So, there are a few surfperch on the beach. This one was one of five caught by Korey Krueg and the Gage. As there is no Gage picture, you are free to assume that Gage's fish were not as large. Five fish in three hours is a far cry from wide open, but it seems that there are a few fish out there at or about the top of the tide and at the North end of the beach. And yes, they bit camo Berkley sandworms. 

    The crabbing has been the same, slow in the bay for Dungeness and good for reds if you can get over to the West side to soak your gear. Our resident resident pro, Tim, couldn't get out of the bay safely this week so he tried inside for three days. His report was the same for all three days; four hours with four traps for four Dungeness. Not the worst report but if the crab whisperer is catching less than half a limit it doesn't seem like mere mortals have much of a chance.

 

     Gage put his boat in the water and tried for sand dabs yesterday. He was sort of successful. I'm not sure if you can see his catch in this photo, so here's a closeup:

    With a big enough screen, these fish could be larger than actual size.  Calm down ladies, his hands are only normal sized. Luckily Gage's mother wasn't very hungry, so she ate his fish for dinner. She said they were delicious. Both fish came off of Tomales Point in 200 feet of water and bit immediately on his first drop. There was no encore.

    Yesterday the California Fish and Game Commission voted on the emergency hydraulic pump ban. The press release today reads: "The Commission unanimously voted to adopt an emergency regulation to prohibit the use of hydraulic pump gear for recreational take of clams, sand crab and shrimp. The emergency regulation is in response to dramatic increases in recreational clamming effort and harvest rates using hydraulic hand pumps, necessitating immediate additional protections while a standard regulation is under development." It looks like the "classic", solo operated shrimp and clam guns (slurp guns?) will remain legal to use for now. In six months the Commission will reexamine the situation. 

    I was sent a note earlier with this link: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB534  It is a new bill in the State Assembly to : "Notwithstanding any other provision of this code or regulations adopted pursuant to this code, by no later than November 1, 2025, ropeless fishing gear, as determined by the department, shall be required when taking any species of fish for commercial or recreational purposes in any trap fishery, including, but not limited to, Dungeness crab, spiny lobster, and spot prawn. "  This sounds pretty complicated, but luckily there's companies already making products to satisfy these rules. Here's one :http://ropelessfisher.com/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAyJOBBhDCARIsAJG2h5cMHD0ShDIFDJW8gXY7nW8R8AAL2TS2ZA_BZvREu65I6Lc29QhN1fsaAsrtEALw_wcB   A coastal kit only runs $4950.00. I think that's more than my boat is worth. Hello, ring nets.

     The crabbing here is so tough now that pirating has hit a new midseason high. Let's just say that the couple of traps that have been catching Dungeness are being pulled by multiple people, only a few of which had permission. Before you get too excited, the traps are home on shore now. Shore crabbers are snaring a couple but aside from the four "hot" traps that were in the outer bay not too many keepers have passed through here.  

   The herring spawned back by Inverness a few days back, and while they may do it again some of the pods of sea lions have already started leaving the bay. Elvis may have already left the building.

   The California Fish and Game Commission meeting on the 10th has an agenda up with details now. Most importantly, the proposed wording on the pump ban is thus: " Gear restrictions. It shall be unlawful to use anything other than the following hand-operated devices to take clams: spades, shovels, hoes, forks, rakes, devices that use suction to remove clams commonly known as slurp guns or clam guns, or rigid pipes used to prevent the collapse of holes when digging for clams. It shall be unlawful to use any other device to take clams, including any hydraulic devices. It shall be unlawful to possess a hydraulic pump, or other device, capable of liquifying sand to aid in the harvest of clams anywhere clams may be taken. It shall be unlawful to possess any such unauthorized device, except in their permanent residence, concurrently with any clam." The other additional part to have knowledge about is: "When digging and transporting to shore, each person is required to keep a separate container for their clams and not commingle with clams taken by another person. " So it looks like clam and shrimp "slurp" guns will still be okay but you dig your ten clams (or 50 cockles) and put them in your own container. The man will be watching.

     Since I have very little else to report, here's a map of places that I have caught halibut on the North end of Tomales Bay. I have been asked to not include a few places, and yet I still circled almost everything. For the record, the areas in red need a calm day and your head on a swivel while fishing them since breakers can happen. I know everybody likes to huddle together next to the yellow buoy. Heck, occasionally I'll put out the fenders and make a drift or two there. A lot of halibut are caught there. But people, these fish have tails and they tend to use them. Once I have my live bait I like to leapfrog around, trying different spots until I start getting bites. Repeat the successful drifts until they are no longer successful. The right depth is where they're biting. I've caught them in the bay from 6 feet of water down to 50 feet. Most of my halibut have been hooked in 15 to 25 feet, but that's probably because most of my fishing is done in those depths. Basically, people, I'm just asking you to break up the scrum between Hog and the yellow buoy. You don't need to all raft up in one place. The fish don't. And catching a fish in a spot of your choosing is about a hundred times more satisfying than wrestling one out of the flotilla.