Salmon Season 2025: Early Birds Get the Fish!

Salmon season is finally here! We’ve been waiting for months to get back out there and catch some salmon. Today was opening day, and we had an awesome trip.

Starting Early to Avoid Other Boats

We left Santa Cruz Harbor at 4 AM. We wanted to get out early before all the other boats showed up. Opening day always brings out tons of fishermen, so getting there first gives you the best chance to find fish.

It was still dark when we left the harbor, but we knew it would be worth it. The water was calm and the weather looked good for the day.

First Spot Had No Fish

We started fishing in an area that usually holds fish, but today there was nothing there. No bait fish, no birds, and no salmon showing up on our fish finder. Sometimes this happens in fishing – you have to be ready to move when the fish aren’t biting.

After trying this spot for a while, we decided to pack up and look for better water. You can’t catch fish where there aren’t any fish!

Found a Huge School Near Moss Landing

We made a couple moves and ended up close to Moss Landing. Right away we could see this area was different. There were bait fish in the water, birds diving, and our fish finder showed a huge school of salmon below us.

The difference was amazing. One minute we had nothing, and the next minute we were sitting on top of tons of big salmon. This is what makes salmon fishing so exciting – when you find them, the action can be incredible.

Non-Stop Action with Double Hook-Ups

Once we started fishing over this school, the salmon went crazy for our lures. We had multiple double hook-ups, which means two fish on at the same time. Sometimes we had fish on three or four rods at once.

The salmon were fighting hard and pulling drag. These weren’t small fish either – they were all good-sized salmon that put up a real battle. Everyone on the boat was busy fighting fish and helping each other land them.

Reached Our Limit Fast

The fishing was so good that we reached our limit in less than 2 hours. That’s really fast for salmon fishing, especially on opening day. Usually it takes most of the day to get your limit, but these fish were biting so well we filled up quickly.

Our salmon averaged 12 pounds each, which is excellent size. The biggest one was 16 pounds – a really nice fish that made someone’s day. All the salmon were healthy and fat, perfect for eating.

Perfect Start to Salmon Season

We headed back to Santa Cruz Harbor with our boat full of beautiful salmon. Everyone was happy and already planning the next trip. Days like this remind you why salmon fishing is so popular around here.

This was exactly the kind of opening day we hoped for. Finding a big school of hungry salmon and having them bite like crazy doesn’t happen every day. When it does, you remember it for a long time.

What a great start to salmon season 2025!