Tuesday, May 17, 2016

     Halibut update: The water cooled off (51º) and so did the bite. The fish may still be interested around the bottom of the tide when the warmer, back-bay water is around Hog, but the fishing near the mouth of the bay is over until the water warms back up. I mean, the catching is over. The fishing was lovely today.

11 comments:

Tomales Outlaw said...

Cooled off is right. After an hour in a very lumpy ocean I fished the usual haunts in the bay for halibut. No problem catching bait.....there is a ton of bait in the bay right now. I drifted prime smelt and mackerel for a few hours and not a scratch. I always seem to be late or early on the bite.

Outlaw

Harvest Time said...

Are you seeing macks already?

Harvest Time said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Tomales Outlaw said...

Mackerel has been in the bay for a few weeks now on and off.

Outlaw

Smokefish5 said...

Do you know when red crab will be open?

Willy Vogler said...

Nope. But the last test this past week was way better with only one bad crab instead of four. The numbers are dropping, and at this rate it could open around the time Dungeness closes.

Smokefish5 said...

That sounds great. Thank you for the information.

Anonymous said...

Landed 2 halibut by hog.

Anonymous said...

Landed 2 halibut by hog.

Brandon said...

what temps are we looking for? thanks for the info and reports!

Willy Vogler said...

Ideally, 57º to 65º. It doesn't mean you won't catch in colder or warmer water, just that your odds are better. People have caught California halibut in 48º water, but lots more have been taken in 60º. Also, a drop in temp can make the fish stop biting, even if the water is still in their comfort range.