Let’s Go Fishin’: Salmon season closes in the ocean

After a consistent run of salmon in Monterey Bay, the season came to an end Monday, Sept. 6. When one door closes, another opens, and salmon fishing will be available in the Sacramento, Klamath and Trinity rivers.
“We have had a good season for salmon in the Monterey Bay,” reported Larry Wolf from Monterey Bay Salmon Trout Project. “It was one with quality fish and a good chance at them almost any day of the season in our local waters.”
This year, the abundance of krill (a small, free-floating shrimp) has added to the size of king salmon. It was a season of quality, not quantity, as many fish were full-bodied, fat salmon that weighed in at more than 20 pounds. That bodes well for future stocks of salmon, as ocean conditions are a main factor for restoring the fishery.
“Three years back, the MBSTP stocked 180,000 salmon into the (Monterey) Bay from Santa Cruz, the host port that held the juvenile salmon prior to release,” Wolf added.
That must have helped with returning salmon counts, as Santa Cruz remained a hotspot for salmon all season, while other ports throughout the state suffered. In the future, the salmon-trout project hopes to introduce 150,000 to 200,000 salmon into the bay each year while transitioning the fish from Santa Cruz Harbor. All salmon raised in the Central Valley ricers will have a coded wire tag and clipped adipose fin for better research on salmon and survival rates.
Inland regulations allow the catch of returning salmon into the rivers of our state.
The Klamath River and Trinity River system allows a three fish per-person, per-day limit. The season on the Klamath started Aug. 15, and Trinity River started Sept. 1.
The Lower Sacramento is next in line, with a season that began Saturday, Sept. 4, from Knights Landing to Carquinez. The Sacramento will have a two fish per-day limit for each angler.
The salmon season for 2011 will be determined after this year’s returns. All the involved groups meet and decide after April 1. There is hope for a healthy return of adult salmon this year, though, and for future stocks to improve.
 Mike Baxter has fished in the Monterey Bay Area since he was a boy and has been a licensed charter boat captain for more than 15 years. Contact him at

ca************@ya***.com











. He also hosts a fishing show on radio station KSCO (1080) from 7:06 to 8 p.m. Thursdays, April through September.