Branden Mendoza sent over a report this evening: "Hey willy just wanted to let you know limits of good dungeness are still out there if you run north. Me and my dad went out for 2 limits in 80 feet of water. We had 8 hoop pots took us 3 hours to get limits with a few keepers released. We made homemade clam chowder and crab. It was a day well spent " Looks like a pretty good evening eating as well. The Dungeness are mostly out of the clutch (the time when mommy and daddy crab get too busy being mommies and daddies and don't want to eat or otherwise do things that could end up with them in crab pots) and are now hungry. A boat from here today had 150ish crab, 40ish of which were Dungeness, and never left the bay. The area around Marker 5 seems like it's a hot spot again. The outer bay has also been good for some. Use your traps quickly because the end is nigh. The whales are coming (many are already here) and the most recent recommendation to the CDFW is this "Therefore, CDFW Marine Region staff’s preliminary recommendation is to prohibit the use of recreational traps in Fishing Zones 3-5 effective May 15, 2023 at 12:00pm (noon). Staff also recommend implementing a 30-fathom Depth Constraint and a 50% Gear Reduction (trap reduction) for Fishing Zones 1 and 2 effective May 15, 2023." We are in Zone 3, so it looks like we got an extra month over the commercial guys. Hoops and cones after noon on the 15th, probably. They'll likely make it official on Monday. 

    In fish news, a bit more information about the second halibut caught here. It was outside of the bar in 50 feet of water and the water temp was 49º. So, it was a fluke. Your results will almost certainly vary. In good news, the ospreys are no longer the only ones catching surfperch. There's been some very nice perch coming in from Dillon Beach. Finally. All the wind has formed up a bit of structure along the beach to concentrate the fish. Walk and cast, looks for changes in the beach break, and most importantly be a bit lucky. 

 

 

   Ed Parsons was understandably upset when Gage started blowing up his phone with texts and pictures of his halibut yesterday, so today Ed stopped on the bar on his way out to check his crab pots in the outer bay. According to Ed, jigging works. This one liked a Bigfoot Baits tube jig a little too much. I got this photo but no crab report. I'm guessing he did okay with a half-dozen pots in the outer bay for almost a week. Shore snarers were catching a few reds this morning but I didn't see any Dungeness come ashore in the twenty minutes I was watching the beach. 

    Another sign of fish (as opposed to the actual fish, I guess) is our first pelican of the season. He seemed kinda hungry, but the theory is that when the pelicans show the baitfish aren't far behind. I'm hopeful that this bird has some good info, but there can be doofuses in the animal kingdom as well. I tried a bit of shore casting this evening for a grand total of a few weeds, but I thought I saw a couple of striper boils a bit beyond my casting range with a low profile reel (so, not far) at the sand point. Not a bad evening to be on the beach if you like warmth and sun and don't like wind. It won't last as first the fog and then the usual screaming wind (Sunday) is due to return. But, hey, fish! 

 

    Last year around this time Gage and I announced that halibut season was open after the Gage caught a couple of (freak) halibut in front of the Landing. Today's halibut came from Inverness in 60.5 º water. It was his only halibut bite (perch don't count) but it came from a likelier area and method (trolling). It ain't wide open but, game on. Finally. Oh, yeah, they taste really good, too. 

    In other news, the only other boat from here today limited out on big Dungeness inside Tomales Bay. The shore snarers have been getting a (very) few keepers lately, but our boat crabbers today caught thirty keepers in the area between Tom's Point and Sand Point. Their traps had lots of females (20-30) and usually 1 to 2 jumbo male Dungeness. It added up to thirty, so... Two boats, good days for both.... The reports will never average as good again this season. 

