One of the most established and primary industries along the North Coast of California is the Fishing industry. Since the Gold Rush time, fisheries have been beneficial along California’s streams and shoreline. Salmon, sturgeon, pike, roost, dace, chub, suckers, hard-heads, narrow-tails, and more were trapped in enormous amounts.
Heading to the shallow, rocky inlet of the Sonoma County’s Pacific Ocean coastline, Bodega Bay isn’t just a picturesque port. Regardless of whether you need to hook a fish, draw out a pot of crabs, or get very close with whales and other marine life, you can explore various sea adventures out of calm Bodega Bay.
Fish to Catch in Bodega Bay
You can get a wide assortment of species fishing from the Bay’s piers, rocks, jetties, and the shore. Basic lures incorporate sand insects, blood worms, cut bait, and live traps. In case you’re one for artificial baits, have a go at utilizing feather jigs and plastic grubs to snag Surf Perch and Rockfish.
Many fish on the coast show them all but listed below a portion of the usually targeted fish species.
Rockfish
Once you visit Bodega Bay, make sure to have Rockfishing on your first plan. Without a doubt, they are enjoyable to catch and are heavenly delicious!
The season is open from March until the year’s end, and the best and ideal opportunity to target them is in summer when pretty much anything bites.
As their name recommends, you’ll discover Rockfish around rocks and reefs, where they like to stay nearby and feed. In case you’re searching for large specimens, your smartest choice is to go fishing with a charter in deeper waters.
Halibut
Halibut fishing in the summer months is the best means to get away from the lake lice and enjoy finding some hard-fighting, incredible tasting fish! Halibut meat is very costly and delectably worth each penny, yet you can get them yourself.
They live in schools, which is uplifting news since that implies that you can snare a few fish in a similar spot. Having that sort of assurance is benefit anglers don’t disregard!
Kelp Greenling
Kelp Greenling is expected along the west coast. You can typically fish for them on sandy seashores close to rough regions inside the kelp beds. You can likewise get them along the jetty also. You can target them with lures, including shrimp, sand crabs, sand shrimp, ghost shrimp, squid, baby octopus, and broken mussels.
Lingcod
Lingcod, otherwise called Cultus cod, Blue cod, Bluefish, Green cod, Buffalo cod, Greenling, also, White cod, are highly coveted game fish. Lingcod are gray, brown, or greenish on the back with some copper-shaded mottling or spotting along their back. They have an enormous head and mouth, brimming with massive sharp teeth. Their bodies are long. Furthermore, they contract towards the tail. Their meat is light pale blue in shading. They are exceptionally forceful and will strike at anything you can get before getting them off the base. Furthermore, lingcod multiplies and can grow up to five feet in length, arriving at loads of eighty pounds.
Striped Bass- Stripers
Striped Bass, or Stripers as they are alluded to for shore, are a great fighting, incredible tasting fish. Stripers live in the sea and the Bay until they are all set up into the delta and waterways system to spawn in the spring. In March through May, they are running up into the delta. Then to the stream system to breed and head back to the Bay and the sea after spawning.
Surf Perch
Fishing for surf perch gives all-year fishing opportunities for anglers in the coastal waters of California. They can be tracked down up and down the coastline in a wide range of environments. When you discover the correct spot, you will get a ton of them. It’s essential to read the water, search for troughs that form that they might be stowing away. Hook up a sand crab, sandworm, or a little piece of lure like squid, and have at it.
Dungeness and Rock Crabs
Bodega Bay is famous for its Dungeness crab and rock/red crab species. Dungeness has limited availability of around eight months, beginning November and enduring up until early July, while red and stone crabs occur all year. A couple of anglers come to Bodega Bay mainly to get these crabs.
How to Fish in Bodega Bay
As one of the country’s biggest states, it is challenging to offer an outline of California’s many good fishing spots.
All the more, fishing in a new place can be daunting, yet it can likewise be a pleasant encounter. There’s no shortage of species to target in Bodega Bay, and there are different approaches to target them. Is listed below some of the well-known kinds of fishing that will not allow you to go down.
Inshore Fishing
There is at least one pier to fish from when there is a bay. Not to mention the bounty of rock jetties spread everywhere on the Bay’s coast; thus, you have many options!. The north side of the Bay has many pier fishing spots, and you’ll discover jetties pretty much anyplace you go, some more available than others. Double-check the fishing guidelines before you go.
