Rockfish is closed and halibut is over. The crabbing is slow but some people are still getting a few keepers. Surfperch and clamming are probably the best bets for a while. Clamming should be very interesting this year considering that the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary has new regulations the will be going into effect this spring that will ban anchoring on the clam islands. You'll still be able to dig for clams but not drop your anchor. This law is to protect the eelgrass beds. Eelgrass absolutely needs protection, however this law only punishes people who remember to set their boat's parking brake. The closed area is mapped above. How it will be marked on the water remains to be seen, and an unmarked "no parking" area will be very hard to ticket. It's almost like they want us to bring back some kind of clam barge....

It is still possible to catch enough Dungeness for dinner but you'd better have a backup plan just in case. Inside Tomales Bay is probably the best bet, but not by a large margin. The rockfishing is excellent and the lingcod have finally come in to spawn. Rockfish closes on Sunday night and the weather should be good this weekend so if you want any more fish this year, now's the time.

According to the news reports the Dungeness crabbing is very slow. They are correct. There are some sport-sized crabs to be caught, not many, but people are catching a few for dinner. There are probably as many being caught in the bay as out at Ten Mile. The rockfishing was very slow during the nice weather last weekend but has drastically improved since. On Wednesday three boats limited on rockfish in 90 minutes. The best bite was pushing the 120' mark from Elephant Rock south.

More effort than success to report. Most people crabbing are catching enough for a nice crab dinner as long as there aren't too many guests. Ten Mile beach is loaded with crab pots, sport and commercial. The outer bay has a bit less effort and even less crab. Tomales Bay proper has had a pretty good showing, especially for a slow year. I had felt pretty good last Tuesday with 8 crabs for 8 pots on Ten Mile until I spoke to a man who had landed 6 crabs with two pots on the pier. Rockfishing is slow for most but a large number of mackerel and sardines are off of Ten Mile so fresh bait is available and fun to catch on light tackle.

The weather was great on Friday and most of Saturday, giving crabbers and fishermen a chance to go outside the bay. The outer bay held a few legal Dungeness and many, many short ones. Ten Mile beach was very particular about where the pots were placed and what the pots were baited with. Apparently, hanging bait is great if you want starfish and red crab. Otherwise, stick with squid. Rockfish catches varied from quick limits of quality fish for some to others scratching for a few keepers. Elephant reef seemed to be the most reliable place to catch decent numbers.

The ocean has flattened out and boats are makingit to Ten Mile beach for dungeness crab. A few have limited out but most are able to get dinner and not much more. I landed 8 times as many crabs today as on my first trip out last season (that makes 16 crab today) so I think it's a better year. The numbers (such as they are) probably won't last too long beyond the commercial season's opening on the 15th, but judging by the numbers of just barely undersized crabs we returned (and the reports of others) maybe there will be some sport crab around in June 09. At least next year's opener looks good. For this year, there are a few in the outer bay and more on Ten Mile. The numbers were better the further south the pots were and 50-60 feet of water had better returns than 100-120. Starfish were a menace. Rockfishing was slow to slower but if you move around enough you can find some that are biting.

The weather was not very pleasant for the dungeness opener. Quite a few people braved the wind and rain to try for crabs from the pier, and while there were legal sized dungeness taken by some, most folks had to be content with some red crab for dinner. The forecast has the weather laying down later in the week so maybe we'll have some better reports for next weekend.

A few boats went out this week and caught limits of rockfish while enjoying some of the best weather we've had all year. Of course, the weather changed this weekend with some of the biggest seas we've had all year, up to 16' at the Point Reyes waverider buoy. A couple of boats snuck out for a few fish but most fishermen stayed on the beach. The forecast for next weekend is calling for some rain on Friday. Let's hope that's all we get, just rain, and the sea stays flat enough for some crabbing on the opener. Otherwise the pier will be awfully full of people.

With the cold water in the halibut bite should be over for the year. So, to show me how much I really know, the halibut on the bar went on the bite today. One boat had 2 to 26# and another boat had 6 to 22#. A third boat remains fishing as I write this but I hear he has fish as well. Four halibut were caught yesterday off the day beach on dead bait but today's fish seem to like the live smelt. Limits of rockfish and a few lings for those that tried for them. The red crabbing has been good as well, even though crabbers have to sort through five small dungeness for every keeper red. I hope the dungeness can grow another inch in the next two weeks.

