The halibut didn't bite for these guys but the jacksmelt and stripers did. Shane and Michael Nichols caught these stripers on live smelt at the north end of the bay. Stripers were caught from Pelican Point to the mouth of the bay this weekend, but both of these were caught within sight of our launch area. Nice work gents.

Mitch Hamilton sent over this report from Saturday: "Pretty good day with two grandsons, Lucas, the youngest , landed a 32” fish. My fish was 27”. Found tons of 6” jack smelt towards Marshall.Fish were caught around hog island just as low tide was winding down." Sounds good to me. Low tide at Hog seems to be the sweet spot now for water temperature and active fish. Good job putting the grands on fish, and good on you for also showing them how it's done.

 

     With salmon over, one would expect the halibut to step up. They had two days off, after all. But the halibut seem to have different priorities. There have been a few caught near Hog but nobody is complaining of the fish biting too aggressively. Gage and I are back to not liking shiner perch again as the halibut decided they didn't like them yesterday. Big baits were key for us and they worked well, the only problem being that we couldn't hardly catch any big bait. We caught two halibut and two stripers by Hog on a large sardine, a large jacksmelt and two 6-8" walleye perch. We missed two other bites on a jacksmelt and a walleye. I had been told long ago that halibut won't bite walleyes. Thankfully, the fellow that told me that didn't tell these halibut. If you catch a mix of bait, use a mix of bait, as who knows what they like today? The strange things may not work but they sure make catching bait more interesting. And, they may actually work. 

    There's lots of Dungeness being caught in the bay, unfortunately they are mostly a hair too small. Maybe they'll be keepers this fall, but for now they're heartbreakers. There are a few keepers in the mix. There seems to be more crab nearer the mouth of the bay. 

       I don't want to brag, but it has been literally years since I got skunked while salmon fishing. That ended today. In my three and a half hours of trolling off of Bodega Head I released a shorty and a silver and lost a small but probably barely legal salmon before I could decide to net him. I was not the only skunked boat, but overall the fishing and catching was better today than yesterday.

     I have to say that I enjoy getting texted photos of fish being caught while I am not catching. I have to say it because I want pictures, but in fact I tried not to look at my phone at a certain point. Mason Lessard sent the first hurtful photo: "Owen put this 25lb into the box 

Straight bait 150 OTW 288' off bodega head...

No other bites so far for us"  My understanding was that no other keepers followed this one, but one keeper is the difference between success and failure, so good on you, Owen. Very nice fish.

     Bob Brodsky caught the top 17 pound salmon yesterday. Good thing he got to catch one Saturday because today Natalia went with Bob and Tom and she caught all the fish. Bob got to net, at least. They were off of Bodega Head both days.

     Branden Mendoza sent in this report: "Hey Willy. We trolled both days out with the fleet. Nothing yesterday. But today we got lucky. Fishing 150ft down with 2lb balls straight bait resulted in 2 fish for us. Happy that we had some success in our short season. As always thanks for the reports." Thanks for your reports, sir. Straight bait did seem to be the ticket for a lot of fish this weekend. I guess we all have to keep that in mind for September.

    Gage sent me this picture at about noon today: "Robert and Nate Baker with this nice striper from the surf. Live jacksmelt" Surf stripers are the best stripers. Nice job. Makes you want to catch another, doesn't it?

       So another fish it was. Nate Baker reports, "Hey Willy, 

Gage got a pic of a striper Robert landed this morning off the point. He nailed this one this afternoon at the tide change in the same spot. 

stay fishy, 

Nate " I'm pretty sure that I'm not as fishy as Robert. Really nice work there, Robert. Two in a day from the surf is pretty special.

     Not from here, but nearby, Kelly Roy reports: "Willy

6 limits by 10:30. Some smalls and some nice high teens with a high 22 pounder.

Came in flurries of triples doubles and a few singles.

HMB great day great ocean" It sounds like it was a little slower down south today and little better up here, but south was still the place to be. There are a lot of salmon out there and we'll get another shot at them in September when they will count against next year's salmon count. Yeah, I don't get it either, but if I get to fish I guess it doesn't really matter.

      It is salmon season, so let's roll out the salmon pictures!

