Bodega Bay Salmon, Rockfish & Crab
Bodega Bay Harbor, Sonoma Coast · near Bodega Bay · North Coast
Fishing
At a glance
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Best season
- Salmon spring–summer (quota) · rockfish year-round · crab Nov–spring
Permits and booking
- Licence required
- Yes
- Licence detail
- CA license (16+) required; sold aboard. Bodega Bay's fleet runs salmon (season permitting), rockfish, and crab combos. Salmon quota-managed in 2026 — verify with CDFW.
What is here
- Features
- Classic Sonoma Coast fishing port · Salmon & abundant rockfish · Winter Dungeness crab combos · Scenic, uncrowded harbor
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Fishing detail
- Water type
- ocean-boat
- Water
- salt
- Methods
- Trolling · Jigging · Mooching
- Boat
- boat
- Target species
- King salmon (when open) · Rockfish & lingcod · Dungeness crab (combos) · Albacore (offshore, some years)
- Intl tip
- Bodega Bay Sportfishing and other operators run salmon (check CDFW), rockfish, and crab combos. Rockfish is the reliable staple. Combine with the Sonoma Coast, Point Reyes, and the wine country inland. Less crowded than southern ports. Licenses aboard.
The guide
Bodega Bay is a quintessential Northern California fishing port — a working harbor on the wild Sonoma Coast where the fleet cha…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Bodega Bay Salmon, Rockfish & Crab — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 38.333, -123.048