Most folks are interested in crab now, Dungeness in particular. From the shore, Dungies have been okay at best. Good for them, I guess, but not so much for fishermen. Even in this wind, and there's been a lot of it, crabbers, shore and boat, have done barely okay. There are crab to be caught, but not really enough to go around in big numbers. But catching is good. Really good when it's you that's catching.

    There's been a few surfperch bites, mostly by the ospreys that don't need a good bite close to shore, just fish close to the surface, but a few surf fishermen have done well. A few. It ain't good, but there's fish in the surf if you're lucky and good. 

    So I heard this evening that a guy (a former tractor repair guy..) that had engine problems here on Friday also had a halibut to clean when he made his way back in. "Only one", as they say, but one fish in a bay that doesn't have the numbers that San Francisco has is pretty good. We are on par here for a lesser but still interesting season on the halibut season. We aren't San Francisco Bay, and we're generally pretty happy about that, except for when they have a better halibut bite. Dammit. Not happy now, but soon I will be. I have heard rumors of halibut in the ocean biting in 53º water. It seems like crap, but I was given a fillet, and it was good, so it may be true. It tasted real. And of curry. May more that I have caught follow. 

    

    

     I missed most of the weekend here as friends invited me and my wife to the California Waterfowl Association's Gold Country Banquet in Auburn. We had a good time and won a few things, and Ron Johnson bid on and won a couple of nights camping at Lawson's Landing. Thanks for supporting a good cause, Ron. and we'll see you this summer. In other news...

Regulations for Recreational Groundfish Approved

On April 19, 2024, the California Office of Administrative Law approved the recreational groundfish fishing regulations adopted by the California Fish and Game Commission on March 26, 2024; the regulations are now effective and complement regulations for these species in federal waters, which went into effect April 1, 2024.

• In the Northern, Mendocino, San Francisco, and Central – North of 36° N lat. groundfish management areas (GMAs), the regulations prescribe a season structure that is closed January 1 through March 31, open seaward of the 50-fathom boundary line for shelf rockfish, slope rockfish, and lingcod from April 1 through April 30, October 1 through October 31, and December 1 through December 31, and open shoreward of the 20-fathom boundary line from May 1 through September 30, and November 1 through November 30.
• In the Central – South of 36° N lat. and Southern GMAs, the regulations prescribe a season structure that is closed January 1 through March 31, open in all depths from April 1 through June 30, open shoreward of the 50-fathom boundary line from July 1 through September 30, and open seaward of the 50-fathom boundary line for shelf rockfish, slope rockfish, and lingcod from October 1 through December 31.
• The sub-bag limit for vermilion rockfish will remain four fish in the Northern GMA and is reduced to two fish in the Mendocino, San Francisco, Central – North of 36° N lat., Central – South of 36° N lat., and Southern GMAs.
• The cowcod conservation areas off southern California were repealed and replaced with a series of eight smaller closed areas (groundfish exclusion areas).
• A descending device must be carried aboard and available for immediate use on any vessel taking or possessing any species of federal groundfish.

The approved regulatory language and other rulemaking documents are available on the Commission's website at https://fgc.ca.gov/Regulations/2024-New-and-Proposed#27.20.

Sincerely, 

Sherrie Fonbuena
Regulatory Analyst

   Finally. Yes, the State said you could fish in deep-enough federal waters, but now the rules are official. You've got a few more days for the deep, weather providing, and then nearshore is the game until October. Unless they close it early. Remember to research what a quillback looks like, so that you won't keep one and so that you can answer properly when asked, that you didn't release one either. Also, remember to get a proper descender and have it rigged and ready to go so that you may legally fish for rockfish.

