I was reading on a discussion board a few days ago that the bluefin bite is over in December, so when there appeared to be a small weather window this morning we figured that we better go before it was over. Wrybread (captain of Shrimp Boat), Gage and I hit the water before 6:00 AM and headed for Cordell. We were lucky enough to catch two on their way south, both before 9:30 AM. The second one bit a Halco 190 Max in Hot Sardine at 55 seconds back and weighed, according to the formula, 136 pounds. The first one bit a Nomad 240 in Sardine at 75 seconds back and weighed 154. Trolling was done at 12 knots. Not another boat in sight. The ride back was a bit abusive as the east wind hadn't quit yet and we pounded into the chop for 20 miles, but hey, we'd happily do it again. It was interesting to be going tuna fishing with frost on the deck of the boat. It was like Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks in miniature. The fish bit in the warmest water of the day, 54º F. And I guess in a couple of hours from this writing the bluefin will be gone.

   Or not.

 

       There were a few Dungeness snared off of the beach over the weekend, not many, but a few. More crab were caught from the boats but not a whole lot. One boat worked the outer bay for a total of five Dungeness for one crabber. The south end of Ten Mile has been good; north of Bodega Bay has been even better. Traps will be off the table until the whales leave, and there's quite a few ten miles out. That's been the story of crab season so far.

      The other story this weekend was of kayakers being swept out to sea by the strong outgoing current. The possibility of crab and the extreme tides combined for two afternoons of paddlers being sucked out of the bay. Saturday's foursome were "rescued" from Tomales Point by Henry One, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Helicopter. Today's kayakers got retrieved from Tomales Point by Cameron after he "borrowed" Shrimp Boat from Alec (he was cool with it). Not that anyone who needs to will read this, but check the tides before you decide to come out. Getting dragged out into the surf and dying is a great way to feed the crabs but not a good memory for anybody else. Let's remember, we eat them, not vice versa. 

      Crabbing in the bay remains only okay for most. I heard of a couple of guys that did pretty well. One beach snarer had six Dungeness in the morning. Most beach snarers had far, far less. The big swell that moved in last night may have swept a few Dungeness into the bay. They won't last long, though, not with all the effort. Even with those extra crab the majority of the crabbers went home with less than they expected. The outer bay had some crab yesterday but was unavailable from Tomales Bay today as the bar was impassable. 

    

    Here's a report from yesterday: "Hey Willy, 

Trolled for bluefin from the weather buoy out to the canyon and struck out. Beautiful day on the water. Saw two schools of tuna on top, lots of dolphins, and a few whales. Headed in at 2 and stopped at elephant to make sure I still knew how to fish. Caught some expensive bottom dwellers. Can't wait to try again if the fish hang around. 

Best,

Nate Baker" Gage and I saw you troll by yesterday. We were south of you, trolling north around 11:00. We saw one fish bust the surface and we had one hookup for maybe five seconds before it came off. Our hookup was on the shorter line (50 seconds back) on a Hot Sardine Halco 190. A second boat in the same area hooked and landed two bluefin on Madmacs. The area was just outside of the Bodega Bay weather buoy, with other fish landed near Cordell. The current carrying warm, offshore water continues to push in towards Bodega Bay and Cordell and theoretically the bluefin should continue to hang around until the current quits and/or the anchovies leave. A couple of good storms could do that. So, troll 'em while you can, because like all good things it will soon come to an end.

    Crabbing results were not awesome. The outer bay had some crab for those that worked it hard. I heard the northern part of the bay was full, not so much with crab but with crabbers. Sounds like fun. Inside Tomales Bay the king tides have made for, I guess, king currents? Whatever they're called, the strong currents between the higher high and lower low are making for lots of lost gear. Lots. The high tides also make launching for us impossible, as we wont get our tractors in the salt water. Some folks are deciding to go it on their own. The low tide in the afternoon is making it difficult for both them and us to pull the boats out. A rising tide floats all boats, as they say, but the falling tide seems to make it difficult for everybody, too. 

   Also, it's official; still no traps here (Zone 3): "

California Department of Fish and Wildlife Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program Update

November 21, 2022

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and continued the temporary trap restriction for the recreational crab fishery in Fishing Zones 3-6 due to elevated entanglement risk. However, the recreational crab trap restriction for Fishing Zones 1 and 2 will be lifted on Nov. 28, 2022 at 9 a.m. CDFW reminds crabbers that take of Dungeness crab by other methods, including hoop nets and crab snares, is allowed during a temporary trap restriction. The commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Fishing Zones 3-6 is further delayed due to continued presence of humpback whales and the potential for entanglement. The commercial Dungeness crab fishery opener has also been delayed in Fishing Zones 1 and 2 due to poor meat quality results. The next risk assessment and round of quality testing is expected to occur on or before December 7, 2022. This will inform a potential December 16, 2022 opener. The full news release can be found at the CDFW News Room and for more information, please visit CDFW’s Whale Safe Fisheries Webpage.

