Here's a drone-produced photo of the things making a bit of noise around here for the last month, These sea lions have been chasing herring in and around the bay, and they talk a lot while they're doing it. Last summer when the sardines came into the bay the sea lions also made an appearance en masse. I will be trying to pay more attention to distant barking. These guys were photographed on January 21 at the Sand Point. They were chasing herring, as expected. I am aware of only a few attempts at herring in Tomales Bay this season but not aware of any success, other than these sea lions. Were these herring coming or going? At this point, probably leaving the bay but anything goes, it seems. Just because herring did most of their spawning in the past between Christmas and the end of January doesn't mean that it's still so. But it's probably mostly so. 

    Crabbing has been kinda okay for the guys with lots of pots soaking in the outer bay. A three to seven day soak seems to help on the numbers. There have been limits but no high grading. Inside the bay has been tough, as heavy tides and loads of fresh water have made the crabbing slow. In both cases there haven't been a whole lot of takers. From shore the snarers have mostly been blown and washed out by more weather than crab. It looks like a few breaks in the weather this week, so maybe better numbers? Time will tell.

    A hopeful report for future salmon follows. It appears that this year is probably a no for salmon again, but maybe later? We'll see: "

---------- Forwarded message ---------

From: California Department of Fish and Wildlife <cdfw@public.govdelivery.com>

Date: Thu, Feb 6, 2025, 4:28 PM

Subject: CDFW Partners with DWR and Fishing Industry to Diversify Salmon Hatchery Release Strategies

To: <wvogler@gmail.com>

CDFW recently released more than a million fall-run Chinook salmon fry into the Feather River

View as a web page  /  share

at top a lake, mountains in background with field of flowers in foreground and the CDFW logo and CDFW News at bottom

Feb. 6, 2025

Media Contacts:

Jay Rowan, CDFW Fisheries Branch Chief

Steve Gonzalez, CDFW Communications, (916) 804-1714

Fry fall-run Chinook salmon in the American River. 

CDFW Partners with DWR and Fishing Industry to Diversify Salmon Hatchery Release Strategies

In a collaborative effort to increase the sustainability of California's salmon populations, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has partnered with the Department of Water Resources (DWR), as well as ocean and inland fishing groups to continue a pilot project aimed at diversifying salmon hatchery release strategies.

As part of a broader initiative to expand salmon hatchery release strategies, CDFW recently released more than a million fall-run Chinook salmon fry into the Feather River. These salmon fry are released shortly after hatching, which mimic the same life stage in the wild when they would swim up out of the gravel. Typically, fall-run Chinook salmon released from the hatchery are about six months old and 3.5- to 4-inches in length. This technique was first introduced at the American River at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery in 2023.

This marks the second fry release in the Feather River this year, bringing the total number of fry released to approximately 1.8 million. These releases are in addition to the Feather River Hatchery’s typical target of 6 million smolts (a young salmon that is ready to migrate from freshwater to the ocean, usually around 6 months old) as well as the additional 3.5 million smolts and sub-smolts CDFW aims to produce at the Feather River Hatchery in 2025.

"This pilot project underscores the importance of collaboration between state agencies and the fishing community as we adapt to the challenges posed by climate change," said Jay Rowan, Fisheries Branch Chief. "By diversifying hatchery release strategies, we aim to boost salmon populations while ensuring more fish are available for both harvest and conservation efforts."

Due to the small size of salmon at the fry stage, traditional tagging methods such as coded wire tags cannot be used to track these fish. Instead, the performance of these releases will be monitored using Parental Based Tagging (PBT). This innovative approach involves collecting genetic data from the parent salmon at the time of spawning at the hatchery. The genetic information will then be used to identify and track the offspring when they return to the river, helping to assess the success of the fry releases.

“Our organization has long been an advocate of adopting genetic PBT for fisheries management,” said James Stone, Executive Director of the NorCal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association. “Adaptive salmon management is the future of improving and sustaining our fishery, which is needed now more than ever. PBT provides flexibility in hatchery operation and release strategies to maximize juvenile salmon production, including the promotion of natural spawning. We are pleased to partner with the department on the implementation of this new technology and commend them for taking this next step.”

The fry release project is being conducted in coordination with DWR, which owns the Feather River Hatchery, and with input from both commercial and recreational salmon fishing groups.

“On behalf of the California salmon fleet, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Association (PCFFA) is committed to restoring our fleet’s ability to harvest California salmon and feed California communities. Diversified release strategies offer the best opportunity for a cohort’s success by mimicking natural systems, allowing fish to learn to be fish sooner. This approach provides hope that bold and decisive actions can strengthen population health, enhance genetic diversity, and contribute to the long-term resilience of salmon stocks," said George Bradshaw PCFFA President. “We appreciate CDFW’s collaboration with the industry to address the salmon crisis by increasing hatchery production and implementing diversified early life stage release strategies. Reintroducing fry releases not only expands production capacity but also takes advantage of early in-river conditions that benefit fish health.”   

