Salmon update

This is off the DFG website today which was updated on Tuesday the 16th.
The season for ocean waters north of Horse Mountain and in Humboldt Bay will be decided in April 2010 by the Pacific Fishery Management Council and the California Fish and Game Commission. The ocean waters south of Horse Mountain to the U.S.-Mexico border are scheduled to open on April 3, 2010.

Humbug Mountain (OR) to Horse Mountain

Closed
Horse Mountain to Point Arena (Fort Bragg)

April 3-30, 2010*
2 salmon per day of any species except coho
Minimum size limit: 20 inches total length
Point Arena to Pigeon Point (San Francisco)

April 3-30, 2010*
2 salmon per day of any species except coho
Minimum size limit: 20 inches total length
Pigeon Point to U.S.-Mexico Border (Monterey Bay south)

April 3-30, 2010*
2 salmon per day of any species except coho
Minimum size limit: 20 inches total length
* In mid-April, the Pacific Fishery Management Council and California Fish and Game Commission will determine the ocean salmon sport seasons in effect on or after May 1, 2010. Sport season options currently being evaluated can be found at www.pcouncil.org.

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/oceansalmon.asp

Click on the PDF file for April 2010 salmon season.

They can still shut it down in May but it sure looks to me like it's open on April 3rd.

Yeeeeeehaaaaaa!    Thanks for the update Ryan.

If this comes true I am AT SHELTER COVE the first flat opportunity after 4/3...   

'tis the season..the season for SALMON!
It's official. Season opens 4/3. Earliest it could close is 4/21ish. But that would require an emergency closure enacted at the April 10-15 mtgs. See attached.

If this comes true I am AT SHELTER COVE the first flat opportunity after 4/3...   

see you there hopefully, cameron

I understand it will be open from 4/3 to 4/30.

Help me as I'm having a hard time understanding this.

* In mid-April, the Pacific Fishery Management Council and California Fish and Game
Commission will determine the ocean salmon sport seasons in effect on or after May 1, 2010.

Will they reevaluate and then decide whether to extend it?  I ask because I probably won't be able to get out in April and want to know if I'll be able to chase them at all.

Great news....now let us plan the assault!

awesome

That's some good news.  Better than nothing.  April up here in Fort Bragg is usually not too great for Salmon though.

Dilbeck - the short story is that we always have a salmon season on the books.  They have to decide to 'close' it.  Not decide if they are going to open it or not.

At the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC is a subset of the NMFS which is a subset of NOAA) meeting in Sacramento on 3/8 they put forth 3 options; No season, full season and modified season.

The next PFMC meeting is 4/15.  So the season that is always on the books will open as normal.  At the 4/15 meeting they may adopt the 'no season' option in which case they issue an emergency closure order.

If they did the machine will take a week or two to do that so we have at least April to fish for salmon but may get a normal season.

Clear as Byzantine mud isn't it?  

I urge you all to come to a few of the meetings to get a feel for how much headspinning our guys in the fight go through.