I heard of one halibut caught over the weekend. That was Ron Johnson at McClure's Beach yesterday. Today, McClure's had a few more halibut for a few more boats. Red hot bite it ain't, but it is the last chance sweepstakes for halibut before their (functional) season ends. There's still a few around inside Tomales Bay, and catch numbers may go up if the fog clears and the sun warms things up a bit. The halibut fishing is awesome, though, compared to the salmon fishing. There's still time for a final push of fish to come through, but not a lot. A November salmon bite would just be sad, since we couldn't legally fish for them then. Let's hope for a quick arrival. At least rockfishing is good, and lingcod even better in the shallows as it is time for lings to start making more lings. Speaking of rockfishing....

    ..... next year will be under different regulations. In our area here, the proposed season is: "San Francisco Groundfish Management Area: Closed January 1 through May 14; Open May 15 through July 15 in waters seaward of the 50 fathom boundary line; Open July 16 through December 31 in all depths." So, shallow water rockfish will open in mid-July. Deeper than you want to fish will be open in mid-May. Unless you were hoping for a shot at sablefish (black cod) you probably weren't hoping for these regs. But, like so much of what's happening now, it's what we're all getting. Let's make the best of it. At least they're not changing the crabbing rules again, right? Wait...

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Proposed Hoop Net Regulation Change Webinar on October 6, 2022

Due to the increased use of hoop nets during the Dungeness crab season and recent interest in modified hoop net designs, the California Fish and Game Commission will consider taking emergency action at its upcoming meeting on October 13, 2022. The proposed regulation changes, which would amend subsection 29.80(b), Title 14, California Code of Regulations, are intended to clarify hoop net requirements, add consistency, and to minimize the risk of marine life entanglement with hoop nets. If approved, the regulations would take effect in time for the recreational Dungeness crab season start date of November 5, 2022 and are not expected to impact the ongoing use of hoop nets in the recreational lobster fishery.

The following hoop net regulation changes are addressed by this emergency action: Clarify that the hoop net service interval requirement of two hours applies statewide Add that non-metallic soft mesh must be used in hoop net types A and B Amend requirements of type B hoop nets to restrict the number of rings from three to two (not including the bait ring), adding that the rigid support arms must be "straight", and prohibit any additional openings Add that the use of a surface buoy and buoy marking requirements apply statewide to include hoop nets used north of Point Arguello and that only one operator's GO ID # is required to be legibly marked on the surface buoy (would not include hoop nets used from shore) If you are interested or have questions, please join us on October 6, 2022 from 4:30pm to 6:00pm to discuss the background and purpose of these proposed hoop net regulation changes.

"  Well, on the plus side, just know that a lot of this action seems to stem from the need to preemptively block an attempt by the commercial crab industry to invent a conical "trap" for them. Custom Crab Pots made a "trap" with a small opening on top, a squat cylindrical shape and wire mesh. Well, that's out, it seems. I'm not sure what advantage it would give, but now I want one.