Diversifying hatchery release strategies is a key element of the California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier, Future, a statewide initiative aimed at ensuring the resilience of salmon populations amid impacts of climate change. In addition to the Feather River releases, similar pilot studies are also underway at the Nimbus Hatchery on the American River, further expanding the scope of the project.

The pilot studies are expected to provide valuable data that will shape future hatchery release strategies, ultimately helping to bolster salmon populations and improve their chances for survival in the wild.

For more information on this project and other salmon conservation efforts, visit the CDFW website at www.wildlife.ca.gov."

    I apologize for the late report. This report came in on Monday night, but life occupied me to the point that you only get to hear about now. Again, sorry. 

  George Homenko sent this report, as well as this video. Nice work, George, and even better video. "A quick crabbing report.

Went out on Monday because the forecast looked pretty good.  The mouth was pretty flat and what wind there was from the south soon died down.  I was using traps baited with chicken legs in about 60-70 feet of water.  Set a line parallel to the beach off a mile or so North of the "TB" buoy.  Poor at first but found a better spot and reset my pots around it.  Had a limit of 10 in about 90 minutes.  No jumbos a couple OKs and a bunch of just barely. 

Noticed that when I ate a couple that night they just didn't have that dinginess taste we all like so much.  Got some a week ago or so and didn't notice any flavor discrepancies with them.  Could be the clutching or molting? 

Anyway, all days fishing are good as long as you make back home.

I did a video of me and my boat, single handing some crab. You don't have to mention it.   I have always loved Tomales Bay.  Many years ago my father would drop me off at Nick's with a small aluminum boat and an outboard when I was 14.  I would camp on Hog Island and eat clams by myself.  He would come back and get me in a day or two.  That was back when Hog had trees on it.  I'm 76 now.  https://youtu.be/5AWRiGxTOdA

Thanks for your reports.

Capt George"  Again, nice work. The crabbing now is almost as slow as it will get.. It cant get too much slower, but it will, a bit, and then start to improve. A bit. Statistically, it will improve and peak at the end of June. Maybe. The critters don't always obey their own rules. Be that as it may, there's a few crab around, and you could even catch one if you're lucky. George knows a few things, so he may get a few more. 

     The only other report I have is from one boat today that went chasing herring. He saw a lot of fish marking at the surface from Hog to Marshall. All schools that bit were jacksmelt. The others? Maybe herring, but herring hardly ever bite when they're getting ready to spawn, and the fish didn't bite, so maybe herring? Not biting is hardly an indicator, If it is, I have fished in a lot of spawning herring. 

   

   

 I got this report yesterday. Steve Brott reports, "Hello Willie,

Steve Brott here with a report.
New Years found me once again on the beach casting for the elusive striper which never materialized.
A young man named Liam came by wearing wader, pulling a wagon full of fishing poles, snares, etc.
He was very patient, but before my very eyes this young man snared a limit of legal dungies in rather short order.
I went over and introduced myself and told him he was the luckiest crabber on the beach that weekend, so i took his picture.
Turns out it was his first time ever to the beach.
He had a great time and I personally enjoyed watching him do his thing.
Thanks Willie, Kristi and i will be back the second week of February."  Thanks for the info, Steve, and good job, Liam. It seems that most of the crab snarers like the beach in front of the store, and that's fine, but the crab can be anywhere. Sometimes the crab are where it requires a little bit of walking. Go Liam. I hope you had a nice walk. And dinner. And probably another dinner. 

   Mr. Brott was looking for stripers here, and I haven't heard of any caught here for a while, but I did hear of a sighting of a feeding school in the surf below Oceana Marin, the fancy houses to the north of Dillon Beach proper. The guy that spotted them is familiar with stripers, so I believe. Also, there's herring moving in and out of the bay, and schooling baitfish tend to draw eating stripers. You can hear sea lions barking at all hours, another indicator of herring activity at the mouth. A third indicator would be that the same witness of the stripers also saw a school of herring getting ready to spawn near the shore where he was gathering cockles. His exact location was not given to me, as he was successfully gathering cockles, and as there aren't too many good beaches for cockles, guys that successfully get cockles don't share locations. See the rules for Fight Club. The fish didn't bite sabikis, but that is normal for spawning herring. After they spawn they can think about food again. Learn to throw a net, Ed. 

    Crabbing is still the same, okay for an experienced few and pretty slow for the rest (except Liam). This is that time of year when the bite should be slowing and approaching its slowest time. Crabs have started molting and some of them are clutching (mating) for sure, and soft skinned crab can't eat even if they wanted to. Patience. Wjem the crab return, all those crab that were just short will be keepers, and there were a lot of short "clickers".  Here's to the passage of time. 

