{"id":399997,"date":"2026-07-15T23:53:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T23:53:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/399997\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T23:53:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T23:53:15","slug":"2026-california-grunion-run-what-time-to-expect-beach-spawn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/399997\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 California grunion run: What time to expect beach spawn"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the West Coast\u2019s most spectacular natural phenomena<\/a> is returning to California beaches<\/a>. Starting Wednesday night, millions of small, silvery grunions are expected to ride the waves directly onto the sand for their spawning runs.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s open season, meaning Californians can now legally snag the slippery fish<\/a> \u2014 but they\u2019re capped at 30 grunion per person.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese fish are famous for their remarkable spawning behavior, which evokes an \u2018I don\u2019t believe it!\u2019 response from people when they see it or hear about it for the first time,\u201d says the California Department of Fish and Wildlife<\/a> as Huell Howser highlighted back in 1997.<\/p>\n

The fish remain at the beach for several minutes. CBS<\/p>\n

Fishermen can only use their bare hands to catch grunions. KTLA<\/p>\n

Grunions do not migrate and typically reside in nearshore waters. The marine creatures leave the water at night during summer and spring months \u201cto spawn on beaches.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFor four consecutive nights, beginning on the nights of the full and new moons, spawning occurs after high tides and continues for several hours,\u201d CDFW says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This weekend, Californians can watch grunions during the exact two-hour windows mapped by the CDFW. Jonathan Alcorn for CA Post<\/p>\n

While the spawning process \u201cmay only take 30 seconds, some fish remain stranded on the beach for several minutes\u201d before a wave carries them back to the ocean.<\/p>\n

The CDFW has mapped out the exact two-hour windows where spawning is most likely to occur. For this week\u2019s peak run, the forecast is as follows:<\/p>\n

DateExpected Spawning WindowJuly 14, 20269:45 pm \u2013 11:45 pmJuly 15, 202610:35 pm- 12:35 am (next day)July 16, 202611:20 pm \u2013 1:20 am (next day)July 18, 202612:10 am \u2013 2:10 am<\/p>\n

Not every beach is a grunion hotspot, but the best runs usually happen on quiet, dark, sandy stretches with little foot traffic, gentle slopes and plenty of wide-open shoreline according to Surf Fishing in SoCal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite local concentrations, \u201cgrunion are not abundant\u201d and face ongoing threats from \u201closs of spawning habitat caused by beach erosion, harbor construction, and pollution<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The CDFW advises people to catch these fishes using bare hands, without any tools or gears. During the open season, fisherfolk require a license to capture grunions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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