The crabbing has definitely slowed down. While there is a still a good chance at getting a dungeness or two off the pier it is not the near certainty of the start of the season. Even from a boat, getting a limit is difficult. The red crab are still available to make up for any dungeness you're lacking. I haven't heard of any perch caught this past week, but then again I haven't heard of anyone fishing, either. Rain is forecast for the weekend so there may not be much to report next week, either.

Some nice crabs came in last week, including the largest dungeness I've ever seen caught from the pier. It was well over 7" wide. The numbers of crabs dropped off toward the end of the week but they should rebound with the numbers of crabbers dropping off. Still a few perch coming in.

It's the same story, crabbing from the pier is averaging OK with a couple of people limiting out (10 crabs) in a few hours to some people not catching any. The average is 1 to 3 dungeness per group. Boating is better with catches ranging from 3 to 30. Working the gear regularly and adding fresh bait between pulls is definitely affecting the numbers. Last week there were a few rubberlip perch caught by a boater drifting near the kelp across the bay from the Landing. No trophies, but good eating.

The crabbing was slower in the bay this weekend. Several boats had limits of dungeness but most had less. The pier was slower yet, but most of that was due to more crabbers than crabs. That should change in the next few weeks, notably after Thanksgiving week. Outside of the bay the crabbing was even better, especially down on Ten Mile Beach. Unfortunately the weather forecast for this week will prevent the sport fishermen from going there. Next week, then.

The crabbing in the bay is still good. One group with 8 traps caught 27 legal dungeness on the pier on an overnight set. Most of the pier crabbers did not do as well but still caught dinner. Crabbing by boat was, as usual, more productive. Leopard shark fishing was good near Marshall on live sardines and the surf fishermen are still catching perch on the incoming tide.

The boaters definitely had a better average than the pier crabbers. All the boats brought back some crab and a few boats had limits. Dave Alexander and crew used ring nets to catch five limits of dungeness crab in about five hours. If I find out what he was using for bait I'll let you know.

It is not a good day to be a crab, at least, not near the pier. The open ocean is a bit safer for the crabs due to the 14'+ swell. There are a fair amount of crabs coming in, just not very many per person. Some boats are out on the bay and hopefully I'll get a count from them later.

13 to 15 foot seas are forecast for Friday and Saturday so crabbing outside the bay is out. If you are planning on going to Ten Mile for the opener please go to Bodega Bay. If you want to try for crabs here inside the bay, where we have been seeing good numbers of dungeness, come on out.

The last day for rockfish was Saturday with one boat catching limits and others with none. McClure Beach gave up four more halibut on Saturday. No giant fish, but Halloween halibut are pretty rare around here. It sounds like there is some rain predicted for the dungeness opener, but if the crabs stay in the bay for next week it should still be worth the effort no matter what the weather does. Keep your fingers crossed.

A few rockfish this weekend, a few sardines from the bay, and a report (from a Fish and Game warden) of a boat on Sunday with 4 halibut to 30 pounds drifting live bait on the bar. This morning a sea lion ate a halibut here at the pier. Still lots of dungeness around and still keeping my fingers crossed that they stay around.

Three halibut from McClure Beach on Tuesday but by Wednesday they wouldn't bite. LOTS of seaweed there. Luckily the 15'+ swell should have tossed all that weed onto the beach by now. Rockfish was slow with the hungry fish being scattered. Catching a limit required lots of moving to different spots or trolling. The weather for the weekend looks OK for in the bay, questionable for outside. Many sport-legal-sized dungeness in the bay. Let's hope they don't know when their season opens.

The rockfishing got slow but the halibut are still biting at McClure Beach. Mike Gibson and Tom Carter had three halibut today, all in the first few drifts in the morning. I'm getting very interested about the dungeness season, especially after watching a guy pull up a ring net on the pier with 7 legal-sized dungeness in it. Things can still change, but right now the opener looks pretty good.

The weather forecast is good for this weekend and the storm didn't chill the water so halibut fishing should still be good. Dillon Beach produced a few more halibut before the the storm hit so it's probably the best place to start, but McClure's produced so many fish last week that I wouldn't count it out. Rockfish should be good but it doesn't look like I will have a report until tomorrow.

Those of you who fished at McLure's Beach on Sunday recognize this albino seagull. Apparently he followed someone home. I've never seen one before, so I thought it was noteworthy. As for the fishing, the halibut bite was really good at McLure's on Friday and Saturday, OK on Sunday. Dillon Beach also had a fair bite on Sunday. There is a boat fishing McLure's right now with 4 in the box. Hopefully this storm won't blow the fish out and we'll be able to get a few more this weekend. The rockfishing was also good and the legal-sized dungeness crabs were eating any dead baits left on the bottom.