"

 

    Nick Nichols sent over a report and pictures from yesterday: "Hey Willy,

Greg, Sam and myself

went out of Westside yesterday.

Crabbed down by the towers near Point Reyes. 40-50 foot of water.

Two hoops

30 dungies.

Fished the point for 21 rockfish and 1 Lingcod.

Hope all is well and see ya soon."  All is well, thanks, Nick. Even better knowing that there's some crab on Ten Mile. Sad crabbing stories were mostly what I heard from inside the bay today, so I'm glad to hear your happy story. 

    The Bodega Bay weather buoy as a set of cameras on it that take a set of photos every hour. I was thinking, what if the camera showed some tuna, or feeding birds? Well, today, no birds feeding but there's this picture from around 1:00 PM. That's either a dolphin or a tuna. There were more bluefin caught out there today, so tuna in the photo aren't out of the question. It makes me think that if there's so many bluefin out there that they're randomly photobombing the weather buoy page then maybe I have a shot at catching one. 

    Yeah, it's probably a dolphin. 

    I thought that today would be bluefin day. Octopus is good, though. One boat pulled four hoops off of McClure's for, as I recall, two Dungeness, nothing, an octopus, and 30 coonstripe shrimp. That's a good mix. We all want to limit, but a good mix of critters is a strong second best. 

    The crab report wasn't bad, with most crabbers getting a few whether in the bay or out, but aside from the guys that went up to Salmon Creek or the Russian River, mostly there weren't limits. Northerners did well, on average. Southerners? They mostly said that they wished that they had gone north. 

    Rockfish? They were biting. North, south, everybody who tried, caught. Maybe not as much as they wanted, but catching is always good. 

   Okay. Bluefin? They're out there. A lot of them. Holy crap, a lot of them. Will they bite? Mostly no, but a few guys killed it. Not from here. Our best boat got busted off and our other boat was just jealous. But some guys caught, and some caught more than one. Everybody out there saw many, many jumpers. Jumpers generally don't bite, and most bluefin guys can attest to this. As I heard it, and as it seems to work, sometimes, find the fish, then leave. Most bites are not in the fish but are in the blank area adjacent to the fish. I loaned out my only Nomad Madmac but it was cut off by some guy that didn't realize that the lures can be over a quarter mile behind a boat fishing for bluefin. Bluefin are boat shy. Lures far, far behind the boat can work. If you didn't know, you're kind of a jackass, as the rules exist out there and you didn't do the minimal research required. If you did know, you're double jackass. And either way, you owe me a $50 Sardine 200mm Madmac. And if you heard the filthy, foul-language tirade on the radio, good. You deserved it. This is how we learn. For the record, lures can be over a quarter mile behind the trolling boat (at up to 15 knots).  Stay away. The Pacific ocean is pretty large. Only about half the planet. You should find room there to not CUT OFF MY LURE.

    The good news: The outer bay isn't dead, it's just hard. I went back to the place that Gage and I caught six in a hoop and didn't do as well as before but ended up with eight Dungeness out of two pulls of four hoops in less than two hours. I caught nine rockfish while waiting between pulls (Not my spot so I can't share the specifics, but it ain't far from the Tomales Bay buoy.) so the fish are biting if you want to occupy your time with a bent rod.

     This morning I got to go for a ride with Tom Brodsky in his Parker. For the record, cabins are pretty nice. Not even a smidge of hypothermia for me, so that was a plus. Not having Gage made catching bluefin tough, though. We saw a few fish and a few more bird feeding frenzies but never got to hear the drag sing. As bluefin are being caught from Santa Cruz up to Fort Bragg (or further"" in both directions) it seems likely that they might be around a bit longer. Perhaps next week? Definitely with Gage.

   As noted in the comments, this is an edit. "Hello Willy,

Went out for a quick outing after work today. Working on Tomales bay has its perks. Worked three rings off my kayak for a limit in about an hour. Don't think I kept any under 6 1/2". Never had such efficient crabbing. Gave some to some coworkers and still had a mountain to take home. My dog even had a crab feast.

-Wet Willy"  When you're feeding your dog some of your crab, then, yes, you've killed 'em. Did the dog crack and pick the crab? Because if so, my dog and your dog need to have a talk. 

Gage wants everyone to know that the rumors of bluefin near Cordell are false. Nothing to see here. They're not biting Madmacs. Stick with crab. 

 

Tom Brodsky and Gage also wish to report that bluefin number two is even more misinformation.  Looks tasty, though.

