Salmon bite surges near Pigeon Point as upwelling takes hold

What's Biting

What's Next

The dominant story for the next two to three days is sea state management. Buoy 46026 is reading 6.6-foot swells, and wind speeds across the monitoring network are running 9–12 m/s — roughly 18–23 knots. Under these conditions, Half Moon Bay salmon boats will be weather-dependent. Morning launches before the afternoon sea breeze builds are the safest approach, and captains with flexibility to wait for a one- or two-day window of sub-5-foot swell will find the most consistent action.

Per Western Outdoor News — Saltwater, Captain Jared Davis has flagged the current 54°F water — distinctly green and upwelled compared to the 58°F readings at season open — as actively productive for Chinook south of Pigeon Point. If this temperature structure holds, expect salmon to stay concentrated around the upwelling zone. Trolling with whole frozen herring or anchovies near the thermocline is the traditional approach; when surface clarity improves after the current swell settles, mooching setups keyed on bait marks can add precision. Early morning and tide-change windows typically produce best when targeting salmon along this stretch of coast.

Rockfish are a smart fallback on rough-offshore days, particularly along the nearshore reef systems in and around Monterey Bay. Vermilion and cabezon are consistent spring producers along rocky structure; check current state regulations on nearshore retention limits before heading out, as seasonal quotas on certain species can close quickly during high-traffic periods. Bottom rigs with squid or live anchovy on moderately weighted drops in 100–250 feet produce reliably during active upwelling.

Pacific halibut fishing typically enters its best spring window through May as fish move up onto sandy-bottom flats inside and near the edges of the bay. No captain or shop reports this week specifically confirm halibut activity, but the seasonal pattern and current temps are in range. Light mooching setups with live bait drifted along sandy transitions near channel edges are the traditional approach.

The Last Quarter moon this week reduces extreme tidal swings, which tends to distribute bait more evenly across the water column and extend the productive bite window beyond just the first-light peak. Plan your launch to catch the tide change closest to sunrise for the best overlap of light and current movement.

Context

The 54°F water temperatures observed across the Central Coast buoy network this week are consistent with — or slightly below — typical May averages for the region, where spring upwelling generally drives surface temps into the mid-to-upper 50s by mid-month. Notably, Western Outdoor News — Saltwater documented that the 2026 salmon season opened April 11 at an unusually warm 58°F near Pigeon Point — well above the historical norm for early April along this stretch. The subsequent four-degree cooldown to current levels reflects the reassertion of the classic spring upwelling pattern that Central Coast salmon fishing depends on.

Bonita briefly appearing at season open — referenced by Captain Davis as now having 'taken a hike' — is an atypical warm-water signal for this region in April. Their presence underscored the anomalous warmth that characterized early 2026 conditions up and down the California coast. Their departure at 54°F is predictable: bonita generally require surface temps above 60°F to hold in productive numbers along the Central Coast. The Chinook salmon now concentrating in the colder upwelled water are a more normal — and more welcome — development for this time of year.

Looking south for broader context, Western Outdoor News — Saltwater also reported that San Diego-area boats were intercepting bluefin, yellowfin, and even an early albacore by late April — historically unusual for that date and consistent with the warm offshore anomaly that has shaped the 2026 season statewide. That warmth has not propagated into Central Coast inshore temps, which remain in the 53–58°F band across all three active buoys. Whether any southerly warm water migrates northward through summer is worth monitoring; if it does, pelagic species could push into Central Coast range earlier than typical, potentially complicating the salmon picture.

For now, the current setup — active upwelling, cold nearshore water, and Chinook concentrating on bait — is on-schedule and consistent with productive historical patterns for a mid-spring Central Coast salmon run.