Tag: salmon

California Salmon Fishing Opening Day 2012

April 7, 2012 – The Santa Cruz Harbor

salmon fishing opening day 2012
Santa Cruz Harbor 6:30 AM April 7, 2012

Today is the day we have all been waiting for once again.  Another long winter without any fresh salmon in the freezer is coming to an end.  Saturday is the beginning of the salmon fishing season here in California, and for all the sport fishermen, that is the best news of the year.  But that’s not all.

This year, the fishing is expected to be much better than last year.  There have already, in the first few hours of the season been reports of many nice sized salmon being caught just off the coast in areas like Monterrey Bay, and especially in Santa Cruz.  Since we will be fishing ourselves out of Santa Cruz Harbor in just a few more minutes, I can safely say that there are hundreds of boats heading straight out or near the Soquel Hole to try and locate the fish.

santa cruz fishing boats - california
6:30 am salmon boats leaving Santa Cruz Inner Harbor

Bayside Marine, one of the local fish and tackle shops here in Santa Cruz was booming with customers up until about 9:00 pm last night.  Although many of the people hanging around the tackle shop were pretty much loaded from sipping on beers all day, it was pretty impressive to see so much action all in anticipation for the opening day of the salmon fishery here on the coast.

If you start talking with the locals, you’ll get your usual mix of exactly how and what is the best way to catch the fish.  Conventional thinking goes back to what I consider to be pretty boring – trolling around some lures.  But, trolling for salmon, especially early in the season is the most common and popular fishing method.  People love to attach different lures, or hoochies to the end of the line.  And some people like using a flasher or dodger, which is thought to attract the fish as well.

But, for people like me, trolling around with your engine blasting out fumes all day is no fun.  So, like you’ve seen before from past years, we’ll be mooching with some threaded sardines once again and hopefully getting the chance to put a nice big pink fleshed salmon in the box(or two or three).

Salmon fishing regulations are largely unchanged since last year.  Each licensed angler is allowed to keep 2 fish, and the salmon need to be at least 24 inches in length.  No silver/coho salmon are allowed to be taken.  Only king salmon are allowed.  You can figure out which type of salmon you have caught by looking at the gums of the fish.  If the gums are white, that is a silver salmon and you must release it immediately.  If the gums are black in color, that fish can be kept as long as its 24 inches long.  More details about the fishing regulations can be located at the California Fish and Game Website.

Good Luck fishing this year, and hopefully we’ll see some 20 and 30 pound salmon on the first day!

California Salmon Fishing Update – September 2011

Salmon Fishing Update:

Much of the best salmon fishing off the California Coast is happening right in Santa Cruz which is part of the Monterrey Bay.  There seems to be some great action for quite some time now just a few minutes ride by private boat or charter boat from the Santa Cruz harbor, and salmon are being caught with sardines and others from trolling lures in the 70-100 feet range.

Most of the salmon fishing has been the best while bringing your fishing gear down below the 80 foot mark, but for those of you who enjoy fishing much higher to the surface, there is always a decent chance you will get a strike up higher too.

With fishing conditions being very good so far in September, many of the party boats and private yachts have come back to the docks with averages of 1 salmon for every two people, and often the numbers have been much higher.  There have also been some larger than normal salmon caught over the past two weeks.  There was one confirmed 36 lb. salmon caught with an anchovy three miles off Capitola in 80 feet of water, and there have been numerous 20 lb. salmon reports over the past month too.

One suggestion would be to contact the local harbor master before you plan to leave your house to find out the local weather conditions.  It’s definitely worth the quick phone call to find out what might be happening on the ocean during your salmon fishing before you head out of the driveway.  And what a great way to head out if the harbormaster tells you the water is flat calm and no wind expected the rest of the day.

Good luck with your salmon fishing in September!

River Salmon Regulations for the Sacramento River

Sacramento River limits

Kewsick Damn down to the Deschutes Bridge, the river is closed to all salmon fishing right now and for the forseeable future. But, you are able to fish for trout and keep one trout up to 16 inches long, either wild or a hatchery fish.

From the Deschutes Bridge down to Red Bluff Diversion Dam, the river also is closed to all salmon fishing until Oct. 9 through Oct. 31. After that, there is a limit of two salmon and two hatchery trout or steelhead. Note that on page 7 of the booklet there is a chart describing the differences between a plain rainbow resident trout and steelhead. The main difference is that the steelhead migrates to the sea and the resident trout sticks around in the river. If the resident trout gets to 16 inches, it is then classified as a steelhead no matter whether the trout migrates or stays at home.

***Make sure to inform your friends who are fishing for the salmon on the Sacramento of the changes that are going into effect.  It is a hefty fine for anyone caught breaking the fishing rules and regulations whether intentionally or not intentionally***

Below the Red Bluff Diversion Dam there is an open season for salmon from Oct. 9 through Dec. 12, with the same limits as the upstream section of the river. This extends all the way down to Knights Landing.

From Knights Landing to the San Francisco Bay, there is an open period from Sept. 4 through Oct. 3. Again, the same limits apply as upstream.

Alaska Fishing Lodge Trip Picture Gallery

We took hundreds of pictures on the trip to Deep Creek Fishing Lodge in Kenai, Alaska. Here are a few of them.  The pictures are all from early June 2010. During the fishing trip, we fished the salt water for halibut, the river for king salmon, and a remote glacier fed lake for lake trout.  Some of the greatest times were spent just sitting around the fishing lodge which was located just next to Deep Creek, Alaska.  The staff and the guides and the owner of the Deep Creek Lodge are all excellent people.  With the views across the channel that were to die for, it was a vacation of lifetime that will not ever be forgotten.

One of the most spectacular parts of the fishing lodge experience was taking the float plane to the desolate lake to go fishing for trout. We caught all kinds of trout within just a few hours and then we fried them all up afterwards.  It was super tasty and alot of fun at the same time.

The fishing lodge is called Deep Creek Fishing Club and it is located in Kasilof, Alaska.  There is another deep creek fishing lodge so you need to make sure you fish the one with the captain called Captain Crusty.  Otherwise you won’t be getting the same experience you see in the pictures above.  The first night that you spend at the lodge, you will probably dig into a massive dinner of Alaska King Crab legs which should get your fishing vacation started off right.