Creel Quick answer: As of late October 2026: spiny lobster is open in Southern California until March 17, 2027; rockfish and lingcod are open at all depths north of Point Conception through December 31, while in the Southern Region rockfish is closed and lingcod is offshore of 50 fathoms only; ocean salmon is open only off San Francisco, through October 31 or until quota; California halibut is open everywhere; Dungeness crab is closed until Saturday, November 7. Then Pacific halibut closes November 15 in the north and December 31 in the centre, January 1 shuts rockfish and lingcod statewide until April 1, and lobster closes March 17.
What is open right now
Read from CDFW’s regional regulations on October 26, 2026. The answer depends on where you are standing, so this is by region rather than one statewide line.
| Species | North of Point Conception | Southern Region |
|---|---|---|
| Spiny lobster | Not a fishery in practice | Open until Mar 17, 2027 · 7/day · 3¼” carapace |
| Rockfish, cabezon, greenling | Open, all depths, through Dec 31 | Closed since Oct 1, unlawful to possess |
| Lingcod | Open, all depths, through Dec 31 · 2/day · 22” | Offshore of 50 fathoms only through Dec 31 |
| Ocean salmon | Open off San Francisco and SF Bay until Oct 31 or quota · 2/day · 20”; closed in Northern, Mendocino and Central | Closed |
| California halibut | Open · 22” · 2/day (5/day in Central) | Open · 22” · 5/day |
| Pacific halibut | Open · 1/day · to Nov 15 (Northern, Mendocino) or Dec 31 (SF, Central) | Not a fishery in practice |
| Dungeness crab | Closed until Sat, Nov 7 | Not a fishery in practice |
| California grunion | Not listed for these regions | Open through Mar 31, 2027 · 30/day |
| Red abalone | Closed indefinitely | Closed indefinitely |
Two health closures sit on top of the seasons this autumn: Del Norte County’s recreational razor clam fishery has been closed for domoic acid since October 9, and Monterey Bay anchovy from Pigeon Point to Point Lobos is bait only since September 11.
Autumn and winter 2026–27, in order
Every one of these dates is one somebody gets a citation for missing.
| Date | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 30, 2026 | Ocean salmon closed | Central & Southern (south of Pigeon Point) |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Rockfish, cabezon and greenling closed | Southern Region |
| Oct 1, 2026 | Lingcod moved to 50-fathom offshore only | Southern Region |
| Oct 2, 2026, 6:00 p.m. | Spiny lobster opened | Southern Region |
| Oct 31, 2026 | Ocean salmon closes | San Francisco & SF Bay |
| Nov 7, 2026 | Recreational Dungeness crab opens | Northern, Mendocino, SF, Central |
| Nov 15, 2026 | Pacific halibut closes | Northern & Mendocino |
| Dec 31, 2026 | Pacific halibut closes | San Francisco & Central |
| Dec 31, 2026 | Rockfish and lingcod close for the year | Northern, Mendocino, SF, Central |
| Jan 1 – Mar 31, 2027 | Rockfish and lingcod closed statewide, unlawful to possess in any waters | All regions |
| Mar 17, 2027 | Spiny lobster closes, 11:59:59 p.m. | Southern Region |
| Mar 31, 2027 | California grunion season closes | Southern & Central |
| Apr 1, 2027 | Rockfish and lingcod reopen | Statewide |
The three that matter most
October 1 and October 2 went opposite directions. In Southern California, rockfish shut the day before lobster opened. A boat that ran rockfish trips all summer switched fisheries over a single night, and a closed-season rockfish in the box is still a citation in December.
Lobster season, limits and the report card →
November 7 is a date, not a guarantee. The recreational Dungeness opener is the first Saturday in November, but domoic acid testing and whale-entanglement risk have delayed or restricted it in most recent seasons, zone by zone, with days of notice. Loading the truck on the strength of a calendar is how people waste an opening weekend.
