Anglers all along the northern California coast are poised and ready to hit their favorite ocean salmon spots this weekend. 2025 is the third year in a row we’ve had no salmon season. This year the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are throwing a bone to hungry sport fishers, saying, “Limited windows for recreational fishing will be allowed on specific dates to ensure minimal impact on the salmon population.” The closures are a direct result of low numbers of salmon counted during the fall spawning runs in California rivers. Ecology is incredibly complex, but in this case of low salmon counts most stakeholders agree the primary culprit is lack of cool, clean water in the spawning rivers. The “limited windows” include this coming weekend, June 7 and 8; July 5 and 6; July 31 through August 3; and August 25 through 31.

Historically, salmon fishing represents the largest fiscal facet of saltwater fishing in Northern California, both in the commercial and recreational realms. With recent low spawning numbers threatening the species as a whole, limiting the number of fish allowed to be taken  is pretty much a no-brainer. Some feel the “limited window” approach adopted by DFW this year is not much more than a symbolic effort to maintain public relations. Estimates will be recorded as to how many fish are harvested and DFW has put a cap of 7500 king salmon as a numerical limit for the entire 2025 recreational take. That number is effective for all the fishing periods as a whole. When the DFW estimates 7500 fish have been caught, any following open periods will be cancelled. So, if fishing is really really good on Saturday, it could be the only open salmon day for the year. 

There will be be hundreds of boats chasing kings on Monterey Bay this weekend, and thousands of boats from other ports up and down the coast looking for the same fish. Charter operations are sold out for this weekend’s salmon trips, and are quickly selling out for the future proposed salmon fishing periods. With this extremely limited opportunity to chase and catch NorCal’s premier sport fish, it is likely trailer boats will be coming from all over the state to launch and get on the hunt for the awesome king salmon. Launch ramps and harbor parking lots will be busy and perhaps a bit crazy, and those trolling in the offshore fleet  will have plenty of opportunity for mayhem.

Judging from previous seasons, the best salmon bite in June is usually near the deep canyon edges of Monterey Bay. The Soquel and Pajaro holes come to mind. Depths of 180-250 feet of water are typical from success reports in previous years. Feeding schools of kings can also be way on the inside, in 100 feet or way outside at 300-400 feet as well. “Just stay away for all the other boats,” advises JT Thomas, a lifelong salmon angler and skipper of  the beautiful Miss Beth from Go Fish Santa Cruz. Thomas will be out there with a full loads on Saturday and Sunday. “I’ve heard of a couple incidental salmon catches down by Monterey, but info is scarce,” he added. On a lighter note, Thomas recommends to “Do the stuff we used to do when we could go salmon fishing. Read the water and conditions, Look for dark water, bait, whales and birds feeding.”