Eel River Pikeminnow Fishing Derby Returns for Third Year with $5,000 in Cash and Prizes

Press release from the Eel River Pikeminnow Fishing Derby:

The Eel River Pikeminnow Fishing Derby is back for its third year in its current format, and the numbers keep growing. In 2024, derby participants caught more than 500 fish. Last year, that effort more than doubled and anglers brought in 1,118 pikeminnow.

From July 1 through August 31, anyone with a valid California fishing license (or if under 16 years old, no license is necessary) can compete for a chance to win up to $800, with $5,000 in total cash and prizes available. There is no entry fee to participate.

Data collected from each catch helps researchers and managers better understand pikeminnow populations and their effects on native fish in the Eel River watershed, making this community event a win for anglers and for conservation efforts in California.

Background: Sacramento Pikeminnow in the Eel River

Sacramento Pikeminnow are not native to the Eel River. They were introduced via Pillsbury Reservoir in the late 1970s and have since spread to all forks of the river. Prolific and wide-ranging, they make seasonal freshwater migrations and have been found to prey on native salmonids and lamprey. On top of longstanding stressors such as historic overfishing, damaging logging practices, habitat loss, and the accelerating impacts of climate change, pikeminnow present an additional challenge to the recovery of native fish populations through both predation and competition.

In 2018, the Wiyot Tribe and Stillwater Sciences launched a focused effort to monitor pikeminnow in the South Fork Eel River and analyze their diet to better understand predation impacts. That collaboration has since grown to include CalTrout, UC Berkeley, the Bureau of Land Management, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and TRIB Research. Together, these partners are working to characterize pikeminnow distribution, behavior, and ecological impact, and to develop tools to reduce their presence in critical native fish habitat. One recent approach involves a channel-spanning weir designed to limit pikeminnow migration into the upper South Fork Eel.

For more on current pikeminnow research and management in the Eel, see the Wiyot Tribe’s Lhoulhaqh Pikeminnow Management Plan.

Derby Fishing Waters

Eligible waters include:

1. South Fork Eel River — downstream of the Humboldt County line to the confluence with the mainstem

2. Mainstem Eel River — from Dos Rios to the mouth of the Van Duzen

3. Van Duzen River — from Grizzly Creek to the mouth of the Van Duzen

 

Waters outside these boundaries are excluded from the derby to reduce fishing pressure on native fish in adjacent habitats.

Don’t Let the Y-Bones Fool You

Pikeminnow have an underserved reputation as inedible. When prepared properly (the key is managing the y-bones), they make for an excellent meal – fish balls in noodle soup, fried fish cakes, fish tacos, you can even try smoking them!

How to Enter

Full entry details, eligibility rules, and a guide to catching pikeminnow in the Eel River are available at tribresearch.org/pikeminnow.