Three people were plucked from the water off of Tomales Point today after their boat overturned. I don't know much more than that, except it looks like they were crabbing (buoys in photo one), the boat was between Tomales Point and Buoy 02 when the Sonoma County Sheriff's boat rescued the boaters, and the boat is now anchored, upside-down, off of Dillon Beach, as it was towed there by the National Park Service. A couple of interesting points: The Sheriff was motoring about and ready to help because there was a shark attack at Salmon Creek beach this morning. The surfer got bit on the hand and drove themselves to the hospital, so hopefully they're as okay as you can be after a GWS nibble. Other interesting (to me) point is that it is my understanding that when you engage in a tow of a vessel you become the responsible party. If you move the boat and then let it go, you are responsible for where the boat ends up. Maybe this doesn't apply to first responders, but it seems like it might, as the USCG only monitored the American Challenger as it drifted ashore instead of engaging it with a line or, God forbid, an anchor. I guess watching an environmental crime happen is cool, but trying to help could get you in trouble. Maybe the law should be modified, as trying seems better then watching, as the chances of you doing something helpful increases with you actually doing something. Anyways, I hope everybody involved are doing okay. The water is pretty cold and the East wind was brutal. 

     In other news, Eddie Kim and his rotating crew of crabbers have been limiting out inside the bay all week. Other people are catching, too, but as usual Eddie is working hard and consistent and trading squid for crab. Bay limits are hard but Eddie makes it look easy when you're watching from the beach. The tired guys getting off the boat after hand-pulling ten hoops in a continuous loop all day seem to indicate that it wasn't that easy. It worked, though.

     

      Over the weekend the crabbing inside the bay stayed okay. It was a bit slower but people were still mostly catching some Dungeness. I talked to a guy that was snaring off the seawall and caught eight jumbos. I was a bit disappointed that I had to go to Ten Mile to do that. Some other folks went to Ten Mile on Friday and only caught a few. It can happen. The crabs aren't just piled up down there waiting for your hoop to drop. If it ain't happening where you are, run a mile farther, go 20' deeper, freshen your bait. Adding fresh bait between drops keeps the crab interested. Washed out bait can't attract as well as bloody, fatty fresh stuff. The world renowned Eddy Kim has made an appearance here and today he and his crew caught their three limits inside the bay in about four hours. Mr. Kim has several tricks for success but the one I'm privy to is his use of squid. He's almost trading squid for crab on a pound-per-pound ratio. It seems like a lot, but I bet adding a piece or two between each drop may work, too. 

    Brad Stompe emailed over a comment about last Thursday's report: "Hey Willie,

Just wanted to thank you for your last report.  I have had 2 trips down that way this season and done very well on the crabs.  We have picked up some rockfish too as well as a few lings.  What we did not look for was squid.  I had no idea they could be found up this way at this time of year.  Our last trip we saw lots of bird activity but did not think to investigate.  Come to think of it, my son ran into a school of juvenile black cod on the surface a couple years ago in the same area, so it pays to look.  I love squid and will be paying closer attention thanks to your report.

Regards,

Brad Stompe" Good to know that you're catching some crab down Ten Mile way. For the record, we weren't looking for squid, as we, too, had assumed that was all over. Gage thought the birds might be signs of bonito, as they're catching some as close as the San Francisco bar. Upon closer inspection we saw no signs of fish but the birds had squid in their beaks. It wasn't cleverness on our part, just monkey curiosity. I have seen squid eggs wash up here in February and March before, so it may be that they just don't leave, we just quit looking...

 

     Gage and I had a pretty good day today. We headed down to Ten Mile for rockfish and crab. The east wind was screaming between Tomales Point and McClure's, but dropped off there and was only unpleasant after that. We got hosed in the two miles between the Point and McClures. Hosed. But after braving the gauntlet of fricking cold spray, we arrived at Ten Mile, and there we saw multiple bird piles. Upon closer inspection we realized the birds were working squid. Balled up squid. So we pulled in and got some squid. Twice. Gage dip netted some and whooped it up, but I said not yet. We went back for seconds. Gage netted about 25 pounds of squid all told. They made for some good crab bait, as well as a brown rockcod we caught and parted out for our two hoops. The hoops provided nine Dungeness out of two pulls near Abbott's Lagoon in 80 feet of water. The reefs outside provided nineteen more nice rockfish, including a ten pound vermillion for Gage. There were some really nice blues in the mix as well. Lots and lots of tiny fish returned too, but they all swam back down without help in the shallow water. We ended up with nine mostly jumbo crab. We tried for some brant in the outer bay on the way back but we missed our birds. Good enough for today, as it took until well after 4:00 PM until fish were fileted, crabs were cooked and squid were bagged. It was a lot of work, but the squid (calamari?) and crab linguine for dinner was awesome. Lots of boats running back from Point Reyes (I'm guessing) so I'm guessing that there was some activity down there. 

 Here's a couple of Thanksgiving reports. First up, Steve Brott:

   "Hello Willy,

Some crab were caught on the beach during Thanksgiving, namely a nice 6.5” beauty from my son Justin Brott who caught 6 keeper dungeness from shore for Thanksgiving dinner.

Lots of people fishing in the nice weather.

Walking thru the crowd I saw a gentleman holding this crab, maybe a spider crab? His name was D, from Sacramento. The crab was released.

Steve Brott"  Six keepers from the shore is a good number. I don't think most people did that well. Nice work, Justin! I think the crab is a kelp crab, officially, but we all call them spider crabs. I've heard they're good to eat but it seems the only meat would be in the claws. Kind of a waste of critter, so good on the release.

      Here's another crab report from Mike Parker: "Hello Mr. Vogler:

I've been reading your reports for a few years now. I just wanted to send you a message to say "thank you". Your reports are fun to read, very informative, and help my son and I as we try to navigate the greater Tomales Bay area. We have a small 16' boat and fish the area when the conditions allow. My son struggles with OCD and other issues but fishing/hunting keep him grounded. I've found the more time I get him outdoors the better he does. Fast forward a few years and we've done fairly well catching halibut in Tomales Bay and rockfish/ling cod out off Bird Rock and even caught a few salmon when we are able to fish them. This Thanksgiving, we tried Dungeness Crab after being given some hoops gifted to us from a cousin who passed away after a battle with a long illness. So, out in the boat that my Dad left me when he passed and with a few hoops from my cousin, we hit limits of large crabs outside the bay off Dillon Beach on Thanksgiving day. It was our first attempt. Anyway, I just felt you deserved a thank you for posting the information that you do. We aren't locals, amazing fisherman, or diehards. But getting out there has improved my sons health, improved our relationship, and provided us some pretty awesome meals. And you've played a part in that. So, thank you. I appreciate your work and appreciate you providing information when others might keep it to themselves. I wish you a happy 2026 and please keep posting. We appreciate you.

