In 2017, four saltwater anglers and three spear fishermen became new state record holders after hauling in some exceptional fish. Continue reading
California Corbina are found from Point Conception southward off California to a depth of 45 ft. Small groups of this species travel along the bottom off sandy beaches and in shallow bays. Adults have been observed feeding in the surf, at times in water so shallow that their backs were exposed. Continue reading
California Sea Grant recently submitted a final independent scientific evaluation of the Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP) to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The evaluation team concluded that the OREHP has made groundbreaking progress in developing hatchery-rearing and enhancement practices and systems for marine species. However, it has not substantially increased the abundance of White Seabass, with a less than one percent contribution to the wild White Seabass fishery over the last 30 years. Continue reading
Did you know that you can download state fishing regulations to your smartphone or other device? Using iBooks on Apple devices or your favorite book reader on the Android platform, you can download the regulations booklets for reference at any time.
As noted in the 2018-2019 Saltwater Sport Fishing Regulations booklet, recreational fishermen will want to take note of a few changes in fishing regulations this season.
Most notably, the recreational red abalone fishery is closed for 2018, and likely longer. To learn more about the reasons behind the unprecedented closure, see “Perfect Storm” Decimates Northern California Kelp Forests, written by California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) biologists and published on the Marine Management News blogsite. Continue reading
As expected, ocean salmon anglers will have fewer opportunities this year to wet a line for their favorite fish out of most California ports.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) took action this week to finalize recreational salmon fishing season dates for ocean waters off California for the remainder of the year. In response to the new “overfished” status of Sacramento River fall Chinook, recreational fishing seasons in ocean waters will be cut by 40 percent in some regions, compared to unrestricted seasons.
Substantial cuts were made to ocean salmon fishing opportunity in all management areas, though some areas have longer seasons than others. Sport fisheries between the Oregon/California border and Horse Mountain will only be open from the beginning of June until early September. The longest seasons will be for fisheries from Horse Mountain to Pigeon Point (Fort Bragg and San Francisco Continue reading