Well, the wind blew and the water got cold. There were two halibut taken near the elk fence Saturday but so far today the best report was an ice chest full of sardines. The sardines, as I hear it, came from the outer bay. No rockfish, but then no one got out that far. Some keeper sized dungeness being returned from the pier. Let's hope they hang around for a few more weeks for the opener.

If it doesn't rain too hard the fishing should be good this weekend. Actually, the fish probably don't care about about the rain, but you know what I mean. The water is still around 58 degrees and the halibut are still biting. Sardines have shown up outside and can be caught by finding the ones flipping on the surface and casting sabikis to them. I launched at 4:00 this afternoon and was back by 6:00 with a 25# halibut from McLures Beach, 30' of water on a live sardine. Other fish have come from 10 Mile, the Day Beach and the bar, meaning there's fish all around if you are lucky enough to hook up. Rockfish are biting well at Point Reyes, especially if you are fishing in the Cowboy's boat. Also, if you find a school of black or blue rockfish, even if they won't bite well, try dragging a lingcod lure through their midst. The lings are starting to trickle in with fish to 18# coming in the last few days. With luck the bite will get even better before it gets closed.

Not a red hot bite this weekend. There were halibut and rockfish taken but not in great numbers or large sizes. Another striper from the bar, about 10 pounds. The wind is supposed to blow for a few days and if it cools the water down too much the halibut fishing could be done for the year. Let's hope for some indian summer weather.

Live jacksmelt are still bringing in halibut from the bar. Catching the smelt can be the hard part. It took one fisherman 3 hours to make bait on Wednesday and 2 hours to catch his limit of halibut. Ten Mile has its share of halibut as well although the fish seem to be smaller down there. 5" and 7" Zoom Flukes colored "white ice" behind a dodger has been outfishing bait on the troll. A boat landed 9 halibut on the little rubber fishes on Tuesday. I could only get three to bite yesterday. The rockfishing is good when the drift is slow enough. This week there were some nice limits of black rockfish. Lingcod should be in to spawn any time now, hopefully before the season closes.

Mike Gibson again, this time with a 21# striper. He also caught 2 halibut, all of them from the bar and on live jacksmelt. Two boats had limits of halibut from McClure's Beach. Most other boats had 1 or 2 halibut from the bar or Ten Mile and there were also some nice rockfish taken.

The rockfish bit well this weekend with some nice blacks and blues for some. I got to see my 4th tiger rockfish ever. The halibut did show this weekend and most folks caught at least one (most is more than half) but no big numbers of fish. Most of the halibut weren't jumbos either, but hey, the little guys taste better anyhow.

The halibut are still on the bar with most boats catching. High boats in the last few days had up to 5 fish. Most have come on the incoming or turn of the tide, but personally, my best bite was after the tide turned and had been outgoing for three hours. Ten Mile Beach has also been kind with the fish if you're willing to put in the time. Rockfishing has been good, not great, but good enough that a talented few are getting their limits of rockfish before finishing out with a limit of halibut. Who knows how long the weather will hold. Get 'em while they last.

Yes, for those of you that know me, this is me and my boys showing off (25#). The point I'm trying to make though, is that (obviously) any fool can catch a halibut now. This one was caught after work on Sunday in 45 minutes of trying. This one came on the Bolinas jig, a white bucktailwith a red worm on it. Other fish (and quite a few of them) have come from the bar and from Ten Mile beach. On Saturday, large herring worked for limits (9 fish) at the first parking lot. Sunday demonsrated the effectiveness of the dreaded rubber fish, in this case the trolled Zoom Fluke in White Ice. 4 halibut to 29# for the Fluke. Monday the bar produced 5 fish for one boat. It may not equal the excellence that San Francisco Bay produced earlier in the year, but on the other hand, it ain't San Francisco Bay, either. If the forecast holds (and why should we doubt the word of any meteorologist?) the weekend's weather sould be good. If the weather holds the fishing should be good. The water is the right temp, color, etc. If there was going to be one time to be here this year to catch halibut, this looks to be it. Those of you that enjoy eating the true chicken of the sea, see you on Saturday.

