Fishing Opportunities Across California this November
With many holidays just around the corner, November is a perfect time to get outdoors and enjoy California’s fishing opportunities before the celebrations begin — or better yet, take your celebrations outdoors! From crabbing along the coast to trout fishing in the Sierra, there are plenty of opportunities to unwind, recharge, and make the most of the season.
Recreational Crab Season is Open with Restrictions
The recreational Dungeness crab season opened in portions of the State on Sat., Nov. 1. State health agencies determined areas in northern California have unhealthy levels of domoic acid and recomended delaying the opening of the fishery from the CA/OR border to the Sonoma/Mendocino County line. Additionally, the use of the crab traps is temporarily prohibited between the Sonoma/Mendocino County line and Lopez Point, Monterey County due to entanglement risk with humpback whales. For announcements on trap restriction changes visit the Whale Safe Fisheries webpage. If using crab traps, make sure to have a recreational crab trap validation — this is not required when taking crabs via hoop nets or crab trap loops. For more information, see the latest press release.
Send Us Photos of Your Sturgeon Catch
If you haven’t heard, the white sturgeon (catch and release) sport fishing season opened Oct. 1, 2025, and there is no fee for the report card this season. During this season, we’d love to share your successful sturgeon fishing trips on our social media channels so please submit your sturgeon photos to CDFW’s Photo Submissions webpage. Remember any sturgeon greater than 60 inches fork length may not be removed from the water. Best handling and release practices, such as ensuring to hold the sturgeon with both hands, can be viewed in this video Sturgeon – Catch and Release Best Practices. A general how-to fish for white sturgeon video can be found here How To Fish for White Sturgeon.
ATTENTION – Final Days for 2025 Pacific Halibut Season!
The Northern California (north of Point Arena) recreational Pacific halibut fishery closes Saturday, Nov. 15 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific halibut catch is limited by a federal quota; visit CDFW’s Pacific halibut web page to track this year’s catch compared to the quota.
Share the Joy, Share the Sport
Looking to make meaningful connections with friends and family this holiday season? Share the joy of fishing and give the gift that keeps on giving by supporting a new angler with the fundamentals they need to get started. CDFW’s Recruit, Retain, Reactivate (R3) Initiative makes it easy to support new anglers with beginner-friendly fishing resources and tutorials, such as the R3 Harvest Huddle Hour First Cast and Tackle Box Basics recorded webinars. These resources cover everything from fishing guides to species identification. Whether it’s a friend, family member, or future fishing buddy, you can give them the tools to start a lifetime of outdoor adventures.
Conserve The Sturg Display at Nimbus Fish Hatchery Visitor Center
As part of the CDFW’s Conserve The Sturg outreach efforts, a sturgeon display was recently unveiled at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery Visitor Center in Rancho Cordova. The display provides valuable education and awareness on California sturgeon species to build public stewardship so they continue to live on for generations to come. Providing education on sustainable angling practices for white sturgeon combined with building stewardship and an appreciation for these species are the main pillars of the overall outreach efforts. The sturgeon display, located in the “Creature Feature” section of the visitor center, features a large sturgeon cutout, a looping educational video, a series of CDFW project photos, real-life sturgeon scales (i.e., scutes), fun facts and a coloring page. The display will be up through the end of November. For those unable to visit, you can download the sturgeon coloring page at https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=237935. Learn more about sturgeon conservation efforts by visiting https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conserve-The-Sturg.
The 28th Oroville Salmon Festival at the Feather River Hatchery
We love a good wildlife festival and that’s especially true when the Oroville Salmon Festival rolls around each fall. We were thrilled to see thousands of people show up at the Feather River Fish Hatchery on Saturday, Sept. 27 to celebrate salmon, the Feather River and the local community. CDFW staff offered guided hatchery tours and conducted a special Saturday spawning of spring-run Chinook salmon for all to see and learn about. Our mobile fish tank was there to show off some of the other fish species found in the Feather River. Great food and vendors are a huge part of the festivities each year and help explain how the Oroville Salmon Festival has endured and delighted for 28 years. To learn more, watch The 28th Oroville Salmon Festival at the Feather River Hatchery.
A Gift That Lasts a Lifetime (Literally)
Still looking for the perfect gift? Skip the socks and gadgets and give something unforgettable. A California sport fishing license is a ticket to adventure, whether it’s an annual fishing license (valid for 365-days) or a reduced-fee license for veterans and seniors. Want to really make a splash? Go for the lifetime license, especially for the youngsters, the ultimate gift that keeps on giving, no matter if they move out of state. Add extras like ocean enhancement or a second-rod validation to tailor it perfectly. This year, wrap up more than a present, give the gift of fresh air, tight lines, and time spent together. Learn more at the CDFW Sport Fish License webpage.