   This week Lou Zanardi discovered that his boat steering didn't work. Luckily, Fred Fritz in Petaluma had a bleeder tool he let Lou borrow to get the air out of his helm. It worked, and he caught today off of the Head. Not a lot, but not zero, either.

    The Coastodian found a keeper off of the Head today as well. There weren't a lot of bites to be had in our area so every one (and for most there was only one) was critical. This 15 pounder stuck. Others had fish that didn't stick. They will be thinking about those fish until the next salmon opportunity.

       Kaare Johnson was fishing with Chris Lawson and they caught two salmon about ten miles apart. This one weighed 27 pounds and was caught near Point Reyes. The other was half its size but was also half the distance from here. Most of the fish were being caught on bait without flashers or dodgers, but these two fish bit a hootchy and a spoon. I only heard of three other salmon out of the Landing today although I didn't talk to a lot of boats so I'm sure I missed some. Not many, though. As expected, the best bite was well south of here. Many boats fishing from Morro Bay to the Farallones got limits of salmon today. You can assume that tomorrow is the last day for salmon until September. 

      Mike Mack and crew gave up on the slow salmon and caught the turn of the tide by Hog Island this afternoon for five halibut, three of which weighed 23, 21 and 21 pounds. Who needs those salmon, anyway? Most of the other boats fishing in the same area did not have these gentlemen's luck. I heard of one other halibut caught and that was Gage's fish. Gage finished with a salmon and a halibut for the day. There were a couple of stripers caught from the beach this morning, so there's something else to look forward to in the salmon postseason.

       Gage and I went out in the south wind today to do a little scouting. We saw no bait in close from Tomales Point down to the top of McClure's. Then we ran out to 15 and 5 and saw only travelling birds along the way, no feeding. We did find a pod of humpbacks possibly feeding at 15 and 4 but we saw no biat there except for the faintest of lines of krill at 150' down. Then, as I had neglected to wear raingear and the spray was pretty cold and constant from the chop, we went back into the bay. 2.5 hours of trolling by Inverness later we had released three very short halibut. We had skipped past Hog as the water temp there closer to the high tide was only 53º when we passed by. By noon the outgoing tide had the water up to 59º. Also up was the south wind which had increased in strength there from earlier. We weren't able to find any schools of bait at Pelican Point but we did catch a bunch of shiners. Shiners aren't really our favorite bait, but we gave them a try. 

    Ninety minutes later we were done with fish from 10 to 17 pounds. We had to release one at the end as we had three fish in the box and then doubled. We missed another six or eight bites. We had to stop halibut fishing and catch more perch to finish. We may not be shiner perch fans but the halibut were today. It seems like the halibut may be coming in.

    Gage was grabbing a beer at the Boathouse around 5:00 PM when Jeff Tucker of Petaluma walked up from the beach with this 21 pound halibut. He caught it from the beach, this side of Sand Point (not the surf side), on a fluke drop shot rig. He also needs a larger ice chest if he's going to catch fish like this. Very nice job and fish, Mr. Tucker. It really seems like the halibut may be coming in.

 

   I received this report from the Coastodian yesterday: "Any idea where the whales, birds or bait fish are ?

I was unable to make bait this morning near Hog. Others found plenty near the grass beds, I found tangles and lost gear as well as drifting far from where I wanted to be as I addressed the aforementioned.

Got three bites on frozen herring, converted two of them.

I heard of two other fish landed and one skunk.

Mildly sloppy for a kayak, but manageable." So, there's a few fish at Hog Island. I guess there had to be a few somewhere, and Hog is as good as anywhere. There are some scattered sardines and anchovies in the bay but they are harder to find than the halibut. Jacksmelt can still be had, but as mentioned in this report, they can be a bit hard to find, too. But, maybe you don't need live bait. Even better. I haven't heard any other reports of halibut, but this report is pretty good. 

    But who's thinking about halibut now? Salmon season is coming! And if you blink, you'll miss it! The Coastodian is not the only person asking about whales, birds and bait fish. So, here's what I heard: Commercial boats have seen quite a few whales and birds working baitfish out in 50 to 70 fathoms (that's 300 to 420 feet of water to us sporties). There's also some birds and whales off of Bodega Head in 40ish fathoms (240 feet). If you're a guy that likes to find the place with a bunch of other boats because instead of birds and whales, boats are your indicator species, well, Bodega Head should be your target. Whether there's any salmon there or not, there will be a lot of boats there. Put out your fenders and watch out for the MPA. In the last three years there will have only been two days to write tickets to salmon guys trolling through the Bodega Head MPA and those two days are this weekend. There will be wardens in boats. Good luck. 

