I was out of town for a few days and have to catch up on a few reports. The info I got with this one was a bit cryptic, but here it is: "Jack caught 20 pounder right out front drifting" I'm guessing that "out front" was in front of the store but I have no good guess as to what the fish bit. Nice work, Jack, as what little I did hear about the fishing didn't sound very encouraging.

     Nick Donnelly sent this report with a few highs and lows: "Willy sup bro, got some biggons yesterday 22 and 27 lbers after a crazy ride to the coast where the "critter getter" decided she was gunna launch her self at 35mph coming down the winding highway down Mount Saint Helena completely slingshotting past my truck onto the roadside... Luckily I managed to get her trailered again with some logs and brute strength avoiding getting hit by crazy lake county commuters.. limited out within an hour around 8ish. The "critter getter" takes on some water now from skidding on asphalt but she'll patch up nicely " Nice fish, Nick. I guess you were jigging while you were bailing. It seems to work. Excellent job on turning a bad day into a reasonably good one. 

     Depth restrictions will be dropped for rockfish soon. Exactly when remains to be seen, but while it is still summer seems to be the message. Here's the press release:"

California Fish and Game Commission Increases Fishing Opportunities for the 2025 Recreational Groundfish Season

On August 14, 2025, the California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) adopted emergency changes to the state’s groundfish regulations so that recreational ocean fisheries are no longer constrained by quillback rockfish (Sebastes maliger). Fishing opportunities in northern and central California were reduced in 2023 due to low estimated quillback rockfish abundance. A new stock assessment completed earlier this summer indicates it is no longer necessary to restrict groundfish fishing to specific depths north of Point Conception in order to avoid quillback rockfish, allowing anglers to take advantage of expansions to open fishing areas. The Commission acted to rapidly change the regulations to allow additional opportunities before summer’s end.  

Over the last few years, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) collaborated with federal partners, fishing groups, and anglers to gather data and improve scientific knowledge of quillback rockfish off California. The information was crucial in informing the new stock assessment, which indicates the stock is at a healthy level and not overfished. This finding reverses results from a 2021 stock assessment which relied on very limited data from the California stock. Retention of quillback rockfish, however, remains prohibited in all waters statewide until recommendations for sport and commercial fishery catch limits are developed for California quillback rockfish in conjunction with those for other nearshore groundfish species. 

“This action is the result of hard work by a lot of people,” said Tim Klassen, an appointed advisory member for the groundfish sport fishery and a charter boat captain in Eureka. “The Commission and CDFW moved quickly to implement these changes and worked collaboratively with fishermen to achieve a result that protects our fisheries and the people that depend on them. This is what good fishery management looks like.” 

CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham remarked, “CDFW is pleased with the new assessment, which reflects what California anglers have been seeing, and is committed to restoring fishing access as quickly as possible. We appreciate all our fishing industry partners who participated in scientific data collections that contributed to this positive outcome – it was a true collaboration.”   

With restored access to all-depth fishing for northern and central California, a sub-bag limit for canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) is necessary to keep catches within the federal California recreational harvest guideline for this species. Therefore, a new two fish sub-bag limit will apply for canary rockfish, statewide. Additionally, vermilion (Sebastes miniatus) and sunset rockfish (Sebastes crocotulus) will be managed together as a species complex, meaning that they are considered the same species for regulatory purposes (e.g., sub-bag limit) due to their nearly indistinguishable appearance. 

These changes are intended to roll back restrictions that were put into place to avoid quillback rockfish, which are very rarely seen south of Point Conception. Since fishing in the Southern Groundfish Management Area [(GMA) south of Point Conception, 34° 27’ N. Lat. to the US/Mexico border] is constrained by copper (Sebastes caurinus) and vermilion/sunset rockfish, there are no changes to the current fishing seasons in the Southern GMA. Groundfish fishing in the Southern GMA is currently open shoreward of the 50 fathom Rockfish Conservation Area boundary until September 30. The Map Viewer application can be used to view updated GMA boundaries and the 50 fathom Rockfish Conservation Area boundary. 

The following summary details the changes adopted by the Commission: 

• Boat-Based Fishery Season Dates and Depths – North of Point Conception (34° 27’ N. Lat.; within the Northern, Mendocino, San Francisco, and Central GMAs), groundfish fishing will be authorized in all water depths through December 31, 2025.  

