Gage is declaring halibut season a go on Tomales Bay. I guess it only takes one him catching one to make it official in his mind, but he did catch a keeper in the bay this morning. There were several other halibut caught, one close to legal, the rest so small as to be clearly short and not boated. The "close-to-legal" is a guess, as he was an attempted boat flip and unintentional release. Still, not a bad day on the bay, and fish are present. We didn't get bit until we hit 60º surface temp water which had made its way as far as Hog by low tide today. We had a sabiki out while we trolled and ended up with a half-dozen jacksmelt and three sardines. Sardines are......interesting. We only saw a few little clumps of bait, so it ain't thick, but maybe it will be? It's nice to dream. I think that the one-acre school of bait we saw coming in last Thursday was partially sardines and they have spread through the bay in a layer so thin as to be unremarkable. Yet I remark. I love live sardines for bait. Best. Bait. Ever. Cross your fingers, consult your God, whatever, but hope for more. Putting a live sardine on your hook on the bay is like putting a quarter in a vending machine in the store lobby in 1985. You're gonna catch something. 

     Dungeness crabbing has started to slowly pick up, so that's why the commercial season is being closed. Or, it just seems like that to the commercial guys with traps. They have to have their gear retrieved by 6 PM April 30. Sport traps will remain acceptable in our area until we told otherwise, but probably in May. The strange reason why we are allowed to use traps and the commercials aren't is because some of the commercial guys went ahead and purchased so-called "ropeless" gear that they could theoretically use when whales were around without entangling a cetacean. Theoretically because they haven't had many opportunities to use this gear yet, and considering what they paid for it, they're a bit anxious. So, the whales aren't really here, but they could show up soon, and these guys paid a bunch of money and were promised an opportunity, they get to go and we get to go, until whales are actually here, and then it'll be just them and us with hoops. Clear as mud.

    On the subject of simple regulations, salmon will be open here from June 27 through July 22, and then reopen again on August 1 through August 31, unless the quota of 34,900 salmon are caught or are close to being caught. The quota is for the area between Gualala and Pigeon Point, so it includes the San Francisco Bay area, Half Moon Bay, and Bodega and Tomales Bays. Last year, 14,000 salmon were caught in four days. If fishing is good, the season will not make it to the end. On the other hand, the Great Blob of 2026 is happening, creating a marine heat wave that is, well, precedented, but certainly alarming. It looks a lot like 2015. That year was tough fishing in the shallows as the water surface temps hit 65º by late July. Bad for salmon but good for yellowtail, bluefin, bonito, and white sea bass. So maybe we'll get a full season for salmon because we can't catch them. Seems about right. They're catching more bonito in Santa Cruz right now than salmon, so.... Also, San Diego boats are catching yellowfin and dorado like it's late August. Things are messed up. Welcome to California.  

 

Jules Rodrigues of Patterson CA, on her first ever saltwater fishing trip, showed the boys how to catch a sea bass. Hooked this guy around 10:30 south of Hog in about 30' of water trolling a dead, "very old" anchovy, and landed him after a 10 minute fight. Nice work on your 38 pounder, Jules. It's generally not that easy.

    Mike Nursement found an almost keeper halibut closer to Marker 5 than Hog Island last Monday. It bit a frozen anchovy as the jacksmelt wouldn't bite for him. No keeper for him, but a halibut of any size north of Hog in April is pretty exciting.

    The Coastodian picks up a lot of trash along the coast, and while tossing some of his collection  at Miller Park he spied these halibut carcasses in the dumpster. That's a hopeful sign as well. Then he called me an hour or so later to ask how big a white seabass needed to be. Unfortunately his was 27" and the minimum size is 28".  This fish also bit a frozen anchovy. I detect a pattern.... He also caught a few jacksmelt and mackerel which didn't work as good as that frozen anchovy. 

 

     Regular viewers of this report will recognize this hand, if not this particular fish. This picture is from yesterday, about an hour before the turn of the tide. Yes, the redtails are biting. If you suspected that there may be complications, yes, most of the fish being caught from the beach are jacksmelt and walleye perch. But, clearly, there are walleyes (at least one is confirmed, photographed, and released) and I'm told there was more than one caught and less than a limit. There have been some stripers caught off of Sand Point  (Sand Nub? There ain't much point there). I tried from a boat today, thinking that I'd have more options and a better chance of success. Not so. There were a few birds diving when I got there but they quit and bailed out. An hour after I left the day beach out to the bar (the shark pit to surfers) went off with birds pounding the water over several acres for 90 minutes. Brutal. From the surf line out to to the bar there were birds happily gobbling up baitfish. I think the bait is coming in. Early. It's an early year. When I launched the water was 58º, which is scalding in April. I'm starting to think that the quotas for salmon may not be met, as hot water equals few salmon caught. My early suggestion for this season: If you're not beating your weights against the rocks or mud you'll not have to worry about cleaning salmon blood off your boat. For salmon, deeper is colder, and colder is happier, to a point. Also, structure is food when school bait can't be found. We shall see. All will be revealed, but only on the timeline reality chooses. 

    Crabbing in the bay? Really bad, or pretty good, depending on who you talk to. Strangely, the people saying it's good seem happier. Maybe they're just happy people. Maybe good things happen to people that think good things will happen for them. Or, luck. Probably, success brings smiles. But mostly inside the bay has been really hard to catch. Some are being caught, and few fishermen are doing very well, but mostly people are trying and not catching. But. A not insignificant number of the crab being caught are hollow, pretty Hollywood crab, which means that they just molted. Soon, large enough crab will be appearing in your traps or hoops, as they have made completed their change.. 

 There's a salmon season this year! Not the one you want, but hopefully the one you need. What does that mean here? Well, not much or a lot, depending on a lot of variables. The San Francisco season, which includes Bodega and Tomales Bays, will be from June 27 to July 22, and August 1 to August 31, depending on the outcome of the 34,900 fish limit for the area. Early limits equals early closure, so be careful what you wish for. I always want to do better than the boats around me, but this year the competition is on for real. Cool. That seems like a big number but when you see how many fish were caught in a few days last year the number gets smaller. Maybe more days equals less effort? Pro. bably not  after three years of pretty much no season at all. There's a separate season in September but i fear that this year's prediction for a super-El Nino may screw up a September and October salmon season. For catching salmon, at least. Smart people are calling for a repeat of 2015. San Diego sportboats are just now catching August fish in April, namely yellowfin tuna and dorado,. Seems like the guys that are paying attention might be right. White seabass! Bluefin! Even a few very scattered yellowtail! What a year! I've never learned as much about fishing as I did in 2015, and I learned not nearly enough. I didn't know what I was seeing most of the time. Pay attention to what is going on around you. Read SoCal fishing discussion boards. We will be SoCal. Learn it. I'll give tips but I ain't gonna give up everything I learn. Why should I steal your joy from learning the same things? This year is a big opportunity. Treat it as such. 

   This poor little feller washed up on Dillon Beach today. This young California sea lion died of something probably besides a shark, but was nibbled on nonetheless. How do you know you don't like it until you've tasted it? Well, now we know. If it ain't wiggling it ain't as yummy. Or so it would seem. But those are teeth marks. So surfers, beware. We all know that Uncle Bigbite is out there, and he's been noshy lately, but this year he's been really hungry. Please don't be that guy. Or this guy in the picture.