   And don't forget to check your flares and get your Boater's Card.

 

   In today's episode of The Old Man and the Sea, Tim Woerner caught the first bragging board fish of the season. Everybody that had their name on there last year, so sorry, but you got erased. Tim's halibut weighed 26 pounds and bit a trolled 6" tray anchovy in 90 feet of water in front of Bird Rock. Why would you fish for halibut there in 49º water? You wouldn't, nor was Tim. He was trying for some fresh rockfish for dinner but had to settle for flatfish instead. The south wind was chugging pretty good, so even though Tim would have rather has rockfish on his plate, this fish let him go home, which by that point was really all he wanted. Note the spots on the fish. It barely hit the deck and Tim was on his way home. 

    I received this bit of clever marketing from Bigfoot Bait Co.,  maker of Bigfoot jigs. The text had little information other than this happened this morning, but I bet it bit a Bigfoot jig and it looks like Hog Island to the right of the halibut. The south wind came up an hour or two later and dropped again by the afternoon, a theme we will likely see repeat a bit this week. Nice fish, Jonathon. I'm going to have to get out and try putting one of those jigs in front of a halibut myself. It looks like fun.

      As of Friday night Windy.com is calling for good weather for the salmon opener. They also called for horrible weather a day or two ago. If the good weather actually happens it will likely also be the salmon closer, at least until September's season. The best bet for catching is the Half Moon Bay to Monterey area, as they usually have quite a few fish this time of year. Tomales and Bodega Bays have generally poor salmon action in early June but have also had a few banner years with lots of fish in the early season. With as much wind and upwelling as we've had, I'd guess that this isn't going to be one of those good years. But, the forecast also shows nice weather for most of the week before the weekend, so there may actually be a chance for schools of bait and krill to form up and salmon to find them. Back in April there were anchovies out in 240 to 300 feet of water due west from here, but as you may know, things can change a lot in a day and in two months they have likely changed many, many times. There's always a possibility of fish in close in the shallows but the chances of us being that lucky are really, really slim. 

    CDFW wardens have been busy here this week. Low tides have the wardens writing lots of tickets for people without licenses, people digging other people's clams, having your clams all in the same bucket (they need to be in separate containers, FYI) and no Boater Safety Card. Yes, if you haven't got your Boater's Card yet you probably ought to before the salmon opener as there may be a few wardens out checking then. Like, all of them. Also, check your flares as I'd bet the USCG may be patrolling as well.

   Gage and I tried Inverness for halibut yesterday. We ended up trolling from there to Marshall and back for two shorts and a windburn. We probably should have tried around Hog as it seems there have been slightly more fish caught there than anywhere else in the bay lately. Maybe we shall see a few from there this weekend if the currents don't make it unfishable.

       Last Sunday Mike Mack and Spinner caught three halibut to 14 pounds. They were at Hog Island and caught the fish on live jacksmelt at the turn of the low tide. I was going to announce that the halibut had finally arrived but I waited to see if it was actually true. Sadly, it would appear that Mike and Spinner happened to bump into only a small school of halibut entering the bay, not the tsunami of fish we're all waiting for. The Wet Dream boys were also here for the holiday weekend and picked up solo halibut on Saturday and Monday, making them the halibut leaders for those days as no other halibut were caught that I heard of. Their fish came from further in the bay than Hog by a mile or two. Five fish caught over three days does not indicate a bay full of halibut. But, there's a chance. I should also mention that there were a few anchovies caught on Sunday morning by the yellow buoy, and a white sea bass and green lingcod caught there on Monday. 

     The Coastodian picked up another halibut today and missed a second bite. Live bait, not at Hog but not all the way back, either. I assume somewhere kinda Marshall-y. 

     Crabbing has been surprisingly decent from shore with most people catching a few crab and a few folks catching more. Boaters did okay but a few shore snarers actually did better than a few of the boaters. Go figure. This week has some very high and low tides so the extreme currents will likely drop the crab catch. Next week will be milder tides.

