The shore crabbing has been slow, as usual, but not bad. People are catching, not limits, but some crab of both species from the beach. In the bay from a boat has been better but far from awesome. Outside the awesome is still in abeyance but limits are possible, even (and especially) in the outer bay. The whales are chilling with gin and tonics somewhere south for the moment, so traps are still cool, but if I was going to buy more crabbing gear it probably (and this, as a purveyor of traps, pains me) wouldn't be traps but would be conical gear. The two best times of the season for Dungeness are the beginning of the season and the end, which also happens to be the likeliest times for traps to be closed. Conicals are cools year-round.

   I heard of one striper in the surf this week. Gage and I tried on Thursday for a couple of hours before we got frozen out. No fish or bites for us. Gage did snag a sand crab, so surf fishing is likely a thing again even if we can't catch there. It's fishing. Give it a shot.

   Salmon fishermen: If you haven't heard yet, it seems that only 61,000 salmon made it up the river last year, out of a minimal target of 180,000. That's about a third. I've heard that there may be only 20,000 fish that may be allowed to be caught this year in California. Commercial guys caught over 200,000 fish last year. No fishing for them equals checks from the government, later. They don't want those fish. Sport guys caught almost 60,000 fish last year. Maybe we get six weeks? We'll see. Nomad Madmac sales continue to be through the roof, so bluefin effort may be more than salmon this year. Bad year to be a fish.

   A message from the Golden Gate Salmon Association:"

Dear Salmon supporter, The governor has taken direct aim at our salmon and we need to let him know he needs to change course.

In a harsh blow to salmon recovery efforts, Governor Gavin Newsom has bowed to the will of factory farm operators in the Central Valley and invited his water managers to waive state law aimed at protecting salmon and other species, which they have now done.  Since Newsom issued his executive order on February 13 authorizing a drastic cut to required freshwater flows through the Delta, Delta outflow has fall by almost half. Without this water, salmon survival will plummet. We are losing baby salmon in the Delta right now.

The state’s Dept. of Water Resources (DWR) admits that granting their request will harm salmon in a number of ways including pulling juveniles off their natural outmigration route to their deaths in the interior Delta.   The governor made his move just as some of the two million fish released at Coleman were expected to be entering the Delta on their way to the Bay and ocean.  They are part of an experiment intended in part to restock the upper Sacramento Basin with salmon after recent disastrous returns to the upper Sacramento Basin and now they’re probably lost. Newsom’s capitulation to the state’s powerful agricultural industry comes as most of the state’s reservoirs are at or above where they’d normally be this time of year and a record 186% of normal snowpack in the Sierras will soon fill them further.  The executive order states explicitly that rules protecting salmon can now be waived simply because powerful Central Valley interests are demanding more water supply.  State and federal water managers are ramping up diversions to big agricultural water districts across the Central Valley and have told many of them to expect 100% of their annual water allocation.  This isn’t fair or balanced to those who fish or rely on salmon.  Only 61,200 fall run Chinook salmon returned to the Sacramento River last fall, far below the target of 180,000 fish.  Many are worried we may not have a salmon fishing season this year.    Salmon numbers have dropped dramatically during Governor Newsom’s time in office while water-guzzling almond orchards have grown by 300,000 acres.  So please take a moment to let the Governor know you disagree with his action and support reinstating salmon protections and a more fair balance.  Your voice is strongest if you call the governor’s office at (916) 445-2841.   Tell them you’re calling to ask the governor to rescind his executive order waiving salmon protections regarding water flowing through the Delta.  Or, click here and we’ll make it easy for you to add your name to a petition we’ll send to the governor’s office.   Please share this call to action as far and widely as you can.

Sign The Petition Here

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