    Since I seem to start so many of these with "So...", let me begin with; So, I got an email yesterday asking about the clutch. Are the crab still clutching? Well, here's the sad truth: I don't know, and nobody that I'm aware of tracks it. Better question: What is the clutch? Honestly, I'm not clear on it, but I'll pretend I know if you ask me to my face. Here's what I have heard: There's a time when they quit entering traps, generally in the early spring, and the theory is that they crab are either spawning or molting or both (it may require both. Can you imagine needing to shed your skin before having "relations?" Either way, or both, it seems that only the Dungeness that are healthy and well-fed enough can participate. It turns out that the crab inside Tomales Bay probably aren't healthy enough to participate. I hate to be the *blocker, but, sorry guys, sucks to be you. But, it seems to mean that success is possible inside Tomales Bay, if you consider success to include crab that aren't healthy enough to spawn or molt or both. And if you're good with that, well, I have a bay for you! A 13 foot Boston Whaler limited in the bay today with two guys aboard. The guys that live here and know things went to Ten Mile yesterday for five Dungeness and worked the outer bay today for five more. The guys with ten in a day inside the bay kind of win. So, if you want numbers now go in the bay. If you can wait, the outside will have some lovely large crab probably inside of a month. It gets best just before it closes (probably after, but who would know?).

   On a slightly different note, I heard that the rockfish weren't biting yesterday. Like, nope! That sucks when it's your one day to go. It has happened to me. On my day, no bites until 12:30 or so, then they bit like mad.  And now that frustration that I felt that day has added to my love for rockfish. 99 times out of 100 the rockfish will just give it up. But that one time preserves their "innocence", such as it is. Mostly they just bite and you can assume that, but rarely, occasionally, no.  Not to sexualize it, but that's kind of hot. The random no is what makes it so interesting! When they're a no they're a hard no. But the rest of the time those rockfish are like guaranteed dinner. And so good eating. Probably It's best for the species. It's always bad to be tasty, and those that know, know. Fresh rockcod in the fryer? I've had better, happier moments in my life, I'm sure, but I blank on them after a good fish fry.

 

   Doryon Dye went fishing with Gage this morning, and together they did 100% better than Gage did alone last week. Was it Doryon, or was it the water warming up a bit more and getting the fish more active? Probably both. A few halibut are biting, not as well as the bite in San Francisco Bay, but a few. It will only get better. 

   Crabbing should also be getting better because it can't get much slower now. There's a few Dungeness getting caught but only a few. The clutch should be ending and a lot of beautiful, empty crab should be arriving soon. They maybe won't be full of meat but, damn, they'll look pretty. Put 'em on top of your bucket. 

    I've been fishing here for quite a while. I believe that was 1978 that I was first sent to "work" on the family party boat. My memories from then mostly involved catching fish and puking, probably not in that order (it wasn't. I puked a lot). As I eventually became aware of the world around me, the blurry world I could barely see through the tears I shed while vomiting, occasionally there was a large, green boat. The New Sea Angler was a part of my world, and has been since. A boat full of fishermen was never what I wanted to appear next to me, especially when I was catching. I'm having to delete a lot of foul language that is passing through my brain as I type this. But, having the New Sea Angler show up on your bite was an indicator that you were in the right spot. Honestly, the NSA arriving was the mark of authenticity to your finding a good bite. 

    I hated it. I don't need authentication. I 'm here to catch fish. I don't want to dodge party boats filled with shmucks. I just wanna fish. But....

   It appears that, like many figures from my youth, Rick Powers wants to retire, and his retirement is partly based on the value of his boat. So, here's the listing. Rick, if you're reading, you're the man. You've been pushing strong for a season for all salmon fishermen. A rising tide lifts all boats, eh. I just want to say thanks. Thanks for your lobbying, and thanks for you. Even when I was direct competition with you, you made me search out new places to fish, and I found a couple. I read somewhere that restrictions breed innovation, and I can't disagree. Thanks for the insight, and I'm sorry for the folks that follow that won't have your inspiration (or anti-inspiration) to follow. I know that all of the jackasses that followed you around were a pain, but now that seems like you're retiring, acknowledge the flattery that those followers espoused. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness". Oscar Wilde, or someone like him, said that or something similar. Good on you, Rick. You have earned it. I was never happy when you showed up on the bite I found (it happened, more than once. I think twice) but I always figured that it was a compliment. 

