Pretty slow crabbing for most lately. A few reds and a few legal Dungeness (and probably a few not-so-much legal, too. The local warden was busy writing today. Remember, if it isn't wider than the gauge it isn't a keeper) are being caught, both by boaters and shore snarers. The tides right now make the tide change pretty much the best opportunity to catch something as the current is ripping almost the rest of the day. I heard a few reports of surfperch on Dillon Beach proper, both high and low tides producing (but if the option is available, high is generally better). I saw an osprey fly over yesterday with a nice one, but more importantly, today surf fishermen actually caught some. There were even a few more sand sole caught just outside the bar today. As sand sole are generally less than 22" long but look a lot like halibut, a few tips: Sand sole have longer, loose rays on the "frill" fin over their head. Pull up the fin; you'll see it if it's a sand sole. Also, sand sole have rough scales and feel like a cat's tongue if you rub your finger down them. Finally, California halibut have an arch in their lateral line over their abdominal cavity, while sand sole have an almost straight lateral line. Almost. The most important rule, though, is if you aren't quite sure and it's less than 22", throw it back. When you see the two together it's obvious. When it's your first fish in six hours of fishing, look hard with extra stink eye. 

     The crabbing in the bay has been pretty slow. Pretty much everybody I talk to has caught zero to six keeper Dungeness with most people towards the zero end of that scale. Even Tim Woerner, our resident crab whisperer, caught only one keeper during four hours of trying near Marker 5 last week. But then Gage told me a few of the guys he talked to did pretty well and one boat limited out. I guess I should stop talking to people. Maybe they'll catch more. Here's a report from Kyle Maclachlan, someone I didn't talk to:

   "Morning Willy thought it would be fun to report on our day trip yesterday. Jersey John and I launched at your beach and worked the crab gear from about 7am-12. We had about 3 really nice heavy pulls that boosted our numbers. We managed to stay in the dungies really well throughout the morning, still throwing back lots of shorts and big females, we also got a few gauge busters also. And we didn't have to go to far when we got our final count for full limits for 2, we could still see the boat house easily so that's a bonus." Very nice job, Kyle and John. You're going to give a lot of people false hope. "Your results may vary." 

     I was also going to report that there isn't anything happening here except the crabbing, but then our Tim went out to pull his traps in the Outer Bay (limits there) and stopped for a couple of drifts on the bar to try to catch a sand sole or two. His frozen anchovies, in not much warmer water, caught two sand sole and a 23" halibut. He had several other bites that didn't stick. Is it halibut time? No. But, hey, "your results may vary."

    So we had a tsunami on the 15th.  It turned out to be the perfect size here, big enough to see it but not big enough to hurt anything. I'm afraid that by the time I noticed my texted warning to clear the beach (Received on my phone at 7:40 AM. Noticed by me at about 10:00 AM. Don't text me something urgent.) the largest waves had come and gone. We notified people on the beach at 7:00 but after seeing that the waves had peaked at about 20 inches in Hawaii we didn't evacuate. Here is a time-lapse of the tsunami:

   And finally, most importantly, Gage caught a steelhead on the Eel and I lost mine.

 

   So, when you catch an endangered coho salmon in the next few years, take heart! It may actually be an endangered California coho, as they are seemingly having a very good year this year this year. Amazing what a little water and some habitat rehab can do. Gage and I stopped a couple of times along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard today and never failed to see coho salmon. I know you folks along the Sacramento see salmon all the time, but for us to see them in our backyard is pretty cool. It seems like a good sign. To me, it's like being told "We're all gonna die!" a lot, but then seeing the canary in the coal mine not just keep living but laying fertile eggs. Is everything going to be better? Hell, no! But I think that the lesson is that if we try real hard the things we want to save might just get saved. ( I hope it's salmon).  The Gage and I spent our day today at Bon Tempe lake, fishing for planter trout. We are not proud people. We caught four (I lost three, to Gage's disgust) and they made for a really good dinner. Crabwise, inside the bay has been okay (not awesome) with a few here and there. The shore snarers have been doing almost as well as some of the boaters (much to the chagrin of the boat owners). Today we had a couple of boaters that launched that really exemplified the need for boater education. Having a Boater's Card may not be the end to all foolishness but it sure doesn't hurt. It may even help to reduce your time on the sand bar.

    It looks like there's some herring getting ready to spawn in Tomales Bay. The deep holes have schools of fish in them and there's birds and seals working on bait in the middle of the bay off of Cyprus Point. I tried for them with sabikis and a throw net (I watched a Youtube video and actually got my net to open this time) and caught somewhere between zero and none (I lost count). They're here, they're just somebody else's fish. 

