ODFW reminds anglers about the following 2026 recreational bottomfish season and regulations beginning Thursday, January 1, 2026. Changes from 2025 are in italics and underlined.
Bag Limits
- General Marine Species:
- 4-fish bag limit
- Canary rockfish: 2-fish sub-bag limit
- Cabezon: 1-fish sub-bag limit
- 16-inch minimum size limit
- Opens July 1
- Lingcod: 3-fish bag limit
- 22-inch minimum size limit
- Flatfish: 25-fish bag limit
- Sablefish: 10-fish bag limit
- Offshore long-leader fishery: 10-fish bag limit
- Canary rockfish: 2-fish sub-bag limit
- For a 10-fish bag limit to apply, long-leader gear must be used outside (seaward) of the 40-fathom regulatory line
- 10 midwater rockfish species only
- Retention of yelloweye and quillback rockfishes remain prohibited.
The bottomfish fishery will again be open at all-depths year-round (no seasonal depth restriction).
Reminder: Beginning in 2026, an Ocean Endorsement is required for most anglers fishing in the ocean from beaches, jetties, and boats except when taking shellfish or when fishing for and retaining salmon or steelhead unless other marine finfish are retained. For more information on requirements and fees, please visit myodfw.com/articles/ocean-endorsement.
Additional information on the recreational bottomfish fishery can be found on the ODFW sport bottomfish webpage.