Two major items on the agenda with Mother's Day on Sunday and the opening of the ocean sports salmon season in the Klamath Management Zone on Monday.

There is an old saying God could not be everywhere, and therefore he created mothers. As to the sport salmon opener, whoever is responsible for winds, please turn down the volume.

All waters of the ocean north of Horse Mountain and Humboldt Bay are open to salmon fishing from May 15 through July 4 and September 1 through September 6. Fish and Game notes that in 2007, the season will be decided in April by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and California Fish and Game Commission and the section will be amended pursuant to the regulatory process.

Exception: The ocean areas surrounding the Klamath River mouth bounded on the north (approximately 6 nautical miles north of the Klamath River mouth), on the south), approximately 6 nautical miles south of the Klamath River and extending 3 nautical offshore is closed to salmon fishing between August 1 and August 31. No salmon may be taken at any time in ocean waters at the mouths of the Smith and Klamath rivers and during August and September at the mouth of the Eel River.

The minimum size north of Horse Mountain is 24 inches total length. South of Horse Mountain 20 inches minimum length.

Meanwhile, fishing at Shelter Cove has been plagued by horrendous weather, reports Trent Slate, skipper of the charter boat Bite Me. He sees fishing gaining momentum as the weather straightens up.

Salmon activity has also slowed to a crawl at Fort Bragg. Crabbers are doing fairly well, however.

Things will be jumping at Trinidad once the salmon season opens, according to Ruby Rollins. There will be salmon and lingcod derbys with $5,000 in cash prizes.

Charter boats which will be operating include the Shenandoah, Tony Rae 2, the Jumpin' Jack, the Rest Area and the Sjoholm.

”We've remodeled and things will be jumping,” said Ruby.

Riverwise, action on the Klamath should pick up with guide Rich Mossholder predicting some fishing by the weekend. “It's getting close. The river has a little green tinge,” he said. It's that time of the year when it's high and dirty. But it drops fast.”

The Trinity River is running at near flood stage.

Salmon Enforcement Measures Adopted

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) has adopted additional regulatory changes to enforce the federal landing and possession limits implemented for the 2006 commercial salmon fishery.

The enforcement regulations are: 1) recording the total and accurate number of commercial salmon landed in the “note pad” field of the landing receipt and 2) maintaining a copy of all landings on board the fishing vessel that landed the salmon until 15 days after the last salmon season closure for the calendar year.

The adopted regulations provide for the adequate enforcement for attainment of spawning escapement goals for all key salmon stocks found off the California coast in order to achieve optimum yield in California.

This regulatory action is taken under the authority of Section 7652 of the Fish and Game Code, and is necessary for conformance of the commercial salmon fishing regulations in state waters to the Salmon Fishery Management Plan of the Pacific Fishery Management Council.