Terri Brodsky caught this 35 pound striper yesterday. She also released it, so maybe you can catch it, too. I'd like to think that I'd release that beautiful fish, too, but the jury is out on that. I have caught eleven stripers this year and only kept three of them, but none of them were like that. Maybe, at best, half that. Damn. This magnificent fish was one of a double hooked by the Fish Box on their first casts of the day. (Tom, still looking for a photo of the ten pounder...)

   Thanks, Tom. This is Nita Brodsky with her 10 pound striper. She caught this in spite of Tom chasing the 35 pounder. Nice job Nita!

 Not pictured are all of the fish they didn't catch for the rest of the day. That's the part of the day where they re-entered the world that the rest of us live in, where the halibut bite, and usually the striper bite, too, in Tomales Bay has been, let's say, poor. There have been a few halibut caught in the past couple of days. It ain't nothing, it just seems like it if you aren't one of the guys catching. I have heard of a couple of fish over 20 pounds landed here. I didn't see them, but I heard the word on the street (dirt road?). Prediction: When the offshore winds finally die and the inshore waters warm up over 60 degrees the halibut fishing will go off. Until then, it is scratch and grind.

     CDFW wants us to know,"

Francisco and Mendocino Management Areas

July 11, 2023by marinenews, posted in Fishes, Management, Regulations

North Coast black rockfish
photo by E.W. Roberts III

The all-depth recreational groundfish season will open on July 16, 2023 in the San Francisco Groundfish Management Area (GMA) and Mendocino GMA and will remain open until December 31, 2023. The all-depth, boat-based season allows fishing in these GMAs regardless of depth, outside of state or federal marine protected areas or other closures where fishing is prohibited.

The all-depth, boat-based season provides access to nearshore rockfish, cabezon, and greenlings along with deeper shelf and slope rockfish species and lingcod. Take of bronzespotted rockfish, cowcod, and yelloweye rockfish continues to be prohibited year-round at all depths.

Divers and shore-based anglers will continue to be exempt from boat-based season restrictions affecting rockfish and other federally managed groundfish, which allows for year-round diving and shore-based angling in line with current regulations.

All recreational GMAs in California are scheduled for up to five and a half months of all-depth fishing time in 2023. Additionally, in some areas during specified months, an “offshore-only” fishery will be in effect seaward (away from land) of the 50 fathom (300 feet) Rockfish Conservation Area boundary line.  Different take and possession rules apply to these seasons. The 2023 fishing seasons for each GMA are:

Southern Groundfish Management Area:

• Closed: January 1 – March 31
• All-Depth Season: April 1 – September 15
• Offshore-Only Season: September 16 – December 31

Central Groundfish Management Area:

• Closed: January 1 – April 30
• All-Depth Season: May 1 – September 30
• Offshore-Only Season: October 1 – December 31

San Francisco Groundfish Management Area:

• Closed: January 1 – May 14
• Offshore-Only Season: May 15 – July 15
• All-Depth Season: July 16 – December 31

Mendocino Groundfish Management Area:

• Closed: January 1 – May 14
• Offshore-Only Season: May 15 – July 15
• All-Depth Season: July 16 – December 31

Northern Groundfish Management Area:

• Closed: January 1 – May 14
• All-Depth Season: May 15 – October 15
• Closed: October 16 – December 31

The authorization to fish for groundfish at all depths does not supersede closures in certain state and federal marine protected areas, or other special area closures such as Cowcod Conservation Areas or Cordell Bank where specific fishery closures still apply.

For more detailed information on the 2023 recreational groundfish regulations, visit CDFW’s Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations web page. Anglers should review current groundfish regulations in their area before fishing, as season dates, limits, and depths may change in-season.

For more information on groundfish, check out CDFW’s Groundfish web page, which provides information on groundfish fishery science and management, barotrauma, and new fish identification resources for yelloweye rockfish, yellowtail rockfish vs. olive rockfish, and other rockfish species of concern."  What the CDFW is saying is that you will be able to catch rockfish without buying a lot of gas, starting on Sunday. Shallow is fun. But on the right day, don't blow off the deep water stuff. Those fish taste gooood. The catching is stupid. Just don't say no.