“The catch is about as good as it gets,” Powers said. “We had fantastic fishing today. Big salmon — big huge king salmon.”<\/p>\n
Among the anglers was A.J. Cruz, who traveled from Honolulu to fish Northern California waters.<\/p>\n
“Amazing,” Cruz said. “Great quality, fat content, and they’re mean. These fish are mean.”<\/p>\n
As fishermen unloaded their catches, several harbor seals gathered nearby, apparently hoping for a meal of their own. Visitors at the dock were impressed by both the size and quality of the fish.<\/p>\n
“We were here yesterday. The fish are bigger today,” said Sherriff Gunther, who was visiting from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “The quality of the fish is bigger today.”<\/p>\n
MORE: Salmon spotted in Bay Area creek, marking return for 1st time in decades after restoration project<\/a><\/p>\n Santa Rosa resident Steve Furgeson said the strong early returns are encouraging after years of closures.<\/p>\n “They shut it down for so long, it had to come back,” Furgeson said. “There’s a bunch of them out there now.”<\/p>\n The reopening marks a significant moment for California’s salmon fishing industry, which has endured severe economic hardship in recent years. State and federal fishery managers closed both commercial and recreational salmon fishing seasons after salmon populations fell to critically low levels.<\/p>\n “We’ve been missing our salmon season,” Powers said. “We’ve had two years where we didn’t get to fish, then last year, a very abbreviated season, a six-day season.”<\/p>\n The positive reports extend beyond Bodega Bay. Operators with Salty Lady Sportfishing in Sausalito say fishing has also been strong there, with salmon averaging about 20 pounds. Fishing groups say the duration of this year’s season will depend on how quickly anglers reach the harvest limit established by regulators.<\/p>\n
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