Mike "  Well, thank you back, Mike. I think your dad and cousin may have had a lot more to do with your crabbing success than I did, but hopefully I encouraged you to try it. It sounds like you did better than I did the previous week. You don't need to be a local, an amazing fisherman, or a diehard, but those guys are all good guys to talk to for information, so I try to get what I can share from them. It really is all about getting out into nature and spending time with people you love (or tolerate, I'm looking at you, Gage) , but if you can increase your odds with a little knowledge, why not increase your chance for dinner and a good story later? Good onya for getting the boy on the water. Less screens, more saltwater spray. 

     What a month it's been. The crabbing has been better than it has been in a couple of years. It's not awesome, but probably about 40 to 50% of peak crab. That's better than the 10 to 20% we've had the last couple of years. Lots of 4" crab in the hoops would seem to indicate a really good season in a couple of years. There's a cycle and we're finally off of the wrong end of it. That said, not everywhere is good. That's peak crab, and we aren't there. We still gotta work for 'em, and the work can be very difficult. The outer bay has been pretty good but the numbers are dropping off. I didn't hear of any skunks from there but numbers for some have dropped to single digits. There's still some guys killing it, but if you're like me you need lots of crab around to catch a few, and the outer bay has many less crab now than a month ago. Ten Mile has been lightly crabbed, so far, but even there you better work your gear if you're looking for limits. There's blank spots even in the promised land. Points north of Bodega Bay have been very productive for some but still require a test before just leaving your gear for rockfish. Trust, but verify. Inside Tomales Bay they're still catching crab but again, the numbers are dropping. I didn't hear of any boater skunks this week but a lot of single digit catches. Shore snarers a lot of non-catching of Dungeness but there were still quite a few happy casters. The few that ventured farther from the parking lot seemed to have better results, go figure. I generally do better with less competition, as I only need to attract the thing I'm trying to catch, not out-attract critters from somebody else. I'm just not that pretty. 

    The east wind this week made rockfishing hard in the Ten Mile to Carmet gap as the wind made productive drifts very short at best. It eased around noon most days and let a dedicated few catch some out front, although the guys that went and fished in the lee of the coastal mountains had much better success. Locally, a few guys caught a few fish. Sam Winglewich caught a nice pair of lingcod right off Tomales Point yesterday. Gage caught a nice limits of rockfish on Wednesday but he was snapshot fishing where he'd find a school of blacks/blues and drop on them, hooking one (or occasionally two) before drifting off the school as he reeled up. 

      

      Holiday weeks are sure busy but hard on free time to post but here's an attempt at it. We've had lots of people trying for Dungeness. The boaters have mostly caught, maybe not many, but something to show foe their time on the water. For sure the crabbing is slowing down inside and outside the bay as pressure, well, pressures the crab, as it does. The numbers I heard from inside the bay today ranged from zero to eight Dungeness. Outside was much better but not a slam dunk. Even Ten Mile (yesterday report) required a bit of moving gear and chasing the sweet spot. Limits for the Ten Mile crabbers but not on the first pull. Run that gear. Move the non-productive hoops. Repeat until limited. Also, keep that bait fresh. If it's the scent that draws them in, have bait that sending that seductive smell. Bait washed out? Replace it. 

   There was a halibut caught in front of Bird Rock last weekend and another, 31"er caught inside Tomales Bay today. So, halibut fishing isn't dead, it's only mostly dead. Cameron sent me this meme to post. Princess Bride watchers will know:

   And now a roller coaster of press releases from CDFW and CDPH. It's yin and yang all at once! Yes, it's two different things, but a clearance and an avoidance in the same area at the same time, even for two different reasons, is pretty fricking funny. Now I'm not sure if I'm coming or going. Anyhoo,....

CDPH Warns Consumers Not to Eat Sport-Harvested Bivalve Shellfish from Sonoma County

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is advising consumers not to eat sport-harvested mussels, clams, scallops, or oysters from Sonoma County.   

Dangerous levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins have been detected in mussels from Sonoma County. The naturally occurring PSP toxins can cause illness or death in humans. Cooking does not destroy the toxin. 

Paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins affect the nervous system, producing a tingling around the mouth and fingertips within a few minutes to a few hours after eating toxic shellfish. These symptoms are typically followed by loss of balance, lack of muscular coordination, slurred speech and difficulty swallowing. In severe poisonings, complete muscular paralysis and death from asphyxiation can occur. 

This warning does not apply to commercially sold mussels, clams, scallops, and oysters from approved sources. State law permits only state-certified commercial shellfish harvesters or dealers to sell these products. Shellfish sold by certified harvesters and dealers are subject to frequent mandatory testing to monitor for toxins. 

Please view the most current information on shellfish advisories and quarantines by calling CDPH's toll-free Shellfish Information Line at (800) 553-4133 or by viewing the recreational bivalve shellfish advisory interactive map. For additional information, please visit the CDPH Marine Biotoxin Monitoring web page.  

That's foor PSP. Here's the report on domoic acid:

CDPH Lifts Warning About Consuming the Internal Organs of Sport-Harvested Dungeness Crab from One Area of the Northern California Coast

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) has lifted the shellfish safety notification for sport-harvested Dungeness crab internal organs (viscera) caught in state waters located at: 

Sonoma/Mendocino County line (38° 46.125' N. Latitude) to Point Reyes (37⁰ 59.73' N. Latitude) 

CDPH has lifted its Dungeness Crab Internal Organs Advisory dated October 24, 2025, where consumers were warned against eating Dungeness crab viscera. Recent laboratory analyses show that the domoic acid levels in Dungeness crab harvested along the coastal area of Northern California have declined to low or undetectable levels. There have been no reported illnesses associated with this event.  

Consumers are advised to always discard the viscera and cooking liquids and adhere to the following best preparation practices to avoid any inadvertent exposure to domoic acid that may be sporadically found in the crab’s viscera. It is always best to remove the viscera and rinse out the body cavity prior to cooking (i.e., before boiling, steaming, or frying). If whole crab is cooked in liquid, domoic acid may leach into the cooking liquid. The cooking water or broth should be discarded and not used to prepare dishes such as sauces, broth, soups, or stews (for example, cioppino or gumbo), stocks, roux, dressings, or dips. 

Symptoms of domoic acid poisoning can occur within 30 minutes to 24 hours after eating toxic seafood. In mild cases, symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, headache, and dizziness. These symptoms disappear within several days. In severe cases, the consumer may experience trouble breathing, confusion, cardiovascular instability, seizures, excessive bronchial secretions, permanent loss of short-term memory, coma, or death. 

Test results are updated as laboratory results become available and can be viewed on the CDPH Domoic Acid web page. Please visit CDPH’s Domoic Acid FAQ for more information. To receive updated information about shellfish poisoning and quarantines, call CDPH’s toll-free “Shellfish Information Line” at (800) 553-4133. 