Quickly, just overheard a boat on Ten Mile with 2 halibut and just lost a 6 foot thresher shark.

Sorry about this late report but between trying to stay in business and brown-outs burning up appliances I haven't had much time. Here's the scoop: The water warmed up for the start of Labor Day weekend and many halibut were caught. Then the wind blew, the water chilled and the fish got lockjaw. No wind the last few days, the water has gone from 52.8 to 57.8 on the bar (as of last night, it could be warmer now and probably is) and the water went from clear to coffee (sorry divers). The forecast is good for the next few days and if the halibut are going to bite at any time in the next 8 months, this should be it. Rockfish have been slow out front with the best bite at Point Reyes, danger close to the rocks. If you're not nervous, you're not close enough. Be careful and don't fish it if the swell is up at all.

Two photos of what we believe is a sheep crab. It was caught on hook and line from Sand Point and is by far the largest spider crab anyone around here has seen. Nothing else caught yesterday with even catching live bait proving difficult for many. Three halibut were shot by a diver on the bar, though, so even though they weren't biting they are there. Over the week when the weather was better there were halibut taken at Ten Mile beach on the troll and right in front of Dillon Beach in 15-20 feet of water on live jacksmelt. Hopefully a good report will follow today's fishing.

Frank Green with the new fish to beat, a 40#, 48.5" halibut. The water has warmed up enough the last few days to get the flatties biting again. They're coming from Ten Mile and right out in front of the town of Dillon Beach. Frank won't say exactly where he was, but it wasn't Ten Mile beach. Any divers who might be interested, be advised: the water turned dark and murky with the slight raise in temperature and those who've been diving report bad visibility. The weather forecast is for wind by this weekend, 15-25 knots, which is what we've had most of the summer. Maybe they'll be wrong.

Mike Gibson with a 26.5# halibut from right in front of the campground. He had three halibut all told and released a large salmon on the bar. There were other halibut caught (and salmon released) from the north end of Ten Mile beach. The rockfishing was pretty good most of the week but slowed down in the last day or so. The ocean had a big swell on it the last few days as well but the forecast is for better weather this week. The first albacore of the season were reported out of Half Moon Bay last week so hopefully the weather will get nice and the water will move in.

Frank Sakaoka and Steeve B. with their 26# and 22# lingcod. Frank's took a ling bar and the 22# was trying to eat another fish. These fish came from Point Reyes. Apparently the big females are coming in to the shallows to spawn. One boat had six halibut to 18# from the back bay. Some other flatties came from 10 Mile this week. The rockfishing has been good early in the day before the wind gets up too bad. From the stories I've heard the salmon fishing would have been good this week if the season had been open. Several salmon were released at boatside by very disappointed anglers.

Clams, crabs, abalone and a few halibut this weekend. One halibut from in front of the day beach parking lot (to the gentleman who caught that fish: we have your Salt-Away unit in the shop) and the rest from Hog Island back. The abalone conditions were not prime due to surge and poor visibility but most divers limited. Clamming was good for those that started early enough. The crabbing was good for those who were able to get across the bay. There were crabs caught on the pier as well but there was a lot more competition for those crabs, as well as a big sea lion that showed up Sunday to eat people's bait. Don't worry, if he eats your bait we'll sell you more.

For those of you with albacore on the brain, check out the link to tempbreak.com. They update when they have something to show, the detail is pretty good, the included weather links to the buoys are handy, and it's free, so far. Gotta love that.

A few halibut were caught this week. The Hog Island area gave up a 26 pounder on Wednesday. A limit was taken on Thursday by a gentleman trolling artificials farther back in the bay. Today saw a pair of fish in the teens taken, one in the back bay and one from in front of Dillon Beach. The rockfish bite was pretty good for those willing to put up with a bumpy ride. One boat brought back 50 rockfish and 2 ling cod from Elephant Rock and another boat has limited out four days in a row. Red crabbing has been pretty good, especially across the bay by the kelp. Judging by the number of dungeness crab being landed and released, we should have a pretty good sport season this fall.

