Eel River PikeMinnow outing, August 20-23, 2026
By Ed Barich (short version, see the Cast for the complete story)
The weekend of August 20-23, 2026 was the second annual RRFF Eel River Pikeminnow club outing.
While practically no fishing is done on the Eel in the summer, there is a “Pikeminnow Derby” held there, sponsored by Cal Trout. The purpose of the derby was to encourage anglers to harvest the Sacramento Pikeminnow, which are a native California species in some waters, but are invasive and predatory to wild steelhead and salmon fry in the Eel River.
Our group this year included leader Ed Barich, Jeff Cratty, Pam Boyd DeCoite, Don & Jan Shaw and Brook, Eric Byous, Chris & Bruce Riezenman, Mike & Lynn Spurlock, Penelope Gadd-Coster, Leafa Fiore, Keith Gay, Jan Whitney, Ewan Lithgow, Gary Hollinger and Gregg Wrisley.
At the end of the weekend, we had removed over 28 pounds of invasive pikeminnow from the Eel River.
The evenings ended with us sitting around Don’s campfire under the tall redwoods, sharing our stories and fish tales. The consensus of our group was that we would like to do this outing again next year.
The weekend of August 20-23, 2026 was the second annual RRFF Eel River Pikeminnow club outing.
While practically no fishing is done on the Eel in the summer, there is a “Pikeminnow Derby” held there, sponsored by Cal Trout. The purpose of the derby was to encourage anglers to harvest the Sacramento Pikeminnow, which are a native California species in some waters, but are invasive and predatory to wild steelhead and salmon fry in the Eel River.
Our group this year included leader Ed Barich, Jeff Cratty, Pam Boyd DeCoite, Don & Jan Shaw and Brook, Eric Byous, Chris & Bruce Riezenman, Mike & Lynn Spurlock, Penelope Gadd-Coster, Leafa Fiore, Keith Gay, Jan Whitney, Ewan Lithgow, Gary Hollinger and Gregg Wrisley.
At the end of the weekend, we had removed over 28 pounds of invasive pikeminnow from the Eel River.
The evenings ended with us sitting around Don’s campfire under the tall redwoods, sharing our stories and fish tales. The consensus of our group was that we would like to do this outing again next year.
Jan's Dog Zen must eat!
Eel River PikeMinnow - August 21-24, 2025
We had 14 members at our second Eel Pikeminnow outing and we all caught fish, the largest was 20" and we harvested over 25 pounds of fish. The campground was better than last year's and the weather was great.
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What is a Sacramento Pikeminnow?
Ptychocheilus grandis Features: Flattened head; large mouth; long torpedo-shaped body; etc. Habitat:Rocky, deep pools in streams, river. Length: to 4 feet. Weight: to 30.lbs. Bait options: Minnows, wet flies, spinners, stickbaits.. |
What is a Northern Pike?
Esox lucius Features: Duck-billed snout; cheek entirely scaled to top half of gill cover; pole-like body; olive back, sides w/yellow oval spots. Habitat: Lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams w/vegetation. Length: to 4 feet. Weight: to 45 lbs. Bait - Live minnows, crayfish, spoons, stick bait lures, wet flies. |
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August 24-26, 2024
Pikeminnow Derby on South fork of Eel River
You won't find this one on the calendar. A while back, Ed saw a notification that CalTrout had organized a fishing Derby targeting a non-native species on the South Fork of the Eel River. He gathered a few of us to try this out, thinking it might make a good RRFF outing for next year. We camped at Richardson Grove State Park. The first afternoon, we caught nothing, not knowing where to fish or what to use. We continued scouting the next two days and figured it out. We fished from Piercy to Miranda catching (but not releasing) 78 fish which were retained to make compost. Most in the 6" to 10" range with a few up to 17-20+" range. We submitted some results and will have to see if any of us win anything. Participation: Board Members Ed, Jeff, Gregg, Penelope, Mike S, and Cast Editor Dave. Details will be in the September Cast.