The weather is calm and supposed to remain that way until at least Monday. The water is cold and clear but the halibut and rockfish are still biting, especially so now that the high overcast has returned to cover up the nearly full moon. This is probably the last shot at halibut and there's only three weeks left of rockfish season, so get 'em while you can.

The wind was bad on Monday and Tuesday and cooled the water off. A few halibut yesterday from McLure's beach and some rockfish come in. Then, the wind returned, and boy, is she angry. This weekend looks to be blown out but starting on Monday the seas lay back down. Let's hope it stays that way.

The water cooled off and the halibut bite slowed but the fish kept coming in. Several fish in the 20-30# range came in yesterday from Ten Mile and Dillon Beach. Rockfishing was pretty good at Elephant and slow at both points. The forecast is good for today and tomorrow but wind after that.

Nathan Porter of Dillon Beach poses with his 34# white sea bass. Nate caught it and a halibut while trolling Ten Mile beach with sardines on a "special rig". Another boat pulled out before Nate with two limits of halibut to 23#. If you aren't fishing out there right now I feel sorry for you. Yes, I feel sorry for myself, too.

Tad Vogler of Dillon Beach with his 28# halibut. The halibut are on Ten Mile Beach and McLure's Beach. 5 boats had 21 halibut to 30#. Live bait and trolling were putting them in the box. Rockfishing was just OK. The forecast is pretty good for the rest of the week.

A few halibut and rockfish came in today even though the water was not the best. The best catch of the day was by Scott Mason. A boat flipped over on the bar, tossing four people into the water. Scott called the Coast Guard, then started pulling people out of the water. They were back on shore before the helicopter arrived. Nice work, Scott. For the record, the National Park Service was also on scene before the helicopter arrived. More swells are forecast for tomorrow and there will likely be an intermittent break on the bar, especially after the tide starts going out.

A few halibut are showing on Ten Mile Beach now, as well as on the bar. Watch out for the swells, though, as they have been breaking out into 30 feet of water on occasion. Remember, you are there to fish, not surf. The rockfish are biting slow but steady. A couple will bite when you first drop on a new spot, then the bite tapers off. When they stop biting you are better off moving to a new place. It is easier to find a few hungry fish than to try to force stubborn fish to bite. Weather permitting, an albacore run is being planned for next week, probably Tuesday. And there are still lots of sardines south of Pelican Point.

Not much to report. A few halibut off of Dillon Beach and south of Pelican Point. A halibut from Ten Mile Beach. The halibut were not giants, but a legal halibut is a good halibut. The rockfishing was good this week with a few more lings showing in the counts. There was a failed albacore mission on Wednesday. Three boats, 57 to 62 degree blue water, fifty miles of trolling each, no bites. Maybe they'll bite next week. For this weekend the big swell has the bar breaking steady and big, so fishing is limited to bay activities.

Terry Fogal caught this 23# halibut in front of Dillon Beach on a live sardine. The water out front has cooled down to the low 50's and slowed the bite but not completely stopped it. There were a few sightings of the school of white sea bass back by Marshall this week and I heard of one being caught, but for the most part they're not interested. Rockfishing has been decent with a few lingcod showing up here and there. Tomorrow looks to be the good weather day for the weekend, with Sunday and Monday being better days to chase those sea bass.

The big swell kept the fishermen in the bay this past weekend. Counts were low for halibut, especially further in the bay. There was a quick bite at 1PM on Saturday on the bar which saw three boats catch five halibut, including Gerard Fitzgerald's 22 pounder. The sardines are still in the bay but are getting harder to find. Hopefully the weather lays down this week and lets us get to the tuna.

Mike Gibson of Lodi caught these three halibut up to 31 pounds on the bar on Wednesday. Other nice fish came from that area as well, including Mike Garello's 23# and Bob King's 21# fish. Today a few boats went out for albacore and the count so far is two fish in the area of 38.07 by 123.37 and 13 fish at 38.03 by 123.26. Too bad the wind is forecast to blow. Maybe the forecasters will be wrong.

Tony Georgis of Roseville caught this 27# halibut on the bar on a live jacksmelt. Unpictured, but for the record, Gerard Fitzgerald was responsible for his boat bringing in four nice halibut from Marshall.

Mara Nursement of Colfax with a 20# halibut from the Tomales Bay bar. The bar started kicking out a few fish today, finally. There were many more fish from the Marshall area but the average size was definitely better in the mouth. Not much happened outside this weekend due to the weather.