     It's been so windy that you'd almost think that salmon season was open. Last week's string of gale warning forecasts (which was interrupted once by a storm warning) got it pretty right, as it sucked here. As I write this the Point Reyes waverider buoy just showed the water temp dropping below 49º. That's some serious upwelling. The water inside the bay has stayed warm at least. It's about 60º at Hog Island at low tide (53º  at high tide) so you'd think there's be a halibut or two around there. And there may be, but last week Gage and I tried for three hours without a bite. Lots of jacksmelt but no sardines for us, either. After that failed mission we tucked our tails between our legs and ran for Inverness this morning. We caught three keepers in three hours before we got blown off the water. There were also five shorts and four missed bites. We stayed in 11 to 13 feet of water. It ain't good yet. San Francisco Bay has been a slow starter this year as well. Maybe everybody fishing for halibut was a bit too much pressure. 

    Crabbing is getting slightly better, partly because it couldn't really get a whole lot worse. With only a little over a month left of Dungeness season there should be an increase in Dungies, if only to mess with the people crabbing for reds during the summer. There's nothing like having to throw back the largest catch of the day. But that's not yet, so there's hope. Shore snarers are catching some too, just not as many as the guys sneaking out in boats in the mornings before the wind really hits.

fishies

   So the halibut fishing ain't awesome, but there's a few. The Coastodian sent me these photos this morning, first the striper, then the halibut. The halibut photo arrived just after 9:00 AM. No further photos were submitted. I got distracted by life and work and didn't follow up for details, but I believe that our Coastodian has been a pretty solid live bait guy, and as halibut like eating wiggly fishies he's not wrong to pursue that agenda. Clearly not wrong as he has caught fish. Number one rule of fishing: If it is working, it ain't wrong. Good on you, Richard. They ain't particularly easy this year, yet, but hopefully their (or our) time will come.

      In other news, Gage and his girlfriend tried the hot surfperch action today. Their result? Awesome if you're a vegan. Fifty pounds of seaweed and only one perch bite that stuck. Not awesome. As usual, the conditions have changed. But if things continue to be usual that means that they will change. As Heraclitus said, "Change is the only constant".  Never argue with the ancient Greeks. Probably don't argue with the modern ones. The fishing may get better or worse. The seaweed may bet better or worse. But it will change.

 

     Two posts in two days? The end is nigh! Maybe, but more importantly, the schools of bait at the yellow buoy have been positively identified as sardines and herring with some schools of shiner perch at the bottom. The guys doing the identifying caught quite a few baits but had no game fish bite. This was at the turn of the high tide and the water was 52º, so the low tide may have different results as the water temp should be a bit more balmy. Actual results may vary. The bait is here. The fish just need to find it. 

      A second report from this weekend is that a camper here caught 50ish surfperch over two days near the sand point. He only kept a couple of the larger models, but he had pretty steady action. The perch were red-tail and barred. I haven't heard of  any stripers. I guess they must all be in San Francisco Bay and in the rivers eating salmon smolts. Well, somebody should be eating some salmon, I guess. I wish it was me, though. 

     Finally. Halibut. Not just here, but in San Francisco as well. I appreciate the fact that there's no lag time this year, as usually there's a four to six week period between when they bite in SF and when they finally bite here. This year they coordinated better and started a few days back. It ain't smoking hot either place, but you can catch a fish in both places, I hear. Gage and I caught a ride with tcguideservice.com on Tanner's 25 foot Parker on Thursday. We went back to Inverness and hooked fourteen fish, five of which were legal sized and four of which were actually landed in the boat. Gage and I need to practice our netting, apparently. Gaffing is good, though. Trolled straight herring was the ticket, mostly. Three fish bit stuff behind flashers/dodgers and one bit a Predator minnow but three of the keepers were on blue label Harbor Herring all by their lonesome. That is equivalent to everybody else's green label, size-wise, but our blue Harbor is in the best shape, so troll it we do. No belly disintegration. Good bait. And yes, it is game on all over. Best bite in Tomales has been way, way back by Inverness/Marconi on live and dead baits. The warm water extends all the way to Hog at low tide but the murky water we were catching in was lurking around Inverness only. I must say, I do better when the water is really colored up, as dirty water hides all my imperfections, of which there are many. Yes, I love that dirty water. 

