Redding Searchlight: Fishing restrictions begin on Lower Klamath

WEITCHPEC -- Hold off on any weekend salmon fishing plans along the lower Klamath River.

Anglers will have caught their quota of fish by sundown today, which will close the lower 40 miles along the Klamath starting Sunday, according to Neil Manji, acting fisheries program manager for the Department of Fish and Game's North Coast Region. DFG biologists have been checking with anglers as they land fish, and have determined the impact quota of 631 fish will be reached today.

The remaining quota of 631 adult salmon are still available for anglers to keep on the Klamath above the Highway 96 bridge, as well as on the Trinity River.

Both quotas will allow for enough fish to reach the state's salmon hatcheries in Hornbrook and Lewiston to meet spawning demands.

Anglers on the Klamath downstream of the Highway 96 bridge at Weitchpec (at the confluence of the Trinity River) can fish for jack salmon -- those fish under 22 inches in length -- until the lower river reopens to the take of adult salmon bigger than 22 inches on Dec. 1.

Anglers also are encouraged to remember the state's open and closed sections on the Klamath and Trinity -- and the rules governing both:

Chinook salmon 22 inches or larger cannot be kept on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30 from the Highway 96 bridge to Iron Gate Dam on the Klamath and in the Trinity from Hawkins Bar Bridge (the road to Denny) downstream to the mouth of the Trinity. Also, anglers cannot keep any salmon bigger than 22 inches on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from Sept. 15 through Nov. 30 on the Trinity from the Old Lewiston Bridge to the Highway 299 bridge at Cedar Flat.

Anglers can keep track of the open and closed sections along the Klamath and Trinity rivers by calling (800) 564-6479.

Ocean anglers are reminded the salmon season from the Oregon border to Horseshoe Mountain in Humboldt County also closes Sunday. Open areas include: the Fort Bragg area (Horse Mountain to Point Arena), which is open through Nov. 13; the San Francisco area (Point Arena to Pigeon Point), which is open through Nov. 13; and the Monterey area and south (Pigeon Point to the Mexican border), which is open through Sept. 25.

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