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Chinook salmonClosedBay · California
Bear Harbor
39.91°N · 123.94°W · Bay · Coastal waters from Cape Mendocino to Pt. Arena CA out 10 nm
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 11 PM · Chinook salmon
- Now
- 206 AM PDT
- Best window
- 11 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- Flooding1.5 ft ▲
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Bear Harbor scores 75+
Checked every morning against the 14-day forecast. Free by push and email.
14-day forecast
Best days to fish
24-hour conditions · rolling from now
Conditions · 6 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
82Tide: FloodingCurrent: 0.3 knWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt ENEPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
Open-Meteo Marine
39Water temp: 57°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Between periodsSeas: 5.8 ftSeason & habitat · Chinook salmon
Species seasonality
55Closed season · capped at 20Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Closed
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Mendocino Groundfish Management Area
Chinook salmon
Closed- Daily limit
- No retention
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Not published
- Season
- Sep 1 to Dec 31, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Other
- CDFW expects 2027 season dates in April 2027.
From CDFW Current Ocean Recreational Fishing Regulations, Mendocino Region (updated August 10, 2026), read Sep 13
Other species here
- Albacore tuna Retention open (25 per day)
- Barred sand bass Retention open (4 per day (5 kelp bass, barred sand bass and spotted sand bass combined))
- Cabezon Retention open (10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined))
- California halibut Retention open (2 per day)
- Coho salmon Closed (No retention)
- Kelp bass Retention open (5 per day (5 kelp bass, barred sand bass and spotted sand bass combined))
- Kelp greenling Retention open (10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined))
- Leopard shark Retention open (3 per day)
- Lingcod Retention open (2 per day)
- Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
- Pacific bluefin tuna Retention open (2 per day)
- Pacific halibut Retention open (1 per day)
- Rockfish Retention open (10 per day (10 rockfish, cabezon and greenlings combined))
- Sablefish Retention open (10 per day)
- Striped bass Retention open (2 per day)
- Surfperch Retention open (20 per day)
- White seabass Retention open (3 per day)
- Yellowfin tuna Retention open (10 per day)
- Yellowtail Retention open (10 per day)
Source: CDFW · synced yesterday
Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed
When Chinook salmon is best here
Shoulder season for Chinook salmon · 1 more week at shoulder
- Peak
- Shoulder
- Off
- Not here
- This week
Spot profile
Bear Harbor
- Depth
- 15-25 ftNearest water
- Structure
- Bay · Outer · Exposed
- Season
- Shoulder seasonChinook salmon
NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 14 on a 464 m grid. Depths are feet below mean sea level, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.
About this spot
Fishing Bear Harbor
Bear Harbor is a bay in Coastal waters from Cape Mendocino to Pt. Arena CA out 10 nm, California. Depth in the nearest water is 15-25 ft. Its profile reads bay, outer water and exposed.
Waterlands scores 12 species here; the best right now are cabezon, rockfish and striped bass. It is peak season now for cabezon, rockfish, striped bass and surfperch, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, lingcod, white seabass and Pacific halibut. Cabezon peak from May through September. Rockfish peak from May through September. Striped bass peak from June through July and from September through October.
Tackle & technique
- Chinook salmon
- Chinook hold near bait off points, kelp edges and tide rips, usually suspended 20 to 120 feet down and deeper as the sun gets higher. Troll slowly, under 2 mph, with a flasher and herring, hoochie or spoon on a downrigger, or mooch a plug-cut herring at the depth where the sounder shows bait. Winter blackmouth and feeder kings sit within 10 feet of the bottom in 60 to 200 feet.
- Cabezon
- Cabezon sit in rock crevices, kelp beds and jetty boulders from the intertidal zone to about 100 feet and feed mostly on crabs and small fish. Fish a fish-finder rig with sand shrimp, squid or crab right on the bottom in the rocks, or drag a lead-head grub slowly through the kelp. Expect snags, and do not eat the roe, which is toxic.
- Rockfish
- Rockfish live on rocky reefs, pinnacles and kelp from the shoreline out past 300 feet, with black and blue rockfish schooling mid-water over shallow reefs and copper, quillback, yelloweye and vermilion sitting tight to deeper bottom. Drift over the structure with a shrimp fly above a lead-head grub or metal jig, or a squid strip, and reel up a few cranks after touching bottom to cut snags. Use a descending device to release any fish brought up from deep water.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Duffys Reef69
Bar · 0.7 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 69
- Cabezon 67
- Surfperch 65
4 kt ENEH 10:28 AM · 5.0 ftL 3:56 PM · 2.4 ft
- Small White Rock68
Bar · 5.7 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 68
- Cabezon 67
- Striped bass 66
4 kt ENEH 10:28 AM · 5.0 ftL 3:56 PM · 2.4 ft
- Shelter Cove65
Bay · 10 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 65
- Rockfish 58
- Lingcod 53
4 kt ENEH 10:28 AM · 5.0 ftL 3:56 PM · 2.4 ft
- Point Delgada65
Cape · 10 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 65
- Rockfish 63
- Lingcod 58
4 kt ENEH 10:28 AM · 5.0 ftL 3:56 PM · 2.4 ft
Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with CDFW before you keep a fish.