 

    Final tally for our boys today was the two bluefin. One went 87 pounds and the other went 100. Both fish bit a 200 Nomad Madmac in sardine with a 4/0 5X Owner treble hook at the tail. Neither fish took longer than 15 minutes to boat. There's lots of fish out there, but almost all of them aren't biting. I heard a couple of other reports and they were about 50:50 for success. This was Gage's fifth or sixth try for NorCal BFT and close to that number of trips for Tom. Way to wear 'em down, boys. 

   That's all the good news for today. In other news, the Dungeness crabbing wasn't very good in Tomales Bay and the outer bay was completely belly, even for the guys that did well there the day before. Our Tomales Outlaw had a good day in the outer bay yesterday but today, after no crab to two runs through the gear, he was forced to bail and run up to Salmon Creek to catch his crab today. They are not a sure thing there but there are more of them.

   

   I forgot to get pictures of the big lingcod last weekend. Sorry, guys. But I did get this photo of an 18 pounder today. The lings are here and closer and bitier than those snobbish bluefin. They taste better (cooked) too, depending on who you ask.

     The crabbing remains both good and bad, depending on who you talk to. Today, Gage and I talked to Mike Hill. "Willy and Gage, it was good talking to you guys today, we had a good day today in the bay with 3 limits, had to move around a lot but finally found them, they are there you just have to work a bit than normal!!  Thanks Mike" Moving around  and working the gear is important, as the crab are only in some spots, and those spots can move. You don't know if you're in the right spot until you check your gear. Fishing or crabbing, you need to be where the critters you're looking for are. Mike Hill and crew were, eventually. Hence the limits.

    The crab seem to be best north of Bodega Bay. Next best, the far end of Ten Mile. Next, the Outer Bay, but there's a whole lot of bare ground out there. Same goes for inside Tomales Bay. Rockfishing has been pretty good. Lingcod a bit flakier but I saw a 18.5 pounder on Sunday so there's a few nice ones around. The coolest thing is that there's bluefin scattered from at least the Bodega weather buoy to below Cordell Bank. A few guys have caught some but it's mostly a nature expedition, watching fish that won't bite jump out of the water next to the boat. Exciting and gas consuming but mostly not worth it. 

     Unless you're one of the few that gets bit. 

 

    So halibut isn't over, it's only almost over. "Billy Mortola. Live jacksmelt at marker 5. 20' of water" Honestly, I'm impressed with the jacksmelt considering the very few being caught lately. The halibut is even less likely. Damn nice work, Billy, and I heard that you had crabs to clean, too. Well done.

    I forgot this report yesterday but it is still valid today: "Willy

Went down below Abbott’s today for 2 limits of Dungies - quality crab. Got them with 7 hoops and only ran them twice. Picked up some ling and rocks. A few nice blues in the group.

Tug" It sounds like the crab are finally coming in on Ten Mile. There have been a few limits from down there this weekend. 

     Much better reports today, or at least much better attitudes. I'd like to think that the successful catching made for the good vibes. Not too many limits on crab or rockfish, but both of them happened for some people. The Russian River area (generalized...) has been consistently good since the opener. The Outer Bay has had some good crab but only in some very specific areas. We did better yesterday in 50 feet of water farther from Tomales Point, as closer to the point was the red crab homeland. Ten Mile has had mostly bad crabbing but a few guys have done well further south and recent reports may indicate that the crab are coming in. Inside Tomales Bay the crabbing hasn't been good but people are catching enough to mostly be happy. No inside-the-bay limits that I heard of, but most of the boats I talked to were pretty happy with the Dungeness they caught. Rockfish were generally slow but I heard that the smaller jigs were doing well. Gage and Ed Parsons, in separate boats in different spots, limited on mostly small (2 ounces or less) jigs. If you're interested, check out https://www.majorcraft-america.com/collections/jigpara-standard/products/jigpara-standard . We don't sell them (yet) but I, Gage, Ed Parsons and several others are converts. It seems that the fish will bite a tiny jig when they don't want to bite other stuff. I had more action in an hour of fishing with an 18 gram jig than I'd have in a day, normally. They work, if you can slow the boat's drift. 

      Great weather today with lots of boats on the water. I heard a few good crab stories from the Outer Bay and Ten Mile (in both cases a lot of moving around was required to find the sweet spots) but the rockfish were a bit slow, possibly due to the fullish moon. Bright nights are usually not good for daytime rockfishing in shallow water, especially when the water is so clear. Gage and I had some other commitments for part of the day but were able to catch thirteen Dungeness, nine rockfish and one lingcod today in the Outer Bay. After three pulls through seven cones we ended with six keepers in our last cone. The further east we went the more Dungeness. If we'd had time for another set we'd likely have limited, especially considering that our pulls scored one, one and eleven keepers. The shore fishermen (snare guys) haven't been doing all that well, but one fisherman today (he has No Bad Days, so...) had five nice Dungeness from the Sand Point. To sum up: It ain't awesome, but it doesn't completely suck.

