Here's a nice fish and a better story from Nicolai Stoll: "Got this nice 14 lb halibut on a blue and silver  Kastmaster with a single hook bucktail between Hog and the yellow buoy. The drift was slow so I thought I'd cover more ground if I cast around from the bow like a clock and bam! Ever heard of a halibut taking a Kastmaster? It's shiny and wiggles so... "  I have heard of halibut biting Kastmasters. They're a good lure, as like you said, they're shiny and they wiggle. Mostly it's the surf guys throwing them, as when you're stuck on the beach having a lure you can cast far gives you more options. Nice work on the fish, and even better thinking out of the box that most of us spend our lives in. Just because you haven't heard of someone doing something, it doesn't mean that something doesn't work. That new thing you're trying may be the new big deal that catches fish at will! It probably won't be, though. Almost surely it won't work. Almost....

   I only heard of a few others caught and a few lost at the boat. Learn to use a gaff, folks. It really works better on halibut. Catching bait was, maybe not easy, but definitely not as hard as it will be come October. The tides are starting to ease up, so maybe later this week the numbers will pick up, along with the predicted wind.

 

     I missed this report that was sent in last night. Walter Knorre sent over this picture and story: "Today was our first try of the year fishing Tomales Bay. Fished from Hog to the yellow buoy from 6 am to 5 pm. Lots of nice size bait using our sabiki rods. Pretty slow halibut bite for us. But our last drift produced these two nice keepers. Love your website and always enjoy reading the reports" I like getting them even more than you like reading them, Walter. Content with less work on my end. What's not to like? So thanks for your report, and nice work on the fish. Other halibut fishermen yesterday seemed to get them either first thing or last thing with midday being pretty dead. Nice weather, though. Today also had great bait catching reports but limited flatfish. A pretty good rule is that if you catch your bait easy then the halibut fishing will be hard, and vice versa. If you can't catch a bait to save your life but the tide is turning and the water is warm, give up and jig or swimbait the turn. You may not need bait. That said, it does seem that this season the fish are biting better at mid-tide than at the turn, and they seem to bite larger baits better. They stick to the hooks way worse with big bait, but they gotta bite before you have a chance at hooking them, so maybe soak one big'un and feed the heck out of them.

 

 

    Brendan Mendoza had a good day today and sent over this report and photo: "Good evening Willy. We were out trolling today and did fairly well. Couldn't get anything to bite in the morning but by about noon the fish started biting. Got 1 shortie 1 lost at the boat and 1 31 inch halibut caught all on a white hootchie with a flasher. Then we also managed a 35 inch striper on a straight herring. All in 19ft of water off the red barn. Water was averaging 60 to 62 degrees when the fish were biting then the water dropped to 58 and the bite stopped. Overall we were very happy with our day." So Brendan sees the temp thing too. Some guys don't notice it, but it seems like a recurring theme to me, or at least something besides me to blame for not catching (it's never me....). The guys that I spoke with that fished Hog had action early (low tide and warm water) and late (water warming again on the outgo but not quite warm). Nice job, Brendan and company. Most boats are shifting to drifting live bait, but as Brendan et. al. has shown, trolling is still an effective method. I am agnostic, as I love catching most, and both ways will do it. Do what you're comfortable doing. It might work!

      As far as other fishing reports, I didn't get any from outside the bay. The weather was good but the water has been so frickin' cold the fish are, I don't know, half frozen? 47º water makes everybody slow down. The guys that did go out earlier this week had no bites. Your mileage may vary. Someday the wind will ease up. That will ease the upwelling and cold. I eagerly await that day. Until then, wear a stocking cap to prevent the ice cream headache coming off of the water. Inside the bay there were quite a few fish caught with an average number around two fish, but only because a couple guys killed it. Most guys had... less. Like, none. As Wrybread, Captain of the Shrimp Boat says when he's not catching, "Fishing is hard." He also says it's easy when he's catching. This is not easy, but there's fish from Hog to at least Marshall. Patience and trying different things will pay off, eventually.

     A little thing of note: I bought a book a while ago about fishing in California. It was written by Tom Stienstra. Good book. In his text he called out Tomales Bay as, I think, a 5 out of ten. I was pissed. But over time, and after reading reports from San Francisco Bay, I'm pretty sure that bastard was actually correct and not a bastard. Dammit. So here's my spin: Fishing where the fishing is mediocre will make you a better fisherman, like living on Arrakis makes you a better warrior. It could be true. It feels truthy. If the fish come easy, what do you learn about catching them? When they're hard, you learn. So, there's my positive spin to a sad truth. You learn more when the class is hard.