      The crabbing inside Tomales Bay has been bad, but as usual, a few people have figured out how to catch a few. Our local expert, Tim, has been catching a little better than half-limits in a few hours just this side of Marker 5. Those crab were mostly barely legal and kind of ugly,  but they were legal eaters, so... Outside the bay you will be competing with professional crabbers, and while there are crab, there ain't many. Your location needs to be very particular for success, and the successful guys are very correctly not sharing their locations with me. From shore, the crab snare guys have been trying very hard. A few have done pretty well. A young man this weekend had four in a day. Most of the snarers are working inside the bay, even though there's less people and sometimes more crab from the ocean-front beach. Often times a little walk will improve your chances.

      Not much that I've heard of here about fishing. There's been a few guys trying for surfperch but nom reports filtering back on success. Usually this time of year has a few stripers showing up in the surf, but again, I haven't heard of any and haven't had a chance to try myself. I did hear of a guy with a bucket of stripers at Doran Beach, which tracks, as I've heard that Doran has more stripers than Dillon, but Dillon has a larger average size. Bigger don't matter if they aren't biting, so you might try Bodega's option.

      Rockfish, it seems, will open again in April, but only out very deep (over 300') at a time when the weather is generally against you even leaving the bay. But there might be a window. By May we go back to inside of 120' until October. As nearshore fish stocks have never really recovered from earlier closures forcing shallow fishing only, well, good luck. Best bets for success then will be going with the pros. Salmon? Let's talk about halibut. That season will happen, as no fresh water is required for their reproduction. They have been hit hard the last couple of years, and this year, well, the hits keep on coming. They should start here about four to six weeks after things get interesting in San Francisco Bay. Likely late April in the way back bay. We had a great time last year trolling bait, hootchies and Predator minnows back there. Lots of action, and the bites on the Predators were just plain fun, as that ain't the norm. My guess is that the halibut bite here should start around the time my wife starts walking again, as that is my hope, as then I can go fishing.... Good luck to the rest of you before then, but after that, watch out for me.

     

     Sorry for the lack of reports but I was away. Most of our tackle in the store comes via Big Rock Sports which is one of the larger wholesalers for independent sporting goods shops. They have a big sale show once a year and Cameron, my wife, Nicki and myself went off to the show in Nashville on the 4th. On the night of the 5th my wife fell and broke her leg, requiring surgery. It took until yesterday morning to get back home. Good times. At least I like country music and whiskey. But it seems that I didn't miss to much besides some very nice weather. Crabbing has been meh. There's a few in the bay and possibly even less in the outer bay. The commercial fishermen have been diffusing out of the Point Reyes/Farallones pocket looking for the next batch of crab and mostly finding just a few. It sounds like the average has been two to four keepers per pot on a two day soak. No bueno, but $6.00 per pound at the dock will keep them fishing. That high of a price is meant to keep them fishing, as there is still a demand but not much supply. Points north open today, so supply to the market may increase, but as of now there's commercial gear all over, including the outer bay. The Tomales Outlaw gave the outer bay a try yesterday and after a one-hour soak he had.....two keepers. He left most of his gear out and pulled again today for a total of.....four keepers. His pots may not have been in the best spots,  but 24 hours later for less than one crab per pot seems kinda slow. Bummer that rockfish season in still months away. 

   Nice weather here, though.

   Did you hear all the splashing this morning, around 8:00 AM? That was both sport and commercial pots finally splashing in the drink for their very delayed trap seasons. Finally! Now let's see if that does any better.. Generally, the crabbing is better before the commercials start, as less competition means more for those actually crabbing. The crabbing pre-commercial wasn't awesome, so trap results, to my mind, should be similar. A longer soak doesn't guarantee crab. You can't catch what isn't there. Gage is working a week or so with my cousin, Chris, on his crab boat. According to the Gage (and so Chris), pretty much every commercial crab pot locally is soaking between San Francisco and Point Reyes. Everybody was corking everybody, and mostly nobody was trying to (only mostly). You can almost walk on the crab buoys from Point Reyes to the Farallones. Don't try it, it's only almost. Just know that my cousin, that guy that bets his living on knowing things about crab and fish, is not expecting a long functional season. He expects a season open through March or April but most of the catching (as is done most years) all happens in the first few weeks. The price for crab, I hear, is very good. The only time the buyers want to pay is when they don't expect anybody to catch, so we must assume that the guys that know, know it sucks. And when it opens up north the price will drop, even though the crab wight be a bit light (not heavy with meat). I saw a picture from a New Year's Eve crab trip to the outer bay with a female Dungeness loaded with eggs. Bad sign for the now, as the clutch (the spawn and molt) is bad for catching and eating. Good for the future, as we all want to eat crab then.  Rockfish, as much as it was a season, is done until April, I believe, when it will open deep, even though you mostly won't be able to go there during April, as the weather mostly sucks. Well good for those rockfish. I'll see them in October, with a vengeance.

      Almost forgot. Happy New Year! May all of your good experiences outweigh your disappointments this year. Last year I was lucky enough to experience such a thing, and I hope you get to do the same. Buena suerte!