Coleman hatchery this morning has an estimated 30,000 to 80,000 salmon waiting to spawn. There's more in the river (They're stacked up for 3/4 of a mile below the hatchery) still heading that way. Lots of Jack's mixed in. Remember that last year Coleman had 250 fish return. It looks like there's more than that this year.

We may have a salmon season next year. It could happen! Gage is visibly vibrating.

    Apparently that vibrating calls in the fish. This 19 pounder whacked his jig on the drop. He missed another bite and released a small halibut. I caught nothing and missed no bites. I'm going to work on my vibrating. This pretending to be calm just ain't working.

 

      I was headed out the door on Tuesday and bumped into this gentleman who's name I didn't get, but I did get this photo and the info that the halibut weighed 21 pounds and it bit the only live jacksmelt they,  caught that day. There was another, smaller halibut on the boat as well that bit a jig but this one was more photogenic. There has been almost decent halibut fishing this week, although the last few days the bar and, God forbid, Dillon Beach proper have been off-limits due to high surf. It makes it hard to fish the outgoing tide when it carries you towards your doom. There are a lot of jacksmelt out in the ocean for bait, but that's not helpful if you can't safely get there. The halibut should continue to be somewhat active until some weather cools the water down below their comfort zone, and I don't think today's wind was enough to do it but a few more days will. The forecast is for a break from the wind, at least on the beach, for a bit. Maybe even a pause in the swell, too (we already had a break, and a lot of it). 

    Rockfishing is about as good as it gets right now as all depths are open and the lingcod have moved in closer to shore in order to make more lingcod. Go help out a rockfish by catching a lingcod. Heck, get a pair of them. Probably get a few rockfish as well (we can't help all of them). I had forgotten how good fresh rockcod is. Now I remember. Damn. They're out there and not too far, but a bit farther will be better. Close in has been hit hard. The 120 to 300 foot area has been left alone for a bit, but beware: The forbidden fruit that we call quillback rockfish appear to be quite plentiful, despite their low numbers officially recorded. Gage showed me a video from Instagram where a pair of guys had probably a dozen quillbacks laying on deck while fishing the Farallones. Strangely, the video has since been deleted. But I don't think we've had a half dozen quillbacks on the boat in the last twenty years. Maybe I suck at quillbacks. Probably, even. But damn. Those guys caught all of them. Or, maybe there's more than we think? No, they probably got them all and we don't even have to worry now. Thanks, guys. But just in case one got missed, go here for info on what they look like: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=222200&inline

    We had some halibut-catching royalty here last weekend. Joe Winn and his buddy Brandon Salazar were here and their boats each caught four (limits) Saturday. The day beach and the bar were the good spots. Also, winter is coming, and the long period swell is here, too, and breakers are kind of a thing until probably May 2026. Be careful. There's some fish around but the good spots also have some surf near or on them. Give every spot the stink eye before rolling in and shutting down. And maybe don't shut down. Sometimes having the option to jab the lever forward and go quick is a good thing. Joe and his buddy used jigs and live jacksmelt to catch their critters. The halibut are out there. They aren't easy, but they're there. Mike Mack had a rough day yesterday in the harsh south wind that hit, but he eventually hammered two at the end of the day with the big one going 28 pounds. Nice damned work, Mike. And nice work, Joe and Brandon. Also, nice boat Brandon. Thanks for showing me what I could have with some hard work and other effort. I'm not going to do it, but wow. It looks good on you. 

    I did get to go to Gage's secret spot (should I capitalize that? Probably. Maybe if it stays good) on Thursday. It was good, but not like you want. There's long periods of nothing, then a brief flurry of bites over a very specific spot, then nothing again. If you drift off of the bitey spot you need to get immediately back on it. This, it turns out, is exactly the same rule for everywhere else. Here's some knowledge: Halibut run in schools. Halibut have tiny stomachs, so they can't eat much, and they're cold-blooded, so they digest slowly. These things mean they only need to eat maybe a couple-three times a week, and if you want to catch one you need to be there, then. Only a few fish in the school will be hungry, but a few will bite almost unconditionally. Almost. But you need to be there when they bite. And if you drift off, move back. If you have spotlock, use it. I need it. How do you know where the fish are and when they'll bite? That's the hard part. Edges, where depth changes or dunes or rocks are can concentrate fish, as they concentrate baitfish. Timing is tide change, usually, but other factors that I am unaware of can make them bite between tides. Just know that mostly halibut fishing is boring but when you get a bite, follow up! Now! Cast behind the boat, or drive back and drop. Multiple rods with multiple baits also work here in Tomales Bay. Have a lot of functional lines in the drink when they bite. It can make for a Charlie Foxtrot but, wow. Ever limit in 60 seconds? Maximize your opportunities.

    

 

    It was foggy enough yesterday to take Alec Bennett with us for a trip to Gage's secret spot. It turns out that Gage's secret spot is very good. It ain't big, so it needs to remain secret, but as luck would have it, the halibut are also biting in other spots. Alec got a 21 pounder, and I finally made the board with a just boardworthy fish (20 lbs). We had nothing, then a double, then nothing for a while, then a quad. When they're biting, wow.. When they're not, also wow, but the bad one. The other spots are off of Dillon Beach and the mouth of the bay (the bar, as we say) had some fish. Maybe not as big, and maybe not as aggresively biting, but places you can find without trouble. 

     Rockfishing has been pretty good, as all depths are open, and a lot of those depths have been off limits for a while, so they've been fished minimally in the interim. Go get 'em. They're yummy.

 

   I say the halibut fishing is bad, and who shows up? Swampy. Challenge accepted. His report from today: "Evening Willy,

Fat lady ain’t singing yet. Solo and probably last trip of the year, gotta start getting ready for the ducks. Started on the bar in fog and got spooked by the crashing rollers. Found these two just north of hog during the afternoon tide change on live bait. Sounds like Gage hammered them again. Thanks for another great year, Swampy." It looks like there are a few fish in the bay, or there were a couple. Probably there's more. Swampy tends to connect, and the tide change seems to be the deal. Nice work, as usual, Swampy. You gotta feel nervous for the ducks, though.

    Swampy mentioned Gage, and here's Gage's picture from today. He jumped on Tom Brodsky's boat, Fishbox, and he, Tom and Lee limited on rockfish before trying for halibut in Gage's "secret spot". Gage will be on my boat tomorrow and I hope to find out the spot, but I've already been sworn to secrecy. Heck, he didn't ask for my soul, so I'm in. They're out there, if you can find them, it seems. The rockfish is good, though, regardless of Gage's knowledge. No fishing in the +120 foot area has left many fish in the 120-200 foot area. There's probably more lingcod in closer but those unmolested deeper water rockfish are kinda dumb and very tasty.