The wind blew offshore this weekend keeping the water cold and very bumpy outside the bay. A few boats went out and caught a few rockfish but most boats stayed inside and tried for halibut. The halibut bite was slower than the rockfish bite and only a few were taken. Some smaller fish from the back and a couple of nice ones (15-25#) from the bar. Hopefully the wind will die by August and we'll get a decent shot at some flatfish this summer.

The halibut bite isn't quite dead. A 25 pound flattie came from the bar today and a limit was taken from there yesterday. At least one came from the back bay Wednesday along with some other bites and shorties. Foul weather offshore has shut down the fishing outside the bay so the locals here won't be contributing to the rockfish quota this week. The best thing I heard was some kids on the pier on Monday evening catching over two dozen 6" salmon and returning them safely to the water. I'd never even heard of anyone catching salmon of any size from the pier,so I'd say it looks good for the future of salmon fishing.

The halibut bite dropped off this last week. Way off. The bar suffered the the worst slump in the action with only one fish landed from Wednesday to Friday and divers speared it. A few fish were taken at Hog Island during the week. Today rockfish were caught by those who went out despite a forecast wind of 20-30 knots. A halibut was taken from the way back bay. Hero of the day was Mike Gibson of Lodi who landed two halibut, 21.5# and 23#. Both fish came from the bar on the outgoing tide.

Ron Johnson shows off his 22# halibut he trolled up at the Keyholes.
Mike Garello (and his assisstant) are standing next to the new fish to beat. Mike caught the 30# halibut on the bar on a large live jacksmelt. Many other halibut came from the bar on Sunday with boats reporting 0-5 fish. The average was 1-2 and most fish weighed in the teens. One 20#+ salmon was safely released as well.

Gerrie and Tom Carter landed five halibut on the bar today including these 20 and 24 pounders. The halibut ate live jacksmelt. I guess this means the halibut are on the bar. Ten Mile beach has given up a few halibut for those that could avoid the worst of the dogfish sharks. Rockfish is still on the slow side due to too many good things to eat for the fish.

Nate Bauman, 13, of Lakeport shows off the new big fish board leader, a 24.5 pound halibut caught on a drifted dead herring in the channel by marker #5. Larger numbers of halibut were taken further back in the bay with counts of 2 to 5 keepers, but Nate's fish dwarfed them all. The water closer to the mouth of the bay is still on the cold side for quantities of fish but apparently warm enough for a few halibut to bite.

The way back bay is still giving up halibut. No really big ones landed but a few boats are catching four or five fish in as little as three feet of water. Divers speared two halibut over 20 pounds on the bar but saw no other fish. The rockfish bite is still on the slow side but limits are possible for the patient.

Our first fish on the big fish board! Jason Robertson landed a 24 pound halibut at Hog Island on a bucktail jig. Another legal fish was also taken. Farther back in the bay has been better for numbers of halibut when the bite is on. The problem is that the bite is sporadic and the fish are mixed legal and not legal yet. The rockfish bite has been slow the past few days. Most boats are catching fish, just not quickly.

A couple halibut this week from way back in the bay and one from Pelican Point. The Pelican Point fish was in the teens. The water is still cold out front, around 50 degrees. Rockfishing is pretty good when the wind is off. At least the fog moved in yesterday and got rid of the smoke.

I spoke to some divers yesterday. They took a look on the bar to see if the halibut were in. The report is good visibility, water on the cold side but better than it's been, no halibut but more needlefish (pacific sandlance) than these divers have seen on the bar in close to a decade. So, they're not there now but it looks good when the water warms a little more.

Finally some nice weather on a weekend. Almost everyone that went out for rockfish caught limits with the better fishing being further from the mouth of the bay. The bite was a bit slow but steady once fish were located. A few boats tried for halibut in the bay but I didn't hear of any legal ones landed. The surfperch, while not biting for everyone, provided those fishermen in the right places with a tasty dinner. The bite seems to be better nearer the rocks.

Very quickly, three firsts: First halibut landed on a bucktail jig this year, first halibut landed at Hog Island that I know of (both the same fish), and first white seabass landed (32", also at Hog). It is possible and probably likely that there are more of these fish. Let's find out.