    But beyond that Standells reference, other people have been catching too. The best bite has remained in the wayback (Thank you Mr. Peabody et. al. for the reference), but that's where people are fishing, so... Can't catch where you're not fishing. At the low tide, good temperature water extended past Hog to the north. Schools of bait were in the hole just south of Pelican. Not a few, but a lot of bait. Things are starting to happen. And thankfully, not just here. Soon we'll have photos. It'll happen! Probably before the end of this month but definitely before the end of June. The fish are starting to enter the bay, following the bait. 

   Crabbing has picked up, slightly, as the now sexually satisfied Dungeness are starting to slide back in closer to the shore. Good for them. Finish your post-coital cigarette and then climb in my hoop. Or snare. The shore snarers have been doing pretty well lately, judging by bucket and afternoon rod/snare sales. Most of those sales are predicated on somebody catching a crab and needing a bucket or seeing the crab caught and wanting to copy the success. 

   Crab traps are now closed until Dungeness closes here (July 1st).  Hoops and snares are still okay. Catching Dungeness is still hard, especially inside the bay this week as the low tides make for high currents, and high currents are bad for crabbing but good for losing crab gear. One guy I spoke with had only one keeper on Monday but landed six on Tuesday, all by Marker Five. Not quite awesome.

    Gage and I spent a few hours this morning trying for halibut on the north end of the bay. Result? Beans for dinner. We did get out of the bay and try for rockfish around the time the south wind kicked up, and we returned about an hour before the wind died. We caught two gopher rockfish to go with our beans. Good thing we had some beans. I haven't heard of any other halibut caught inside the bay although there were probably a few caught by some quiet fishermen, but not many. San Francisco Bay has been pretty slow for halibut so far, and we generally follow behind them, so maybe in a few more weeks? Fingers crossed. I guess I can get another coat of wax on the boat while I wait.

   

    The less-than-heinous weather (ocean fishing-wise) the last few days had at least one boat from here hit Rittenburg on Friday for limits of schoolies (mostly yellowtail) but no lingcod. The lings have been hit pretty hard there the last couple of years and require a bit of searching if you don't already have the waypoint in your GPS. I don't have that one. Before the deep water closure in 2000ish it didn't matter where you dropped a line on Ritternburg, you just caught lings and no rockfish. If you did hook a rockfish it was immediately ripped off the line by a lingcod. Those were the days. Although, now I prefer catching schoolies as they're easier to clean and tastier than the big lings. Big ones for bragging and schoolies for eating, says I, and it turns out as I get older that I prefer eating. So if you want the lings you need to work for them there. Harvest Time had a good time with lings at the Football but I have only caught a few smallish ones there. I'm guessing location, location, location again. I've only fished the very south end and done well on reds there in 620 feet of water so I'll bet Mr. Time was somewhere else on the reef, as there are acres and acres. No matter in the short term, as deep water ends Wednesday night and nearshore (less than 20 fathoms(120 feet) or at least shoreward of the line of waypoints signifying that depth constraint) opens on May 1st. The shallows have been difficult as they take a beating. Good luck.

     Branden Mendoza sent over the best halibut report from Tomales Bay that I heard from this week: "

Hey Willy. Thought I'd check in. We trolled today from about 730am till 1130am. Saw lots of bait and birds between red barn and Marshal. We trolled hootchie skirts and herring. We only managed one shorty but it was a nice day out on the water and glad to know they are starting to bite, even if it is slowly. Thanks for the reports. "      A shorty is good, as bites of any kind have been in short supply. There has been a bit of bird activity on the north end of the bay, very sporadic, but it seems that there is some bait coming in, and hopefully with it some things that eat bait. Good effort, Branden. The next month should start some things up. 

     Crabbing has been the same, slow. I'm sure that it will get better after traps close at 6:00 PM on Thursday. The commercial guys have been catching almost nothing so I'm sure that when they get off the water our portion of almost nothing will get that that much better. Never mind the snark, though, but the clutch is ending and there will be more crab marching in from the deep, so catching will improve as we approach the end of the season. It will never be good this season but it will get less bad,

  

    The Coastodian sent over this picture from Inverness today. The halibut he had hoped to be in this picture declined to bite the offered hooks. It is still early. The surface has warmed and there's bait entering the bay (according to the pelicans diving and big flocks of terns arriving) so as the water warms down and the bait situation heats up, fish will start biting appropriately. Just, not yet. Soon, though. The variables are lining up, as well as the calendar days passing. Mother's Day and after is probably the target for good fishing. 

