Fall fishing is on fire - Lost Coast Sport Fishing

Fall fishing is on fire

By Micah / September 21, 2015

The Fall fishing has been strong for weeks now! The Trinity and Klamath Rivers are pumping out great numbers of Steelhead and Salmon. Steelhead are ranging from 3 to 10 lbs and the salmon are anywhere from 6 to 30 lbs! With preventive fish kill flows at 1000 cvs till the 22nd of september, it looks like there will be no fish kill this season.

Limits of Salmon are coming to the boat daily! There seems to be more wild Steelhead around then hatchery. One out of every 10 Steelhead is a hatchery fish! Fresh fish are pushing though the Klamath River mouth every day!

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Fishing Updates: Open Fishing Seasons - Halibut, Salmon, Crab

The Mad River is one of the most popular bank angling rivers in California. It is located just outside of the town of Arcata off of Hwy 299. This river system is known for its Steelhead run. The fish that swim up the Mad River can range from 5lbs. to 20lbs. The average fish size in the Mad River is roughly 8-12lbs. With a hatchery in the town of Blue Lake, you have the opportunity to catch hatchery fish, which most rivers in Northern California don’t have! Your daily bag limit is 2 fish per day, but you can have some great days of wild and hatchery Steelhead.

In November the rains will blow open the mouth of the Mad River. A small run of King Salmon come up. In 2007, six stray Sockeye Salmon same up the river and sat at the Blue Lake Bridge. It’s hard to say where they came from. You will see small spurts of Steelhead in late-November and December. January fish start pouring into the river system. Weather permitting, the fishing is good into late-February. With March approaching you will start to see a lot of run back Steelhead.

These are Steelhead that have spawned and are heading back to the ocean. Unlike Salmon, Steelhead can do to and from the river multiple times. Once Salmon start staying in the rivers, they inevitably die.

Latest River Flow

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Mad River

Arcata, US

12:51 am, Jun 29, 2026

56°F

broken clouds

93 %

1016 mb

3 mph

Wind Gust: 9 mph

Clouds: 63%

Visibility: 10 km

Sunrise: 5:47 am

Sunset: 8:52 pm

Hourly Forecast

2:00 am

56°/59°°F 0 mm 0% 3 mph 93% 1015 mb 0 mm/h

5:00 am

57°/58°°F 0 mm 0% 4 mph 92% 1015 mb 0 mm/h

8:00 am

60°/62°°F 0 mm 0% 2 mph 79% 1015 mb 0 mm/h

11:00 am

74°/74°°F 0 mm 0% 7 mph 58% 1015 mb 0 mm/h

2:00 pm

77°/77°°F 0 mm 0% 12 mph 62% 1015 mb 0 mm/h

5:00 pm

74°/74°°F 0 mm 0% 13 mph 67% 1016 mb 0 mm/h

8:00 pm

66°/66°°F 0 mm 0% 11 mph 83% 1016 mb 0 mm/h

11:00 pm

60°/60°°F 0 mm 0% 4 mph 91% 1016 mb 0 mm/h

The largest tributary to the Klamath, the Trinity starts at the confluence of the Klamath in Wichipek just off of Hwy 96. It winds along Hwy 299 till it reaches the outflow of the Lewistan dam. With the efforts of the Trinity River Restoration program, this river has a very bright future. Don’t get me wrong, the Trinity is one of the best fisheries in the state, but with the help of this program and the millions of dollars that are being poured into the preservation and restoration of this river, it won’t be long till it becomes one of the top fishing destinations on the West Coast. The Trinity River is one of the few rivers on the West Coast that has Steelhead in the system all year round.

The Trinity River has many small runs all year round. The largest runs are in the Fall and Winter. The Fall run will start around early-to-mid-September. The peak of the Fall run is in early-October. You can put together good days through late-October. Once the rains come, you will have a slow time from November to early-January. Once January comes, you have Winter Steelhead fishing through mid-March.

Latest River Flow

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Trinity River

Willow Creek, US

12:51 am, Jun 29, 2026

55°F

scattered clouds

79 %

1016 mb

2 mph

Wind Gust: 2 mph

Clouds: 34%

Visibility: 10 km

Sunrise: 5:45 am

Sunset: 8:50 pm

Hourly Forecast

2:00 am

55°/57°°F 0 mm 0% 3 mph 79% 1016 mb 0 mm/h

5:00 am

55°/56°°F 0 mm 0% 3 mph 82% 1016 mb 0 mm/h

8:00 am

61°/63°°F 0 mm 0% 2 mph 65% 1015 mb 0 mm/h

11:00 am

75°/75°°F 0 mm 0% 6 mph 30% 1013 mb 0 mm/h

2:00 pm

79°/79°°F 0 mm 0% 7 mph 21% 1011 mb 0 mm/h

5:00 pm

78°/78°°F 0 mm 0% 8 mph 39% 1012 mb 0 mm/h

8:00 pm

67°/67°°F 0 mm 0% 5 mph 63% 1013 mb 0 mm/h

11:00 pm

59°/59°°F 0 mm 0% 0 mph 92% 1015 mb 0 mm/h

Located on the California and Oregon border, the Smith River has the reputation for producing some of the largest Salmon and Steelhead in California and Oregon. The river itself is the only undammed, undiverted river in the State of California. Its headwaters come from undeveloped wild country. The river is a fast moving, crystal clear system that offers some spectacular scenery.

The fishing season for the Smith kicks off with the big rains in late-October or early-November. Massive King Salmon, accompanied by Searun Cutthroat and the occasional Silver Salmon come flooding into the river system. The Salmon season on the Smith starts to slow down around Thanksgiving.

December is the transitional stage between lingering Salmon and the beginning of Steelhead season. Once January arrives, the Smith is in full swing for Winter Steelhead. Generally the Steelhead season on the Smith River will last into the early March.