The wind died down for a few days letting the people get out of the bay and catch some rockfish. The fishing was a bit scratchy but most of the guys that put in the time caught their limits. A few boats even limited on lings. Halibut fishing in the bay has been very slow and even the sharks aren't biting well. The water is starting to warm up though, so those fish should start getting hungry soon. The fish that are hungry now are the surfperch. Quite a few are being caught off the beach, mostly on ghost shrimp. I've heard that the sand crabs are molting now so those might be a good choice for bait if you can catch some soft-shelled ones.

The tides were low enough this past week for a geoduck to be taken from the mainland instead of the island. Carl and Paulina Downing are pictured here showing us what they look like. The clamming for horseneck (gaper) clams was even better, especially for those with boats who went to the islands. Rockpicking abalone was also a good choice this last week. Even I got a limit. The fishing was not nearly as good. I didn't hear about any halibut or rockfish but I did see one boat with two limits of leopard sharks. If the wind would ever quit for a week or two things will change but until then we'll just have to sharpen our hooks and wait.

More halibut from the way-back bay today. Two boats had two legal fish apiece. One boat trolled, the other drifted live smelt. Correction from the earlier report: the gentlemen yesterday didn't have rusty net skills but in fact forgot the net entirely. Today the net was in the boat and no fish was returned to the water that was not meant to go back. Two boats went outside and got tossed around a bit before returning with around 15 rockfish per boat. The wind made fishing difficult and uncomfortable today and the forecast is for more of it.

Several boats went for halibut Saturday but only a few caught. High boat hooked 8 and put three in the box, the rest being returned due to size or rusty net skills. Windy today for the rockfish opener but at least one boat went out to try it. This week has the lowest tides of the year and strong winds forecasted. It is also a week for grunion to run. Yes, grunion started showing up here a few years ago and according to the schedule posted by Fish and Game they should be coming ashore Tuesday through Thursday nights, sometime between 9:00 and midnight (usually toward midnight). In the past they have shown up here a day or two earlier than forecast so they could even be out tonight. For more information check out http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/gruschd.asp .

Rejoice, for at last a halibut, a real halibut, has been brought in to Lawson's Landing. It wasn't big but it was big enough and it came from way back in the bay, almost where the bay runs out of water. Water temp back there was in the mid-50's. A few sand sole were landed on the bar. Water temp in the mouth was 49-50. It might be a little while until the halibut bite there. Some dungeness were caught on the pier and lots of reds taken from the other side of the bay. There is a rumor circulating that a boat fishing for halibut on Ten Mile last week caught no flatfish but released two salmon that didn't know they were extinct. Rockfish starts Sunday, rules are the same as last year except it's a maximum depth of 120', not 180'. Remember, fish early and often because we will be lucky if the season lasts through the summer.

In honor of the upcoming rockfish season I give you a link: http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mlpa/pdfs/ipa_submaps.pdf
These are the probable MPA maps of closures but they also show hard bottom and rocks. The red blobby spots are the places rockfish live. My secret spots are on here. Remember that I'm a giver and good luck fishing.

The dock is in the water, the weather is good, boats are out fishing. What's missing? Only the fish. That shouldn't last too much longer though, as this warm weather is letting the water finally start to get warm. There has been a pretty decent surfperch bite this week, mainly up toward the rocks. The dungeness are active on the pier again. I saw one bucket with four legal dungies in it by noon on Friday.

Those of you planning on boating here this year should remember to check your safety gear. Proper signalling devices (ie., flares) are necessary on boats 16' and over venturing past Sand Point. Life jackets, one for each person on the vessel, and a throwable floatation device need to be on the boat and accessable. The Coast Guard and Park Service have already been inspecting boats this year and will write very expensive tickets for life jacket violations. I heard of a recent $1500.00 ticket. Save money and be safe.

I still haven't seen a halibut here. I probably won't see one this week either if the weather forecast holds. Wind for most of the week, then it gets windier. The wind seems to blow harder when the tides are low and the tides are very low this week, peaking at -1.9 feet on Wednesday. These are great tides for clamming, rockpicking for abalone and pokepoling. The dungeness crabs have gone from slow to slower but there are still some red crabs coming in, especially from boaters trying the other side of the bay.

