Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
No photos today, but good news, sort of. It's sort of good news because it seems that whenever I say halibut fishing is dead it picks up, and when I say it's good it dies. Yesterday I said the halibut fishing was bad and had been bad for a while, and it has been bad. Frank Green is here with family and friends and the four of them have been struggling to get one keeper per day in the boat. These are halibut killers, and one fish for four guys is bad. This is the halibut Godfather and his lieutenants, at least in my pantheon, and them not catching scares me for the near future of halibut. And then today they limited out on the bar in a couple of hours. The Carters, as fishy a couple as have ever tied the proverbial knot, watched them do it without getting a bite, until they did get bit, and limits followed quickly. All the fish were caught on the bar and were spotted, so if you believe the old-timers (crap, I think I'm one of them...) these are fresh fish to the bay. As the Jigger John said today, "They weren't there yesterday." He's been fishing here for over ten days, every day, and he's a killer too, so consider his words to be carved in stone and carried down a mountain by a really old man. Nice work, team Green. Grinding pays off, if you grind enough. Ten days is kind of soul-crushing, but what a finish!
In other news, there's albacore here, but they're far. 50+ miles is a long run. But the bucks here have been rutting since before the start of deer season and geese have been flying south past here since at least Sunday last. The elk have been bugling since July. Winter is coming. Since many of you believe Gage more than I, I'll repeat what he said: "Signs are that winter is coming soon. They're catching tropical fish from here to Washington, yellowtail, dorado, striped marlin. That's October fishing. It's August. Get 'em while you can." Well hell. I guess I'm going. Thursday. The forecast says Thursday is the day. I guess we'll find out how good the forecasts are now without weather buoys to report what actually happened...
Monday, August 25, 2025
Friday, August 22, 2025
California Fish and Game Commission Increases Fishing Opportunities for the 2025 Recreational Groundfish Season
On August 14, 2025, the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) adopted emergency changes to the state’s groundfish regulations so that recreational ocean fisheries are no longer constrained by quillback rockfish (Sebastes maliger). Fishing opportunities in northern and central California were reduced in 2023 due to low estimated quillback rockfish abundance. A new stock assessment completed earlier this summer indicates it is no longer necessary to restrict groundfish fishing to specific depths north of Point Conception in order to avoid quillback rockfish, allowing anglers to take advantage of expansions to open fishing areas. The Commission acted to rapidly change the regulations to allow additional opportunities before summer’s end.
Over the last few years, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) collaborated with federal partners, fishing groups, and anglers to gather data and improve scientific knowledge of quillback rockfish off California. The information was crucial in informing the new stock assessment, which indicates the stock is at a healthy level and not overfished. This finding reverses results from a 2021 stock assessment which relied on very limited data from the California stock. Retention of quillback rockfish, however, remains prohibited in all waters statewide until recommendations for sport and commercial fishery catch limits are developed for California quillback rockfish in conjunction with those for other nearshore groundfish species.
“This action is the result of hard work by a lot of people,” said Tim Klassen, an appointed advisory member for the groundfish sport fishery and a charter boat captain in Eureka. “The Commission and CDFW moved quickly to implement these changes and worked collaboratively with fishermen to achieve a result that protects our fisheries and the people that depend on them. This is what good fishery management looks like.”
CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham remarked, “CDFW is pleased with the new assessment, which reflects what California anglers have been seeing, and is committed to restoring fishing access as quickly as possible. We appreciate all our fishing industry partners who participated in scientific data collections that contributed to this positive outcome – it was a true collaboration.”
With restored access to all-depth fishing for northern and central California, a sub-bag limit for canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) is necessary to keep catches within the federal California recreational harvest guideline for this species. Therefore, a new two fish sub-bag limit will apply for canary rockfish, statewide. Additionally, vermilion (Sebastes miniatus) and sunset rockfish (Sebastes crocotulus) will be managed together as a species complex, meaning that they are considered the same species for regulatory purposes (e.g., sub-bag limit) due to their nearly indistinguishable appearance.
These changes are intended to roll back restrictions that were put into place to avoid quillback rockfish, which are very rarely seen south of Point Conception. Since fishing in the Southern Groundfish Management Area [(GMA) south of Point Conception, 34° 27’ N. Lat. to the US/Mexico border] is constrained by copper (Sebastes caurinus) and vermilion/sunset rockfish, there are no changes to the current fishing seasons in the Southern GMA. Groundfish fishing in the Southern GMA is currently open shoreward of the 50 fathom Rockfish Conservation Area boundary until September 30. The Map Viewer application can be used to view updated GMA boundaries and the 50 fathom Rockfish Conservation Area boundary.
The following summary details the changes adopted by the Commission:
- Boat-Based Fishery Season Dates and Depths – North of Point Conception (34° 27’ N. Lat.; within the Northern, Mendocino, San Francisco, and Central GMAs), groundfish fishing will be authorized in all water depths through December 31, 2025.
- Species Retention – Nearshore, shelf, and slope rockfishes, lingcod, cabezon, and greenlings may be retained during the all-depth fishery.
- Canary rockfish will have a new two fish sub-bag limit statewide.
- Quillback rockfish will remain prohibited (no retention) statewide.
- Vermilion and sunset rockfish in combination are limited to two fish south of 40° 10’ N. Lat. (near Cape Mendocino), and four fish between the OR/CA border and 40° 10’ N. Lat
- Management Line at Lopez Point Removed – The Central GMA will revert to a single management area. The split at Lopez Point (36° N. Lat.) between the Central – North and Central – South GMA is no longer needed. The Central GMA remains at the same northern and southern borders from 37° 11’ N. Lat. (Pigeon Point) to 34° 27’ N. Lat. (Point Conception).
With all-depth fishing opportunity, anglers will experience greater flexibility on fishing trips when targeting species in addition to groundfish. Combination trips are no longer limited by depth constraints when targeting additional species or transiting between GMAs that do not have depth constraints. Note when transiting between GMAs it is still unlawful to exceed the bag limit of a GMA even if the fish are caught in another GMA (§27.20(b)(1)(A)(1). Meaning, anglers cannot catch four vermilion/sunset rockfish in the Northern GMA, then possess or land them in the Mendocino or another GMA with a two fish vermilion/sunset sub-bag limit. Similarly, anglers cannot take nearshore rockfish, cabezon, or greenling north of Point Conception and land them in the Southern GMA October through December when inshore fishing is closed.
Friday, August 15, 2025
I was forced to go fishing without Gage yesterday. Hard times. I took Jerry Knedel instead. We started on the bar for two stripers and two missed bites over 90 minutes. The fish didn't show for us like they did for Gage the day before, but we weren't Gage. Oh well. We then went looking for schools of bait, bait that we heard was "black-out-the-meter" for miles and miles, especially on McClures. So to McClures we went, and by McClures we lost all hope of getting any baitfish. The previously ubiquitous bait had vanished. We were lucky to score four large jacksmelt and get back to the bar just as the tide turned. We pretty quickly scored three halibut out of five bites in two drifts, just before the current sped up and the water cooled off. There were some other fish caught but not many. Today the wind blew and the catch numbers got even worse. Bait is hard. Fishing is hard. Fishing in the wind is even harder.