First, on the salmon front, I only heard of three caught out of here today. Two were caught at Bird and the other I have no information. The two were caught by Mike Mack after a troll from Tomales Point to Abbott's and back to Bird. The water was cold, clear, and devoid of baitfish. It might be time to look offshore again. Given a few days to warm up and the anchovies to school up I imagine we'll see some numbers of salmon showing up. Until then, if one were to try shallow I'd probably work the reefs. I wise old fisherman once told me, "In the absence of bait, troll structure." He actually didn't say it would catch fish but at least it gives you something to do.
The wise old man also told me, "In the absence of other fish pictures, post Eddie Kim." Well, he would have, probably. Eddie says: "Limit by noon 13lbs biggest. Wish they were a little bigger tho" The story of my life. Not the limit, the wishing. I know of at least one other experienced fisherman that limited on halibut today. No complaints about catching bait today, which probably means the anchovies are getting ready to leave the bay. Good for salmon fishing, at least.
Fish and Wildlife did indeed perform what appeared to be a major bust. It seems that they had been watching someone who was a regular clammer here. I know very little more except that there were several law enforcement vehicles and officers involved here and that perhaps search warrants were executed somewhere else at the same time. A press release is surely forthcoming but it probably won't be for quite a while if they have to follow up on other leads from their searches. A significant number of the clams being taken here are being illegally sold and the CDFW is aware and watching, even if you don't see them. Like the Terminator, they "have detailed files." I just hope the pictures they have of me don't make me look fat.
My telephoto lens isn't working on my phone so I couldn't get any good pictures of overladen vessels (but I saw a lot of them). Luckily I have friends.
The Coastodian sent me a Miller Park report: "Miller park a complete cluster this morning.
Nobody appears to know what a tide chart is
Boat on end, “good buddy” motor won’t start, clogging up a mud-filled ramp. Guys still launching, playing bumper boats." Well, I thought bumper boats was just for salmon trolling and drifting for halibut at Hog, but I guess it could work for other things, too. Gage watched a guy hanging off the side of a broke-down inflatable boat drift into a running outboard motor that the operator had shifted into neutral only an instant before. He thought he was going to see a different kind of red tide. It would be funny if it weren't so...... Nah, never mind. It's funny. I know I'm not supposed to think so, but after you watch a bunch of people treat their lives as if they have no value and they do it day after day after day, you start to agree with them.
I'm glad the low tides are pretty much over for this year. Maybe I can get my head straight in the off-season.
What does Eddie Kim do with all his fish? It seems excessive, the number of halibut he takes out of Tomales. I mean, how many halibut does it take to fill a freezer? Maybe a dozen? Eddie seems to take a dozen out of the bay every week! Where is it all going?
ReplyDeleteIt goes to his family, friends, neighbors and even some of the employees here. I have eaten some of Eddie Kim's fish. It didn't taste as good as the fish I caught but it was still pretty good. For the record, he don't post the pictures of him on the days he catches nothing. There's more than one reason we don't see him every day.
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ReplyDeleteBitter much?
ReplyDeleteQ: What does Eddie Kim do with all his fish?
ReplyDeleteA: None of my beeswax.
Why are some of you so bent on another mans fish? Who cares how many he catches! Props to him, maybe you should dedicate that nosey interest into your own catching instead of beating a man down for his hard work and knowledge. He is a legal licensed fisherman, and always takes his limits if can be gotten...wow Andrew, maybe one day if ya pay attention you to can limit on a regular
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ReplyDeleteWould you say the same thing if a legally licensed commercial guy came in and began taking his fill (there's no limit) from Tomales Bay every day? I'm just saying this is a finite resource and how many halibut does one person need to catch? If everybody went out and limited every day, the numbers of halibut in the bay would decline fast.
ReplyDeleteJust an FYI. There is a guy quietly commercial halibut fishing by Hog. Gage and I watched him catch four keepers and shake two shorties while we did nothing but miss a bite and take some notes. He's been around a few weeks at least. I only begrudge his skill. His harvesting is a thing of beauty (it ain't fishing).
DeleteAndrew, I am listening to your complaint but only listening....I myself sometimes don't understand the tuna chasers that load up on tuna just to want to do it again and again with zero chance on this earth to be able to eat it all but you have to remember - quotas and limits are set by F&G and if there was an issue the limits would be set lower. For the Eddie Kims in our fishing life there are 8 guys that get skunked or might be lucky enough to get 1. This is not Eddy's fault, I have a picture of Eddy on my fishing wall with candles burning along with fish carcasses (sorry Eddie just kidding lol). I know my neighbors are very appreciative of sharing my fresh catch and I enjoy it just the same sharing it with them.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that all that cali hali is getting eaten up:)
I understand your point, and yes, those tuna chasers need to check themselves sometimes. Or somebody else does. I don't have a lot of faith in DFW, to be honest. I think the numbers of halibut in Tomales Bay are dropping as fishing pressure increases, and DFW will wait until it's too late - if ever - to implement changes.
ReplyDeleteThese fish are wild animals that are trying to make babies. It's fun to catch them and I love eating them, but sometimes it feels good to quit at two or even one and let the rest do their thing, at least for another day.
Without a dock there will be one or two less halibut caught per year.
ReplyDeleteThere are limits of catch, there are limits of possession, all is not only followed by Mr. Kim and has done nothing but help the Lawson's landing through his catches. In our circle he is respected not only by his prowess, but by his good Manor's and kindness, some of us choose to stick up for that and admire his dedication to our craft. It is truly hard to hear any negative comments about him or any one of us that catch regular. He had not raped or pillaged like we see sooooo many others. Again if ya spent half the energy learning the craft of fishing you may gain the same respect....I'm not here for a pissing contest, I'm just protecting our rights that you've trampled on, maybe fishing is not your game
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