2020 SACRAMENTO RIVER KING SALMON
Early season Sacramento River King salmon like this one pictured above really shine!
The 2020 Sacramento River King salmon season is going to be set during PFMC meetings by state and federal fisheries managers sometime in March! The supplemental fishing regs come out shortly thereafter in April. The Sacramento River run forecasts will be out soon, and if the forecasts are similar to last season, we will have a two salmon daily limit again this year. New for 2020 will be the inclusion of jack salmon retention for salmon measuring less than 27” inches! This is a new regulation for the Sacramento River and will help with setting limits and harvest numbers during years when run forecasts are down for returning 3 year old salmon. Two day anglers will likely be able to possess (4) Kings, so for our long distance clients, that means a trip often very worthwhile.
Most years we see the results of the Sacramento River catch numbers on the season openers in July and August and will get a feel for what we’re looking at for a salmon run. Some years the Sacramento River King salmon are a bit behind schedule and a slow July 16th opener can be misinterpreted as a precursor to poor fishing looking forward. Thats not always the case and last year we had a good July 16th opener and landed 5 kings. The August 1st opener above Red Bluff yielded 4 Kings in the net. Every season is different and its anyones guess on what to expect so far this year. The season opener will come and go and I’ll be out there to report the results.
2020 KING SALMON fishing on the Sac
We had a productive opener in 2019 below Red Bluff, Ca. and landed these 5 bright King salmon.
The Sacramento River opens to King salmon fishing below the Red Bluff diversion dam on July 16th again this year. Since removal of the diversion dam, the season opener hasn’t been all that great in recent years. The salmon don’t stay in the lower river below the fish ladder at the dam since its been removed, and now they just shoot up to the cool river temperatures in the Anderson area where the Coleman Hatchery is located. We’ll still fish in the Red Bluff area though and often find some really nice Kings from July into August. If you want to get into chrome river salmon, July and August are always a great option. Not as many Kings around, but very good quality fish.
On August 1st, the Sacramento River above Red Bluff opens and that is the official kick off of the King salmon season for us in the Anderson area. On August 1st, guides and anglers from all over will converge on the Barge Hole which is located at the mouth of Battle Creek on the Sacramento River. Its not uncommon these days to see 40, 50, even 60+ boats in the Barge Hole on August 1st. Its a busy place to fish that day, but the action can be among the very best you can find in any one river in the west these days. Numerous boats with numerous rods bent over on big, bright King salmon nearly all day long. Most boats will have limits before noon and the Barge hole boat traffic will slowly disappear.
Check out this link which is a video of 2019’s August 1st opener above Red Bluff in the Barge Hole on the Sacramento River.
SACRAMENTO RIVER FALL SALMON
Limits of Sacramento River King salmon like this one can fill your freezer quickly! Bob and Arlene Hansen told me last year that they had the best salmon trip ever last year in September when they fished with us.
By September our salmon season is in full swing and we’ll most often be found fishing down in the Corning area below Woodson Bridge. The bulk of the Sacramento River fall run Kings will be moving through that section of the river at that time. Most of the Kings we catch in September are in great shape and make for great table fare. They move through the lower river quickly until they reach the cool water in the Woodson Bridge area where they will stack up in the holes and rest before pushing further up river.
This section of the river is a relatively slow moving section of the river, but has all the features of most rivers like riffles, runs, and pools. Our boats are all designed with this type of river fishing in mind and we most often drift roe, covering lots of water and putting baits in front of a lot of fish. This typically translates in high success rates for our clients on our boats and is very easy for most of our clients to perform on their own. Catching a big King salmon on a spin rid is an absolute challenge and a lot of fun too! Drift fishing includes an active approach to catching these big salmon and you’re not just sitting in a seat all day waiting for a salmon to swim into your presentation. We go find them and thats why we catch so many Sacramento River King salmon and steelhead using this technique.
Come fish with us and bring family or friends, its a great trip for all!
SACRAMENTO LATE FALL KING SALMON
Late fall Kings are some of the freshest salmon of the season on the Sacramento River above Red Bluff, Ca.
The late fall run of King salmon on the Sacramento River normally show after the first few rains of the October-November timeframe. These fish have spent a few more months in saltwater than the fall King salmon and are typically the bigger of the two King salmon runs. Its not as big of a run in numbers compared to the fall salmon, but its the size and quality of these Kings that attract anglers from all over the country. The weather isn’t as nice, and it can be cold, but when you bag a few of these beauties, its easy to forget about being uncomfortable during your trip. The best fishing is typically in mid November through December and for the first time in a long time, the Sacramento River King salmon season will stay open for two weeks longer. Fishing for late fall king salmon on the Sacramento River above Red Bluff has been extended until January 1st, 2021 when it closes again until mid July, 2021.
The late fall season is somewhat less popular, mainly because the fair weather fishermen are at home staying warm or some of them are taking advantage of their hunting seasons elsewhere. That means light pressure on the river and plenty of elbow room for you and your group on the water. We primarily back troll big sardine wrapped plugs for these cold water kings and wait for the afternoons to sometimes break out the drift fishing rods. It can be a slower paced day that usually involves a warm thermos of coffee, something on the boat bbq, and a little time next to the propane heater keeping the chill off. Plenty of time to relax and kick back before that big King buries your rod and heads back toward the Pacific Ocean!
Come fish for Sacramento River late fall King salmon fishing with our Captains Jeff Goodwin, Justin Thompson, and Jeff Brady!
BOOK YOUR 2020 KING SALMON TRIP
Booking your 2020 Sacramento River King salmon fishing trip is easy and we have (4) great guides fishing for King salmon again this year. That means we can accommodate groups up to 24 anglers on any given day, but we typically only fish the number of people in a party, per boat, that books their day of fishing with us. This means that we are a fishing guide service, not an open load charter boat fleet. Private trips are our forte and we have made our fishing trips a very private and personal experience for our clients. We will run open boat trips on occasion so single anglers can get in on the great fishing as well, even if they don’t have another person to bring with them.
Booking your trip now is a great idea. We are a top rated northern California fishing guide team and fish over 500 trips during the year. We anticipate a lot of bookings again this season and will likely break 600 days on the water fishing with our clients. Late August, September, and October are prime months for salmon fishing on the Sacramento River and we will fill our schedules completely. You can book a trip through email, by calling direct, or even send a text message to (530) 510-2925. Our office manager, Jaynie Goodwin, will get back to you and help you get your Sacramento River King salmon fishing trip reservation on the books!
Thank you! We are looking forward to having a great salmon fishing season with our amazing clients again this year! See you at the boat launch!
- Captain Jeff Goodwin