• Species Retention – Nearshore, shelf, and slope rockfishes, lingcod, cabezon, and greenlings may be retained during the all-depth fishery.  
  • Canary rockfish will have a new two fish sub-bag limit statewide. 
  • Quillback rockfish will remain prohibited (no retention) statewide. 
  • Vermilion and sunset rockfish in combination are limited to two fish south of 40° 10’ N. Lat. (near Cape Mendocino), and four fish between the OR/CA border and 40° 10’ N. Lat 
• Management Line at Lopez Point Removed – The Central GMA will revert to a single management area. The split at Lopez Point (36° N. Lat.) between the Central – North and Central – South GMA is no longer needed. The Central GMA remains at the same northern and southern borders from 37° 11’ N. Lat. (Pigeon Point) to 34° 27’ N. Lat. (Point Conception). 

With all-depth fishing opportunity, anglers will experience greater flexibility on fishing trips when targeting species in addition to groundfish. Combination trips are no longer limited by depth constraints when targeting additional species or transiting between GMAs that do not have depth constraints. Note when transiting between GMAs it is still unlawful to exceed the bag limit of a GMA even if the fish are caught in another GMA (§27.20(b)(1)(A)(1). Meaning, anglers cannot catch four vermilion/sunset rockfish in the Northern GMA, then possess or land them in the Mendocino or another GMA with a two fish vermilion/sunset sub-bag limit. Similarly, anglers cannot take nearshore rockfish, cabezon, or greenling north of Point Conception and land them in the Southern GMA October through December when inshore fishing is closed.  

CDFW will notify the public when the new regulations take effect through the Marine Management News blog; please subscribe to receive the notification or check back regularly for the announcement confirming the new regulations are in effect. Anglers should review the Summary of Recreational Groundfish Regulations page for the most up-to-date information before going fishing. If anglers encounter a quillback rockfish, CDFW strongly encourages using a descending device to return it to depth. When fishing in ocean waters from a vessel a landing net is always required, and when fishing for or possessing groundfish, a descending device is required to be carried aboard. Questions? Contact Ask Marine. "

And where was I, you ask? On the Eddie Kim Bluefin Invitational. Good times with good fishermen, even though the weather wasn't ideal. We finished with 126 tuna and a yellowtail (Go Cannon!) for 24 guys. Heck, I even caught a couple. 

     I was forced to go fishing without Gage yesterday. Hard times. I took Jerry Knedel instead. We started on the bar for two stripers and two missed bites over 90 minutes. The fish didn't show for us like they did for Gage the day before, but we weren't Gage. Oh well. We then went looking for schools of bait, bait that we heard was "black-out-the-meter"  for miles and miles, especially on McClures. So to McClures we went, and by McClures we lost all hope of getting any baitfish. The previously ubiquitous bait had vanished. We were lucky to score four large jacksmelt and get back to the bar just as the tide turned. We pretty quickly scored three halibut out of five bites in two drifts, just before the current sped up and the water cooled off. There were some other fish caught but not many. Today the wind blew and the catch numbers got even worse. Bait is hard. Fishing is hard. Fishing in the wind is even harder. 

    The halibut fishing is still hard. Three years of abuse is, well, abusive. But the fish are still trying to compete, as small schools (pods? I've heard it used, whether it's right or wrong...) of fish enter the bay optimistically in search of mates or food. Either way, they find us. So the fishing story is that, as usual, a few guys are doing well and many fishermen aren't. Does that sound familiar? It ought to. That's fishing in a nutshell. So, the few guys I spoke to, for the most part, caught nothing. Bur...

    Here's Cameron's take: "A day trip led to early (3 hours on water) halibut limits plus one striper at the bar for Connor Padon and crew. All on the jig. He mentioned something about luck. No comment." Luck is always a part of fishing, but doing the right thing the right way at the right time sure ups the odds. Conner spends a couple of weeks a year here grinding for halibut. Grinding sucks, but sitting on the water for hours and hours for days and days will teach you things, and I think Conner's "luck" may be influenced by his "experience". Nice work, Conner and buddy. IMHO, those jig fish are the best, and you popped five. Jealous? Yup.

      Gage had a good morning on the bar with stripers and halibut in the mix. And then....