   I forgot something from the last post. It was my intent to tell you all that, when my cousin, the commercial fisherman, pulled his last pots (as required; whales) he found a few meager clumps of squid eggs attached. This has been whirling around my head (except for when I write this, apparently) and I'll try to sum up the reasons why here. For one, when I was able once (back in 2015) to target white seabass the fish (when I rarely caught them) were on squid spawns. Another interesting note is that it is, according to what I recall from my research, too cold for squid to spawn (has anybody told the squid? No? Put on a white lab coat and tell them to stop!), so it shouldn't be true. Chris (my cousin) didn't say exactly where the alleged mollusk diddling was occurring, but I think it was off of Ten Mile. Depth? Dunno. The water temperature right now would seem to indicate that seabass catching is off the agenda, but maybe the fish don't know that. They probably don't read this report. They've been catching them out of Oxnard in 52º to 53º F water. That's like here in the early summer. Don't let scientific facts be your guide; results should be your indicator. I'm thinking that a few hours spent drifting with dead squid off of the Keyholes or Abbott's will probably net you zero fish. But maybe, when the water warms a bit (to when it's only cold, not just frigid) you might catch a fish of a lifetime. You probably won't. But it's not like you're missing out on a limit of salmon, either. So, what's the harm in trying?

    Not too many boats hitting the water lately, but today there were several out on the bay. The reports from them were not good. I didn't talk to everyone, but the guys I spoke to hadn't caught any Dungeness crab at all. The fishing was similar, as halibut (aside from the one very confused shortie a few weeks back) have been nowhere to be found in Tomales Bay. The water inside the bay is starting to warm up, though, and likely in the next few weeks the bite should start. Finally. I tried for a bit yesterday and saw quite a bit of bait schooled up from Pelican Point on back to Marshall. Small schools that wouldn't bite a sabiki, but something on the meter. The warmest water I saw was 55.9º at Marshall. That's getting close to the temperature I need to catch fish back there. I need about a 60º minimum (62º+ is better) to not get bored. Fish seem to more active when they're warmer. I am. It's coming, just not fast enough. The water on the bar two hours after the listed low tide was 46.6º on my fishfinder. That is damned cold. A few days back Terrafin showed a temp of 45.3º off of Gualala. That's even colder than damned cold. Stronger-than-usual winds will likely continue to keep the ocean water frickin' frigid. So, I guess, on the plus side, "

Recreational Pacific Halibut Fishery Set to Open May 1

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is pleased to announce the 2023 recreational Pacific halibut fishery will open Monday, May 1 and remain open seven days per week until Nov. 15 or until the quota is reached, whichever is earlier. The 2023 Pacific halibut quota for the California subarea is 39,540 pounds – approximately the same as the 2022 quota.

CDFW’s recommended season dates were informed by a scoping process that included an online angler survey conducted earlier this year. The open dates are not guaranteed days, and the season could be closed early if it is determined that projected catches will exceed the California quota.

Anglers are always advised to check for updated information when planning a Pacific halibut fishing trip. Season dates, bag/possession limits and gear restrictions can be found on CDFW’s Pacific halibut web page. Public notification of any in-season change to regulations is made through the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Pacific halibut hotline at (800) 662-9825 or CDFW’s Pacific halibut Regulations Hotline at (831) 649-2801.

State regulations for Pacific halibut automatically conform to federal regulations set by NMFS using the process described in the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 1.95. Federal regulations for Pacific halibut took effect April 6, 2023, and were published in the Federal Register (88 FR 21503) on April 11, 2023." What's the plus, you ask? Here's my thinking points: Our water is about as Alaskan as it gets. Several Pacifics were landed last year by salmon fishermen. No salmon season means less distractions. It appears that there's more Pacifics out there than we think. The season will likely close early as the boys to our north have no salmon to divide their attention and they have known halibut grounds to work. We need some of those known grounds. I will be looking again this year. 

     Stripers do exist. This one is way smaller than Mr. Thornley's but I'm still pretty happy about it. Fourth cast this evening and I snagged a perch. Tenth cast hooked this striper. Gage, Cameron and I casted for another hour without another bite. The wind was blowing so I was throwing an iron. In this case it was a 3 ounce chrome Stingsilver jig. The surf fishing ain't good, but it ain't quite dead, either. 