     The numbers of crab seen on the opener dropped dramatically inside the bay by the next day. Things didn't get better on Monday or Tuesday. There's still Dungeness being caught but not that many. Even the reds are tough to get. Part of that could be the ripping currents for most of the day, but the fact that half the crab in the bay were caught on Saturday probably is a factor. Crabbing from a boat has been tough, but snaring from shore has been brutal. A few are being caught after the opener, but not many. Most of the ones coming in are caught around the turn of the tide. Boaters are doing better out in the ocean when they can get there. The late fall swell on Sunday through today has made getting out there safely a bit questionable. The boats that made it got some in the Outer Bay and did consistently well up near the Russian River. 

   Mike Martin sent a report over: "Hey Willy, late report but we did pretty well just off Duncan's Landing in about 75-90 ft of water. Saturday we had 40 for 4 people. We spread them out from 60 to 150ft and there were zero for the pots over 100ft. Once we found them it went fast.  Sunday morning went back and dropped 6 promar pots/rings/hoops what ever they are called and got 30 legal crab in one pull after about 35 minute soak. Culled the biggest ones and only kept two nice limits and called it a day as the wind was coming up. Most people up there were doing good. It was a little lumpy going around the head but once past the college it was beautiful. " Those are officially hoops, even if they're conical. Nice work on the quick critters. It's good that you're getting your crab and removing your gear from the water quickly, thus reducing the chances for a whale interaction. I'm sure that's your motivation for success.

     Here's two limits of Dungeness from inside Tomales bay. Most people crabbing in the bay did not do as well. There weren't many skunks but there weren't many limits, either. Successful numbers seemed to cluster around 6 to 15 in a boat. Ten Mile mostly sucked but a few guys were able to do well. Here's a report from Spaced Invader: "Got 2 limits off the Towers with 

3 rings and one hoop...

Took a little over 3 hours 

Some jumbos in the mix but mostly medium to barley legal. 

Sure you have more reports then needed to make a decision to make a run for them...

Anyways, they taste pretty darn good!

Clean and hard " So there's a few down there. A Hawaiian guy I know had a hundred keepers in one pull of his gear on Ten Mile in 150 feet of water. He didn't give me a precise location, but the beach is only ten miles long. How hard could it be to figure it out? The Outer Bay didn't have crab everywhere but seemed like the best best with some of the best averages. I didn't hear of any skunks there. I know of one boat that only had a couple of crab on Ten Mile and returned to the Outer Bay to finish with 26 keepers. The Russian River had good crab but a few were light and soft.  Rockfishing was a bust for everybody I heard from.

    Yesterday we had a crabber passed out drunk on the beach before Dungeness even opened, so I was a little concerned for how the day would go today. It was a bit of a Charlie Foxtrot on the beach but everybody seemed to be in good spirits and the only yelling I heard was from Gage (he gets a bit wound up). For those counting, only four stuck cars on the beach this morning. Slow day. I hope the rest of Dungeness season goes as smoothly.

   It won't, of course.

   

 

     Even though salmon season has been functionally over for a month or better, the season is now officially over as well. It's good to be on the same page. Not coincidentally, the chances of hooking a salmon while rockfishing just went up. 

     The swell has been up and the Tomales Bay bar has been breaking pretty aggressively. You can tell that Dungeness season is close. I'm not naming names, but last Saturday a regular had a, let's call it eventful, passage over the bar where he jumped four breakers to get across. The fourth wave knocked the captain to the deck as it broke through the almost vertical boat. Not wanting to stay there and wait for the next wave, the passenger next to the captain grabbed the wheel and throttled out of the death zone. Aside from some bruises, the boat and crew were all okay, but they didn't go fishing on Sunday. I tell this story to try and encourage everybody to be safe. The forecast for Saturday's opener looks good right now but it can change. The breakers will definitely be back before November is over. The Sonoma County Sheriff's helicopter and the Coast Guard helicopter have both been flying practice runs to the mouth of Tomales Bay in preparation for the opener, as they are expecting somebody to have a bad day. Let's disappoint them.

     The water is very cold in the bay and the chances of a halibut in November are slim but not zero. There was at least one caught on dead bait by Hog Island on Sunday and halibut fishing conditions don't get too much worse than they are now (except for too much fresh water in the bay which hasn't been an issue for a few years) so if one or two are biting now, who knows?