    So domoic acid is low and you can eat the guts of crab again (ew) but unsurprisingly, CDPH recommends that you don't eat the gooey stuff. That's what I do. I always have some hanging bait in my hoops or traps to keep the crab inside until I pull them. When you clean them ahead of cooking you get to see how much of the stuff you put in for bait is now in the crab. If you're gonna eat it it, bait with stuff you want to eat, 'cause you're gonna eat it. For the record, yuck on my part, but if you like it, good for you. Also, I sell bait, so.....

     First, a report I just received from Kelley Roy: "Willy, just a note to let you know we crabbed yesterday in the outer bay.

We dropped nets shallow and deep with both depths getting crab but the shallow probably did a little better than the deep. Some nice, very nice jumbos in the mix.

 We were able to get 3 decent limits - easy day."  Very nice. The outer bay has been pretty consistent when you can fish it from here. There's some blank spots and some great spots and a lot of in-between spots. Make sure you put your hoops in a not blank spot before you give them a soak. I have heard that 30 to 50 feet of water has been pretty good. 

     Gage and I saw a narrow window to get out and fish before the wind hit today, so we went for it. Upon arriving at the Landing to launch we saw three wardens writing tickets to some snare casters. No truck though, as they came in a boat. Upon their departure, they stopped and pulled two hoops in front of the Boathouse and kept them. Cameron trotted down to the water and asked the question: Why? One of the buoys was improperly marked (I'm guessing no GOID numbers) and the other had been in the water. unpulled, for over two hours. So, if you were wondering, yes, they check. Maybe not as much as they should be checking, but that's another reason to pull your hoops early and often. I don't know what the snare guys got ticketed for but I've seen some crab shells in the dumpsters that looked borderline legal and I know that when you're not catching keepers those clickers look awful tempting. Don't do it. I won't even keep ones that are barely legal, as pretty much all crab gauges are made fast and cheap, and what if mine is a little different than the warden's gauge? Nope. 

    So with a rejuvenated fear of God and wardens, Gage and I headed out. We dropped our four hoops in 40ish feet of water between the TB buoy and Dillon Beach. We went back and pulled the first one as soon as we had the last one in the water and it had a couple of short Dungeness, so we considered the spot as not blank and reset the hoop. Then off to rockfish. The rockfish bit pretty good today when you were on top of a school, but staying on a school got more and more difficult as the narrow wind window turned out to be narrower than we thought. We had to give up on the 150' of water spots in front of Bird and headed in to 50-60 feet where we finished the day with 18 schoolie rockfish (blues, blacks, Deacons, yellowtail and a canary) and a lingcod. The timer was ticking down on our two hour maximum soak so we had to go pull our hoops. The hoops ended up producing 14 keeper Dungeness. We probably would have caught more if we had stayed and worked them but when you try to do two things you end up kind of half-assing both of them, I've found. Still more than we can eat, so it was a good day, and off the water before noon and the combers started. I still had to carefully wash all the accumulated salt off of my sunglasses when we got back. It got choppy today. Even finishing "early" we weren't done cleaning and cooking crab until almost 3:00PM. First world problems. 

Here's a report from yesterday that I missed (as usual). "

A tale of two crab trips. 11/9 I stayed with the fleet near marker 5. Not great, not terrible. 22 rock crabs, 3 dungies in five hours. Pockets of greatness in a sea of mediocrity was dead on. 

"Vulture" got brand a new Yamaha and a bunch of work done and I wasn't feeling bold enough to perform a shakedown run on the big pond.

Moving to the outer bay today was like flipping the "decent crab" switch. Every pot came up with at least one keeper male dungie or dinosaur male rock crab. I couldn't get a "zero" pot. By my second set, I had dungie limits. By set three, I was culling six + inch dungeness.

I won't say what part or particular depth of the outer bay, but the five guys in the 24ft cuddy-console know, and if you're reading this, 1) shhhhh....  2) I hope the juicy brined rock cod carcasses and juicy intel was very productive for you as it was for me. 

Also, new tasty treat. Dungie sized yellow rock crabs. I grew up in Marshall and could drive a skiff and run crab gear long before I could drive a car. I do not remember these ever being this big until this year. I remember them being palm size, and incorrectly assumed they were juvenile pacific rock crabs. You've been on the bay far longer than me, what's your 2 cents on these fellas? 

 - Wingle / Sam W " Nice work, Sam.  Those yellows show up periodically. Those are some big boys you caught. Surprisingly, they are currently considered closer to Dungeness than the red crab and are in the same genus as the Dungies. These things change, though, as science is not carved in stone and is closer to an argument, especially in the realm of taxonomy. Dungeness used to be Cancer magister but are now Metacarcinus magister. Yellows are Metacarcinus anthonyi (previously Cancer anthonyi) and red crab are and have been Cancer productus. Apparently taxonomists thought they were all cousins at one time (all Cancer crab) but they've now split them up and thrown yellows in with the Dungeness, because I guess coloration is more important than morphology? Whatever, all that matters to us sport fishermen is the yellows fall in with reds and rocks as far as regulations and have a separate 4" minimum size and 35 crab limit from the Dungeness. Until someone in CDFW decides different.  Your crab were monsters, as they only need to be 4" and yours were Dungy legal. Good work on all the crab, as not everybody was killing it like you.

    The weather has mostly stopped most folks from getting out of the bay this week. There were a few passable days and guys did well outside, again, when they looked around. Inside and outside the bay, crab are plentiful in patches. Don't drop on a patch and don't catch. Move early and often. 

 

     Somehow I missed this email from Nate Baker yesterday. Sorry Nate, but nice work on the critter catching. Here's his email: "Howdy Willy, 

Robert and I went out with Scott Mason and Andy Nickell today and spent the day meandering between Elephant and Abbotts. Wind and swell were pleasantly manageable and we scored 4 limits of crab, 20 rockfish and 1 ling (Robert's first). Tons of bait and birds down there. 

Best, 

Nate Baker"     I think Robert looks like he's ready to do it again. That's how you raise a kid, IMHO. Hook 'em on something as expensive as drugs but more socially acceptable, like fishing. The fishing industrial complex thanks you. And way to hook a kid. Fishing with Scott Mason is a bit of a contact sport, as it should be. We should all be so lucky as to go with Scott. 

      The last couple of days have been slower crabbing but not bad crabbing. Unsurprisingly, the inner bay where most boats have been confined has gotten less awesome. There's still crab but not as many as a few weeks back. It is still better than at almost any point last season. And bad news for commercial guys (this year; next year for all of us, maybe) but when I was driving back from Petaluma today I saw a bunch of humpback whales jumping in about 200-300 feet of water off of Bird Rock. When the splash draws your attention from miles away, it was a big splash. Whales now being bad for crabbing (commercial this year; maybe everybody next year...) seeing them from miles away seems like a bad crab omen. They sure looked cool, though. 

