30-inch King Salmon Caught in North Yuba Near Downieville

ROCKY REST — On Saturday, October 4th, Drew Backfish was celebrating his 13th birthday by fishing with his dad, Michael, on the North Fork of the Yuba River. Shortly after arriving at Rocky Rest Campground and casting into a pool just downstream, Drew caught something completely unexpected: a 30-inch, 8-pound king salmon.

While salmon are not uncommon on the North Fork of the Yuba, particularly closer to Bullards Bar Reservoir, they are typically of the smaller kokanee variety: a type of landlocked sockeye salmon, and part of a sterile population planted by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). Spring-run chinook, the species caught by Drew, are an entirely different beast. In fact, his appears to be the first reported catch of such a Chinook in the North Yuba since its recent reintroduction.

Drew’s fish is part of the North Yuba Salmon Reintroduction Study, which in the last year successfully planted spring-run chinook roe near Downieville and captured juveniles on their way down the river. Those juveniles were transported below Englebright Dam en route to the ocean. More recently, the study planted roughly 40 adult chinooks in the river in hopes of encouraging natural spawning, a CDFW official reported, one of which was caught by Drew. All chinook introduced into the North Yuba are from the Feather River Fish Hatchery and contain genetic markers that allow their origins to be traced.

A CDFW official further noted that no laws currently bar harvesting chinook from the North Yuba, but regulation changes are under consideration. Drew and his father took the fish, although after noticing a tag on its fin and learning about the study from locals in Downieville, Michael says, “I would have certainly tried to persuade the thirteen-year-old fisherman to perform a quick release.”

As for Drew, fishing the North Fork was what he wanted to do for his birthday, and the trip didn’t disappoint. Michael says he’s quickly becoming “that person that always catches more fish than you.”