    So, last post I whined about the loss of our weather buoys and the fact that nobody seems to able to fix the things that we've inherited from our forefathers. I guess I was assuming that only my family was having issues navigating the regulatory jungle that is modern life, but now I see that even regulators have difficulty with each other. The American Challenger, the vessel aground north of Dillon Beach, has been approved for removal, ten months later. "The Unified Command (UC) including the Office of Spill Prevention and Response, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Marin County, and the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary continues to engage in the ongoing response to the 90-foot vessel that has been grounded within the rocky shoreline north of Dillon Beach in Marin County since March 5, 2021. Good afternoon, we are happy to report that the American Challenger removal/destruction plan has been approved by the Coast Guard Commandant. The Unified Command is continuing to assess the vessel and will monitor weather and sea state conditions to determine when operations can safely be conducted. The next Liaison update will be sent when it is determined that operations can move forward, or if there are new developments to report. " "Ongoing response", indeed. Ten months to agree on a plan for something that they all want. And they haven't even started the actual doing. Imagine if it was something even slightly contentious. We're doomed.

     One of our longtime fishermen at Lawson's has passed away. Bob Young probably wasn't responsible for salmon and halibut numbers dropping off, but he sure didn't help them, either. I kid, but I did have the opportunity to fish with him once and the rods hardly stopped pumping with fish. He was almost as good a Ten Mile troller as Herb Hansen (I have to say this in case Herb reads this).

 

     A little more info about the boat sinking on Sunday. In response to my query, Michael Ivey sent me an email: "So while out crabbing on Sunday with my friend( only 2 of us , 3rd person was a kayaker that’s saved us)   , Our boat got caught in a crab trap rope pulling it under water instantly and the life jackets went under water with the boat. We were left in the middle of the water swimming for our life's for about 20-30 minutes until a kayaker heard our screens for help. He was able to pull my friend to shore then a come back and get me. If not for him not sure we would still be alive. The helicopter came and brought me to safety and paramedics checked on my for hyperthermia while the fire department was able to get my friend to safety with their jet ski.""It sank across from the red barn market area on opposite side , not exactly sure though it all happened so quick.  I think the kayakers wife is the one who called 911 because she told him she heard someone screaming for help and he said his wife was on the phone with 911"  Be on the lookout for a submerged boat across from the Landing, as there's a chance the boat may rise to the surface at slack tide. Give the Lawson's Landing a call on VHF 74 if you see it.  Also, for everybody playing along at home, he had life jackets but was not wearing them at the time of the accident. I'm sure Mr. Ivey will agree, just because the water is nice and you can't see a reason to wear one, the reason may still be there, lurking just out of sight. I am guilty of not wearing my jacket when it's nice. My father (who went on a lot of rescues in the 70's and 80's, some of them successful and many of them body recoveries) says that he's seen more boats saved by life jackets than the people that should have been wearing them (The stored jackets floated the boat, not the human). I guess it's time to get an inflatable one. I also guess that it's safe to assume that the entire world is out to get you. Because it is. 

    In other great news, the Point Reyes waverider buoy has gone silent. We've been without the Bodega weather buoy for a year and now we have no wave reports, either. Our options are to use the Point Arena buoy or the San Francisco buoy. These aren't good options, but it's what we have for actual observations. Otherwise, you can look at Windy.com for an educated guess at what is happening. Windy is pretty good but they haven't been 100%. You know, our elders were somehow able to build the infrastructure of this country but now, with a supposedly booming economy, we can't afford to fix what they built. I suspect that something, somewhere, may be amiss. 

    In other good news, "

Recreational Bag Limits Reduced for Some Rockfish Species in 2022 (This corrected version contains photo of a rockfish)