     Crabbing with traps will end at 6:00 PM on May 1st here. So will commercial crabbing with traps. Traps will reopen on July 1st when Dungeness closes. Next Dungeness season will have different rules for traps and hoops but I haven't seen a final plan yet and I heard a rumor that there may be a lawsuit that could delay things. Just know this universal rule: Get 'em while you can. Probably don't wait for next season if you are thinking of going crabbing. The clutch is ending and bright shiny (kinda hollow...) crab are re-emerging from where ever they hide. Crabbing should get better until the season ends. Get 'em while you can.  Here's the press release from CDFW:

"Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishing Opportunity Continues in Northern Management Area, will Close in Central Management Area to Protect Whales from Entanglement

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and announced changes to both commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries in the Central Management Area. These changes, which will go into effect at 6 p.m. on May 1, 2025, are intended to minimize entanglement risk as humpback whales return to forage off the coast of California.

The commercial fishery will close in Fishing Zone 3 (Sonoma/Mendocino County line, 38°46.125' N Latitude, to Pigeon Point, 37°11' N Latitude), at which time the commercial take and possession of Dungeness crab from those waters is prohibited. The commercial fishery will remain open in Fishing Zones 1 and 2 (California/Oregon border to the Sonoma/Mendocino County line 38°46.125' N Latitude) under existing trap reductions and depth constraints. Fishing Zones 4-6 (Pigeon Point to the U.S./Mexico border) were closed for the commercial season on April 15, 2025. 

A recreational crab trap restriction will be extended to include Fishing Zone 3. A crab trap restriction was implemented in Fishing Zone 4 (Pigeon Point to Lopez Point, 36°00' N Latitude, Monterey County) on April 15, 2025. CDFW reminds recreational crabbers that take of Dungeness crab by other methods (including hoop nets and crab snares) is allowed through the close of the season. 

All open Fishing Zones remain under a Fleet Advisory for both the commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries. CDFW also reminds all fishery participants to implement best practices, as described in the Best Practices Guide.  

Commercial Dungeness crab vessels are authorized to retrieve an unlimited number of commercial Dungeness crab traps which are lost, damaged, abandoned or otherwise derelict in Fishing Zone 3 starting at 6 a.m. on May 8, 2025. In Fishing Zones 4-6, permitted Dungeness crab vessels were authorized to retrieve an unlimited number of lost, damaged, abandoned, or otherwise derelict traps on April 22, 2025. CDFW requests that individuals regularly report retrieved gear to WhaleSafeFisheries@wildlife.ca.gov. Any vessel operating or transiting in an open Fishing Zone may not possess more than six traps belonging to another vessel, pursuant to Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Section 132.2(a)(2)(A). In addition, CDFW has authorized the Lost and Abandoned Gear Retrieval Program to begin removing commercial Dungeness crab traps left in the water beginning May 8, 2025, at 6 a.m. in Fishing Zone 3. In Fishing Zones 4-6, retrieval operations began on April 22, 2025.

CDFW anticipates the next risk assessment will take place in early May 2025. For more information related to the risk assessment process or trap gear retrieval, please visit CDFW’s Whale Safe Fisheries page. For more information on the Dungeness crab fishery, please visit wildlife.ca.gov/crab. "

 

   This barely legal halibut (all of 22.5 inches) would lead one to believe that it is halibut time on Tomales Bay. I guess that it is, but it's got a long way to go until it's good halibut fishing. Gage and I trolled eight lines for three hours for two halibut, one of them a keeper. That's 24 hook/hours per fish. The water is warming and there's the start of some bait schools in Marshall and Inverness but it's not quite go time. Two weeks. Maybe three. By that time shallow water rockfish will be open as well. It's all coming. The things are going strong back in Inverness are leopard sharks and bat rays. We saw several of both while tacking around and watched the lines bounce off of several fish. It looked like we were bumping into jellyfish but there were no jellies. Two baby bat rays ended up getting snagged as we trolled. They were tiny and precious and really, really wanted to poke multiple holes in Gage. To be fair, I've had my moments too. No holes were poked and the bambinos were released intact. Another boat from here has caught quite a few sharks and rays back there this week in 4 to 8 feet of water. They're there if you want them.