     Gage would like to tell everyone that if you have an old folding knife that likes to fold up when it shouldn't, throw it over the side. Five stitches later, he won't be fishing tomorrow. Good for the fish. Good for Kaiser. Not so good for Gage. 

    

 

        Many of you have probably already heard of this fish, weighed in at Bodega Tackle. "13 year old Julian Her from Marysville caught a massive 63.7lb white sea bass out of tomales bay today!" Nice work, young man. Possibly IGFA record work. That's the kind of thing that makes you think that there's a bunch of them and you have a chance at catching one. We all know that the reality is that there's no other fish. No way that anybody else is going to catch one. Especially not Tom Carter, a man known for not catching....

   Pardon my French, but Holy Crap! Tom Carter, against all reasonable odds, caught his second (yes, #2 lifetime) white seabass. This one weighed 34 pounds. It ate, just like Jerrie Carter's halibut, a live sardine. Who doesn't like sardines? Clearly, seabass and halibut really, really like them. Love is a tough word. But a strong like for sure. Good job, Tom. Don't be surprised when people will say, " You mean Jerrie caught it?" We all know. You know too. Jerrie does the catching. And yet here you are. Catching. The world is unhinged. But good on you sir. Nice work. 

 

    One of the best parts of summer at Lawson's Landing is the two weeks when Jim and Scott Alexander and Larry Varela come to fish. Part of that is that their timing is good for the fishing, usually. This year was a bit rough with no salmon (to be kept; there's lots of salmon out there) and a population of halibut that has been ravaged by (going on) three years of frustrated salmon fishermen. They went home today, but yesterday they caught these four halibut in the afternoon on the troll off of Dillon Beach in 25 to 35 feet of water, only having to shake a dozen or so salmon. 3 to 1 salmon to halibut in the outer bay is an outstanding average. Four halibut is also pretty outstanding right now as the halibut catching has died off, waiting for a fresh batch of fish to move in from the deep. Good work, gents. The fish won't miss you but Gage and I will.

     There have been some other halibut caught this weekend. Anthony Piccardo picked up a pair right off the seawall in the afternoon, and yesterday Richard Porterfield picked one up on a jig in front of the Boathouse. Steve Cato picked up a pair of halibut just this side of Hog Island on Friday after being chased off the bar by salmon (first world problems, eh?). Finally, today, right before they had to run back to the Landing to pull out with the tractor, Mike Mack and Spinner had several halibut bites and a few to the boat in a half hour. The fish they saw had spots, and as the old timers said, it could be that a batch of fish are coming in. Good, because we need them. 

     Man, I hope we get a salmon season next year, if only for the halibut's sake.

 

     Angela Sala missed a halibut yesterday but her boat captain found one: "Hey Willy!  Tomales Bay finally loosened her grip and I landed this beauty today!  31” on a jig.  

-Paul Burns, Lincoln, CA"   Nice work, Paul. I have fished with my wife quite a bit and know that it is hard to get those fish to see your hook when theirs is right there. That ain't easy. It's like snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. Nice fish, too.

   Gage took his girlfriend, Amanda, out fishing this evening.  Gage caught, well, nothing. But he gaffed a nice halibut on Amanda's line. This fish was caught on a jig on the bar after 7:00 PM. Not an early bite but a good fish.

    Here's a strange report from a couple of days ago: "Wednesday Report:

Evening Willy,

Should have been here yesterday. We ended up with one halibut to 10 pounds today. Good bait again near the yellow marker. Had a fish bomb from an osprey today that had my pup wondering what was up. A great trip, see you next time.

Swampy." I guess if you're going to get bombed, a fish bomb isn't the worst kind. Swampy went from six halibut to one halibut, even with fish being dropped on him from the sky above. Fishing is easy, and fishing is hard. This year, especially hard for halibut. Little groups of fish moving in occasionally but most days, very few fish. Today was a very few fish day. 

 

      Swampy sent over this report tonight: "Evening Willy,

Spent the day on the bay with good results. Easy anchovie bait near the yellow marker. 6 halibut to 12 pounds for three anglers north of hog with the tide change being key. Glad to get some meat this trip. See you next time.

Swampy"  The halibut fishing may be down, but not out. There were several other halibut caught today with "north of Hog" also being in common. Also, most of the fish were caught in the afternoon. My guess is that some fish came in. Hopefully there's more following them. Nice work on the fish, Swampy and crew.