 

  Luckily for us all(?), Gage sent over his photo of his halibut from this morning at Hog. This fish is one of two that bit at almost the same time, but it's the one that stuck. Lost fish and missed bites are rarely pictured, so this solid biter will have to suffice. This fish in the picture is sitting on Tim Woerner's cleaning table. Many cultures consider it proper to give to their god. Good Christians are supposed to tithe. As Tim is our local connection to the fish gods, Gage gave up his fish to the man. He also got a few tips. Gage came out ahead. Other fishermen today had less optimistic reports. There were a few halibut caught, but not too many. Even Marshall was slow, as far as the few reports we got here indicated. Maybe tomorrow? Please don't let Gage think he's the man for more than a day.

   Kerry Apgar texted me yesterday to say that Frank Green had called her to tell her that Don Mosby had passed away. A lot (most) of what I know about successful fishing I learned from my elders. Mr. Mosby was generally not that forthcoming with tips, but a lot could be gleamed from his stories and from watching him fish. A LOT. I wasn't done learning, damn it. You will be missed sir, by everybody but the halibut. I was considering petitioning CDFW to change the limit on halibut back to three, as with Mosby gone a significant portion of halibut mortality should be removed from the equation. I realized that they won't go for it, though, as long as Frank Green can still hold a fishing rod. Fair enough. Here's a Mosby photo:

  I, also, would like to remembered for catching a 56 pound white seabass, but so far that memory escapes me. Mosby caught his and acted like he deserved it, and honestly, he put in the time. He definitely deserved it. Nice fish Mr. Mosby, and yes, I'm still jealous. I'm sorry you're gone but the halibut rejoice. The flatties won't miss you but I will.

    The Wet Dream boys were back in by 1:00 PM yesterday with their limits of halibut. They fished from Marshall to Hog Island, or maybe vice-versa, looking at the tides. Nice fish, gentlemen. Not everybody is clobbering them like that. The bite around Hog today was definitely early, as that was when low tide and warm water happened. Gage and I caught three by Hog before 9:00, but after the water temperature started to drop the bite did, too. Besides our three fish we also missed several bites, so before we headed farther back we needed to refill our bait tank. The hole behind Pelican Point had schools of baby herring, shiner perch, sardines and jacksmelt, so we filled the baitwell pretty quickly. Off we went towards Marshall but we stopped short at Laird's Landing. The area was full of small anchovies. In 15 minutes we had two bites on a live sardine that didn't stick (poor sardine) but a Bigfoot Baits jig hooked the last keeper. We were feeling pretty good about being done early, but later we heard that John Daleuski caught a keeper white seabass in Marshall proper, so maybe we should have gone a little farther. 

 

     Doug got a few pictures and a little story from these folks after pulling their boat out of the water this afternoon. They got a late start due to mechanical issues but made up for it with quick limits on live jacksmelt (I think?) at Hog Island, between the island and the yellow buoy. Well done, folks, and way to not just save the day but dominate it. You might think about savoring it a bit more tomorrow. Or, just kill it. You do you. Speaking of Hog Island halibut...

    Mason Lessard texted me this afternoon: "Got a limit off Pelican Point channel marker.

Anchovies were thick nabbed 3 baits and turned them into 2 fish in 20minutes 3 quick drifts @ slack low" Well done good sir! Mason said that the anchovies were 3" to 4". That's the perfect size for halibut to slurp on down. I don't know what rig Mr. Lessard was using, but I like pretty tiny hooks (Size 4 singles or size 8 trebles) hooked through the tip of the 'chovy's nose. No feeding the bait necessary. If halibut ordered pizza, be assured, they would order it with anchovies, no matter how you felt about it. They would eat it all. Anchovies like biting sabikis and no chum is needed, just find a school with your fishfinder and drop on them. Not sure where to look? Watch the pelicans. They know. 

 

    I went to the Golden State Salmon Association dinner in Santa Rosa last night and stayed out well beyond my bedtime, so no report yesterday. It was a good time for a good cause, but I apologize for my tardiness. That said,

   Here's the first picture I got on my phone yesterday. Mike Nursement picked up this halibut on the troll (straight bait is all he and Mara ran yesterday) past Hog. Soon thereafter, the water near them erupted with boiling baitfish. On their tack through it they doubled. Mara's came off, and Mike's broke the plastic rod holder and the rod and reel went over the side and disappeared. There was a lot of rejoicing last night when, at the GSSA dinner, the Nursements won first a rod, then a reel. Not quite Even Steven but that Okuma Monterey rod is a lot prettier than the old Ugly Stick. I hope it catches fish as well. 

