California · Fishing license · Free days
Free fishing days in California
July 4 and September 5, 2026
On these days you can fish California waters without a license. Nothing else changes: limits, sizes, seasons and closed waters all still apply.
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July 4 and September 5, 2026
CDFW holds two Free Fishing Days a year, on which no sport fishing licence is needed. Every other rule stays in force — bag and size limits, gear restrictions, fishing hours and stream closures. Anyone fishing for steelhead, sturgeon, or salmon in the Smith and Klamath-Trinity river systems still needs the matching report card.
Confirmed on the agency's own page.
What a free day does not cover
- Bag limits, size limits and closed seasons are unchanged.
- Waters that are closed stay closed.
- A free day waives the license, not the rules the license comes with.
