Eel River Fish Report

The main stem dropped into shape this week and is nice and green, but still big

Eel River - Fortuna, CA

by Kenny Priest
1-23-2026
Website

The main stem dropped into shape this week and is nice and green, but still big. It was running at 4,400 cubic feet per second as of Friday and should be in great shape through the weekend and likely through the end of the month prior to the next round of storms moving in. There are some steelhead around, but the bite isn’t wide open.

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Nor Cal Fish Reports Reports

for Thursday, January 15th

Mad River: The Mad is starting to come around, both in color and height, but is still off color
Eel River: The main stem is still big, but starting to turn as of Thursday, flowing at just above 8,600 cfs and dropping
: The South Fork is green, and was holding right around 1,800 cfs at Miranda
Van Duzen River: The Van Duzen was down to 425 cfs as of Thursday and should be plenty fishable
Smith River: The Smith is getting low and clearing
Chetco River: The Chetco dropped into prime shape, with fair to good action for steelhead