Wednesday, August 26, 2020

   Albert Ligh of Elk Grove caught his little ol' 31.5 pound halibut today, along with one about 20 pounds and another keeper. You've had a good damn day when your fish around 20 pounds isn't worth the time to weigh it. It's also a sign of a good day when you catch all the fish on the boat. It is a bad sign of getting invited back for most people, but luckily for Albert he's a nice guy so Swampy (a real good netter, says Al) will probably let him fish with him again. Probably. 
    No salmon reported from the ocean today, although I heard that there may have been one caught by Hog. This happens occasionally (not to me). Please, if you hook a salmon in the bay verify that it's a king and not a silver, as silvers are what run up the creeks of Tomales Bay and they'll start coming into the bay soon. They're also endangered and very expensive. For the record, there is no such thing as "incidental catch", so it needs to be a barbless circle hook if you are drifting bait. I did hear that some brown water (red tide?) has made an appearance and hopefully that helps the fishing improve. Halibut slowed down today but there were still quite a few caught. The bait catching was so difficult that the halibut should have been biting better (if you believe that the halibut and bait bite opposite each other). It was not a good day to learn how to catch your own bait, but the guys that know how and have extra helpings of patience were able to get some. 
    The following is a video that most of you have probably already seen, but since I've been running my mouth about watching where you're going I gotta post it. This happened on the Columbia River near Buoy 10. Please make note of how quickly the boats go down. Then use Google Shopping to find a good deal on a float coat. Because, damn.....


6 comments:

  1. Crazy - looks like combat fishing!

    Awesome fish Albert, that's a great day on the bay.

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  2. I like big butts I cannot lie, awesome catch Albert

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  3. ok, any tips on catching baitfish in Tomales for those of us new to it?

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  4. The anchovies and shiners seem to prefer the Owner pink sabikis. Chumming helps for catching shiners and jacksmelt. Anchor near structure with a current going past to call in the fishies with your chum. Anchovies are where you find them, usually in a deeper hole. Schools on the bottom bite better and the surface flippers hardly bite. Sometimes none of them bite.

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  5. Second the pink “shrimp eye” sabikis from the shop. Also had a white sabiki outfish the pink for anchovies about 5-1. I seem to catch my shiners near or on the bottom. YMMV.

    Swampy

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  6. Thanks guys, I've got 4 days camping/boating at Lawson coming up next weekend. Will give it a shot. Hopefully the Salmon and Halibut are biting. Enjoying the heck out of this blog, great seeing the pics and tips.

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