 

 

     Remember when I said that this year is a bad year to be a halibut? A lot of other people think so to. So......."

CDFW Considers Reducing California Halibut Bag and Possession Limit in Northern California

April 13, 2023by marinenews, posted in Fishes, Management, Regulations, Research

Angler lands a California halibut
CDFW photo

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife is proposing an emergency regulation change to reduce the recreational California halibut daily bag and possession limit from three fish to two fish in northern California (waters north of Point Sur, Monterey County). The proposal will be discussed at the May 17, 2023 California Fish and Game Commission teleconference meeting.

Northern California Commercial Passenger Fishing Vessel (“party boat”) operators and recreational anglers communicated to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife that they anticipate nearshore fishing effort will shift and increase for California halibut in 2023, due to limited fishing opportunities and changes in accessibility to other fisheries, such as salmon.

During the salmon closure in 2008 and 2009, fishing effort shifted to California halibut and the estimated recreational catch in northern California surpassed 54,000 and 43,000 fish, respectively. By 2013, the catch had dipped to just below 5,000 California halibut. The catch remained below 20,000 fish for several years (2011-2016) following the closure.

Recreational anglers have expressed a desire for proactive management to lessen the effect of the anticipated fishing effort shift on the California halibut resource. This anticipated shift coincides with a cold-water period, which is correlated with lower California halibut egg and larval survival. The fishery began to rebound from the 2008-2009 salmon closure in 2017, following warm water periods that began in 2014. A bag limit reduction will help to support California halibut population levels through the current cold-water period.

Based on California Recreational Fisheries Survey estimates, a bag limit reduction from three to two fish could result in protecting about 13 percent of fish that would otherwise be taken.

Emergency regulations sunset after six months, with opportunities for two 90-day extensions. Stay tuned to the Commission’s regulations web page for updates."

It would just level off the peaks, but 13% less is better than nothing. Think of how much quicker you can limit! Some folks may be inclined to high grade for larger fish. If you can only have two, make 'em good ones, right? Any legal fish that it gut or gill hooked should be kept. If you can let it go without netting it or otherwise hurting the fish, go for it. But if you kill it, keep it. 

     Crabbing has been slow for everyone I've spoken with, but I saw a pile of Dungeness shells in the dumpster by the Boathouse on Monday, over a limit of keepers, so somebody is getting some. I guess the crabbing is only mostly bad. 

    So, the crab report is mostly not good, as usual. Some guys got a few, a few others caught none, and a few less did okay to good. Let's just say it was mostly bad. No halibut that I heard of this weekend, and as far as I know, only the ospreys caught surfperch. They caught a lot, though. Too bad that it means the fish are out beyond casting (but not flying) range. The water is about as cold as it gets (record low water temps in San Diego!) so anything there is sluggish. The days are still getting longer and the water should be getting warmer. Fish are coming. Just not yet.

     I asked for a correction if my second-hand striper report from last week was wrong. No surprise, it was, so here's a correction from Tom Thornley: "