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announces multiple changes to recreational rockfish sub-bag limits which are expected to take effect Jan. 6, 2022. The emergency regulations were adopted by the California Fish and Game Commission in mid-December to align with federal regulations for these species. Changes to the sub-bag limits within the 10-fish daily Rockfish, Cabezon, Greenling (RCG) complex bag and possession limit include: A decrease to the statewide sub-bag limit for vermilion rockfish (Sebastes miniatus) from five fish to four fish A new statewide sub-bag limit for quillback rockfish (S. maliger) of one fish A new statewide sub-bag limit for copper rockfish (S. caurinus) of one fish The RCG complex has a daily 10-fish bag and possession aggregate limit, meaning that each angler’s catch can be composed of any combination of rockfish, cabezon or greenling, as long as total catch remains at or below 10 fish. Sub-bag limits within the RCG bag limit are implemented when harvest guidelines cannot accommodate the 10-fish bag limit being composed of a single species. “New stock assessments conducted in 2021 for quillback and copper rockfish suggest severe population declines for these two species. Also, unsustainably high catches of vermilion rockfish have occurred each year since 2015,” said CDFW Environmental Program Manager Marci Yaremko. “For these reasons, new federal regulations were needed to implement reduced sport bag limits for these three species in 2022.” Despite these changes, there are still numerous opportunities to catch other groundfish species with healthy populations in 2022 when seasons are open. Anglers are reminded that when rockfish or any other species subject to barotrauma are released, use of a descending device is encouraged to return the fish to the bottom. Please visit CDFW’s Rockfish Barotrauma webpage for more information. In an effort to better assist anglers with identifying rockfish species while fishing, CDFW is preparing new informational flyers to distinguish copper and quillback rockfish from similar-looking species, such as gopher and canary rockfish. The flyers will be available soon on CDFW’s Fish and Shellfish Identification webpage and the Marine Region Groundfish webpage. Anglers should check CDFW’s website for the current regulations before fishing for groundfish, which include rockfish, lingcod and other species as defined in the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, section 1.91, as changes can occur in-season. Though the boat-based groundfish fishery is closed statewide as of Jan. 1, the fishery is open year-round for shore-based angling and spearfishing. The boat-based recreational groundfish fishery season dates and depth limits are expected to be the same as in 2021 and are as follows: In the Northern Management Area (the Oregon/California state line to near Cape Mendocino) and the Mendocino Management Area (near Cape Mendocino to Point Arena) from May 1 through Oct. 31, take is prohibited seaward of the 30 fathom (180 feet) Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) boundary line. From Nov. 1 through Dec. 31, groundfish may be taken at any depth in these two areas. In the San Francisco Management Area (Point Arena to Pigeon Point) and the Central Management Area (Pigeon Point to Point Conception) from April 1 through Dec. 31, take is prohibited seaward of the 50 fathom (300 feet) RCA boundary line. In the Southern Management Area (Point Conception to the U.S./Mexico border) from March 1 through Dec. 31 take is prohibited seaward of the 100 fathom (600 feet) RCA boundary line. In all Groundfish Management Areas, the RCA boundary line for the established depth constraint is the series of connected waypoints defined in the Code of Federal Regulations, Title 50, Part 660, Subpart C.

"

     So, about 8-ish years ago a crabber drowned in Tomales Bay while setting gear. The tide was running fairly quickly and he tossed the crab ring out of the boat while, apparently, standing in the rope to the buoy. The boat was drifting quickly in the current and the ring net hit bottom and hung up on a rock. The crabber was dragged over the side from the moving boat and was held underwater by the current. The net wasn't heavy enough to drag him over but the Earth itself was. I told you this story in order to frame the next one.

    Today, three crabbers in a 12 foot boat were cruising down the channel off of Sand Point when the boat came to a sudden stop. Water immediately started coming over the transom and within seconds the boat sank. The three crabbers were able to swim to shore on Tomales Point and were brought back over by the Marin County Fire Department and the CHP helicopter. From the third-hand account I heard, it sounds to me like they ran over a crab rope and buoy that were held underwater by the ripping outgoing current, and that ripping outgoing current then washed over the now stern-anchored vessel. That'll sink you quick. I'm guessing that the 48 degree water is probably not conducive to continued human life, so good on those guys for getting to shore quickly. If you read this and you are one of the guys and I got the story wrong, please let me know at lawsonslanding@gmail.com and I will correct it. Otherwise, it seems that the murder traps almost got one today.

    

    Cameron sent me a report from the launch today: "Had a catch today. Didn't catch his name, but his boat had a sticker about "Captain Halibut" on YouTube. Picked up this one "out front where he told Gage about" on bag anchovies and missed another couple bites. 49 degree water." Yes, Virginia, they do exist. And it's not that halibut don't bite in cold water, it's just that they only probably won't. Not for me, at least, but apparently they will for Captain Halibut. As for location, I'm afraid that I'm not included in Gage and the Captain's conversations, but I can assume that if he was "out front" then he wasn't inside the bay, and since the few halibut that do get caught in cold water are usually caught on dead bait and in 40 to 70 feet of water, I'd guess the Captain was drifting in the outer bay not too far from the mouth of Tomales Bay. Good job, Captain. 

    The local news has had a few pieces on about the "king tides" going on right now. As they say, we are seeing some of the highest tides of the year. What they don't typically also mention is the very low tide following the high. The nearly eight and a half foot difference between the two makes for a ripping outgoing tide that is literally burying crab pots in the channel that aren't otherwise dragged out to sea. DON'T CRAB IN THE CHANNEL RIGHT NOW. Give it a few days for the "kings" to subside. You'll be happier if you do. If you do go, just another word of advise: Lawson's Landing sells replacement gear.