North Coast labor day camping/fishing

a group of us are going camping/fishing on labor day weekend and dont know where to go. want to get atleast 2-3 hours north of sf to avoid heavy bay area pressure. we will not have kayaks with us and will be willing to walk a little from campsite to get to the fish. does anyone have any suggestions on where we should go? willing to drive a little north of eureka. ALL HELP IS APPRECIATED!

a group of us are going camping/fishing on labor day weekend and dont know where to go. want to get atleast 2-3 hours north of sf to avoid heavy bay area pressure. we will not have kayaks with us and will be willing to walk a little from campsite to get to the fish. does anyone have any suggestions on where we should go? willing to drive a little north of eureka. ALL HELP IS APPRECIATED!

Shore fishing?

What are you after?

It may be last minute for reservations so you may not have your pick of places as many spots will have had reservations made months ago. 

a group of us are going camping/fishing on labor day weekend and dont know where to go. want to get atleast 2-3 hours north of sf to avoid heavy bay area pressure. we will not have kayaks with us and will be willing to walk a little from campsite to get to the fish. does anyone have any suggestions on where we should go? willing to drive a little north of eureka. ALL HELP IS APPRECIATED!

Shore fishing?

What are you after?

It may be last minute for reservations so you may not have your pick of places as many spots will have had reservations made months ago.

Yes, shore fishing. Looking to get into some rockfish but any fish will do.

Wife and I camped here a few weeks ago, clean campground, trees and grass covered campsites, they have a small store, some tent sites with power and water. Showers and restrooms.  You would have to drive about a mile to shore fish or fish the mouth of Klamath River,

http://www.kampklamath.com/

I am up near ft Bragg.  My shore rock fishing experiences are not the best so may not be the best advice.  I do dive the whole stretch and fish from boats and as long as you are sure you're not in a protected zone you can catch rock fish. 

As for camping my camping is now done in a 40 ft 5th wheel, so not sure if you have trailer or want to sleep in tents.   Many of the rv parks in the area have smaller tent areas somewhere on site. Also the state parks with beach access are walkable but you should start making calls to see if they have cancellations or availability.   Mackerricher, Russian Gulch and Van Damme all have water access.
There are also many more remote camping areas in redwoods, but usually you will have to get into car and drive to the ocean.   

Guarantee there are campsites available at Shelter Cove. And it's the best shore fishing for rockies/lings/cabs in the state. But a little farther than 2-3hrs drive from the Bay.

Salt Pt SP is a campground that seems to fill up last (reservations wise), beautiful campground, Gerstle on the shore side of the hiway and Woodside on the inland side. Just a couple hours north of SF.  Lots of rocky shore access in the area. I always pick the Woodside loop, it's the best for camping. No Showers, but nice bathrooms with flush toilets.

If you go, make sure you check the MLPA zone=no fishing from about the middle of Fisk Mill cove to Sea Ranch. And various areas north.

I second the opinion on Salt Point SP.  It is well maintained and situation.  I prefer Woodside because it is less windy.

I just checked and looks like it is all booked up for Saturday night, but a few (like 3) spots are still available on Woodside for Sunday night.

For shore fishing, once you come out of the Woodside campground, hand a right (i.e., go north).  Within one minute, you will see a pull over area to the right (and there are usually a few cars there already).  Walk down the field to the left and you will see a rocky cliff where you can fish from.  Use inexpensive weights because you will lose quite a few set of them.  My son and I have caught sea trouts from there before.

Otherwise, if you have a long pole, you can try fishing off the Gerstle Cove side at the bottom of the hill.  I have seen some huge cabezons being pulled from there.

Guys, we got a a campground reserved at shelter cove. Super stoked to do some fishing and diving! any recommendation on spots for diving or shore fishing??

Shelter Cove:

- if it's flat try Seal Rocks about half way from the campground up toward Abalone Point - Abalone Point is a good place too, but it can be very surgy and it drops off very quickly.

- if it's not quite as calm then down from the lighthouse on a low tide can produce nicely in shallow water, and fishing right from the breakwater or the beach can be great too.

- for ab diving it's the same story - Ab Point has some huge abs, but you're in 20 to 30' of water pretty quickly right off the rocks. 

- and again, if it's rough then the area below the lighthouse is where to ab - lots of little ones and much shallower than other areas.

- if you have nowhere else to dive try right out in front of the breakwater toward Pilot Rock - don't get run over by boat traffic!

Have a great trip.