    Crabbing has been not good, still, but it seems that it is starting to slightly pick up. Shore snarers are getting a few keeper Dungeness here and there. The guys I know working traps in the outer bay have been catching limits on long soaks but none of their crab have been large or pretty. But, hey, sport-legal mudders are better than no crab at all.

     So, there's a salmon season this year. Not much of one, but a season. Two days can be whole season, and it may be this year. CDFW actually explains it pretty well, so here's their press release about it: "On April 15, 2025, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) acted to recommend limited fishing opportunities for California’s recreational ocean salmon fisheries through the end of 2025. This decision will allow for the first recreational salmon fishing in California since 2022. The PFMC also recommended a repeat year of closure for California’s commercial salmon fisheries, the third year in a row.

Salmon stocks in California continue to be impacted from ongoing issues associated with multi-year drought and climate disruption, including poor in-river spawning and migration conditions, severe wildfires, harmful algal blooms, ocean forage shifts, impacts to habitat and thiamine deficiency. The low ocean abundance forecasts and low 2024 returns led the PFMC to recommend very limited fishing for California’s recreational ocean salmon fisheries and continued closure for commercial fishing to help salmon populations rebound from these difficulties.

“After years of full closure for salmon fishing, the opportunity for limited recreational salmon fishing brings hope. We know, however, that this news brings little relief for California’s commercial salmon fisheries,” said CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham. “Salmon populations are still recovering from severe drought and other climate challenges and have not yet benefitted from our consecutive years of wet winters and other actions taken to boost populations. I’m deeply appreciative for the partnership of the fishing community in rebuilding these impacted populations and in fighting together for the future of salmon in California.”

“A third year without fishing is a serious blow to California’s commercial salmon fleet,” said George Bradshaw, President of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Association. “We were optimistic about a return to salmon fishing for California’s fleet, but the reality is, the low abundance and return estimates will not provide the economic impact we need. The risk of fishing this depleted population is simply not worth the reward.”

It is anticipated that the National Marine Fisheries Service will take regulatory action to enact the fishing alternative, effective in mid-May. In addition, the California Fish and Game Commission will discuss inland salmon fisheries at its April 16-17 meeting in Sacramento and is expected to take final action at its May 14 teleconference meeting.

The 2025 recreational ocean salmon season dates for the California coast are as follows:

For ocean waters between the Oregon/California state line and the U.S/Mexico border, the season will open June 7-8, with a 7,000 Chinook summer harvest guideline. If the limit is not attained in those two days, the fishery will open again July 5-6. Additional dates are available in late July and August for use until the summer harvest guideline is attained.

For ocean waters between Point Reyes and Point Sur (portions of the San Francisco and Monterey subareas), the fall fishing season will open September 4-7, with a 7,500 Chinook fall harvest guideline. If this guideline is not attained, the fishery will reopen September 29-30. Additional days are available in October between Point Reyes to Pigeon Point if any of the fall harvest guideline remains.

The short windows of open fishing followed by a period of closure are designed to allow for careful tracking and estimation of catch by CDFW to ensure the fishery does not exceed the harvest guidelines.

The minimum size limit is 20 inches total length. The daily bag limit is two Chinook salmon per day. No more than two daily bag limits may be possessed when on land. On a vessel in ocean waters, no person shall possess or bring ashore more than one daily bag limit. Retention of coho (silver) salmon is prohibited in all ocean fisheries off California.

“California's recreational anglers welcome the opportunity to get back on the water,” said PFMC member Marc Gorelnik. “The number of open days is exceedingly limited in order to achieve negligible impacts on Klamath River Chinook salmon.”

Salmon are significantly important to California. They provide important commercial, recreational, economic, intrinsic and cultural benefits to fishing communities, California Native American tribes, and the state. California is taking significant and meaningful steps to rebuild salmon stocks across California. In March 2025, CDFW released the California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future: Progress Report, an update to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future released in January 2024. In the Progress Report, CDFW announced that of the 71 action items outlined in the Salmon Strategy, nearly 70 percent are already underway, with another 26 percent of action items already completed. These actions provide tangible benefits for California’s salmon populations and habitats now and into the future.

