It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World...

[TMS]

Does anyone have some knowledge to share about the Mad River? A college road trip will have me visiting Arcata in August and I thought a side trip might be worth it :D

Thanks.

Thom

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Call the Eureka Fly Shop for some advice on fly fishing their area.

You could fish some of the lower riffles on the Klamath River very early and late in the day for early Steelhead?

There are some coastal lakes just north of Eureka too.

You have the surf up there too.

There might be something sneaking around in the tide water early and late on the Mad River?

[TMS]

Thanks, Bill...I'll check with the Eureka Fly Shop. Nothing like some new H2O to test one's skills :D

Later...

Thom

[CPasley]

Used to live up there in the 80's. August is on the early side for the Mad R. The upper Mad has some nice trout though, or at least it did back then.

Bill's suggestion to fish the lower Klamath is probably the best bet...early and late in the day.

A second bet could be the lower Eel, in tide water, below the lowest bridge there in Ferndale. Half pounder steelhead were great there in September, maybe in late August as well.

Good luck to ya.
Chris

[Darian]

Hey Thom,.... There're some closures in affect in the Eel and Mad Rivers at this time of year. The Mad River is closed above the foot bridge at the limit of tidewater and the Eel River is closed above Cock Robin Island, I believe. That means the river between the island and the bridge in Ferndale is closed.

Almost all estuaries in the state have closures or limited fishing, at this time of year. The exceptions are the Klamath and Smith Rivers (altho there may be some type of closure at the Smith :? ). Best check the Regs before fishing.

There could be some surf fishing available or some places in the bay for halibut. Try www.humboats.com for a possible skiff rental. The lagoons north of Eureka can be good fishing but there's a lot of auto vandalism going on there. The Eureka fly shop should have all of this type of info available.

Darian

[TMS]

Chris...I'll check out your suggestions.

Darian...Sounds like it's getting tougher and tougher to fish in California :lol: Hopefully, the closures and limited fishing locations are doing some good...With my lack of "fish on" success it probably makes no difference :roll: My daughter has looked at colleges from San Diego to Arcata and most of them have good fishing sources...for me :D

Later...

Thom

[Bruce Slightom]

The Mad is low. I have not heard of any fish in tide water. I think August is to early but some times the fish come in and out with the tide.

The Klamath has a few fish in the lower reaches but not a lot.

An other option besides the ones mentioned above is the Smith for cutthroats.