Salmon opener brings mysteries, chance of mayhem

Mystery and magic arrive next Sunday with the opening of salmon season. The potential for fishing mayhem is along for the ride.

For thousands, the salmon opener means months of buildup with no clear idea of what awaits next weekend off the Bay Area coast. This year’s opener, delayed for months by new rules, has become a mystery challenge.

One year — which had only a fair forecast for the opener — we cruised at dawn past the Golden Gate and made a right turn toward Duxbury off the Marin coast, the target spot for the Golden Gate Fleet. At Middlegrounds, the fish finder lit up with an abundance of bait right under our boat. Most of the fleet was to the north, steaming ahead full blast.