While I have yet to see a halibut here yet, I have heard of two being caught and another unintentionally released. Still a few dungeness crabs around, especially in the outer bay in front of Dillon Beach. Five weeks until rockfish opens and it is rumored that there is a new lower quota on blue rockfish. This means that the season is likely to close early, maybe even earlier than last year.
In national news, there is a possibility that an expensive federal permit may be required to operate your boat in the waters of the United States. Unless the Clean Boating Act of 2008 is passed soon recreational boat owners will need to pay for the same permits that ships need. For more information, go to http://www.boatblue.org/. This site has links to your elected officials to make it easy for you to encourage them to do the right thing. Please take a minute and help yourself continue boating.

Mike Nursement with a 10"+ abalone taken from Tomales Point. Exactly where on the point Mike won't say. Mike was diving, but many other people went rockpicking with the low tides and also did well. The swell was low, the air was warm and the water was clear this weekend. Clammers and crabbers all brought home dinner as well. Good thing we have some other things to try for besides salmon.

Congratulations to John Davis who celebrated his 60th birthdat last week and bagged his first limit of abalone this week. I guess John thought the regulations were too simple in the past. This years regs are complicated enough to finally interest him. The tide was -1.2' and John had his limit in about a half-hour of looking. There are some really low tides coming up this spring, down to -2.0, so even if you've never tried it before this could be the year to try rockpicking for abalone.

The gentleman from Reno finished his trip with nearly 20 dungeness but he left some crabs for the rest of us. I've seen six others come from the pier since late Sunday. Clamming continues, no big tides yet but clams coming in. Abalone season is here and they taste good. For those of you unaware, the regulations have changed again for this year and you now must tag each abalone as soon as it is removed from the water. The tags and punch card both need to be filled out at that time. A personal observation: bring a towel or an astronaut pen because regular pens don't work well when you are dripping on the paper. No swell today to speak of, clear water, one limit for me to 9" without having to go over 5' deep.

A gentleman visiting from Reno has landed 12 dungeness from the pier in the last three days. Don't worry, I realize now that I have the crab funk on me and so I will not try dropping any of my gear off the pier and mess it up for everyone else. I did get a limit of clams yesterday. There were quite a few near where I parked the boat. They were easier to find than dig. Say, does anyone know if smoked clams are as tasty as smoked salmon? This might be the year to find out.

A few dungeness crabs from the bay today is all I heard about. Nice weather this morning but windy this afternoon. If you want to see some nice views of Lawson's Landing, check out this video.

There are still a few dungeness being caught on the pier and in the bay. Some surfperch being caught on the north half of the beach, no limits but usually dinner if you're not feeding too many. I went clamming this week and saw more clams than I've seen in a long time. I only brought home seven but I dug the largest horseneck (gaper) I've ever dug. Unfortunately, digging that clam pretty well broke me. I still feel like I got beat up three days later.

One more limit of dungeness crab removed from the bay on Thursday. It took 24 hours to do it, but the Lodi boys that got them should still be proud of themselves. Another gentleman, out for the day only, caught 2 dungeness off of the pier on the outgoing tide. Apparently, as long as I'm not trying for them the crabs are biting.

While it has not been a red hot crab bite all season, Wally Frei, a resident here, has landed 12 dungeness in the last eight days. The man has caught four times as many legal crabs in a week than I caught all season and he didn't burn a drop of gas doing it. Maybe I'll let Wally start writing this page.

Very little to report. I tried for some of the dungeness that I know came from the bay. One of my "buddies" even told me where to go. I soaked four pots for 4 hours in two holes, one of them supposedly the hole, and caught one dungeness crab that was so sad looking it thanked me for putting it in the boiling water. It tasted fine, but I was expecting more. Several more. In fairness to my informants, I did soak my gear during the highest current period of the day. Others have done substantially better, and a resident here caught three dungeness off the pier in 12 hours of gear soaking. There are a few surfperch being taken as well, although again, not by me. It is a good thing that there are plenty of real fishermen around here because if I had to rely on my catches alone to report on, I would have very little typing to do.