Latest River Flow

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Smith River

Gasquet, US

12:51 am, Jun 29, 2026

52°F

clear sky

88 %

1016 mb

7 mph

Wind Gust: 9 mph

Clouds: 0%

Visibility: 10 km

Sunrise: 5:43 am

Sunset: 8:54 pm

Hourly Forecast

2:00 am

52°/53°°F 0 mm 0% 6 mph 88% 1016 mb 0 mm/h

5:00 am

52°/52°°F 0 mm 0% 6 mph 89% 1016 mb 0 mm/h

8:00 am

57°/59°°F 0 mm 0% 5 mph 72% 1016 mb 0 mm/h

11:00 am

70°/70°°F 0 mm 0% 5 mph 35% 1015 mb 0 mm/h

2:00 pm

76°/76°°F 0 mm 0% 3 mph 24% 1013 mb 0 mm/h

5:00 pm

72°/72°°F 0 mm 0% 5 mph 39% 1013 mb 0 mm/h

8:00 pm

63°/63°°F 0 mm 0% 1 mph 69% 1013 mb 0 mm/h

11:00 pm

56°/56°°F 0 mm 0% 5 mph 76% 1015 mb 0 mm/h

The second largest river system in California, the Klamath River flows the entire State from East to West. From its origin in the mountains above Klamath Falls, Oregon to the Pacific Ocean, it spans a distance of 263 miles of some of the most rugged terrain California and Oregon has to offer. With the removal of 3 dams scheduled for 2016, the Klamath River’s future looks very promising. With the removal of these dams, it should encourage and help the fish population grow dramatically. It will open hundreds of miles of long lost spawning habitat that has been inhibited by these none fish passage dams.

Having a large volume of water flow all year round makes this river very special. The Spring brings warm weather and solid spring showers. The snow in the Trinity Alps and surrounding mountains starts to melt and in turn the CFS (cubic feet per second) starts to raise the river from its steady Winter levels. Around early-May the Spring Chinook (King Salmon) start running up the river.

This special run of King Salmon is short-lived and will last into early-June at the latest. Through June and into mid-July is the dormant time of the river. Around late July the summer run of Steelhead start to show up. When it reaches late-August to early-September, the Klamath is in its peak of fishing. You have the luxury of catching Steelhead and Salmon in the same day, even in the same riffles. This run will last through September and into October.

Latest River Flow

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Klamath River

Fort Jones, US

12:51 am, Jun 29, 2026

50°F

clear sky

81 %

1018 mb

2 mph

Wind Gust: 1 mph

Clouds: 0%

Visibility: 10 km

Sunrise: 5:39 am

Sunset: 8:49 pm

Hourly Forecast

2:00 am

50°/50°°F 0 mm 0% 2 mph 85% 1019 mb 0 mm/h

5:00 am

49°/50°°F 0 mm 0% 2 mph 87% 1019 mb 0 mm/h

8:00 am

52°/53°°F 0 mm 0% 2 mph 79% 1018 mb 0 mm/h

11:00 am

64°/64°°F 0 mm 0% 4 mph 39% 1015 mb 0 mm/h

2:00 pm

72°/72°°F 0 mm 0% 4 mph 21% 1011 mb 0 mm/h

5:00 pm

74°/74°°F 0 mm 0% 8 mph 14% 1009 mb 0 mm/h

8:00 pm

64°/64°°F 0 mm 0% 4 mph 31% 1012 mb 0 mm/h

11:00 pm

54°/54°°F 0 mm 0% 2 mph 60% 1015 mb 0 mm/h

The Chetco River is located North of the Smith River in the heart of Brookings, OR. This river system virtually derives out of the same watershed as the Smith River. The Chetco River is a low gradient system that has some of the best main stem spawning habitat for Salmon and Steelhead. After a big rain, when the river drops down and come into shape, it has a beautiful turquoise glowing green color.

Like most of the coastal rivers, the Salmon season starts with the rain in the Fall. Unlike the Smith River, when the river levels rise with the first big rains in the Fall, Steelhead will start to trickle in with the big push of Salmon. Most people will not target the Steelhead at this time of year, but you can put together some good numbers of early run Steelhead. The Salmon season on the Chetco River is about the same timeframe as on the Smith. Steelhead season starts fairly fast on the Chetco River in late-December.

It generally will peak in early January with some large mid-teen to twenty pound class of Steelhead mixed in. The Steelhead run will slow down to a steady trickle throughout the Winter, but you still get good spurts of fish coming through the system into March.

Latest River Flow

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Chetco River

Brookings, US

2:51 am, Jun 29, 2026

74°F

clear sky

98 %

1000 mb

10 mph

Wind Gust: 27 mph

Clouds: 0%

Visibility: 10 km

Sunrise: 5:45 am

Sunset: 9:15 pm

Hourly Forecast

4:00 am

74°/74°°F 0 mm 0% 9 mph 98% 1000 mb 0 mm/h

7:00 am

75°/76°°F 0 mm 0% 14 mph 96% 1000 mb 0 mm/h

10:00 am

80°/83°°F 0 mm 0% 20 mph 78% 1000 mb 0 mm/h

1:00 pm

89°/89°°F 0 mm 0% 20 mph 46% 998 mb 0 mm/h

4:00 pm

96°/96°°F 0 mm 0% 19 mph 36% 997 mb 0 mm/h

7:00 pm

84°/84°°F 0 mm 0% 17 mph 50% 999 mb 0 mm/h

10:00 pm

76°/76°°F 0.34 mm 34% 2 mph 69% 1002 mb 0 mm/h

1:00 am

73°/73°°F 0 mm 0% 5 mph 63% 1005 mb 0 mm/h

Fall fishing is on fire

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