    Well, look at that! John Knott from Sacramento found a halibut that wasn't pinned under a crab hoop. This odds-beater weighed 26 pounds and was caught on a Gibbs minnow near Marker 5, where the crab buoys and crabbing boats compete for space. Nice work, John. Way to beat the odds by catching a halibut and not snagging a crab net. The not snagging may be more impressive.

     The hundreds of nets in the bay are producing crab but the numbers are definitely starting to slip. The number of boats pulling out early in the day with limits is dropping and the number of guys pulling out late in the day with long faces is increasing. The crabbing is still better than any time last year, but it ain't awesome. The outer bay has more crab than Tomales Bay but you still have to look for them there. There's pockets of greatness but acres of mediocrity and quite a bit of nothing. Keep moving. Unless you're catching. 

    

     Crabbing in the bay is starting to drop off but remains better than at almost any time last season. That's not saying much, as last year was pitiful. Almost everyone in a boat is getting a few keeper Dungeness at least. Heck, I even caught five in an hour on Thursday. One boat came by as I was landing number five and said he'd caught four so far in the channel. I went home, cooked my crab and cleaned the boat, and when I returned to the shore to share my crab guts with the birds I saw the same boater pulling out. After I left the tide turned and he and his crew put another 50 crab in the boat. I'd almost think I left too soon, until I started picking crab. Five was good. Tasted good, too. Bur the same boater, yesterday, only caught twenty on the tide turn. Now, twenty sounds pretty good for in the bay, and it is, but not to a boat full of people that had fifty the day before. Maybe if they'd been picking all those crab they'd feel different? Either way, today in or out of the bay was slower but didn't suck. For sure, if you go, drop your hoops where you think it's good. Then go back to the first and pull it. If there's some crab around you should have at least one in ten minutes. No crab, stack it. If you find a spot with crab, plug it with your hoops. If you don't, keep moving and try again. No matter how good a crabber you are, you can't catch what isn't there, and they seem to be clumped in smaller areas. Keep moving until you find them, then soak them up. Don't drop your hear and go fish for rockfish. It isn't that good of a crab year. You can fish after you locate the crab. Remember your priorities. 

 

     I mentioned a video about a boat crossing the bar a while back. Alec decided to make it a PSA so it took a while to prepare (he does actually work). Here is the finished product. Apologies for the cameraman who flinched during a jump or two. A little PTSD? Maybe. But you can get the gist of it.

     Day two of the Dungeness season and the crabs held up. Mostly good reports from the bay again. Nobody went out today as the bar was constant sadness. This morning you could hardly see the channel from the fog spray coming off of the breakers. Who needs out when there's  crab inside? Standard rules for Tomales Bay apply: Avoid strong current areas except at the tide turn when you want to hit them momentarily, weight your hoop so it doesn't travel, pull early and often and move if no critters are present. Universal rule; it is hard to catch anything if the thing you want to catch is not there. Move. Move again. Sometimes the move is 20 feet. But don't dedicate your day to dead holes. 

 

      It looks like there's some crab in the bay. Well, less now, but still quite a few in some areas. Some folks knocked 'em, like these folks, but many others struggled. It is better than last year, but last year sucked so bad that's not really a compliment. It's like, "the bleeding has slowed" or "the fire has ceased forward movement." This, of course, speaks for inside of the bay. Getting outside the bay today was difficult in the fog, early, and then almost impossible later when the fog lifted, the tide turned and the swell picked up. I say almost, as someone in a SAFE Boat jumped the bar going out this afternoon. They made it, but I'll bet they're sore tomorrow. Those that did make it out did well. The outer bay has crab, and quite a few in spots. But the forecast keeps calling for more big swell, even bigger tomorrow. Parts of Bodega Bay proper should be fishable tomorrow in the wave shadow of the Head, but beyond that, I don't know. Not from Tomales Bay for sure. It's a long season. Wait for better days. A boat flipped out of Half Moon Bay today and three guys were pulled from the water. Let's not start that up here again. There are crab in the bay and they're being caught pretty well, so don't try going out tomorrow. You can catch Dungeness without risking your life. 

    Here's a reminder of why we don't cross the bar when she's breaking. This is the boat from two weeks ago, floating upside down near the lovely American Challenger. By the next day she was ashore aside the other hulk, getting smashed by the waves. 

      Halibut isn't over yet, even after the blow this weekend. It's not awesome, but there's still a few. Tom and Jerrie Carter caught one today and heard another in another boat. There's hope, but is looked like they fished for bait longer than they fished for halibut, so maybe not a lot of hope. Well, in a few days nobody will care about flatfish as crabs will soon be on everyone's mind. Shore snarers have been reeling in quite a few and (hopefully) releasing them. I think a lot of them are repeat offenders, as not everyone is poaching and a crab won't learn. I'm pretty sure that octopus are far smarter than crab and I've seen an octopus caught twice, so... Even with the duplicates, it looks better than last year, and it should be, as the difference between zero and the number of crab caught was not far. It doesn't leave much room to get worse. Of course, it can always get worse, but we should be on the upswing on the Dungeness population cycle. Still close to the bottom, mind you, but farther from it. Only Saturday will truly tell the story though.

   Speaking of Saturday, the wind doesn't look horrible (not good, but not gale) but the swell looks like the bar could be interesting. First thing they're calling for a 6 foot swell and the tide coming in until 9ish. Probably cool, but caution should be the watchword. Later the tide turns and the swell picks up. The afternoon will be bad on the bar. Hopefully the crabbing in the bay is good enough to hold everyone's attention and nobody needs to try outside. Let's be safe.

      The CDFW have spoken, and the ruling is: Dungeness will open here, south of Gualala, on November 1st, the first Saturday in November, as usual. Traps will be illegal and only hoops and snares will be legal, as usual. Commercial guys get screwed with a delay, as usual. There's some domoic acid around, so we're being told to clean the crab before cooking, as usual. It's the new normal. At least the domoic acid isn't high enough to shut us down as they have up north. Or is it? Testing results are here, but so far I don't see Bodega Bay locations listed. Probably they know something, since they're announcing we can open. Samples have been delivered. I guess we'll find out soon enough. But as things stand today, we're opening on the 1st here, and no crab butter for you.

       We only had a few boats hit the water this week and no fish were waved around by anybody in the boats. One boat had never crabbed before and they came back with two limits of red crab yesterday. They were pretty happy, but that's because they hadn't cleaned two limits of red crab before. I imagine that the joy moderated a bit with each critter processed. Catching a lot of anything seems like a good idea until you get to the cleaning table. The big takeaway is that there's 70 less red crabs to avoid inside the bay for Dungy season. 

      We watched a boat run towards the mouth of the bay this afternoon and he looked like he wanted to cross the breaking bar. Cameron accessed a camera on the hill and watched him jump a wave going over the bar before turning around and coming back in. It looked like a 22' C-Dory, so hopefully for them they didn't split the hull belly-flopping like a guy I know. Those flat, fuel conserving and stable riding hulls can sometimes be a problem. When the waves get big, deadrise is your friend. I'm hopeful that Wrybread can get us a Youtube video of the event. 

