Salmon season winding down, but spawning counts are up

Marc Hazel from Phoenix is hoisting up a 10-pound vermilion rockfish caught on a metal jig last week out of the Port of Brookings Harbor. Photo by Larry Ellis

This state of river limbo always occurs around the middle of December, when it is peak spawning time for king salmon in these two sisters of streams.  

The first batches of kings have already dug their redds, deposited their roe and milt and are ready to meet their maker, for as most anglers know, salmon always die after they finish spawning.

“So far the count in Emily Creek has been the best in about ten years,” says Todd Confer, district fisheries biologist.

According to Confer, the numbers of salmon that have entered the Winchuck River also appear to be on the upswing as well, with the Winchuck’s main tributary, Bear Creek, demonstrating more than 10 times the amount of salmon counted last year and 17 times the amount of salmon counted the previous year.

“Our best count so far in Bear Creek this year has been 35,” noted Confer.  “Last year there were only three salmon and the year before that there might only have been two.”

With no precipitation, river flows in both the Chetco and Smith rivers have been lowering daily. This vicinity can definitely use a good shot of rain to move more salmon from the mainstems into the tributaries and to usher in the first batches of steelhead.

According to the National Weather Service two low-pressure systems moving toward Southern Oregon could bring some rain to the area this weekend, but their certainty is a little iffy. So cross your fingers, do a rain dance or say a prayer for some badly needed showers.

According to Gary Early of earlyfishing.com, the Smith River was too low to effectively drift for steelhead last week. His preference for drift fishing the Smith starts around 2,000 cubic feet per second as measured at the Cable Hole at Jed Smith Park.

The Chetco becomes driftable at 1,500 cfs, but most boaters prefer side-drifting this river between 1,500 and 4,000 cfs.

If the stars happen to be in perfect alignment and the Chetco gets enough rain to keep it at 1,000 cfs this weekend, a set of extremely high tides averaging 9.6 feet could offer a unique opportunity to drift the outflow from Social Security Bar down to the marina.

You will need a tidebook and a watch to drift this anomalous but extremely productive float.

About one hour after the turn of high tide, and if the river is near 1,000 cfs, the force of the outgoing tide will create a current strong enough to enable drift boaters to actually side-drift this stretch of the river in places where the river is normally too slack or too fast.

So keep your eyes peeled on the Chetco gage at www.rivervilla.com for up-to-the-minute river flows.

At the time of this writing the Smith River was open from the mouth to the confluence of Patrick Creek, but call 707-822-3164 to keep apprised of any low-flow closures.

The hot action last week was the crabbing that occurred in the ocean out of the Port of Brookings.

On Sunday I got a phone call from Yellowtail Bill to join Marc Hazel and Doug Morris aboard Marc’s 21-foot Sea Swirl, Sea Level for some fast and furious fun on the high seas.

While jigging a leadfish Marc hammered a vermilion rockfish that tipped the scales at an even 10 pounds. It was one of the most beautiful - not to mention largest - Sebastes miniatus I have ever seen.

Normally when I take photos of vermilion rockfish it is at the fillet station after they have died and lost their muscle tone and coloration.

But to be able to take a photo of a live vermilion of this size on the ocean, sporting all of its colors in full regalia, was a real treat.

Now everybody knows how to make a fish look bigger in a photograph. You merely hold the fish toward the camera as far away from you as you can. I’ve seen people employ this trick with an 8-pound largemouth bass (a very respectable bass in its own right) to make it look like it’s a 12 pounder.

To me, this makes no sense whatsoever. In doing so, it really makes the fish look like a phony. One of the dead give-a-ways is a fist that appears larger than a person’s head.  

Check out Marc’s vermilion. Bent elbow – normal size hand – normal size jig. It is what it is – a gigantic goldfish!

There have been a lot of big verms caught in the ocean in the past few weeks. While they aren’t the easiest species in the world to target, when you do catch one of these toads, retrace your steps and go back over the same precise spot – they travel in groups. Where you find one you are likely to find another in the same size bracket.

Our best haul came at the end of the day when all the crab pots were hoisted up – limits of nice big Dungeness crab for four people.

This is some of the best crabbing I have witnessed in the last 30 years of fishing out of this port. So by golly, if the sea lays out flat this weekend, set out some crab pots.

After dropping your crab gear head out to the nearest reef and haul in some nice black rockfish, blue rockfish and if you’re lucky – a vermiliosaurus rex.

Tight lines!