Ablacore counts from yesterday were 2, 6, 13 and 13 for the four boats I spoke with. The fish were scattered through a few square miles, centered in the area of N38.00 by W124.05. Now the wind offshore is forecast to blow for a few days. Three limits of halibut from Drake's Bay yesterday. That's a fishery you can't wait for since that area is on the MPA closed list for next year.

38 albacore caught by Tal Roseberry yesterday at N38.00 by W124.04. No giants, but as Stalin is reported to have said, "quantity has a quality all its own." For those not wanting to venture out that far there was a good rockfish bite and some halibut on Ten Mile Beach and in front of Dillon Beach. The bay was great for catching bait but slow for catching halibut. The shark fishing back by Marshall was fantastic.

Last weekend the bite slowed down for most people. The wind has cooled the ocean water down again. The halibut that were just showing around Hog Island have been chased farther back into the bay by the cold water. A few rockfish came in from outside but the weather kept most boats in the bay. Many leopard sharks and a few thresher sharks taken south of Pelican Point. The weather is supposed to be nice this week so with luck we'll see more action out front and maybe some albacore by the end of the week.

The forecast calls for wind this weekend so fishing outside the bay is probably out. Luckily there are still fish biting in the bay. The sardines and mackerel can still be found around Hog Island and the halibut seem to be following them. The white sea bass are eating the same things. There is still a chance for bigger halibut at the mouth of the bay (a halibut was lost by a surf fisherman on Sand Point on Thursday morning) but there are more fish in the back. I caught a 28# white sea bass off of Dillon Beach in 25' of water on a live mackerel on Wednesday. Dreams can come true.

Two fishermen, four sea bass to 32#. These gentlemen encountered a school of hungry white sea bass by marker 7. The bass liked sardines. I am jealous.

Sunday's big fish was caught by Terry Fogal of Sacramento. The 29 pounder came from off of Dillon Beach.
Dillon Carter of Corte Madera caught this 23# halibut on Saturday. This fish also came from in front of Dillon Beach. There were only a few fish caught there, but they were nice fish. The Marshall bite slowed down but the rockfish bite remained slow and steady.

Frank Green of Sacramento with a 34# halibut, this years' biggest so far. Frank had last year's largest halibut as well. This one isn't quite as big, but Frank isn't complaining.
Jim Conley of Sacramento with this year's biggest fish, period. This 49# white seabass will be tough to beat. Frank and Jim were fishing with Gerald Bunch of Clarksville, Arkansas. I've been told that Mr. Bunch is a heck of a guide and good with a gaff. They were using live bait out in front of the parking lot in Dillon Beach.

Lance Seppi and crew landed 8 albacore at 37.56 and 124.07. The boat next to them had a quad and a triple there. There's fish out there. Too bad the fish are a out farther than I want to go.

Aldo Freggario caught this nice 20# halibut while jigging off Kehoe Beach. Aldo's stunt double is pictured.
John Bresnahan (posing for himself) caught this 28# halibut on a sardine at an undisclosed location. Rockfishing was on the slow side but the quality was good. Tuna reports are slim and with low numbers, if any, caught. The flat ocean and good forecast makes albacore tempting, though, and there will be boats running out on Tuesday and Wednesday. If anyone wants to run out, the boats are leaving at 5AM and monitoring VHF 74.

Bob Wilson of Petaluma shows off his 28# halibut. Unfortunately, it dwarfed Marty Medin's 18# halibut which caused Marty to hide his face. Both fish bit live sardines drifted in front of the parking lot at Dillon Beach, "where all the boats are."
Tom Brodsky, Tom Gerbi, and Lance Seppi with a 24# albacore caught "south of Cordell". Not bad for a noon start and back by 4:45pm.

The sardines and mackerel are still abundant in the bay but the halibut bite has slowed to almost nothing. Maybe they're full. A few halibut are coming from in front of Dillon Beach. Ten Mile Beach also had some action, mostly from the North parking lot to the old Coast Guard lifesaving station. Lots of needlefish schooling along the beach in that area. Krill were jumping out of the brown-tinted water out in 25 fathoms. There's enough feed out there that even the rockfishing is on the slow side. Most boats that tried had slow limits of overstuffed browns, coppers and gophers. Tuna water starts at 19 miles out. Four albacore were caught just outside of the Point Reyes waverider buoy. The forecast is good so go get some feathers wet this weekend.