   The big halibut here weighed in at 15.5 pounds. Both fish bit live jacksmelt. The weather yesterday went from nice in the morning to get me off the water by noonish. The folks that caught a few fish had an easier time calling it quits. As you'll notice, this gentleman is still smiling.

   Finley Holland of Loomis caught this 21 pound striper on a live jacksmelt near Hog yesterday. I believe that the halibut was similarly caught (Finley, smelt, Hog, etc.). This is the first striper that I heard of that far back in the bay this year. Nice work, Finley! That's the largest striper so far this year. You made Gage's head explode a little. And his ego is sore. Well done.

   Branden Mendoza sent over this report pretty early this morning. "Morning Willy. Have an early report today. We got on the water about 5:45 am we trolled from the yellow buoy in front of the launch to the red barn. And we managed to pick up 1 30inch 11lb striper for one and only troll of the morning before the wind blew to much for us. We hooked it in front of the red barn 18ft of water trolling a white hoochie with a flasher. We had a great morning and back home by 8am with dinner isn't bad" On a day like today that blew pretty hard, pretty early, catching anything is damned good. Nice work, Branden.

    It turns out that just because Ed Parsons was having a hard time fishing, and then he caught a striper, it doesn't mean that you'll catch a striper. More than a couple people did catch stripers today, but the ones that count (Gage and I) didn't. 

   Dammit.

    We did catch two halibut, the larger one running 17.5 pounds, and the other, well, less. From thev few that I spoke with, two seemed like the average. Somebody out there, and probably more than one, caught more than two. And some caught less. The live bait bite was on fire north of Hog Island between 8:00 am and 9:00 am. We watched a boat land two while we were catching bait. We cut the bait hunt short and dropped in adjacent to their drift. Our two fish and two of our three missed bites came before 9:00. We thought we were gonna kill 'em. Then, depression set in. Oh well, that's fishing. Everything after 9:00 was us zigging when we should have zagged, and vice versa. Whatever. It's not like we should have pulled the boat out of the water and fished the sand point.

   Doug was visiting some folks camping in the low 500's and sent me this text this evening: "Walking in front of the point a big Halibut. Off the beach" So people are catching fish everywhere. Or they aren't. It's fishing. And it's the frustration that makes it awesome. And it's really awesome today. For some. I gaffed a couple of Gage's fish, so I'm not bitter.....

 

     So our Ed, here, has had a kind of spotty start to his local season. He had a couple of fish on his first couple of trips out, then, when the fishing for the rest of got good, Ed, well....I guess he was waiting for this fish. It was almost worth it. This striper weighed 19 pounds on the official scale (sorry Ed, not 20) and made Gage more than a little jealous. Oh, and also, it means stripers are game on. 

   

      Dorian Guy, fishing with Gage and Alec Bennet (Gage and Alec currently share Alec's fuel pump, so not a surprise that they fish together), caught this nice halibut in the mid to high teens today. It bit a live jacksmelt. There were quite a few halibut caught and quite a few halibut fishermen near Hog Island today (purely coincidence, I'm sure....). There were clusters of boats all around Hog, so we're guessing the clusters indicate somebody catching a fish. The fish are where they are, and, as they have tails and use them (I was told this by an actual marine biologist), they move around a lot, so you should move around a lot too.

 

      Branden Mendoza sent over this report this morning:"Good evening willy.  We made a trip out today before the winds blew to hard. Trolled from hog Island to Marshall running everything we had. Managed 1 26inch halibut for our efforts and one other take down but unfortunately it didn't stick.  Overall we were happy with the day and brought home dinner " Nice work, Branden. It hasn't been very good in the bay in for most fishermen. Moving around a lot seems to be the key. Find 'em, catch 'em, as they say. I was pretty impressed with your fish, but then Gage sent a report this afternoon that put everybody else fishing on the bay on notice. 

    Dustin Emick (Auburn) and Simon Gowring (Seal Beach) caught the two big fish, 20 and 21 pounds. But all together, these five guys limited on halibut at Hog Island today, and quick, once they found the fish. Here's a secret that they figured out: If you get a bite, go back and try that spot again. If you get another bite, repeat. Always repeat success. Do not repeat failure. Seems obvious. We mostly don't do that. I watch people hook up and drift or troll away all the time. These smiling guys with hands full of halibut chose to keep catching, and did. Most of these bit in twos and threes and all bit live jacksmelt. Be ready, have the right bait, try all over and repeat successful drifts. That's a one sentence book on how to be successful at fishing for halibut. These guys wrote it. Nice. Damn. Work.

