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Chinook salmonRetention openBay · California
Morro Bay
35.34°N · 120.85°W · Bay · Waters from Pt. Sal to Santa Cruz Island CA and westward 60 nm including San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands
Species here · tap to switch
Best score today · 5 PM · Chinook salmon
- Now
- 4910 AM PDT
- Best window
- 5-8 PMFlood tide
- Tide now
- Ebbing4.3 ft ▼
Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine
Notify me when Morro 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 · 10 AM · now
Tide & current
NOAA CO-OPS + Open-Meteo Marine
76Tide: EbbingCurrent: WeakWind & pressure
ECMWF
98Wind: 3 kt NPressure: FallingWater temp & sky
NDBC + Open-Meteo Marine
34Water temp: 62°F, hotLight: Bright sunSolunar: Near a majorSeas: 6.6 ftSeason & habitat · Chinook salmon
Species seasonality
55Season: ShoulderHabitat: Usable structureDepth: Out of rangeRegulations: Retention open
Current regulations
What you can keep here today
Central Groundfish Management Area
Chinook salmon
Retention open- Daily limit
- 2 per day (2 salmon combined)
- Possession
- Not published
- Size
- Minimum 20 in, total length
- Season
- Sep 1 to Sep 30, 2026
- Annual quota
- Not published
- Changes
- Closed from Oct 1
- Other
- Coho may not be kept. Salmon may not be filleted on a boat. No more than two daily bag limits on land, and one daily bag limit on a vessel. NOAA Fisheries can close open days early when the harvest guideline is near. Any salmon except coho. North of Point Conception: no more than two single-point, single-shank barbless hooks and one rod. Between 40°10' N. lat. and Point Conception, when bait fishing by any means other than trolling, use no more than two barbless circle hooks, hard tied no more than 5 inches apart. The 20,000 Chinook fall harvest guideline is shared with the area from 38°02' N. lat. to Pigeon Point.
From CDFW 2026 Ocean Salmon Sport Regulations (updated August 19, 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
- 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
Morro Bay
- Depth
- 3-7 ft
- Structure
- Bay · Inner · Protected
- 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 Morro Bay
Morro Bay is a bay in Waters from Pt. Sal to Santa Cruz Island CA and westward 60 nm including San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands, California. Depth is 3-7 ft. Its profile reads bay, inner water and protected.
Waterlands scores 11 species here; the best right now are surfperch, Pacific halibut and Chinook salmon. It is peak season now for surfperch, rockfish, cabezon and striped bass, and shoulder season for Pacific halibut, Chinook salmon, lingcod and California halibut. Surfperch peak in May and from July through September. Pacific halibut peak from May through July. Chinook salmon peak from June through August.
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.
- 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.
- Pacific halibut
- Halibut sit on sand and gravel bottoms near drop-offs, bars and pinnacles, most often in 90 to 500 feet in Alaska and on the shelf off Washington, Oregon and far northern California. Anchor up-current of a likely edge and fish herring, squid, octopus or a salmon head on a circle hook with 24 to 32 ounces of weight, or bounce a large jig on the bottom. The best bite usually comes in the hour around slack tide.
Nearby spots
Other spots within an easy run
- Whale Rock63
Bar · 7.1 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 63
- Pacific halibut 58
- Rockfish 58
5 kt NWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ft
- Estero Bay60
Bay · 7.7 mi
Top: CabezonPeak season- Cabezon 60
- Striped bass 56
- Pacific halibut 55
5 kt NWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ft
- Spooners Cove59
Bay · 4.9 mi
Top: SurfperchPeak season- Surfperch 59
- Pacific halibut 54
- Chinook salmon 50
5 kt NWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 ft
- Hazard Canyon Reef58
Bar · 3.8 mi
Top: RockfishPeak season- Rockfish 58
- Pacific halibut 56
- Surfperch 56
5 kt NWL 2:39 PM · 2.1 ftH 8:35 PM · 5.2 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.