Halibut in the bay from Pelican Point to Marconi. Live bait seems to be the ticket, although trollers are still catching as well. The schools of bait have thinned out a bit but good numbers of sardines can still be caught in the deeper holes. No reports from outside the bay this week due to the weather. Good forecast this weekend, though, so maybe I'll have something good to tell you on Sunday.

Sharon Mason caught a 15# white sea bass on Sunday, along with some halibut. The baitfish are still in the bay which still makes it the top place to fish. Some halibut from Ten Mile over the weekend but most of the effort (and the catching) came from Hog Island and points south.

Quick update:  Don Lindsey of Esparto landed a 32# halibut at Hog Island. There were 4 other halibut in the boat with Don and his fishing partner. Maybe Hog Island would be a good place to try?

The sardines and mackerel are scattered throughout the bay. A pretty good number of greedy halibut are still getting hooked despite their gorging on baitfish. Another bass appearance, this one a 12# striper from the Marshall. Ten Mile beach handed one boat five halibut this morning, so the bay isn't the only option for flatties. The rockfish have also been biting pretty well with some boats limiting in an hour or two. The wind is forecast to blow but the bay should be fishable for most of this weekend.

And the bass retake the lead on the big fish board at Lawson's Landing. Carl Perrigo landed a 26# white sea bass on Thursday. Aside from the fact that it bit a Zoom fluke and was caught in the bay, the only other information from Carl was that it tasted real good. The halibut have been biting off and on near Marshall. If you find the schools of sardines and mackerel then the halibut (and maybe seabass?) aren't too far away. From the weather forecast, the bay looks like the best (or only) bet.

Lawson's Landing's first tuna of the season were landed here on Sunday. The boats went to the Gumdrop seamount. Another boat landed five tuna a bit closer, 16 miles below Cordell. The wind came up and is keeping the rest of the tuna safe for now. The rockfishing was good with a 15 pound ling landed here on Sunday. Halibut fishing was hit-and-miss as was the surfperch bite. The halibut divers have been spearing a few on the bar. There aren't many halibut there but the few that are coming in have been twenty pounds or more.

The halibut bite in the mouth of the bay is finally starting. It's not red hot yet, and the divers aren't seeing any, but yesterday the Carters landed a 23 and 26 pound halibut there. Better numbers of  halibut are coming from further in the bay, mostly south of Pelican Point to Marshall, but the bar fish are larger on average. A few halibut were caught at McClures Beach and on Ten Mile Beach as well. Fair to good rockfish action outside with some nice vermillion and coppers showing.  

It's a strange year when the big fish on the board are bass. Tom Brodsky caught this 32# white sea bass off of Ten Mile beach while drifting live bait for halibut. Tom didn't seem too unhappy that he didn't catch any halibut. Those halibut that were caught this weekend came from the Marshall area, 0-3 per boat. Quick limits of rockfish for the early boats today. And dungeness crab season ends on Tuesday.

The halibut are definitely biting back by Marshall. Yesterday two boats had five halibut each, one fished in the morning and the other fished the afternoon. Fish and Game were back on the water again yesterday. While I'm sure you're all trying to follow the regulations to the letter, still, it doesn't hurt to read the book again. Those laws change every year.

Some pretty serious wind has kept most boats off the water until the last few days. The best reports were a double limit of halibut in 90 minutes at Marshall and a sporadic perch bite on the beach. The lowest tides of the year provided some good clamming and cockling in the bay and decent rockpicking for abalone outside. Of note, Fish and Game was out on the water checking boats on Wednesday. Abbers who made honest mistakes while trying to do the right thing (wrote the wrong date on the tag, used the tags out of order, etc.) were advised and corrected. Those who were over limit or had taken short abs were ticketed and had their gear confiscated. Thank you, Game Wardens. 

The rockfish opener went well for most but wasn't red-hot for anyone. Most boats limited out but had to work for them. Halibut back by Inverness and a few on the bar. Very little swell and the water has cleared up for the divers. A very good perch bite (mostly barred with a few red-tails mixed in) on the beach at sundown the last two days. Ghost shrimp was the preferred bait but once the bite got going the fish got less picky.

Rockfish opens Saturday. Finally. The forecast is good: W winds 5 to 10 kt. Wind waves 2 ft or less. NW swell 3 ft and SW 3 ft. Slight chance of showers. Halibut are still being caught in the back bay, so far back you almost run out of water. There are also rumors of albacore already. Bring on the longfins!

Tom Brodsky with two 10-inch abalone from Tomales Point. The ocean doesn't get much calmer than it is now, and the forecast is for more of the same through Thursday. The water can get clearer, but 5-foot visibility at the bottom was enough for Tom to spot his abs. Tim Butterworth picked up two halibut in two days back by Marshall but that was it for the fishing this weekend. 

