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Local News from around Mendocino County produced by local radio stations in collaboration with other local media. This podcast is available for redistribution under CC BY 4.0, or the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.
This is Liam UiCearbhaill of Willett's hometown radio for the Mendocino News Network with local news for 12:20 twenty five. Our music bed is Elapse by Paul Uten. Story today is from Frank Hartzell in Fort Bragg.
Frank Hartzell:This is Frank Hartzell reporting for Mendocino News Network. What if the fishermen came to Fort Bragg to fish for the time in two years for legal king salmon, but instead hooked illegal silver salmon. That was a storyline from last Saturday and Sunday when hundreds of anglers, maybe thousands, packed Noyo Harbor for a bizarre two day fishing season. The unexpected comeback of coho or silver salmon somewhat overshadowed the legal salmon season in two years for Chinook or king salmon off Fort Bragg. Peter Tira, information officer with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said mixing up silvers and kings was a problem statewide with so many new fishermen hitting the water.
Frank Hartzell:How can you stay out of trouble? Cohost salmon are normally eight to nine pounds but can be over 20 pounds so don't depend only on size. Chinook are 10 to 50 pounds but can be as small as five pounds or weigh over 100 pounds in very rare cases. That's because all salmon runs include jacks little males that come back a year early and much smaller than everybody else for the chance to breed with older females. To be sure what species you have, you must have either an experienced eye on board or look inside their mouth to see the color of the gums of the fish.
Frank Hartzell:Many people got warnings from authority and some got expensive tickets, including Nonoyo Harbor, for bringing back the now plentiful but still illegal coho. Experienced fishermen and party boat deckhands can tell while the fish is still in the water and shake silvers off the hook. Most of the state north of San Luis Obispo had great fishing during the ever two day season, Tira said.
Fish and Game:Anecdotally, we heard from many longtime salmon anglers that it was the single best weekend that salmon fishing they've ever experienced in their lives.
Frank Hartzell:The result of so many people catching so many fish elsewhere in California may be that Fort Bragg will not get any more chances of fish for salmon this year. TIRA said it'll be at least a week before the Department of Fish and Wildlife estimates how many fish were caught last weekend. In addition to the brand new two day fishing season, the state has a quota of 7,000 fish in 2025. That means if the entire statewide recreational catch did not approach 7,000 fish last weekend, the entire state will reopen for another fishing season on July, just in time for the Mendocino fourth of July parade and the world's largest salmon barbecue. It could be the busiest weekend ever in Fort Bragg if this happened.
Frank Hartzell:Our investigation showed it's very unlikely that Fort Bragg will have another season this year. The Coast Guard, for example, estimated 8,000 boats went out after salmon under the Golden Gate. I interviewed more than 50 people coming back in, including party boats and private boats during last weekend's rush for the pink gold. California's waters have Chinook and Coho, which are also the two biggest and tastiest of the five total species of salmon found in the Pacific Ocean off North America. The smaller Coho were the heart of the local fisheries until the century.
Frank Hartzell:All Coho fishing in California was ended in 1993 as the redirection of their spawning beds over the previous century into logging highways and such had put them near extinction. But in reality, they have made a dramatic comeback. Let me tell you a story from earlier in the year. I was on a tour of the streams of the Jackson Demonstration State Forest conducted by fisheries biologists and CAL FIRE in March. They detailed restoration efforts for assembly member Chris Rogers, who got into the river, handled baby salmon at their request, and asked numerous questions about how this recovery miracle had happened and the fishing might be practical again someday.
Frank Hartzell:Coho numbers have basically increased fourfold in Mendocino County. Maybe not enough to reopen fishing, but everybody is thrilled. All of this has nothing to do with the fishing season for Chinook salmon, which was never a denizen of local rivers. Coho and steelhead trout have been the dominant fish from just North of San Francisco Bay to just South of the Klamath River in Trinity County from the beginning. Kings swim into San Francisco Bay and populate rivers up the Sacramento system.
Frank Hartzell:Chinooks also fill up the Klamath River. But every other river and glorified puddle in between are home to coho and steelhead. The best way to remember this is biggest salmon, biggest rivers. Smaller trickles mean the silvers. If the numbers are still not approaching 7,000 fish after the July 5 weekend, there will be two more seasons for Fort Bragg and the rest of the state.
Frank Hartzell:July 31 and August 25, there will be a recreational salmon season in the fall with a new quota of 7,500 fish. But the waters off Fort Bragg will not be included. That season will run from Point Reyes in Marin County south to Point Sur located in Monterey County. All commercial fishing for salmon has been closed entirely for three years in California. So all the salmon you buy at stores is from another state.
Frank Hartzell:I was surprised I heard no reports of injuries during the Wild West fishing season this weekend. I actually witnessed three boats trying to be the to shoot the jetty and get back to Noyo Harbor. All three were going too fast, and the most reckless one went outside the buoys that all boaters know to stay south of. There were rocks out there that wiped out a vintage commercial fishing boat earlier this year. Don't go out fishing when the ocean has big swells or you might die.
Frank Hartzell:Learn your fish. Or a rockfish that can also get you a hefty fine if you don't take this seriously. Oh, and happy fishing. This is Frank Hartsell from the Mendocino News Network.
Liam UiCearbhaill:According to the Indivisible website on 06/11/2025, there are no Kings actions planned for four locations in Mendocino County on Saturday, June 14. Fort Bragg, 11AM on Highway 1 between McDonald's and Harbor Light Lodge. Point Arena, noon to two Centennial Plaza. Willits, 10AM, Babcock Park marching to Bud Snyder Park, and Ukiah, 10AM to 11:45AM, Superior Court of Mendocino County.