    Rick, in a post on a website that doesn't exist now, posted that he'd lost a bluefin while trolling outside of Cordell in 2015. I went out there, and we caught a 95 pound blueifin. I can't comment on the rest of Rick's reports, but the one that I found actionable, worked. Look at this report in October, 2015, (the 15th). Thanks for the bluefin, Rick. May your retirement be awesome, but also interrupted by momentary periods that you wish that you were still fishing. For the rest of us fishermen's sake. Just saying. If I'm wishing for something I want to included.

  UPDATE: I heard Mr. Powers was just testing the market. He ain't done yet. The way the regulations are, well, he's a better and more stubborn man than I. 

     Well, at least there was one fish report last week. So far this week the only other halibut report besides Gage's was one hookup and almost immediate unintended release. So, there's at least one halibut out there. I'm confident that it was something good because bat rays don't come unhooked by themselves. Other than that, there's a few surfperch and a few jacksmelt, unless you go out deep for rockfish on the rare right day. Another right day might appear before the end of the month, but if not, May will bring an opening of the shallows for rockfish. Not the good for filling the fishbox shallows, but the fun fishing shallows. In two weeks, let the fun begin!

     For those looking for more information about the boat sinking in Tomales Bay on Saturday, sorry, they weren't from Lawson's Landing (for once). I have no information other than what I read online, but in my opinion, seven people in a 14 foot boat seems like the boat may have been overloaded. If they had seven limits of clams and the gear to get those clams, that's a lot more weight in an already overloaded boat in windy conditions. So, while I don't know what happened, I have an idea. Please be sensible out there. If you think that what you're doing may be sketchy, stop doing it. 

 

    Finally, a fishing report! Better, a catching report. Gage says the halibut are biting! Actually, Gage says this halibut bit, but no others in a few hours of trolling way back in the bay. So the one friendly one is gone. It is still early, and based upon the bite in San Francisco Bay, our good bite is still four to six weeks away, but there's hope! Just not much hope. It bodes well for May halibut fishing, though. 

     Salmon season has officially been settled by the PFMC. The first line of the press release: "The Pacific Fishery Management Council has adopted recommendations for ocean salmon fishing along the Pacific west coast in 2024. The seasons provide recreational and commercial opportunities in northern areas of the coast but include significant reductions and closures in southern portions of the coast to achieve conservation goals for goals for both Chinook and coho salmon stocks." The "significant reductions and closures" in the case of California is just closure. It gives a bit more meaning to a single  halibut caught in the bay, as that is our future this year, it seems. And rockfish, and stripers, and bluefin, maybe, when the time is right. So maybe next year for salmon, if enough waster was allowed to flow in the rivers at the right time to allow enough smolts to make it to San Francisco Bay. So, maybe 2025? 

      So, things look very, very bad for a salmon season this year, unless you're a salmon. Then it looks damned good! Here's the current plan as the PFMC sees it : https://www.pcouncil.org/documents/2024/04/e-3-a-supplemental-stt-report-1-salmon-technical-team-report-collation-of-preliminary-salmon-management-alternatives-for-2024-ocean-fisheries.pdf/ Notice around page 11 where it says "Closed" a lot in reference to California recreational fisheries. It ain't over until Wednesday, when they make the final decision, and there are guys fighting for a very, very short recreational season. If you're Catholic (or sympathetic) you should light a candle for Mark Gorelnik, who is fighting the good fight for a sport season of some kind. Tilting at windmills, perhaps, but Don Quijote is still remembered after 500 years, so... I'm actually a "season closer", but I didn't offer my opinion to anyone but Gage and my wife, and while those two are very influential on my actions, not so much with the PFMC, who never knew, nor cared. I figured that we, fishermen, will get blamed for any shortage of fish returning to the rivers if there's a lack of them and we're allowed to fish. No season, not my fault. But if I'm going to get blamed, well, I'm gonna earn it. I would fish every day possible, as there were very few offered, and catch all I legally could, so that when I was told that I did it, I could say, "yup", and mean it. It ain't official yet, but it looks like I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a good person, as enforced by the law. It's not decided, officially, yet, but as the magic eight ball says, signs say no. 