Kayak Fishing
Kayak fishing is a most loved local leisure activity, and one reason is its calm bay waters. Kayakers love targeting Rockfish on their excursions, so anything from Greenling to Cabezon is probable. At best, particularly in the summer, you may even end up face-to-gills with a Chinook Salmon. That is a battle you need to encounter! If you’ve never been kayak fishing, the Bay is a great spot to check it out.
From a Boat
True enough, Bodega Bay is a top-notch fishing destination. And in all things, it’s home to several charters. Local people who run trips have burned through a large portion of their lives discovering the Bay’s rich fishing bottoms. Having an expert side by side implies a magnificent time on the water!
You either book an outing on the web or go to a marina or boat ramp, and there will be a captain prepared to take you out. You can go on a private outing with your loved ones or save a spot on a shared charter, and it depends on you.
The most remarkable thing – if there’s a species you’d prefer to target, your guide will know where to take you, and they’ll have the correct gear to get the fish into the boat. It permits you to completely zero in on making the most of your fishing experience.
Where to Fish in Bodega Bay
The abundance of fishing opportunities is what fishing in Bodega Bay entails. You might not get enough daily excursions here! Though the Bay isn’t that big, outdoor and fishing lovers will delight in the perspectives and great activity. Below are a few spots to look at!
Doran Regional Park
The ideal spot for climbing, kayaking, and fishing – Doran Regional Park has everything with its lovely long expansive shoreline. This is a well-known frequent of first-timers who need to find the best of what Bodega Bay has to bring to the table. Halibut, Rockfish, and Crab are the best catches here.
Spud Point Marina
If you’re searching for a fishing charter, this is the spot to visit. Here, you’ll discover guides that can put you on anything from Surfperch to Albacore Tuna. There’s additionally a public fishing pier if you’d prefer to get going simple.
Head of the Bay
Visit here when you wouldn’t fret a touch of climbing to get to the best fishing spots. Nature is dazzling, Rockfish are biting, and there’s a seashore close by where you can loosen up when you’ve had your fill of cloud nine.
Fort Ross State Historic Park
You’ll reach this park 20 miles north of Bodega Bay, yet local people consider it a part of the Bay. This is because of the sublime looking for Rockfish and Abalone that continues giving. Not to mention that the spot is simply dazzling!
Salmon Creek
Save the best for last, head to Salmon Creek, a town and a waterway. You can go inshore looking for Surfperch and Calico Bass or target Rainbow Trout in the actual creek. Everything relies upon your fishing drives.
Best Season to Fish in Bodega Bay and Baits to Use
Around early May to September, fish species surface in Bodega Bay are Kankakee salmon, trout, and landlocked salmon. The Halibut, Rays, and Shark species can be gotten from April to September, like the summer and fall seasons.
Squid is the best lure, while evening time is the ideal opportunity to get sharks and rays. Live baits are perfect for getting halibut. You can get the Rockies or lingcod from June to November. Species like crab and Humboldt squid surface throughout the colder time of year through early summer from November through early May.
A few perch species like heap perch, black perch, striped sea perch, rainbow sea perch, white perch, and a couple of others can be gotten effectively schooling together throughout the colder time of year and springtime. Shore crabs, fresh mussel, pile worms, ghosts, and market shrimps, just as artificial lures are the best trap to hook them. Summer is additionally ideal for rockfish species, like brown, copper, and grass.
Bodega Bay is renowned for its Dungeness crab and rock/red crab species. Dungeness has restricted availability of around eight months beginning November and enduring up until early July, though red and stone crabs are discovered all year. A couple of anglers come to Bodega Bay mainly to get these crabs.
License and Regulations
California anglers can get their licenses online from the Department of Fish and Wildlife site. Approvals and catch reporting cards—needed for a few species, like salmon and steelhead—are likewise accessible from the site. Certain veterans and disabled anglers may meet all requirements for discounted cost or free-of-charge licenses.
If you find peace fishing from a public pier, you don’t have to purchase a license. Numerous species are available to reap all year for shore anglers.
Bodega Bay fishing charters do exclude fishing licenses. Anybody in your group age 16 and more seasoned should purchase a CA state fishing permit early. A single-day license costs about $15 (value subject to change).
Don’t miss out on this opportunity to fish the sensational waters of Bodega Bay!