Thanks to those who have written to the MLPA. It may not help, but it sure can't hurt. If you're still thinking of writing, you might tell them you support option 2 in subregion 3. That option allows the best access on Ten Mile Beach, leaves the lingcod hole at Point Reyes in the clear and has no Clam Island closure. It's not great but we need to take what we can get.
In other news, two guys from the Landing went out crabbing today and returned with 10 dungeness in four hours and never left the bay. One boat did go outside today. The boat looked very new, about a 24' Boulton Explorer with a nice cabin. The bar was breaking big enough to break all three front windows. I didn't speak to the guys in the boat but I hope that they're OK. Gentlemen, size may be important in many things, but those breakers can kill you just as dead in a 30' boat as a 15' boat. A kid on the dock caught three dungeness today. Maybe the next time the bar is breaking you crab with the kid.

This is a picture of the proposed Clam Island Marine Recreational Management Area. This could be coming to Tomales Bay courtesy of the Marine Life Protection Act. It is planned to be a "no take" zone, meaning no fishing, clamming or crabbing inside the box. How do you know if you're in the box? Just use your trusty GPS that you always take clamming and crabbing on the bay and make sure you're not between 38 13.00 and 38 13.25. Don't know what that means? Don't worry, I'm sure the friendly wardens and rangers will kindly educate you to the errors of your ways. Or, since this is only part of one of the five proposals being looked at by the MLPA team, you can contact them and tell them that the clams and seals don't need any more protection than they have currently. I'm sure they'd appreciate any comments you may have on Point Reyes' closure and Bodega Head's closure. Send to: MLPAComments@resources.ca.gov

Being that winter is still upon us the fishing report is a bit short. Crabbing is still OK for reds and lousy for dungeness. The surfperch are biting on the incoming tide. The salmon forecast is grim for this season. Of those 3 things the salmon forecast has me the most excited. The salmon forecast I heard the last two years was that there would be many salmon caught. The reality was not that many salmon being caught here. Now they say it'll be a bad year. If the opposite rule still applies then we will be in fat city, salmonwise, as long as they give us a season that is open when the salmon happen to be here. I realize that the chances of Fish and Game and the fish doing the right thing by us fisherman is close to the chances of being struck by lightning while buying the winning lotto ticket, but hey, I'm a fisherman. if I'm not optomistic, I don't fish.

Just a rumor, but I hear that the clamming may be spared from the MLPA for now. I hope that it's true. As I hear it, Point Reyes and Bodega Head are out, but that was expected. Remember, Point Reyes National Seashore is obviously centered on Point Reyes and the Bodega Bay Marine Laboratory is on Bodega Head. It's probably not coincidence. It makes me thankful that the University of the Pacific Marine Station in Dillon Beach closed up in the early 80's. Knowledge is good, but I like to fish too.

Nothing going with the fishing I'm afraid. Dungeness is still slow, but a gentleman dropped off a new crab pot puller at the Lawson's Landing shop to be installed on his boat since he heard "on good authority" that there were crabs out in 250'. Big crabs. Five crabs to fill a five gallon bucket if I heard the story correctly. I personally haven't caught five crabs this season, but the story has got me thinking about giving it a try. The red crab are still doing well at least, especially if you try when the tides are slow.
On another note, the MLPA Public Workshops are coming up. The closest one to Lawson's Landing is at the Sheraton Sonoma County, 745 Baywood Drive, Petaluma, at 6:00PM on February 4th. We will get to see maps of the proposed closed and restricted areas and comment on them in a very calm and well-managed manner, likely with big easels and large felt markers to write down our feelings. Plainly, it will suck, but you can't complain if you don't contribute. Also, we know they're taking Point Reyes away. We know they are also taking alot from Bodega Head. The exact lines, though, are yet to be determined. That is what we need to be there for. Maybe we can save the cove on this side of Point Reyes for halibut fishing. Maybe we can save that 60' high rock off the point as well. I'm also hoping to save the clamming areas just south of Lawson's. A man needs some way to burn off his frustration at the spring wind and digging in the mud is as good as any I've found. Anyway, I'll be there. Hope you will too.