California Fly Fishing Regulations Guide

Everyone 16 and older needs a valid California sport fishing license. Licenses are issued by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) — buy online through the CDFW Online License Sales portal, at CDFW offices, or at authorized retailers (most fly shops and sporting goods stores).

California offers resident and non-resident licenses, with non-resident pricing higher. Visitors typically choose:

• Annual non-resident license — best value if you fish more than a few days in a year.
• 1-day, 2-day, 10-day non-resident sport fishing licenses — short-trip pricing for road-trippers.
• Steelhead Report Card — required separately when fishing for steelhead (see below).
• Reduced fees — for disabled veterans, low-income seniors, and other CDFW-defined categories.

The California Steelhead Report Card is a separate harvest record required statewide whenever you fish for steelhead. It is required for any steelhead fishing — including catch-and-release — and you must record date, location, and species of every fish caught on the card in the field. As of 2025 the card costs $10.29.

• When you need it — fishing for steelhead anywhere in California: Trinity, Klamath, Russian River, all coastal anadromous water.
• Recording requirements — keep the card on you in writing-ready condition. Record steelhead immediately upon catching.
• Annual reporting — even if you never catch a fish, the card must be returned (electronically or by mail) at year-end with a usage report.
• Where to buy — same CDFW Online License Sales portal as the license.

California protects native (wild-spawned) steelhead through a simple statewide rule: if the adipose fin is intact, the steelhead must be released. Hatchery steelhead have their adipose fin clipped at the hatchery as juveniles — that missing or stub adipose is your indicator that the fish may be retained where regs allow. An intact, full-sized adipose fin means the fish was wild-spawned and is protected.

• Where this matters most — every California steelhead river: Trinity, Klamath, Russian, Eel, American, Smith.
• Visual check — the adipose is the small fleshy fin between the dorsal and the tail. On a hatchery fish, it is missing entirely or appears as a small healed scar.
• When in doubt, release — a clear adipose fin always goes back, regardless of which river.

Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), also called silver salmon, are federally listed under the Endangered Species Act in California waters. They are illegal to target or retain anywhere in California, including catch-and-release. Targeting Coho is itself a violation. If a Coho takes your fly, release it immediately, in the water if possible, with minimum handling.

• Where they occur — coastal drainages from Santa Cruz County north to the Oregon border, including the Russian, Eel, Klamath, Smith, and tributaries.
• Identification — bright silver in the ocean phase; spawning fish develop greenish-black backs with reddish flanks. White gums (Chinook have black gums) — this is the field tell.
• If hooked — release immediately, handle minimally, do not lift from the water for photos.

The California Golden Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss aguabonita) is the official California state fish, native exclusively to the upper South Fork Kern River drainage above Kern Falls and a handful of small high-Sierra tributaries within the Golden Trout Wilderness. They are not naturally found anywhere else in the world. Special regulations protect their tiny native range.

• Native range — South Fork Kern River above Kern Falls, plus Golden Trout Creek and a few tributaries within Golden Trout Wilderness. That is it.
• Special regulations — designated catch-and-release waters, artificial-only restrictions, and reduced bag limits in their native range. Verify the current CDFW regs for the specific water before fishing.
• Wilderness permit — overnight trips into Golden Trout Wilderness require a wilderness permit from the U.S. Forest Service.
• Stocked Goldens elsewhere — Goldens have been planted in some high-Sierra lakes outside their native range; those waters generally follow standard regs but verify.

California’s Wild Trout Program designates select waters for managed catch-and-release fly fishing to protect wild populations. The reaches fly anglers visit most:

• Hat Creek (lower 3.2 miles) — fly fishing only, single barbless hook, catch-and-release only. Below Powerhouse 2 to Lake Britton. The birthplace of California’s Wild Trout Program.
• Fall River — fly fishing only, single barbless hook, catch-and-release only. Float-tube and pram fishing only on most reaches.
• Hot Creek — fly fishing only, single barbless hook, catch-and-release only. Eastern Sierra geothermal spring creek near Mammoth Lakes.
• Owens River below Pleasant Valley Reservoir — Wild Trout Program designation. Fly fishing only on designated sections, artificial flies and lures only, catch-and-release only.
• Feather River Low Flow Channel — Wild Trout Program designation. Fly fishing only on designated sections, catch-and-release only.
• Upper Sacramento River — Wild Trout Program sections above Shasta Lake. Artificial lures and flies only on designated stretches.

The Klamath River underwent the largest dam removal project in U.S. history in 2023–2024, with four major dams (Iron Gate, Copco 1, Copco 2, and JC Boyle) taken down to restore salmon and steelhead access to hundreds of miles of newly-opened upstream habitat. As of 2025, regulations are actively evolving as fish populations recolonize and CDFW updates rules in response.

• Verify before every trip — published regulations may lag the current rules. Check CDFW’s Klamath-specific updates before fishing.
• Coho still ESA-listed — illegal to target or retain (see above).
• Steelhead Report Card — still required for any steelhead fishing.
• New access — large stretches of river above the former dam sites are now accessible — verify which sections are legal to fish.

California has multiple major National Parks with significant trout water — Kings Canyon, Sequoia, Yosemite, and Lassen Volcanic. National Park Service regulations stack on top of CDFW regulations: you still need a valid California fishing license, and you must also comply with park-specific rules.

• License still required — National Parks do not waive the state fishing license requirement.
• Park-specific rules — gear restrictions, seasonal closures, and special regulations vary by park. Yosemite, for example, has barbless artificial-only rules in the Tuolumne Meadows area.
• Wilderness permits — backcountry overnight trips require a wilderness permit from the relevant park.
• Verify with the park — check the NPS website for the specific park before your trip.

California has water-by-water seasons that vary considerably. The general framework:

• Trout — many rivers open year-round; some have spring or summer-only windows for spawning protection. Default trout limit is 5 trout per day with size minimums by water (commonly 10″ or 12″).
• Steelhead — Steelhead Report Card required. Wild fish (intact adipose) always released; hatchery fish (clipped adipose) may be kept under bag limits.
• Coho salmon — illegal to target or retain anywhere, statewide.
• Wild Trout Program waters — catch-and-release only, fly fishing only, single barbless hook on the strictest reaches.
• Golden Trout Wilderness — special regulations to protect native California Golden Trout.

Buy licenses, the Steelhead Report Card, and read the current regulations at wildlife.ca.gov. The regulations are published annually and cover stretch-by-stretch special rules, slot limits, fly-only and C&R designations, and species protections.