The crab opener, and why it slips →
January 1 is the biggest closure in the state. Rockfish, cabezon and greenlings become unlawful to possess in any California waters for three months. Not “closed to fishing”: unlawful to possess. A fish in your freezer from December is fine; a fish in your cooler in February is not.
Open all year
These stay open in all regions year round, with their limits unchanged by the calendar:
- California halibut: 22”, 5 fish in Central and Southern, 2 in the north
- White seabass: 28”, 3 fish
- Yellowtail: 24”, 10 fish (Southern)
- Leopard shark: 36”, 3 fish
- Surfperch: 10½”, 20 fish
- Rock crab: 4”, 35 crab
- Kelp and sand bass: 14”, 5 fish (Southern)
- California sheephead: 12”, 2 fish
- Tunas
Every California size and bag limit in one table →
Still closed, indefinitely
Red abalone has been closed since 2018 and remains closed. There is no date to put on it: reopening depends on kelp forest recovery and CDFW’s recovery plan, not on a season.
Why abalone is closed and when it might return →
Why “in season” keeps moving
Four mechanisms keep the answer changing, which is why the table at the top carries a date:
- Regional splits. Six management regions run the same species on different calendars.
- Quota closures. Salmon and Pacific halibut close when landings hit the guideline, regardless of the printed end date.
- Health closures. Domoic acid can shut a crab zone or a clam beach with a week’s notice.
- Depth changes. Rockfish “open” can mean all depths in one region and 50 fathoms in the next.
Creel re-reads every CDFW regional page daily and shows your region’s species list colour-coded open, closed or partial for today. A watch on a species pushes you a reminder the morning before its season flips in your region, plus the emergency changes no calendar can anticipate. Get Creel →
Frequently asked questions
What fish are in season in California right now?
In late October 2026: spiny lobster (Southern California), rockfish and lingcod at all depths in the Northern, Mendocino, San Francisco and Central regions, California halibut statewide, Pacific halibut in the Northern, Mendocino, San Francisco and Central regions, ocean salmon off San Francisco until October 31, plus the year-round species: white seabass, yellowtail, surfperch, rock crab, kelp and sand bass, sheephead and tunas. Closed: Dungeness crab until November 7, rockfish in the Southern Region, and red abalone indefinitely. It depends on your region, which is the whole point of the table on this page.
What is the best month to fish in California?
There is no single best month; there is a best month per fishery, and they barely overlap. Summer stacks the most open seasons at once: rockfish at all depths, halibut, white seabass, salmon in open years, tuna offshore. Autumn adds lobster and takes rockfish away in the south. Winter is Dungeness crab’s prime and the deadest stretch for everything else, because rockfish and lingcod are shut statewide from January 1.
Are fish seasons the same in Northern and Southern California?
No, and that is the core trap. CDFW manages the coast in separate regions with different rockfish windows, depth limits, salmon zones and crab dates. Right now rockfish is open at all depths off Eureka and closed off San Diego, on the same day.
What is closed in California in the winter?
Rockfish, cabezon and greenlings are closed statewide from January 1 through March 31 and may not be possessed in any waters during that window. It is the largest single closure on the California ocean calendar. Lingcod follows the same dates. Spiny lobster runs through it and closes March 17, 2027. Dungeness crab is at its best.
When does rockfish season open in California?
April 1, statewide. From there the areas diverge: Northern, Mendocino, San Francisco and Central stay open at all depths through December 31, while the Southern Region moves to a 50-fathom inshore limit on July 1 and closes completely on October 1.
Do California fishing seasons change mid-year?
Constantly. Salmon closes on quota rather than on the calendar, and has closed weeks early. Dungeness crab openers get delayed zone by zone for domoic acid and whale entanglement. Rockfish depth limits move by emergency regulation. Health agencies close individual fisheries, like Del Norte razor clams on October 9, 2026, with no warning at all.