Shrimp Boat is figuring out these halibut, it seems. Or, the fish are in. As many people didn't do nearly as well yesterday, hat tip to Alec. On his first trip out in the morning, Alec and Paul Giese caught their limits which weighed 27, 21, 15 and 14 pounds, first picture. He then took Cameron out for a shot at the halibut. It took a bit longer, but Cameron caught his two (not quite as large, but...) on jigs, not live bait, even though live bait was in the water. Jig-caught fish are the best, IMHO.

   These are jig-caught fish. Gage and I went out after work last night and caught these in about 20 minutes on Bigfoot Baits jigs. We were fishing in a spot that we would rather keep mum, but we fished it because it seemed that some halibut were coming in from the deep. We could see them hovering over the bottom on the fishfinder. I think they're coming in. At one point, I told Gage, "There's a couple halibut right above the bottom!" He said, "Catch 'em!" As he said it, I hooked up, so I said, "I just did!" Bam! It's that easy, when it's that easy. As a general rule, it ain't that easy. We fished for another hour for no more bites. 

  Although some people find it pretty easy to catch, it wasn't that easy today. Kelly Goligowski's 12 pounder wasn't easy, it did make it into the boat. This fish came late in the day and made them fish longer than they intended, as you don't leave biters unless you're limited or they quit biting.. In this case, they quit biting. But when this one bit is was near Marker 5. 

     I was sent this picture yesterday. It was forwarded from a friend that received a text with this picture saying, "apparently you can catch a halibut without a boat!". This is true, but it ain't easy. Gage says this fisherman's name is Aaron. Good job Aaron. 

    Today was nice to start, and then the south wind hit and all the boats bailed out by 1:00 PM or so. Except for James Ludovina of Roseville. James caught this personal best 25 pound halibut this morning before the wind messed things up. He parked his boat on the beach and waited for the wind to drop. It finally did, and he went back out to finish his limit. I don't know if he did catch the second one, but the fact that he waitied and went back out makes James a dedicated fisherman, and that dedication to figuring it out and grinding paid off today. Nice work James. Like surf halibut, and especially this year, it ain't easy. But success when it ain't easy is so, so sweet.

    Not a local report, but sorta. From the Coastodian: "Hi Willy,

Welcome back north.

Yes, albacore are in. Caught these two and several more on Saturday a little south of Fort Bragg about 11 miles out. Lots of peanuts, mid-teens and a few 20-25 pounds. Singles, doubles, one triple and one quad. Landed every one of 'em. Which was satisfying." If catching becomes unsatisfying, see your doctor. Something is definitely wrong with you. That water our friend fished in will eventually move our way. If possible, I suggest that you make a trip to Fort Bragg as it will never be as close to shore here as it gets up there. Eleven miles is not gonna happen here. That's not even the first leg of the trip. But I digress in my whining. Nice work, sir. The water here looks to be still about 70 miles out. Maybe later for me.

    Remember when I said that there weren't any fish in the bay? I hope not. Rob from Santa Rosa knew better than to believe me and was rewarded with a quick limit this morning. Alec of the Shrimp Boat met him this morning at Miller Park. His text: "Just met Rob from Santa Rosa who loves the blog. He wanted me to send you a pic of his fish and his report. So!

Rob from Santa Rosa got these two within an hour of launching at 6:30 from Miller Launch. They came  between Pelican and the weather buoy on big anchovies. Which apparently are plentiful back here now!" On the halibut, nice work, Rob! You are right to assume that I know very little. Have faith in yourself and you will prevail, clearly. On the anchovies, James found big ones swarming at the Pelican Point hole on Monday. Yesterday, nothing. Apparently today, they're back! Lesson: Bait at the Pelican Hole is a definite maybe. Look and hope but don't count on it being there. Have a back-up plan. That's actually a good rule all the time.

   Last Friday Richard Baratta presented me with this gaff he made. It is awesome. The only problem I have with this gaff is that once my wife saw it she decided that it's hers and that poking it into a fish was probably not allowed. Maybe her fish. Definitely not mine. Sigh. My complaint, I guess, is that it is too pretty. For my situation, at least. Thank you, Rich, and I hope to sneak it out and get it bloody. Then clean it so she doesn't know. Like Ferris Bueller. It's the Ferrari.