    Angela Sala found the fish today, too: "First haul of the season, and I’m one happy gal!  A 23” and a 30” both caught on jigs.  The past few days have been rough with the windy conditions, so I’m quite grateful to have had such a beautiful day today!

-Angela Sala, Lincoln CA" Nice fish Angela! It looks like these fish were some of those "north of Hog" fish. Good work with the jig.

 

   So what do you do when you're on vacation but the weather turns to gale force winds? I guess you troll the back by Marshall for bass.. I guess that because the only boat we launched today did that and caught bass, white sea bass and striped bass. Flatfish are hard this year, and likely will continue to be hard for a few years if the past salmon closure is any kind of indicator. Gage and I were looking at the halibut results, year over year, from Sportfishingreport.com, and they showed a drop of 50% or better in the catch per fisherman since 2023. Go catch what's biting, is the result of that, and the twins,+ show it.  Two striper near Pelican and two white seabass near Marshall were the catches of the day. You go, Alexanders, Johnny Sandbar (a Gerard Fitzgerald nickname if there ever was one) and Martha. The catchning may suck, but certain people figure out how to catch nonetheless. Nice. Fricking. Fish. 

 

    Oops. I'd like to say that the fish have been coming in so hot and heavy that we can't keep up, but the reality is that we dropped the ball (the fishing is still really bad for halibut) so here's another report from Thursday: "Late report: Rob Benjamin of Santa Rosa picked up two halibut to 27 lbs on live anchovies at the green can." Nice work, Rob. The anchovies are thick in the water and that's what the fish are eating, so swimming a few of those around seems like a good idea to me. Good work, Rob, and sorry about the wait. The green can, back in its previous location, was one of my favorite fishing spots. Halibut seem to like edges, like slopes, and a rock or reef in among the sand. The previous spot was in 30 feet of water on a steep slope. I didn't think the new location was good enough to concentrate fish, but Rob here seems to say different. 

     News from today was, unsurprisingly, bad. There were some fish caught, but not many. Rockfish were tough, mainly because the weather outside was bad. Tomorrow shall be worse, weatherwise, they predict. There were fish caught today, halibut, but not many. I didn't get the Robert Rath report today but that's good, because he skews the report towards a false positive. The reports I heard were not good. Maybe the fish aren't coming in. You get a killer in your midst and you think everybody is stacking bodies. Turns out, even when it's good, only a few are killing it. Fishing is awesome, partly because anything can happen and probably will. The bird pile off of Dillon Beach proper continues today but nobody is fishing it as word is out that salmon is the result and that's not what they're looking for. It sure looks impressive, though. 

 

    Robert Rath jigged up this 31 pound halibut yesterday. It bit in 30ish feet of water off of Dillon Beach. So did a 20 pound striper (Gage) and 28 salmon (released, obviously). The striper and all but two of the salmon bit tube jigs, too, Redrums and Bigfoot Baits. The other two salmon ate live anchovies at the bottom. Everything was on the single hook and the releases were clean and the salmon never left the water. The salmon hatcheries have (not you Coleman) done a fine job of making and delivering salmon to the ocean for us to catch, as evidenced by the number of fish caught in the two day season and the number of fish being released by fishermen in the ocean. It's a shame we can't keep any. But it is nice to see that there's a physical reason why there should be a season if not a legal one. You go, Mokelumne. And nice fish, Robert. It was pretty cool watching his rod try to come up but the tip stayed in the same place for five seconds, then the rod did three big pumps and held steady again. "That's a big halibut" said Gage, and he was right. After it became clear that there no further white-fleshed fish to catch off of Dillon Beach proper, we retired to the bar with some live anchovies for a sand sole and two more halibut. Today, Robert limited his boat on halibut on the bar on live anchovies. Finally, a few more fish are coming in. There were a few yesterday and for sure quite a few more today. If about 10,000 more show up the fishing should be pretty good. For now the halibut fishing sucks less. 

  This is a view off of Dillon Beach yesterday. There's more outside the bay where the baitfish would rather be, but at the moment the colder water from the wind has sent quite a few anchovies into Bodega Bay proper. Next time the wind drops for a few days there should be some fish on the other beaches. Maybe some of those fish will be keepers. The bar has a few arrivals; Hog is brutal slow; and the farther back bay is just really, really hard. Good luck!