 Well, that was exciting. Anyhow.....

     It turns out that there are still a few halibut to be caught in the bay. Last week's wind cooled the water a couple of degrees, not enough to really call it over but enough that the halibut were unhappy for a few days. After it stabilized the fish bit again. The sweet spot must be across from Lawson's, as there were a few boats there pretty steady Sunday through Tuesday. Probably rockfish would have been a better choice for putting fish in the box, but conditions were not good for getting out to the ocean from here. Maybe tomorrow morning there will be a window. And maybe not. The roar of the surf has faded but the swell is supposed to pick back up again. 

     Dungeness is scheduled to open on the 1st this year. It seems the whale-searching-flights are done and the recommendation is (Gasp!) the usual, no commercial season yet and sport can open but hoops only off Sonoma and Marin counties. SNAFU, right? At least the hoops work pretty well if there's some crab around, and preliminary unofficial hearsay reports sound pretty good. There's some crab out there. judging by our timing in the Dungeness crab cycle, it is likely not going to be a good year for crab but better than last year. "Better than last year" doesn't mean much, as it kind of sucked for most people. So, hopefully this year will suck less. If you found a place to catch reliably last year, you'll probably be fine. If you struggled all season, well, I guess the struggle is real. Think of how much better a crabber this adversity is making you! Of course, if you aren't catching but you keep sticking to the same spots, well, shame on you. Isn't that the popular definition of insanity? Move. No crab there? Move. Repeat until happiness. Pay attention to your depth, the speed of the current, your very specific location. Twenty feet can make or break you. Fresh bait. Dungeness don't care for the rotten stuff, mostly. Weight your hoops and traps in the bay heavy as they will walk in the current (The biggest thief of crab pots in Tomales Bay is Tomales Bay. There are pirates but the current steals many, many traps/hoops) Avoid the fast current spots when the current is going fast. They can fish well when it is slack but when the water starts moving GTFO. And for God's sake, don't go out the mouth of the bay if you're not sure. That bar has killed far better men than me, men with more experience and better equipment. I'm terrified of the break. You should be too. Eat crab, don't feed them.

     Also, new rules are coming. When they go into effect could be at the opener or next year, as they haven't been fully approved yet and no timeline exists. The ones we need to know:

Hoops can have only one main buoy with a maximum size of 6"x14", any color. You can have a second, trailer buoy but it must be no larger than 6"x14" and orange and have two large "H"s on it at least 2" high and lines no less than 1/4" thick. My suggestion? Stick to one buoy. Make sure your GO ID number is on it. Traps need the red buoy behind them to show that they're traps. Absolutely no red buoy behind your hoop buoy. 

You can't use rope that is black and either yellow, red, or purple. These fancy two-tone lines are reserved for commercial crabbers from Oregon, Washington and California, so if a whale gets  entangled they know who to blame. They're making the commercial Dungeness guys buy all new rope. It may not save the whales but it sure is lucrative if you sell rope. I guess they need to throw the rope guys a bone before they outlaw rope altogether. Good times. Or I guess, awesome. Tim , the old man of the sea, says that when I say things are awesome they're actually in the toilet. So, awesome I guess.

     Dungeness season must be close because the bar is breaking pretty steady. Earlier today it was an intermittent break on the incoming tide, letting a few boats out to try for rockfish. One of these boats out of Miller Park limited out on rockfish in 100 feet of water about a mile or so south of Tomales Point. On the way back in, sometime after 11:00, the boat was either overtaken by a wave or overtook a wave (reports vary) on the bar at the mouth of the bay and was rolled over (reports agree). Steve Werlin, known on here at times as the Dark Lord, happened to be watching from his house on the hill in Dillon Beach. He called Gage first while somebody else called 911. Gage was, at that time, in Half Moon Bay looking at big pumpkins.  He called Cameron. Cameron grabbed me. Cameron jumped in the tractor headed for the boat lot. We tried John Brezina's Whaler because he doesn't have a bow rail (easier to load people from the water) but no keys, so.... Shrimp Boat to the rescue! Thanks, Alec. It's amazing how fast you can drive a boat over sloppy water when 1.) someone is in danger, and 2.) it's not your boat. The bar laid down the whole time we approached and as we got closer you could see people huddled together in the water. Then a wave started to build in front of us about head high and started feathering in the east breeze. We hit it just right and caught a bit of air before gently landed. Alec has a lot of crap in that boat but it apparently balances it out properly for gentle landings. Thanks, Alec, and I hope I didn't lose too much of your special ballast over the side on the run out. Then we were at the swimmers.

    First thing, one of them was a maybe 5 or 6 year old girl. Before you get all, "How dare they take a little kid on the ocean!", how do you think Cameron and Gage got so comfortable on the big pond? You gotta start sometime, and a good way to get your kids used to being on the water and not getting seasick is just by doing it. So, make your comments, and I'll let 'em post, but I stand with the dad. In this case, the boat flipped and the child was trapped under the boat. When dad figured this out he started diving under the boat in a frenzy to get his child out. As you would. Well, as I hope I would. Diving under a flipped boat with God knows what hanging under with possible fish hooks, ropes, whatever to tangle up or get trapped in without a wetsuit or fins or mask..... I want to believe that I would do it too, and I think I want to think I would, but Goddamn..... But he got her out. And when we got there he was so spent he couldn't even speak. We grabbed the kid, because she was easy and light and if a wave comes and I gotta leave, well, I ain't leaving a kid. Then Cameron blew his back out trying to get the dad on board. But between him pulling and the other guy in the water pushing, they got him in. I was leaning like a sailboater trying to balance the boat and watching for waves. The other fellow scrambled in (former surfer and accustomed to cold water. I may have to start trying that cold water immersion thing) and said two more were on the boat but they were swept in towards the bay. We ran in across the bar (mostly) and saw two people on the beach in the first cove behind Red Rock. Three coves over was a sandy beach that we could pick them up from, but it would take them some time to get there and the dad was non-verbal. I was thinking that if they could swim in there they probably weren't in as bad of shape as the dad. Making up my mind, over the Point came Henry One, the Sonoma County Sheriff's helicopter, with a badass on a fixed rope dangling underneath. That being more badasses than we had, I figured they had it, and we hauled ass back to Lawson's where the Marin County Fire Department had arrived and were deploying. They grabbed our people and started actually saving lives. They had them wrapped up quick. The other two were picked up by Henry One and dropped off here. Hopefully everyone ends up okay. The boat will likely be up on the rocks north of Dillon Beach tomorrow. I hope everyone involved ends up okay. Dad and his daughter weren't awesome when they left but they were in good hands and heading towards even better ones, so there's that. The big takeaway is, the rockcod are biting. This is a fishing report, after all. 

