Sunday, June 14, 2020




    The salmon bite was good again today. I couldn't keep them attached but I saw a lot of guys that did. Cameron here caught our only fish but it weighed in at 22 pounds. I lost two others but at least I never had them on long enough to get emotionally invested in them. From what I heard later I should have dropped deeper, later, as the fish slid further down the water column. All of our bites (which were early in the day) came at 50 to 70 feet down, probably not coincidentally where the thick krill layers were. The whales seemed to be doing a fine job of corralling the krill and the salmon were definitely more active near the feeding whales. Looks to be a bit windy the next few days but by Thursday, maybe, a new weather window may open.
I saw a nice 22 pound halibut caught near Hog Island today, and even more exciting to me there were a few tiny schools of anchovies migrating into the bay. It looks like we're approaching about 1% of last year's anchovy numbers but that's way batter than it's been. This wind may send a few more in. Don't be afraid to fish around the anchovy schools if you can find them. Not only do they make great bait but every fish you want to catch eats them and can be found near them. Yes, even bat rays. Especially bat rays when I'm fishing.

10 comments:

  1. Thanks Willy
    2 keepers for me south of Hog yesterday under the anchovies

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  2. Hey willy how many rods can i fish with targeting halibut and stripers in tomales bayand can you fish for bait at same time tried to look it up couldnt find my answer thanks

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  3. No limit on rods or hooks when sport fishing for California halibut and stripers in Tomales Bay. It's a great way to justify gear purchases. You can fish for bait at the same time.

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  4. We fished last Thursday and blanked on halibut. Not much going on for the other boaters as well. A lot of bat rays were swimming around the shallow areas next to hog island and south of pelican point. My son Paolo loves battling it out with the rays. We saw a giant ray that appeared to have a five foot wingspan. Hey Willy, what’s your personal best bat ray?

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    1. I have never boated one. Landed about a 20 pounder once on light spinning gear from shore. The others mostly left with my hooks as I haven't figured out how to get the hooks out safely for the both of us. I've had 'em I'm guessing a little over 4 feet wide to the boat but in my opinion the "mud marlin", like a real marlin, is catch and release.

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  5. Is there such a thing as a personal best bat ray?

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  6. Great question Harvest Time followed by a great answer by Willy

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