• The pile worms all had died in my refrigerator after keeping them there for two nights. They were limp and lifeless and really hard to keep on the hook.
• I was fishing for perch with a two hook leader and 3 oz. pyramid sinker and two #4 hooks. In my wildest dreams, not expecting to catch a striper so didn’t even try the lures.
• Just a few days before our fishing fanatic son, Gabriel Morgan Nelson, was killed in a tragic head on collision on River Road, he and I had made plans to go striper fishing at Dillon Beach. that next weekend. I have been surf fishing there for 40 years at Dillon and never caught a striper. He all but assured me that if we went the following weekend he guaranteed we would catch a striper. Gabe was a legendary fisherman in the Russian River and Northern coastal area.
• After our son died we were cleaning out his house and amongst about 3 dozen or so rods and reels (mainly fly fishing) were two surfcasting rods and spinning reels set aside by the door rigged with striper lures for that promised day of catching a striper at Dillon. Those two rods and reels were the only two items I wanted to keep forever to remind me of our son.
• When I went out to fish Thursday morning about 8:30AM I didn’t even look at the tide chart but the weather was calm so decided it would be worth a try. On my first cast the dead pile worms flew off my hooks  before they even hit the water. On the second cast I ran the hooks through them about a half dozen times hoping they would stay on the hooks and to my surprise, it worked. About 45 seconds later the striper took the bait. At first I thought it was a perch. I pulled the rod up to set the hook and the striper took off down the coast peeling out about 80’ of line. I slowly tightened the drag, waded out to my knees in the water and gently but persistently guided it to shore. It did take over 30 minutes. At one point the striper was about 100’ off shore and rolled its back up to the surface and I thought it was a seal going for my fish so I pulled back on the  rod pretty hard and was shocked to realize it was not a seal but was my fish.
• On your scales it weighed 20lbs. Later on before we cleaned it we weighed it and it was 24lbs and 38” long.
• The yellow note I am holding in the picture says “This one is for Gabe”
• The whole story gives me goosebumps every time I tell it. Gabe was somehow with me that day, a day I will never forget." The one thing that doesn't change is that it is still a huge fish from the surf.

    Another submission is from Charles Warner. Mr. Warner has a few valid concerns about the rivers and the fish we love in them. "I have written to the last four governors concerning the the elimination of natural salmon spawning on the American River.  I have fished the H street bar, on the American, starting when I was 12 years old and was able to wader fish safely.  I am presently 76 years old.  My farther constantly reminded me not to step in the spawning redds, and there were hundreds of redds on the bar all spring, summer, and fall.  Then the California aqueduct was constructed.  The state started to rotate releasing large amounts of water from the American, Feather, and the Sacramento rivers all spring, summer and fall to keep the brackish water below the Tracy pumps. They rotated the rivers every four weeks.  A salmon will only construct a redd in water which is conducive to the gestation of its eggs.  Imagine a salmon laying its eggs in an area and then having the River level raised or lowered which causes the eggs to either become too warm or too cold, thus stopping the gestation process.  No  more naturally spawned fish.  That’s what happened on the H Street bar. I haven’t seen a spawning redd on the bar for many years!!!  The schools of salmon in the ocean also became smaller over these years, which I witnessed during my salmon fishing out of both Lawsons and Bodega.

  It’s a shame that the State didn’t take the Corps of Engineers advice to build reservoirs along the west side of the California Aqueduct and to only pump water during high water periods filling those reservoirs and then moving that water south in the spring, summer, and fall.  The Corps told the state that this was necessary and that if they didn’t ,  every running fish in the Sacramento, San Joaquin River systems would become extinct!  Seems to be happening. Salmon, Strippers, and Shad all down!!!!"

 

     Did anyone else hear a loud "pop!" this morning? That was Gage's head exploding when he received this photo in a text. Don't worry, he's as functional as he ever was. This fellow, though, had a pretty good morning. Tom Thornley caught this 20 pound striper this morning from the beach (I'd say surf but there wasn't any). As I wasn't there this morning when he told the story I may get some of these second-hand facts incorrect, but as I've said before, please correct me if I stray from the facts at lawsonslanding@gmail.com. The story as I heard it was that Mr. Thornley and his son had been talking about striper fishing in the surf at Dillon Beach. They had been talking about it for a while, and then Mr. Thornley's son passed away. My two boys are the twin suns my world orbits (like Tatooine!) and I can't imagine the feelings of his loss. When he came to his house in Dillon Beach he saw two rods leaning near the door, ready to go striper and surfperch fishing. This morning he decided to go. Second cast with a live pileworm on the hook and he hooked a fish that took him over half an hour to land. A damn nice fish, as photographed. He says it's his son's fish and that's fair, as it seems that it was his idea. What can we learn from this? First, as a fishing report, let's note that there's a reasonable chance at catching a striper in the surf right now. Not good, as nobody else came forward with one today, but it happened to one fellow, so, maybe? Gage tried. See the picture of his fish? No? That's because he, I, and many others tried and failed. Second point? Don't put off fishing or otherwise spending time with your loved ones. Or friends. Or fishing with people that haven't fished before. Any of these things are things worth spending time on. Even if you don't catch a fish. It pains me to say it, but truly, catching fish is secondary to the experience with friends or loved ones. 