       In actual fishing report news, the only report from the bay was "dinner, and not much more" from a very revered and experienced fisherman. Not too many crab out and about. The decent morning weather has had a few beach casters out giving the crab a shot, but success has been, well, not good. A few crab are going home with folks but mostly it's more casting than catching. But, the seasons are changing, and the catching (of almost everything, really) should increase as we approach the solstice. For Dungeness, it's best at the beginning and second best at the end, and well, the end is nigh. So, second best is coming! If you follow that kind of thing. Or, even if you don't, actually. The crab do what the crab do, not what you want them to do. So go crabbing, soon, or wait for November.

     Mark Dorman pointed out to me, late Wednesday night, that, "Willy, Rick has been going out for the last 2 days and getting limits of rockfish and good numbers of lings so it must be open?" So, the complicated answer (we are in California, where the lawyers say to never let a law get uncomplicated or we may become unnecessary) is that the State is allowing fishing for rockfish according to the Federal rules in Federal waters (outside of three miles). What makes it complicated in my opinion is that the State has a legal opinion about what you do in  Mexican waters, as the State says that, since you're landing the fish in California, the State of California can tell you what you can and can't do with them. So, CDFW is basically giving us the season in recognition that their own lawyers work very slowly, but they technically could ticket you as their website says the season is closed. Since my livelihood doesn't depend on rockfishing, I'm staying home. But since nobody has gotten a ticket yet, and it seems like they probably won't, if you want to, go for it. 99% chance that it'll be fine. Probably. 

   A very few guys are doing well crabbing inside the bay. Outside, well, I'm guessing the commercial guys must have been catching a few in close to Dillon Beach because I can see their buoys from my house, and there's a lot of them. The sport guys that I talked to and that had tried the same area had nothing good to say about catching crab. Not much good to say about about being that close to the surf, either. But, if you want to risk for life for almost nothing, there's a tip for you. In a couple of days the commercial pots will be out and you can fight the surf with your rings for almost nothing all by yourself. Or, give the bay a chance. It sucks, too, but occasionally someone does well and almost nobody gets flipped by waves there. Bonus!

    It seems that the surfperch may be in, as the ospreys are doing well. While actual surf fishermen aren't reporting in, I need to rely on birds, it seems. But today at noon there were three ospreys eating surfperch on power poles. Three seems like a lot, but I stare at the tops of power poles far too much and three feasting birds in a mile is a lot. The fish are in. Whether they're in casting range is a different question which I don't know. But they're close, and soon, the stripers will be too.

   

    So we need to wait for the lawyers, it seems. I said rockfish was open today because the California Fish and Game Commission voted it so. But the Office of Administrative Law hasn't had their say, so it ain't legal, yet. As pointed out by a sharp-eyed reader, "Willie,

 

First, thank you for helping keep everyone up to speed on the latest regulations.  Your last post on March 28^th posted, in part, a Fish and Wildlife statement, “Once the regulations become effective, CDFW’s Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations web page will be updated with 2024 regulations. Before fishing, anglers should refer to this web page for the season openings and other regulatory information.”

 

     You followed with a statement,  “ So, you can fish for rockfish outside of the 50 fathom line starting Monday.”

 

Unfortunately the regulations have not been updated because they have not completed the administrative law review process yet.  I am told that usually takes 10 days, so that would put us around April 8^th before we can legally fish for deep water rockfish.  My 89 year old dad has a limited number of fishing days left in him.  I schedule a day off work to take advantage of Tuesday’s rare April weather off shore.  I now have to cancel because the regulations have not become effective.  I don’t know if wardens are going to be enforcing this technicality, but if they are there is going to be some really pissed off fishermen.

 

Regards,

 

Brad Stompe" Thank you Brad. I guess you have to fish for bluefin, black cod, sand dabs or petrale sole until the administrative lawyers have spoken.