week. Reports from last week were strong before the river blew out again. Andy Martin of Wild Rivers Fishing said drift boaters found steelhead spread throughout the system, with a mix of wild and hatchery adults up to 15 pounds. Plunkers did well too, especially around Social Security Bar and the water tower. The river should be back in shape by Thursday or Friday, setting up excellent conditions through the following week.
Farther south, other coastal streams are following the same pattern. The upper South Fork Eel should turn fishable early next week, with good green water reaching down to the confluence by later in the week. Flows are predicted to hover around 2,200 cfs by Wednesday—still a little pushy, but the clarity should be right and the outlook is solid through the weekend. The Van Duzen, currently running about 1,900 cfs at Bridgeville, will continue dropping all next week. If the dry weather holds, green water could show up late next week or over the weekend.
The Mad River is on a similar track. It's sitting around 11 feet as of Thursday and already trending downward. With no rain on the horizon, it could reach a good fishable color and height by late next week, possibly dropping to around 8.5 feet by midweek. The Mattole, which opened to fishing on January 1 from 200 yards above the mouth to the Stanberry Creek confluence, is also under watch. It requires artificial lures and barbless hooks, and it follows the standard low-flow rules with a minimum of 320 cfs at the Petrolia gauge.
The main stem Eel, however, needs more time. It was still big and dirty at 28,800 cfs on Thursday, and even with ten straight days of dropping levels, it's only expected to reach about 8,000 cfs by the end of next weekend. That's still too high for most anglers to consider it prime. Patience will be key on the bigger water.
All the North Coast rivers that were under low-flow closures—the main Eel, South Fork Eel, Mad, Van Duzen, Redwood Creek, and Smith—are now open. The old hotline for updates has been shut down; current information is posted online through the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website.
Beyond steelhead, there's movement in the commercial Dungeness crab fishery. On January 15, portions of the northern California coast will open at 12:01 a.m. following a 64-hour gear-setting period that begins at 8:01 a.m. on January 12. The areas include from the California-Oregon border down to the southern boundary of Reading Rock State Marine Protected Area, and from Cape Mendocino to the Sonoma-Mendocino County line. This comes after the Central Management Area (south of that county line) opened back on January 5.
One stretch between Reading Rock and Cape Mendocino remains closed due to unsafe levels of domoic acid in the crabs. State health officials recommended the delay, and the CDFW Director agreed. Boats can transit, possess, and land crab in that closed zone under specific rules outlined in the Director's Declaration. The Fair Start Provision also kicks in: any vessel that fished in another area before the delayed zone opens cannot fish the newly opened areas for 30 days. That pushes their start date to February 14 in those spots. The closure will stay in place until health officials determine the toxin risk has passed.
Offshore near Brookings, anglers should see calmer seas by Saturday after recent high swells die down. That will open up chances for lingcod and rockfish, with good reports already coming from areas north of Bird Island, away from the freshwater plume off the Chetco mouth.
For steelhead chasers, the message is simple: the wait is over. The Smith and Chetco are leading the charge with fish already showing and water dropping into shape. The rest of the coastal rivers aren't far behind. After months of watching rivers rage, the next couple of weeks could deliver some of the best winter steelhead action of the season. Grab the gear, check the gauges, and get out there while the window stays open. Conditions like these don't stick around forever.