For the record, we aren't lifeguards or rescue guys. We just heard that there was a problem and responded. It's what you do. Don't count on us or anyone to save you. I ain't going if it's really bad. And mostly nobody tells me if there's a problem. So be safe.

    Gage says that the halibut, like Elvis, have left the building (In this case, the building is supposed to be Tomales Bay, FYI). From the fish counts here over the weekend, he may be right. Joe Winn and crew fished halibut over the weekend and caught a couple, but a couple for them is equivalent to zero for us mere mortals. Basically, he just made sure that the door didn't hit all of them in the keester on the way out. Even so, halibut may not be completely done yet. I know of at least one caught on the bar on Wednesday and Thursday Gage, Richard Porterfield and I caught limits of halibut after catching our fill of rockfish and lingcod. Ours were not inside the bay, but they weren't far, and they all bit jigs. The rockfishing has been very good and the lings are in. Mike Mack and Spinner had several pushing or exceeding 20 pounds to the boat yesterday but weather and gear malfunctions kept the majority out of the boat. They're out there. Mike left a couple for us. 

     Dungeness season is coming pretty quick. The flights looking for whales haven't started yet, nor has the domoic acid testing, nor have the new regulations been approved to go into effect. But they will in the next few weeks and my guess is that we're 95% sure to have the season start on time with hoops. Traps will likely have to wait. I guess that only because that's how it worked for the last four(?) seasons. It's not just those who have forgotten history that are doomed to repeat it.

 

Coleman hatchery this morning has an estimated 30,000 to 80,000 salmon waiting to spawn. There's more in the river (They're stacked up for 3/4 of a mile below the hatchery) still heading that way. Lots of Jack's mixed in. Remember that last year Coleman had 250 fish return. It looks like there's more than that this year.

We may have a salmon season next year. It could happen! Gage is visibly vibrating.

    Apparently that vibrating calls in the fish. This 19 pounder whacked his jig on the drop. He missed another bite and released a small halibut. I caught nothing and missed no bites. I'm going to work on my vibrating. This pretending to be calm just ain't working.

 

      I was headed out the door on Tuesday and bumped into this gentleman who's name I didn't get, but I did get this photo and the info that the halibut weighed 21 pounds and it bit the only live jacksmelt they,  caught that day. There was another, smaller halibut on the boat as well that bit a jig but this one was more photogenic. There has been almost decent halibut fishing this week, although the last few days the bar and, God forbid, Dillon Beach proper have been off-limits due to high surf. It makes it hard to fish the outgoing tide when it carries you towards your doom. There are a lot of jacksmelt out in the ocean for bait, but that's not helpful if you can't safely get there. The halibut should continue to be somewhat active until some weather cools the water down below their comfort zone, and I don't think today's wind was enough to do it but a few more days will. The forecast is for a break from the wind, at least on the beach, for a bit. Maybe even a pause in the swell, too (we already had a break, and a lot of it). 

    Rockfishing is about as good as it gets right now as all depths are open and the lingcod have moved in closer to shore in order to make more lingcod. Go help out a rockfish by catching a lingcod. Heck, get a pair of them. Probably get a few rockfish as well (we can't help all of them). I had forgotten how good fresh rockcod is. Now I remember. Damn. They're out there and not too far, but a bit farther will be better. Close in has been hit hard. The 120 to 300 foot area has been left alone for a bit, but beware: The forbidden fruit that we call quillback rockfish appear to be quite plentiful, despite their low numbers officially recorded. Gage showed me a video from Instagram where a pair of guys had probably a dozen quillbacks laying on deck while fishing the Farallones. Strangely, the video has since been deleted. But I don't think we've had a half dozen quillbacks on the boat in the last twenty years. Maybe I suck at quillbacks. Probably, even. But damn. Those guys caught all of them. Or, maybe there's more than we think? No, they probably got them all and we don't even have to worry now. Thanks, guys. But just in case one got missed, go here for info on what they look like: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=222200&inline

    We had some halibut-catching royalty here last weekend. Joe Winn and his buddy Brandon Salazar were here and their boats each caught four (limits) Saturday. The day beach and the bar were the good spots. Also, winter is coming, and the long period swell is here, too, and breakers are kind of a thing until probably May 2026. Be careful. There's some fish around but the good spots also have some surf near or on them. Give every spot the stink eye before rolling in and shutting down. And maybe don't shut down. Sometimes having the option to jab the lever forward and go quick is a good thing. Joe and his buddy used jigs and live jacksmelt to catch their critters. The halibut are out there. They aren't easy, but they're there. Mike Mack had a rough day yesterday in the harsh south wind that hit, but he eventually hammered two at the end of the day with the big one going 28 pounds. Nice damned work, Mike. And nice work, Joe and Brandon. Also, nice boat Brandon. Thanks for showing me what I could have with some hard work and other effort. I'm not going to do it, but wow. It looks good on you. 

    I did get to go to Gage's secret spot (should I capitalize that? Probably. Maybe if it stays good) on Thursday. It was good, but not like you want. There's long periods of nothing, then a brief flurry of bites over a very specific spot, then nothing again. If you drift off of the bitey spot you need to get immediately back on it. This, it turns out, is exactly the same rule for everywhere else. Here's some knowledge: Halibut run in schools. Halibut have tiny stomachs, so they can't eat much, and they're cold-blooded, so they digest slowly. These things mean they only need to eat maybe a couple-three times a week, and if you want to catch one you need to be there, then. Only a few fish in the school will be hungry, but a few will bite almost unconditionally. Almost. But you need to be there when they bite. And if you drift off, move back. If you have spotlock, use it. I need it. How do you know where the fish are and when they'll bite? That's the hard part. Edges, where depth changes or dunes or rocks are can concentrate fish, as they concentrate baitfish. Timing is tide change, usually, but other factors that I am unaware of can make them bite between tides. Just know that mostly halibut fishing is boring but when you get a bite, follow up! Now! Cast behind the boat, or drive back and drop. Multiple rods with multiple baits also work here in Tomales Bay. Have a lot of functional lines in the drink when they bite. It can make for a Charlie Foxtrot but, wow. Ever limit in 60 seconds? Maximize your opportunities.

    

 

    It was foggy enough yesterday to take Alec Bennett with us for a trip to Gage's secret spot. It turns out that Gage's secret spot is very good. It ain't big, so it needs to remain secret, but as luck would have it, the halibut are also biting in other spots. Alec got a 21 pounder, and I finally made the board with a just boardworthy fish (20 lbs). We had nothing, then a double, then nothing for a while, then a quad. When they're biting, wow.. When they're not, also wow, but the bad one. The other spots are off of Dillon Beach and the mouth of the bay (the bar, as we say) had some fish. Maybe not as big, and maybe not as aggresively biting, but places you can find without trouble. 