Use CIRAS to Help Plan Your Next Trout Fishing Trip
Now that fall is in full swing, it’s a great time to go out fishing especially for trout. Within CIRAS, use the “Ready Fish” dashboard to identify angling opportunities by fish species, water bodies, and proximity to geographic locations. After you have completed your trip, please consider adding catch information on the “Enter Survey Data” section to help improve CIRAS. The information you upload in addition to the survey data provided by CDFW, helps optimize the fishing experience for everyone. Part of the data you provide is the approximate location you fished at on a water body. These approximate point locations are not shared on the CIRAS platform. Visit the CIRAS web page.
Forage While You Fish
Don’t ever come home skunked again! Learn more about natice plants growing in the area of your favorite fishing spots. It takes some education and commitment, but you may be surprised at how plentiful (and delicious) foraging wild foods can be. Something as simple as an acorn, once processed correctly, can become flour—which becomes bread! Want to learn more? Fine upcoming foraging classes in your area with the Recruit, Retain, Reactivate (R3) Team’s Foraging Class Locator here.
State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) 2025
CDFW is excited to announce the State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) 2025 is ready and can be found here: https://wildlife.ca.gov/SWAP. California’s SWAP provides a comprehensive wildlife conservation strategy achieved through various conservation projects executed statewide. The SWAP promotes hunting and fishing as a conservation tool. The State of California recognizes the substantial benefits hunting and angling provide to all native flora and fauna and seeks every opportunity to embrace these important traditions. Learn more by watching this video State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) 2025.
CDFW is Looking for Landowners!
Are you or someone you know, a landowner or land manager? CDFW is looking for fishing properties with a variety of water types, especially easements to rivers and streams, which can serve the diverse interests and skills of recreational anglers. The Shared Habitat Alliance for Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) program incentivizes landowners to increase the stewardship of their lands by creating limited and controlled opportunities for rewarding recreational experiences. In exchange, SHARE offers financial compensation and full liability protection. Please visit our website or contact the SHARE Fisheries Coordinator to learn how you can help get more people outside and enjoying nature.
Calling All Teachers! Learn About CDFW’s Classroom Aquarium Education Program
CDFW’s Classroom Aquarium Education Project (CAEP) is a statewide partnership with regionally based community organizations. While the program has several names around the state, the essential learning elements and student experiences are similar. Instructors and their students set up an aquarium in the classroom, receive fish eggs under a special CDFW permit and observe the fish as they hatch and develop. The experience may culminate in a field trip to a local stream or river where the fish are released. This is a hands-on, interdisciplinary project for grades K-12. Spaces are limited and vary based on location.
Recruit, Retain, Reactivate (R3) Photo of the Month!
CDFW’s R3 team wants to thank you for the hundreds of photos you shared of your hunting experiences! Seeing Californians enjoying the state’s outdoor resources and bounty puts a smile on our faces. We’d like to highlight Ashley J. this Nov. with a photo of this beautiful yellowtail caught out in Point Loma — what an exciting fishing trip. Thanks for the photo!
CDFW Chooses a Vibrant Wildlife Species for its 2025 Warden Stamp Series: The Pheasant
The 2025 CDFW Warden Stamp is available! This year’s stamp features a ring-necked pheasant, one of California’s most iconic introduced upland game birds. These beautiful birds flourished here in the middle part of the 1900s but have experienced a decline in recent decades due to many factors. As CDFW continues to provide quality nesting and escape cover in conjunction with moist springtime soil conditions on CDFW managed public lands to improve pheasant population numbers, we celebrate this bird’s resiliency and hope to bring awareness to this iconic species by featuring it on the 2025 Warden Stamp. To purchase the stamp online, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click “Continue as Guest.” Then Click the 2025 Warden Stamps tab and follow prompts to check out. Find more Warden Stamp info here.
Keep up with the latest in CDFW fishing, hunting and conservation news.
By purchasing a fishing license in California, you are providing a dedicated source of funding for management and protection of the state’s fisheries and for fish hatchery operation. Purchasing a sport fishing license also helps support California’s long-standing fishing heritage for today and future generations.
Thank you for fishing in California!
Office of Communications, Education and Outreach
715 P Street, Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 322-8911 | R3StatewideProgram@wildlife.ca.gov