The adult fall-run Chinook salmon fishery on the lower Klamath River will close at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, after the California Department of Fish and Wildlife projected that anglers will have met the season quota below the Highway 96 Bridge near Weitchpec, according to the agency's announcement issued Sept. 11.
The closure applies to the main stem of the Klamath River from the Highway 96 Bridge downstream to the mouth of the river at the Pacific Ocean. The section at the mouth of the Klamath had already closed to angling at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2 and will remain closed to all fishing for the rest of the calendar year after a separate spit-area quota was met earlier in the season.
The 2026 Klamath River Basin recreational quota was set at 3,248 adult fall-run Chinook, with 1,624 adults allocated to the lower Klamath between the Highway 96 Bridge and the ocean, 552 adults allocated above Weitchpec to the California-Oregon border, and 1,072 adults allocated to the Trinity River. The spit-area closure at the mouth of the Klamath was triggered when 15 percent of the total basin allocation had been harvested below the Highway 101 bridge.
The lower main stem of the Klamath River below the Highway 96 Bridge remains open for harvest of jack Chinook, defined as two-year-old fish measuring 23 inches or less. All adult Chinook caught in that section after the closure must be released immediately. Fishing for adult Chinook may continue above Weitchpec and across the entire Trinity River until those fisheries reach their own closure triggers.
Daily bag and possession limits set by the California Fish and Game Commission for the Klamath Basin allow two Chinook per day, with no more than one adult longer than 23 inches, and a six-fish possession limit with no more than three adults. Anglers targeting salmon on the Klamath and Trinity rivers must carry a 2026 North Coast Salmon Report Card and record every harvest and release in real time. Quota status for open and closed sections is available from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife hotline at (800) 564-6479.