     Rockfishing has been pretty good, as all depths are open, and a lot of those depths have been off limits for a while, so they've been fished minimally in the interim. Go get 'em. They're yummy.

 

   I say the halibut fishing is bad, and who shows up? Swampy. Challenge accepted. His report from today: "Evening Willy,

Fat lady ain’t singing yet. Solo and probably last trip of the year, gotta start getting ready for the ducks. Started on the bar in fog and got spooked by the crashing rollers. Found these two just north of hog during the afternoon tide change on live bait. Sounds like Gage hammered them again. Thanks for another great year, Swampy." It looks like there are a few fish in the bay, or there were a couple. Probably there's more. Swampy tends to connect, and the tide change seems to be the deal. Nice work, as usual, Swampy. You gotta feel nervous for the ducks, though.

    Swampy mentioned Gage, and here's Gage's picture from today. He jumped on Tom Brodsky's boat, Fishbox, and he, Tom and Lee limited on rockfish before trying for halibut in Gage's "secret spot". Gage will be on my boat tomorrow and I hope to find out the spot, but I've already been sworn to secrecy. Heck, he didn't ask for my soul, so I'm in. They're out there, if you can find them, it seems. The rockfish is good, though, regardless of Gage's knowledge. No fishing in the +120 foot area has left many fish in the 120-200 foot area. There's probably more lingcod in closer but those unmolested deeper water rockfish are kinda dumb and very tasty.

 

     Halibut fishing has been slooooow, but you wouldn't know it from Steve Cato. This 21 pounder came from in front of Dillon Beach proper. I heard of one other halibut caught today, same place, a little smaller. Not a lot of effort lately, but low effort combined with a low catch-per-angler average equals not too many fish. But Steve and his buddy from Florida beat the odds and caught this one and hooked (and eventually lost, as such things usually go) a thresher shark. This is after they went out and caught enough rockfish for fish tacos for a couple of nights. Nice work, gents. 

 

     These halibut were weighed in around 9:30 this morning and were caught by trolling hootchies and anchovies off of Dillon Beach. Not sure of the depth of water fished but the halibut weighed sixteen and eight pounds. Considering how bad the halibut fishing has been, I understand why there were so many boats in front of my house this morning. I don't think everyone else enjoyed the same results, but I do know that there were some other fish caught there today. As is typical of halibut and fishing in general, the fish are where you find them. Good work finding them!

    Brendan Mendoza sent over this report from today: "Hey Willy. We were out rolling hootchies again and finally had some success. We landed 2 shorts 2 missed bites and managed a 33", 27" and a 23" halibut. Couldn't find the 4th but after weeks of no fish we were happy. Then finished the day picking up a few colorful rockfish."  Happy is what you should be. The bay has been empty. You normally fish south of Hog, so I assume that's where these came from, and if so, I'm very happy, as the ones you missed need to make our future halibut in the warm water of the bay. I'm not complaining about take, as Gage and I are very guilty of the same, but where do you go to target halibut without catching them in the successful spawning areas? Anyone? No? There we go. Nice work, Branden and crew. Your saltwater goldfish look pretty good as well. It seems that the PFMC has passed the resolution making fishing for rockfish past the three mile line legal, but I'm unclear on whether it is in effect yet. I've heard yes and no. Consult your lawyer before straying too far offshore. I did hear of some nice fish caught inside of 60 feet of water, so apparently a few fish have escaped from the pressure of the last couple of years. Finesse is the key to catching shallow, over pressured fish. Small jigs. Small swimbaits. Tiny even. They work. Occasionally, retail therapy works, and buying tiny gear is one of those things. Pressured fish have seen the other things, but tiny stuff seems safe? I don't know what they're thinking, but it works. Fricking fun, too, on light gear.

    There's not too many people here mid-week in September. Weekends are full, but weekdays there isn't a lot of effort. Almost none, in fact. Perhaps it's the reports. Perhaps it's the season, as interest has always waned by September, even though the fishing for halibut usually gets pretty good then. Not this year, of course, as most of the halibut are in somebody's freezer. But not all of them. Yet.

    I saw the Jigger John launch today around 10 am. I saw him leave around 2pm. I received this message from Kerry Apgar this evening: "Seth and John's catch for today". For the record, I believe that the 24oz Coors Banquet was purchased, not caught. As the catch has mostly been bad, I'm guessing that John and his nephew caught these on the bar, as that's where fresh fish enter the bay. I do not know that, just guessing. But, Gage had a few fish on Wednesday in a new location. The photo he sent:

     Gage caught four fish (he said...) letting go the two smaller ones and keeping two that weighed 15 pounds apiece. His boat looked like an episode of Dexter. He also wouldn't tell me where he went. Good on him, and good on John and Seth for their catches, but hey man, we gotta know. In the absence of knowledge I went out on Thursday looking to find Gage's secret spot. It didn't happen, but I did catch a few rockfish (and released an eight pound king salmon) at the Trees before the weather forced me to bail. Eight foot NW seas at ten seconds combined with 20+ knots of south wind equalled me fearing for my life and trying not to puke. I just got over the sea sickness this afternoon (no puke; just time). On my way back into the bay I started to get concerned, as the crappy conditions limited my speed even though the swells were going faster than 15 knots. You really don't want to get overtaken by a breaker on the bar. Pitchpole, anyone? But I watched as I approached and the bar never broke. Then, as I got closer, the waves just....melted away. I guess we're in the lee of the swell. Good deal, as the shallow spot on the bar right in front of Red Rock was filthy with terns, pelicans and seagulls all feeding. I slowed to an idle, preparing mentally to start casting. Then I glimpsed something to my left. Breaker! I jammed the throttle forward all the way and heard the crash of everything on the dash hitting the deck. Looking back, there was a 6'-8' breaker on my stern. Holy crap! That was at about 10:30. My hands quit shaking after a beer about noonish. I watched the bar from home for hours and never saw it break there again. Now, I know the regular story, that curiosity killed the cat. Complacency almost killed me. I have to rewrite this repeatedly as just thinking about it makes my hands shake again. It's that time of year again. The fish are on the bar, and you die on the bar. I kinda love and hate September. Don't get me started on October. Hey, it was easy everybody would do it. JUST BE CAREFUL. It's fall. The ocean is, in fact trying to kill you.

 

 

    Barb Pope caught this 17.5 pounder yesterday on a dead herring drifted this side of Hog Island. Three years in a row she has been the killer of the group from St. Helena. I'm sure that the rest of them are killers in their own right, but Barb just kicks it up a notch or three. Nice work, Barb, and very nice of you to sit it out today and let somebody else have a chance. They didn't catch any halibut without you, so... Well, get some, Barb. The halibut misguidedly like you. Most fishermen had the opposite response from the few halibut present. The catching sucked, as it kind of has. Some very good fishermen had a few fish this weekend but would normally be celebrating multiple limits over the weekend. Three years no salmon= no halibut. That's algebra I learned in 2010 after two years of no salmon. Three years is worse. Next year halibut fishing will suck, and suck hard. It will be a year to separate the men from the boys. I hope you do as well next year, Barb. For all of us.

