These aren't bluefin, which is what Gage and I were looking for yesterday. We trolled about ten miles south from the edge of the shelf just below Rittenburg, then turned back toward Noonday Rock and as we came up onto the shelf below Fanny Shoal we saw some birds feeding in 450 feet of water. We hooked up on both MadMacs on bonito, then stopped and threw jigs at them for 45 minutes. We kept ten and released at least as many. They ran about eight to ten pounds gutted and gilled. We then ran about two miles out back over the edge to try for bluefin again and immediately hooked another bonito, so we called it a day as reeling in MadMacs from 450' out for bonito you're going to release anyway isn't fun. Stopped at Fanny for a few rockfish for dinner. The limit on bonito is 10 over 24" fork length but ten was more than plenty for the two of us. They bit everything we threw at them, metal jigs, surface iron, RedRum tube, etc., and they pull hard. The lights out bonito were at 37º 46' by 123º 12'.

    A report from way closer to home yesterday from Swampy: "Afternoon,

Been a while since we have been down but got into them today. Al and I were done by 1:00 with good fish. Tough bait but little shiners work. Will hit them again tomorrow. On the bar." That's the best report on halibut since last weekend. Mostly it's been sadness. Lots of anchovies in the bay but I've only heard of a few halibut and a thresher shark by Hog. There's been a few shiners on the bottom right at the yellow buoy but those anchovies might work on the bar too if you can catch any big enough to support your hook.  

 

 

    Todd Gentry and Jason Morrell caught these halibut today. 27 pounds for Todd and 21 pounds for Jason.  Limits for the boys, but these are the bigger ones. Yesterday was sadness for the same fishermen but limits for Mike Mack and Spinner. Today no halibut for Mike Mack and Spinner.  Fish are complicated. Mike and Spinner limited yesterday but today only landed a salmon (on a sabiki) and a striper. And limits of ling cod for Doug, but Doug fish don't count.  Nice work today Todd and Jason. 

     Yesterday I took Alec Bennett and Cameron on a nature tour of the Pacific. We covered just shy of a hundred miles of water for a grand total of one bonito. There were whales jumping and feeding, bird piles and hundreds of dolphins but no bluefin for us in the warm, mostly brownish-green water that we found at the Bodega Canyon. The outside edge of Cordell had better looking green water (that's where the bonito was) but apparently I should have ran farther offshore to find the cleaner water. Oh well. I didn't want to clean a bluefin anyway. 

  The halibut bite has been super slow on the bar and Dillon Beach. Here's a report to back me up: 

"Tried for halibut yesterday. Not even shorties. Water chocolate brown, whales, diving pelicans.Outside of that the water a little clearer, pasty green. Need some wind, and looks like we are going to get it.

Mat

F/V Candice, Retired" Well, we're getting the wind whether we like it or not, so hopefully it does some good for us. There are a few halibut in the bay (I think, he doesn't say but he usually trolls by Marshall), or there were, as a report from Branden Mendoza says:

"Hey Willy we headed out for our last trip of the year. Before I go in for 3rd and hopefully final back surgery. We decided to celebrate and try for some halibut. Ended the day with 3 big keepers. One looks like it came at the expense of someone else as the biggest had a gaff scar. We ran fresh cut makeral and a chartreuse hootchie flasher combo. Just want to say thank you for always keep up a good report always has the good info. Until next year we wish you calm seas and many memories. " Good luck on your surgery, sir. Nice finish to your season. 

 

     I was hoping for a picture from here but need to post this photo from Fort Bragg as it's my only picture. Team Nursement took Trip Plumb out for some albacore fishing today and finished with 10 when their fish box was full. Smallest fish 30#, largest 40#. Not far out. 8 to 15 miles. Seems like they're there. Not here, now, and maybe not later, either, but maybe there will be a window here. Or, you could go to Fort Bragg and catch albacore. Probably don't wait. It's a wierd year and there's no expectations except for weirdness. 

     Halibut report here is bad. Lots of tiny sublegal fish. Not many keepers. Gage and I caught three keepers off of Dillon Beach on Thursday for a pound and a half of dead squid, 5 jack mackerel,  and 5 tiny anchovies. Two keepers on a swimbait and one on a live jack mackerel.  And many, many short bites. Lots of shorts, to be clear. 

    Best report I heard today was from the inside of the bar where a legal white sea bass was caught by the Wet Dream boys. Not huge but nice fish.  Lightning strike fish. Nice work boys. See you next year, and that's a hell of a finish this year. 

 

    Harvest Time harvested a big one yesterday. They scored a giant where others did not. The report:"Plugged the boat with one yesterday morning (all my problems are small boat problems).

66” fork length, 600’, at the canyon.

How many other sport boats were out there you ask?

Zip, zero, zilch, nicht, nein, nada!

Finished up with quick limits of quality rockfish at Cordell.

Harvest Time out." I read a couple of other reports from the same general time and area and they had no bites. So I'll share this. Steve Wisnewski was right time right place. Your experience may (and likely will) vary. Super job Steve. Thanks for the heads up. And nice job catching where others failed.

   Gage went down past the salmon line (38 02) and caught his salmon limit today in 70 feet of water.  I worked today, but did get out in the evening for a quick try. I caught my personal best halibut, 39#, on a whole dead squid in 76 feet of water. Not what I was trying for but I'll keep it. 

   There's a couple of photos from Gage's trip today. He caught his salmon and got a good great white shark show on his return. Not a bad day.