    On lesser notes, Gage hade a buddy that caught three stripers from a boat off of Sand Point on Saturday. Sunday, Gage took his buddy Dario out and Dario caught one and missed a few other bites. Gage missed one. So tonight, Gage and I went out and had zero bites and fish. So, the report, in summary, is that stripers are on, but as typical stripers they are a bit flaky. Maybe tomorrow? Next week? We will be watching and trying.

   Stupid fish

 

      Cue the "Bad Boys" song from "Cops." At least, that's what was playing in my internal soundtrack today. Not that everybody was bad, but after 30-something years of programming it's kind of hard to watch the police work without the Cops theme song playing in my noggin. And today, the cops were working, and working hard. There were at least six CDFW wardens on site today to check on everybody, and as it was a low tide, they found a lot of issues to ticket. I asked one of the wardens what they were mostly writing tickets for, and he said that the two big ones today were for not separating limits (when clamming, everybody needs their own clams in their own separate container) and for "helping". 

     The "helping" rule, as interpreted by the men in green, is basically that you can't help. Do it yourself or don't do it, I think is the mantra. Now, it may be legal to help if two people collectively catch one limit between them, as one person could claim them, and it seems fair to me, as a legally uneducated fool, but please don't take that as legal advise. It feels pretty arguable, though. But don't help, until you talk to a CDFW employee for better knowing. Just saying. I don't know what constitutes too much "help", but I would find out from a CDFW employee before engaging in any such "help". Forewarned is forearmed. Take notes. I'm not saying that assisting people should be or is wrong, but I'm saying that it is way more complicated than it should be, and you should check, first. It may not even be considered legal to help each other for one limit between the two people. I don't know. The law, and its interpretation, gets more and more confusing. We live in a land ruled by lawyers who find it more profitable to confuse us than comfort us. So call ahead. Assume that everything that you want to do is illegal. Because probably, yes.

    

   The Tomales Outlaw sent over this report today: "Hi Willy. The crew of the Tomales Outlaw went fishing for sardines on Thursday. Sardines, not halibut. We came home with a few beauties. This is how we treat the leftover bait. Thanks for a great week," Well, first, thanks, but second, you made your week, so congrats to you. And third, those sardines look really, really good. As someone who has enjoyed grilled sardines in the past, I can't disagree with your report. Those greasy, smelly things should be avoided by everybody. Please allow those if us that know to eat them in peace, and hopefully, in plenty. They aren't for everybody, but for those that like them, damn, they're good. Nice job on the so far this year, difficult, sardines. The ocean seems to be shifting from an anchovy format to a sardine format. Not good for salmon or anchovies, but yum for those of us that have learned to love the Mediterranean diet. Grilled sardines are GOOD. Outlaw knows. 

    I was asked for a Dungeness report in the ocean today and I realized that, well, I don't know. I kinda need a few boats to go out and try so I can talk to them, but we haven't had a lot of good weather lately, and when we did, nobody from here went out. I did hear that soon after commercial Dungeness closed and traps became illegal to use again, the clutch ended and some of the experimental, "whale safe" crab fisheries were doing very well out deep. But I didn't see any crabs, personally. I have seen quite a few crabbers reporting bad crabbing inside Tomales Bay. Most of the crabbers are doing well to catch one keeper Dungy. But every so often somebody shows up and absolutely hammers the Dungeness. Eddie Kim did it, but he pretty much traded squid for crab on a pound for pound basis. A very few others limited as well, and did it without using as much bait, but they are the extreme exception. So, yeah, there's crab, but you probably won't catch one. 

    The same can be said for halibut here, as far as I can tell. There were probably a dozen boats trying for halibut today. I saw two boats land fish. The three boats that I spoke with that also happen to be local killers had one keeper, released, between them. That's between Inverness and Hog Island. A lot of ground covered but very few fish caught. However, on a similar note to the crab, Gage and I fished from Marshall to Inverness between 7:30 and 10:30 and caught our limits of not very big but big enough halibut. We had a few shorts and a few hit-and-misses as well. All biters were on Predator minnows and Zoom flukes. No takers on bait. So, you can get them to bite, but it is a lot of work. 

    The weather has been switched back to suck (or blow, depending on your perspective, I guess). Gale was the term used by the National Weather Service today. Tomorrow we might be back to just small craft advisory for a day or two before gale shows up again. But maybe better later in the week? Historical records say that June is the windiest month here, so I guess we shall see about a spot of decency. It could happen, even though it probably won't. But before the wind really hit this morning I got a text from the Coastodian:

   "According to the fish counter

6+ male caught 730 smelt

8+ female caught 730 smelt

12 female caught 900 sardine"

That sounds like pretty good work and pretty good fishing before getting chased off the water pretty early. He was fishing at Marshall. So, there's halibut from Inverness to Hog Island and the bait to catch them is swimming all over.