     Howard Law sent over this picture with the report:" Not a bad day on the big pond. Threw back a  bunch of smaller ones." Those are some nice rockcod. Probably even better fish tacos. Nice work, Howard and crew. Last time Howard tried to fish somebody pulled out in front of him and he was in a pretty horrible crash. Good for the fish, I guess, but it kinda sucked for Howard. Well, payback's a, you know what.

     So, here it is Friday night and I'm finally posting Swampy's Tuesday report. I suck, but Swampy surely doesn't, as he tells it true:

     "Evening,

Should have been here yesterday. Tough bait today, plan C and D finally worked. Hit the bar and interior hard for two butts. Jake, Swampy Jr, scored a 14 pounder and Alex got a clicker. Great time as always and see you next trip. She ain’t singing yet……" The fat lady is surely warming up, though. She's not singing but she's doing the throat exercises to get ready to sing. It sounds like gargling and wind. Solid work, Swampy family, snatching a few fish from the jaws of .... well, the end of halibut season, such as it was. Keep in mind, as bad as this past season's halibut catching was, next year will be worse, and as halibut grow and spawn slowly (Sucks, but at least they don't need a river of fresh water in California like some prima donna like salmon) they will recover at the same slow rate. (Also sucks, but what are you gonna do? Run a hatchery?). I predict good halibut fishing in 2030. Until then we grind.

 

     This is one of those reports that I've been waiting for. Chris DeTrani moved here from the East Coast a few years ago and bought a boat to go salmon fishing. Bad timing, as he hasn't been able to fish decent local(ish) salmon water since the purchase. But Saturday last, "Worth the ride down. 90’ of water and 40’ down just below Point Reyes. 35” and 30”. 

Chris " I gotta bet those fish taste really, really good. Good on you, Chris. Maybe next year we'll have more chances at them. I took Alec Bennett with me yesterday for the end of season. We finished with our four, largest about 15 pounds, right about where Chris went, just deeper. They finally went on the bite after noon in 160 feet of water. We called in Mike Mack who finished with three. Okay, it wasn't a good bite but the grinding and scratching got quicker. It didn't sound too different farther south, as we saw the New Easy Rider out of Berkley tack past us at Point Reyes. That's a lot of good salmon water to drive past to get there. Some guys killed them on Sunday, but for most fishermen the season ended not with a bang but with a whimper.

    I received this report from Gage on Saturday with the message: "Megan Porterfield (not pictured) landed this 20 lb halibut near the bar on a Nomad jig." Seemed like a lot of beard for a Megan (not that there's anything wrong with it). This appears to be a Richard Porterfield and he put the boat over the fish Megan caught, so there you go. I'm guessing that Megan was jigging a Squidtrex as those have been accounting for some fish this year. Nice work Megan (and Richard, I guess).

     The halibut have been biting about as well as I've been posting, so very slow. Yesterday had a lot of zero reports at the launch. We didn't tell Swampy the fish weren't biting and look at the report he sent over this evening: "Evening,

Swampy Jr was on fire today, but everyone caught fish. 3 poles for 6 fish mostly from the bar. Biggest going 14 pounds. Got tomorrow to try again 

Swampy." 'Try? Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.' Said a tiny green wise man(?). It doesn't look like you tried today, just did. Keep doing that. Nice work Swampy, Swampy Jr. and unpictured third person that caught at least one fish and took this photo.

    This is a photo of the boat lights just outside of the Golden Gate Bridge on Thursday. Not pictured are all the boats running without lights, and their number was nonzero. We saw a couple of shadows pass between us and other boats. Holy crap. Only one boat filled with water and flipped over. Pretty good, IMHO. 

   In answer to question in the comments about the federal vs. the state rockcod regulations, my short answer is : Bureaucy. Longer explanation: The state only regulates the waters inside of three miles. The feds go out like 200 miles (don't get me started.  I think we blew up Qaddafi's son or nephew because he claimed the Gulf of Sidra, but whatever; we have the F111's to make it happen). So, you can rockfish any depth within the three-mile limit. When the feds vote this month sometime they will extremely likely vote to make it true outside of the three mile limit, as this was their idea. So by October you'll be good to go all depths. 

Until they change their minds again....

     Happy second salmon season! I just finished a dinner of fresh salmon bellies, collars and dumpster salmon (grilled bones with meat on them) with a bit (more than a bit!) of Thai sweet chili sauce. Heavenly! It was almost worth it! I've been up since 2:00 AM, driving to Emeryville to get on the New Huck Finn on a charter by Larry Varela. I've never fished out of the gate before and now have experienced Duxbury and Muir Beach. After screwing up spectacularly (sorry Scott and your down stream tangle buddy) I sorta figured it out. It was completely new to me but it sure works. My way here is more fun, but putting bodies in the boat is key, so this method works well. Not driving the boat was key to my enjoyment, as bum. per boats seemed to be most people's experience level. What's a boater's card? We limited by 2 with most of our fish caught at Dux but we had to pull and run to Muir to finish, and Muir had the largest fish. My limit fish came off of Gage's rod on the bow at about 20 pounds at Muir. Here's a pic of my cousin Nathan from South Carolina who came to catch salmon. 

   Quick summary: He did. No heads, as half of our fish were fin clipped hatchery fish and the fish counters were apparently omnipresent, as they were during the last short season. Expect the same wherever you go. Lots of monitoring, and let's be clear, lots of hatchery fish. As only a quarter of the fish from the hatcheries are actually fin clipped and chipped, let our 50% rate be your guide. They are all hatchery fish, as the river can't support salmon. It turns out that they need water, and water is money. It just is. Smolts trucked past the Delta and river tend to live to adulthood. Thanks truckers! It worked! Bummer, extirpated wild fish. I'm sure heaven is nice. Your highway star cousins sure taste good.

     Mike Mack and Spinner were not invited to Larry's charter and ran down past Point Reyes today for these three salmon. These guys are here almost every weekend to fish for whatever they can. Not surprisingly, salmon was on the menu today. It is not as good at Point Reyes as it is closer to the salmon funnel at the Golden Gate. Surprise, surprise. But two of these fish weighed in at 20 and 19 pounds. For a year without salmon, that sounds pretty awesome. It ain't red hot. But dinner, man, oh boy. Even better, I heard that Jesse Keilman and crew limited, eventually. after running from here to Point Reyes. Nice work gents.

    Here's a picture of me last week on the return from the albacore trip. Alec Bennett took the photo but it was out of spite, as he wanted to sleep in the beanbag chair. I get it, after sleeping in it. West Marine may be having a hard time like every other retailer, but their beanbag chair IS THE FRICKING BOMB.  I was out. Hard. Good times are the hard times. But the beanbag makes them easier.