Anglers on the lower Trinity River can no longer keep adult fall-run Chinook salmon this season after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife projected they had reached the reach's 2026 quota as of 11:59 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16.

The closure covers the Trinity River from the Denny Road Bridge at Hawkins Bar to the confluence with the Klamath River, CDFW said in an Oct. 15 announcement. The quota for that portion of the river is 536 adult fish.

The reach remains open to the harvest of jack salmon, which CDFW defines as 2-year-old Chinook 23 inches or shorter. All adult Chinook salmon caught there must be released immediately, the department said.

The Klamath and Trinity rivers are managed as quota fisheries that allow the combined take of approximately 3,200 adult fall-run Chinook salmon in 2026, with different sections of the two rivers assigned different quotas, according to CDFW.

Anglers can check which sections of the Klamath and Trinity rivers are open or closed by calling CDFW's information hotline at (800) 564-6479.

CDFW also reminded anglers targeting salmon on the two rivers that they must carry a 2026 North Coast Salmon Report Card. Anglers are required to begin filling out the card at the start of fishing and record harvest and release in real time, the department said.

Sources & methodology

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California Department of Fish and Wildlife

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