Salmon season closes tomorrow, join the pink rush but small craft advisory was issued- take party boat!
The state closed salmon season off Fort Bragg early, called an in season closure. Instead of closing on Aug. 31, the last day of the season is tomorrow. There was still room Saturday on the Sea Hawk for Sunday, shown below. Boats the size of bass boats were going out on Saturday, all the way up to the big party boats! A small craft advisory was issued on Friday for the Fort Bragg offshore area, which is in effect through Sunday night. Forecast is sunny for Sunday. The winds were fairly strong Saturday morning but the seas had fallen by Saturday afternoon. The forecast is for 7 foot seas on Sunday, but the best thing to do is go and see the sea before going out and avoid small boats. Sunset is at 8:18 p.m
The best fishing out of Noyo Harbor for salmon was the first week of the seaosn and the last week, the season had only reopened on Aug 1. DFW has not explained why they shut down fishing on Sunday off Fort Bragg but allowed other areas to continue as planned till Aug. 31. There will be no more recreational salmon fishing off Fort Bragg after Sunday until 2027, DFW says.
Recreational Ocean Salmon Update – First In-season 2026 Closure Announced for California’s North Coast
The National Marine Fisheries Service* took action on July 28 to close or modify recreational ocean salmon fishing seasons for portions of the North Coast.
• The Klamath Management Zone, which includes ocean waters between the California/Oregon border and the 40º10′ latitude line, is now closed for the remainder of 2026.
• The Fort Bragg Management Area, between the 40º10′ latitude line and Point Arena, will open Aug. 1 and continue through Aug. 9. The remainder of the August dates previously scheduled for the Fort Bragg Management Area are now closed. Following the Aug. 9 closure, recreational ocean salmon fishing within this management area is closed for the remainder of 2026.
For ocean waters south of Point Arena:
• The San Francisco Management Area will reopen Aug. 1 for the spring/summer fishing season and continue through the earlier of Aug. 31 or until the 34,900 Chinook Harvest Guideline is met.
• The Monterey and South Management Area remains open through the earlier of Aug. 31 or until the 21,800 Chinook Harvest Guideline is met.
For more information on the ocean salmon seasons for summer harvest and fall harvest please review the latest ocean salmon blog post: https://cdfwmarine.wordpress.com/…/in-season…/…
Visit the ocean salmon web page to view current regulations and catch estimates for each management area: https://wildlife.ca.gov/…/Regulations/Salmon/Preseason
Note: Ocean salmon management areas have different open dates and harvest guidelines. When the National Marine Fisheries Service determines a harvest guideline has been reached and has determined a closure date for that area, the information will be posted on our ocean salmon web page.
