Del Norte County - The REAL Northern California
Best Places To Fish in Del Norte County
Here are some great places to cast your rod and catch that trophy-worthy fish you’ve dreamed about. You’ll not only have a chance to catch some of the worlds largest and tastiest chinook, coho, and steelhead, you’ll spend your time in some of natures most pristine and unspoiled habitats. Enjoy!
- Smith River (The Daily Triplicate’s 2007 Readers Choice Award for Best River)
- Klamath River
- Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
- Redwood National Park
- Six Rivers National Forest
- Tolowa Dunes State Park
- More Great Places to Fish (The Daily Triplicate Readers’ Choice Awards Nominees)
Smith River
The Daily Triplicate’s 2007 Readers Choice Award for Best Fishing
The Smith is the largest wild and scenic river in the United States that has been left un-dammed. Since the river system maintains almost 200 miles of hospitable salmon and steelhead habitat, the river sees some of the finest runs of Chinook salmon and steelhead in the country. The Smith boasts the state record for the largest steelhead caught weighing in at whopping 27 lbs. 4 oz. and the second largest Chinook at 86 lbs. The river is also home to cutthroat, some of which reside in the river year-round while others run to salt.
The area averages about 100 inches of rain per year, which explains the powerful flows of the river. The free-flowing river has been known to rise or fall as much as six feet in a day and is admired for its exquisite emerald green color.
Once heavily logged, most of the watershed is made up of parks. Most of the river is easily accessible from paved state highways or county routes.
Angling methods: spin, bait, and fly-fishing.
Map of fishing holes on the Smith River.
Klamath River
Copyright © 2002, River Connection Realty
The Klamath River is the largest north coast river in California, stretching over 200 miles from its mouth to the Oregon border. The fish are Chinook (king) and silver salmon, steelhead and resident trout. While the chinook are average to large in size, the steelhead tend to be smaller. The number of steelhead makes up for the size difference, however. The Klamath is well known for an excellent “half pounder” run, which is a great opportunity for fly fishermen and ultra-light gear enthusiasts, even if they are inexperienced.
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Depending on the weather, fishing is good from October through February. Catches of 30-pound salmon and 20-pound steelhead trout are possible during the Smith River’s seasonal runs. During the summer, fishing for cutthroat trout is popular. Here are some favorite fishing spots in this Park:
- Jed Smith Trail (The Daily Triplicate’s 2007 Readers Choice favorite)
- Mill Cree - spawning ground for King salmon, steelhead trout
- Myrtle Creek
- Simpson Reed Grove
- Stout Grove (The Daily Triplicate’s 2007 Readers Choice favorite)
- Walker Road
Redwood National Park
The rivers at the park are world-renowned for fishing. The Smith River, flows through the parks' north section. The Klamath River crosses the midsection of these parks. Redwood Creek flows through the parks' southern section. Fishing is allowed in certain designated watercourses within the parks.
- Damnation Creek (The Daily Triplicate’s 2007 Readers Choice favorite)
- Endert’s Beach
- Freshwater Beach
- Freshwater Lagoon
- Hidden Beach
- Lagoon Creek Pond
- Marshall Pond
- Prairie Creek
- Redwood Creek
- Wilson Creek Beach
- Wilson Creek Pond
Six Rivers National Forest
The Six Rivers National Forest fisheries program is a nationally recognized leader in anadromous (“up running”) fisheries habitat management. Anadromous refers to fish that spend part of their lives in the ocean, but move to fresh water streams to spawn. Six Rivers National Forest is responsible for the protection and habitat enhancement of over 250 miles of these fisheries.
The forest waterways are renowned for their world-class salmon and steelhead fishing opportunities. Good management results in a continuous supply of fish for recreational and commercial fishing.
Tolowa Dunes State Park
Excellent fishing for Salmon and Steelhead on the Smith, cutthroat trout and starry flounder at Lakes Earl and Tolowa. Bass and Crappie in Dead Lake.
More Great Places to Fish (The Daily Triplicate Readers’ Choice Awards Nominees)
- Beachfront Park
- Big Flat-Smith River recreation area
- Crescent City Harbor
- Hiouchi
- Howe Drive
- Little Bald Creek
- Nickel Creek Trail
- Pacific Ocean
- Pebble Beach
- Poker Flats
- Redwood Nature Trail
- South Beach
