The halibut fishing, while never great this year, continues to kind of grind along. The fact that there isn't much else that we're allowed to fish for makes every biting halibut a thing for which to be especially grateful. Here's a few of the fish we appreciate: 

"12lber picked up across the bay shortly after making live bait this morning. Hit a live smelt." "This morning" was actually Sunday morning (sorry, I lost this picture and comment in my email). The vast majority of halibut being caught lately are barely legal, so this fish is one of the better ones coming in. Nice work on a good fish, kid that hearts hot moms. 

    Angie Burns caught these two halibut near Marker 5 on frozen herring today. One fish looks fairly typical, but the other one is a good one for sure. Nice work, Angie. Those fish don't come easy, especially, usually, on popsicles for bait. The small average size may be an indicator of a small population. Often, a large number of juveniles in the catch is an indicator of overfishing. I think that the deepwater fish didn't come in to play this year. I've heard of quite a few caught (by drag boats and hook and line fishermen) in deep water. One recent report online noted a 38 pound California halibut caught in 500 feet of water off of Fort Bragg. That's pretty deep for a fish that I usually catch in 20 feet of water or less. I think that the fish we want are out deep. I think that they aren't coming in. I think it doesn't matter what I think, as the California Fish and Game Commission will vote on Thursday to make the two fish halibut limit permanent. You can also take that to mean that the CFGC thinks that there won't be a salmon season next year. It was this year's lack of a salmon season that precipitated the cut to the limit, and making it permanent seems like an indicator of some sort. I hope it isn't.

    While speaking of regulations, also you should know that sturgeon will likely become catch and release only in certain areas due to the vote that is made tomorrow. I saw one jump a few weeks back at White Gulch. It appeared (at a distance) to be a low range keeper. But fishing for sturgeon in Tomales Bay is pretty much a bat ray expedition. But, wow, the bat rays... So  many.... Also, of note, I recently heard of a silver salmon caught off of Dillon Beach buy a surf caster during the summer. Then, yesterday, Gage saw a guy catch a nice silver off of the Sand Point