Mason Lessard texted me this report just before 10:00 this morning:"Live report... north of Hog island channel marker, Tom Carter's drift ( I mean Jerry's ) lol ....caught on one of the two live jack smelt I managed to catch." I don't know how he finished the day but that's a good start. It is funny that sometimes it's harder to catch the bait than the halibut.  

    This 11 pound halibut also came from inside the bay today. I didn't get the specific location but I know this blue boat trolls around Marshall quite a bit. They also had a couple of barely keepers that they safely returned for next year. 

    Just so everyone is reminded, for the week before Dungeness season opens it is illegal to drop a crab trap in the water. It has been that way a couple of years now, but there may be a change coming for 2020. Should the California Fish and Game Commission agree to it, we may get a 12 hour pre-soak next year, meaning you could drop your pots at noon on the Friday before the opener and pull them at midnight (or even better, the next day). It is not official yet but from what I hear it may actually happen.