The halibut were slow to bite last weekend with only a few coming in, but the surfperch finally decided to get busy. Barred perch mostly but with some red-tails and walleyes mixed in. The clamming was good and the crabbing OK. Rockpicking for abalone was good but the diving was tough, especially if you're used to using your eyes. It is very murky out there.

Patrick Cannon couldn't get the perch to bite this morning so he caught this 33# striper instead. He caught it fishing from Sand Point on a surf rig baited with ghost shrimp. Nice job Patrick!!

Just when it looked like nobody would catch a halibut this weekend, these guys pull in and save the day. Thanks, guys. Unfortunately it was slooow for everyone else. The crabbing was OK, the clamming was good, and I heard of one barred perch from the beach. The weather is supposed to stay nice for most of the next week so hopefully I'll have some more fish to report soon.

Marshall seems to be the halibut hot spot on Tomales Bay. Not too many fishing for them yet so the numbers I've heard look petty good. 10 last weekend, 4 on Thursday and one yesterday. No big ones, but legal sized fish. Trolling bait was the best bet. The boat that had the one halibut also brought back crab and cockles. The water had been very clear and calm outside but the water has murked up and dropped visibility from 20' to 1'. Not so good for abbing, good if you're an ab. The perch are out there but the only ones catching perch are the ospreys. 

Halibut season has now started. I know this because they are biting, never mind the cold water. Two were taken near Marshall on Saturday and three were caught in 90 minutes near Hog Island today. The fish I saw looked to be 8-10 pounders. There are even a few dungeness around. On Friday one skilled angler caught his limit of ten from the pier. Surfperch fishing is very slow. On this end of the bay the leopard shark fishing has been slow as well. At least the flatties are biting.

The crabs have slowed a bit but are still coming. Again, be careful with your measurements since a 5 11/16" dungeness can cost you hundreds of dollars and a day in court. If you're not sure if a crab is legal size, it probably isn't, and you don't want it. The clams are definitely coming back with limits of nice clams for those with a bit of practice. The leopard sharks have moved on and the surfperch haven't really caught fire yet; there's a few perch being caught, but only a few. Abalone season starts on the 1st and luckily the only change is the size of the abalone punch card and tags. If you end up trapped on the beach while abbing you can almost use your punch card as an emergency blanket. You should still review the regulations as they are very specific as to the order and timing of your tagging procedure. 

Between storms the weather has been very nice and several boaters have gone crabbing. Inside the bay has still been the top provider with some people limiting out. Most folks aren't limiting but are still catching enough for dinner. There are a few crabs in the outer bay as well. Ten Mile is good for a nice drive but not much else. The fishermen that are catching more are changing their bait often and using fresh, not rotten, fish, squid and chicken (the fattier, the better). There had been a good leopard shark bite from the beach about a half-mile past the end of the seawall but that has slowed down. The surfperch are also biting for those patient enough to figure out where the schools are. Up near the rocks has been better on average but they can show up anywhere on the beach.

Those of you who have enjoyed salmon fishing in the past or may want to see a salmon in the future, please read this: http://www.calsport.org/1-23-09.htm These guys are fighting for the salmon and every other fish that swims in the delta. They also fight for our right to fish. They seem like good people. Please take a look.

Here's a chart showing the rockfish "30 fathom" line. In some places it follows the actual 30 fathom curve and in others, not so much. I'm still trying to figure out how to get this line on to my GPS. If anyone knows how please post a comment here or email me at lawsonslanding@gmail.com . The rest of us would like to know.

New rules for rockfishing this year. It would appear that, in the waters near Dillon Beach, the season will open on June 13 and (unless closed earlier) will close on October 31. Maximum depth is no longer 120 feet but is closer to 180 feet. I say closer because the depth limit will no longer be determined by actual water depth but instead by a line between the 30-fathom waypoints listed in the Federal Register (50 CFR Part 660, Subpart G). For those of you who haven't read the Federal Register the waypoints in our area are: N38 16.52' W123 05.62', N38 14.42' W123 01.91', N38 08.24' W122 59.79', N38 02.69' W123 01.96', N38 00.00' W123 04.75', N37 58.41' W123 02.93'. Good luck staying on the right side of the line.

Dungeness crab are still coming in on the pier and in the bay. No limits, but usually a couple of legal crabs (or more) for those that put in the time and effort. One group landed 17 keepers over three days effort on the pier. I've heard of even better numbers landed by boaters soaking their gear over the turn of the tide. Wherever you go, fresh bait is key to good crabbing.