     But it's better if you catch.

     Oh, by the way, it's official: No salmon this season: "

PFMC Recommends Closure of 2023 Ocean Salmon Fisheries 

Today, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) acted unanimously to recommend a full closure of California’s commercial and recreational ocean salmon season. Options put forward by the PFMC last month for public review, which were developed by industry representatives, all proposed closure of both commercial and sport ocean salmon fisheries off California. This action follows recent projections showing Chinook salmon abundance off California is at historic lows.

After reviewing the Council’s recommendation, it is expected that the National Marine Fisheries Service will take regulatory action to enact the closure, effective in mid-May. In addition, the California Fish and Game Commission will consider whether to adopt a closure of inland salmon fisheries at its teleconference on May 17.

“This decision, while difficult, is intended to allow salmon to recover in order to provide future fishing opportunities, said California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton H. Bonham. “Salmon are an iconic species in California. We treasure them for their intrinsic, cultural, recreational and commercial values. The state is committed to ensuring long-term survival of our salmon runs and supporting our struggling fishing communities. We are looking into all possible options to bring relief as soon as possible to fishing businesses to addresses costs incurred to maintain their commercial licenses and lost revenue when the season is entirely closed.”

Prolonged and historic drought, severe wildfires and associated impacts to spawning and rearing habitat, harmful algal blooms, and ocean forage shifts have combined to result in some of the lowest stock abundance forecasts on record for Sacramento River Fall Chinook and Klamath River Fall Chinook. The low ocean abundance forecasts, coupled with low 2022 returns, led the PFMC to recommend full closure of California’s commercial and recreational ocean salmon fisheries.

In part, the low returns and abundance forecasts are due to difficult environmental factors faced by these salmon on their initial journey out to the ocean three years ago. Following a drought sequence, the 2016-2017 Sacramento and San Joaquin numbers were less than 135,000 returning fall-run Chinook. Three years later, after rains, it was over 200,000. Similar rebounds happened after 2010 had above average rainfall. Salmon returns three years later more than doubled from around 163,000 to around 448,000. These patterns indicate that salmon returning three years from now will benefit from the ample precipitation California has experienced this year.

“This closure is painful,” said Director Bonham. “We deeply appreciate the fishing community in California voicing support for this serious step to help these stocks recover. We have worked with our commercial and recreational partners over the years to rebuild other fisheries following closures and now some of those, like some groundfish populations, are providing opportunities for fishing for the first time in years.”

More information regarding the PFMC actions can be found on the PFMC website at www.pcouncil.org."

 Just a quick post. Not much to report, as usual, lately, but today there was a halibut caught off the beach in front of the store. On camera, even. It wasn't a legal halibut, but it was a flat fish from the shore. The water at low tide registered 54.5 degrees according to the $20 infrared temp gun I used to check, for whatever that's worth (probably not the $20 I spent). The Gage is twitching with anticipation and planning on fishing this week. I think he may be a bit premature. There's still a few Dungeness coming in from the bay, not many, but a few. The outer bay has been better but still not good enough for me to limit, not by a long shot. Things will only get better as the year progresses. That ain't false promises, it's just knowledge that the days are lengthening, the water is slowly warming, and the West wind, which is only just starting, will just as surely end, and when it does (it won't be soon enough) the ocean halibut will bite. There may be a reduction in the halibut limit to two this year (because salmon didn't keep up their end of the deal), so larger ocean halibut would especially be welcome. 

