Yesterday Gage took a couple of brothers out for a fishing trip on the bay. The boys left smiling with two halibut and pretty good story. The first serious hookup of the day was a 12' thresher. It was hooked in the mouth. It ran, and jumped, and eventually it wasn't hooked anymore. But what a ride. Many fishermen hate threshers because they trash your gear and take you away from the real game. True, and especially so if you're commercial, but if you're a sporty like me, wow, what a ride. They do taste good but we rarely keep them when do land them (tail hooked, generally, as they swat the bait with their tails to stun them, and then slowing them down as they try to breathe eventually brings them to the boat). This one broke off, but story established, so life saved and size, well, enlarging with each telling, as it should be. 

   Austin Piccardo of Citrus Heights hammered the poor fish hard today and could barely even hold up his 18.5 and 22 pound halibut. He was tired after all of the reeling. Fair enough. Largest fish on our big fish board this season. Nice work, Austin. It looks like Cannon Brunkhorst's footsteps aren't the only ones Gage hears when he's trying to go to sleep.

   

   This picture is for two reasons. First, check it out. That striper ate that fast-moving sardine head-first. Sardines are fast. But it seems that they need to be fast, as everything wants to eat them. Even the halibut were eating the sardines head first. Which brings me to the second reason for this picture: That's the only fish I caught. Gage caught all of our halibut bites. I missed all of mine, or they were sharks or rays. One of Gage's fish was on my rod, but as the line played out, I told him to take it as my record was failing. Boom! He got it. So, four halibut for Gage today, all while screaming, as the bites, both trash fish and halibut, all came at almost the same time. It was awesome. We called in a few boats and it sounded like they, as well as some others that saw what was happening, did very well. For a bit, it was game on by Hog. Tomorrow? Well, I guess I'll tell you later, after the fact. It might be awesome tomorrow, or frustrating. Or both. But today there were halibut and striper at Hog Island and the sardines that they were biting were there to be caught as well. It was almost as awesome as Gage yelled that it was.

Here's a cool report: "Thought you might like this one. 31" Halibut minus one bite. Caught just south of Hogg on frozen herring. The bite mark was completely healed. Must have happened when it was immature.

Steve Flint"  That fish was tough. Probably a shark got him? That bite looks pretty clean cut. Nice fish with a story, Steve.