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Chinook salmonClosedSpecies here · tap to switch
Best score today · 8 AM · Chinook salmon
- Now
- 209 PM PDT
- Best window
- 9 PM-12 AMEbb tide
- Tide now
- High6.0 ft
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Arcata Bay 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 · 9 PM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS
70Tide: High slackCurrent: SlackWind & pressure
ECMWF
100Wind: 4 kt NNWPressure: SteadyWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
48Water temp: 54°F, warmLight: NightSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 6.1 ftSeason & habitat · Chinook salmon
Species seasonality
57Closed season · capped at 20Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: In rangeRegulations: Closed
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Northern 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
- Salmon may not be possessed on a vessel in this area while it is closed. CDFW expects 2027 season dates in April 2027.
From CDFW Current Ocean Recreational Fishing Regulations, Northern Region (updated August 31, 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 today
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
Arcata Bay
- Depth
- 7-15 ft
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Semi-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 Arcata Bay
Arcata Bay is a bay in Humboldt Bay, California. Depth is 7-15 ft. Its profile reads bay, inner water and semi-exposed.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are cabezon, surfperch and kelp greenling. It is peak season now for cabezon, surfperch, striped bass and rockfish, and shoulder season for kelp greenling, Pacific halibut, lingcod and white seabass. Cabezon peak from May through September. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September. Kelp greenling peak from October through November.
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.
- Surfperch
- Surfperch feed in the troughs and holes within about 30 feet of the waterline, just outside the first set of breakers. Cast a two-hook high-low or Carolina rig with size 4 to 2 hooks and a 1 to 6 ounce pyramid sinker and let the surge work it through the trough. Fish the incoming tide on beaches with a steep drop, and switch to jetties, pilings and bays when the surf is too big.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Arcata Channel58
Channel · 1.1 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 58
- Surfperch 55
- Pacific halibut 54
4 kt NNWL 3:57 AM · 0.6 ftH 11:03 AM · 5.7 ft
- Inner Reach58
Channel · 2.3 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 58
- Surfperch 55
- Pacific halibut 54
4 kt NNWL 3:51 AM · 0.6 ftH 10:56 AM · 5.6 ft
- Eureka Channel58
Channel · 2.9 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 58
- Surfperch 55
- Pacific halibut 54
4 kt NNWL 3:51 AM · 0.6 ftH 10:56 AM · 5.6 ft
- Samoa Channel58
Channel · 3.2 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 58
- Surfperch 55
- Pacific halibut 54
4 kt NNWL 3:51 AM · 0.6 ftH 10:56 AM · 5.6 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.