    So, you've probably already heard this: "

CDFW Announces Closure of Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery Off Central California to Protect Humpback Whales

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and announced a fishery closure for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in fishing zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 (Sonoma/Mendocino county line to the U.S./Mexico border) effective at noon on April 15, 2023. The take and possession of Dungeness crab is therefore prohibited after noon on April 15, 2023, in fishing zones 3-6.

This season closure is being implemented to minimize entanglement risk for humpback whales as they return to forage off the coast of California and in response to several entanglements that occurred during March and April of 2022. Based on historical migration patterns, CDFW anticipates humpback whales will begin arriving in the coming weeks and has determined this action is needed to avoid entanglements during the same period that occurred last season. In addition, CDFW has authorized the Lost and Abandoned Gear Retrieval Program to begin removing commercial Dungeness crab traps left in the water beginning April 21, 2023, at 6 a.m. in zones 3, 4, 5 and 6. 

“The fleet has done an impressive job helping CDFW manage entanglement risk in the commercial fishery and appreciates the high level of involvement to inform the risk assessment process,” said CDFW Director Bonham. “We applaud the Working Group for their dedication and continued focus on the long-term viability of the fishery that helps ensure we protect future opportunities to bring Dungeness crab to Californians and provide protection for whales and sea turtles off our coast.”

Fishing zones 1 through 6 also remain under a Fleet Advisory for both the commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries. The recreational fishery remains open to crab traps north of Point Arguello, Santa Barbara County, but may be subject to a future trap restriction when humpback whales return to forage during the spring and summer. In addition, CDFW reminds all commercial and recreational fishery participants to implement best practices, as described in the Best Practices Guide. CDFW also reminds all anglers to be prepared to act quickly to remove fishing gear from remaining open areas should entanglement risk become elevated. For more information related to the risk assessment process, please visit CDFW’s Whale Safe Fisheries page. For more information on the Dungeness crab fishery, please visit CDFW’s Crab page, including FAQs for the 2022-23 commercial fishing season and FAQs for the new recreational crab trap regulations." Just know that we're all in good hands, as this pre-emptive closure will save whales that don't even exist. As I read the information provided, one humpback was spotted in the Monterey area by whale watching boats. There's also some whale food off of Northern California. It doesn't meet any of the triggers to close their season, but whatever. I haven't spoken to any commercial fishermen and don't know what they think.p Maybe it's a good thing. It seems like it kinda smells like bullcrap, but, hey, I watch the news, my nose has become mostly blind to bullcrap. Let's just assume that if the commies are going down mid-month, we ain't far behind. As I like to say, smoke 'em if you got 'em, for the end is nigh.

    Also, there's still some crab around for us sporties. Inside the bay has been slow, as usual, but a few guys have been getting some, with effort. I talked to one fellow, a Mr. Haub I believe, on Wednesday afternoon, and he had caught five red crab and two Dungeness with snares from shore. His last one was 7"+. He thought he was snagged or had snared a shark when reeling in. It turns out it was just a large crab. First world problems. Out in the outer bay, crabbing has been better. Very, very few jumbos, as the commercials have been carpet bombing the bay with traps, but 6"ers are reasonably plentiful. Ed Parsons did well in the short weather window this week. The crab are there. The weather has made it complicated. If you're timing is right crabbing is good.

   This evening, I had a variety of foods that had been tempura fried by someone that knows what they're doing. Maxime (Wrybread's girlfriend that spent some time in Japan; she speaks French natively and Japanese by choice) fried up a variety of foods and wow, everything was better. Awesome, actually. I have officially decided that when I pass, instead of being buried or interred, or incinerated, I'd like to be fried in a tempura. Everything she cooked was better after it was fried. I hope to be that much better after I'm gone. When I'm gone, fry me. But lightly. So much better...