More information is available on the PFMC website.

Anglers are advised to check for updated information when planning a salmon fishing trip. Season dates, bag/possession limit information and gear restrictions can be found on CDFW’s Ocean Salmon web page or by calling the CDFW Ocean Salmon Regulations Hotline at (707) 576-3429. Public notification of any in-season change to conform state regulations to federal regulations is made through the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) ocean salmon hotline at (800) 662-9825."

    So there will be salmon season from June 7 to 8 for sure. But if 3500 or more salmon are caught during those two days, well, that's it until September. There's a 7000 fish limit for the season before September and if we hit it or approach it the season will conclude. Half the fish or better in the first two days will nip the rest of the season in the bud. If the weather sucks, and this is early June, so it might suck hard, then catch numbers may be low although death counts of fishermen may be high. Time will tell. But bad weather and bad fishing in June could buy us two days in July, the 5 and 6. It feel that it is unlikely that the season progresses beyond these dates. The wording in the press release seems like CDFW agrees. There could be bad weather for both two day seasons and then the season at the end of July would be in play, but I wouldn't hold your breath. The first two openings got trimmed from four days to two because people were worried that too many fish would get caught. They didn't trim the July 31 start because nobody thinks it will come into play. Probably less than 3500 salmon need to caught in the first four days to make the late season open. I think the party boats alone should accomplish this, easily (maybe not easily; if it is rough there may be a lot of vomiting, but fish, so accomplish yes, easily, no). So if you gotta go, go to the Monterey Bay area or Half Moon for the early one. If the July season comes, they'll be here, too, but right now our water is cold and devoid of life and the southern waters are awash with anchovies and things that eat them. The launch ramps will be abysmal. Good luck! There will be stories, and some will be good.

     Crabbing is still pretty very slow now. The crab should be exiting the molt and clutch and as soon as their shells firm up enough we should see some of them in our traps. The few that have been getting caught are the dark, barnacled ones that aren't healthy enough to molt. A healthy crab molts and sheds his shell before barnacles have a chance to grow. But the way crabbing is right now, if you catch a Barnacle Bill of the legal variety you should boil him. Keepers are better than vague promises.

    No halibut yet that I heard of from Tomales but a boat yesterday found murky, 64º water back by the Inverness Yacht Club. That sounds like game on to me. Gage and I will give it a look on Thursday, as offshore looks bad. Report to follow.

 

      Gage went out to the beach today and after his first cast he sent this picture and comment to me: "Hand pictures are so back." First cast, nice fish. And then an hour and a half of no bites went by. Such is fishing. Wide open to closed tight in 60 seconds. You gotta love it. The ospreys were slaying them all day, but ospreys aren't tied to the beach like we are. Gage caught this right at high tide, when (theoretically) the fish are concentrated against the waterline as the rising tide pushes the sand crabs up the beach and the slow ones get eaten.  From his photo, it looks like Gage was closer to Sand Point than mid-beach, in case you are looking to catch a fish. There may be more farther north, but I have had no reports, so...? 

    Crabbing, as usual, is bad, but there's always a few around, just not as many as anyone crabbing would like. There's been a few caught from shore by snarers and a few more from boats but there's nobody bragging. Actually, it's kind of nice. But the crab should be coming in by the middle of next month, sometime after traps are shut down. Maybe we'll get some bragging in here then.

    It's been a while, but I think that the things these guys have are fish. The weather has decided to give us a break and Harvest Time jumped on it today. In his words, "We plowed out for ling limits and 2/3 rockfish limits before getting blown off, took a beating but overall a great kick off. " Very nice. Excellent lings and I'm super jealous of your chilipeppers. Those are the best but you usually can't find them in less than 400 feet of water. That depth and 30+ miles of lumpy water makes 'em taste even better if you can stay awake long enough. The weather looks good for offshore fishing for a good part of this week, at least until the forecast changes again. Perhaps more of these so-called fish things may be pictured here soon.

      The wind has blown in some sand and structure (bars, basically) on the oceanfront beach and the surfperch are starting to show. I heard of at least a few caught from Sand Point all the way up to the rocks. The best bars close to shore look to be on the northern part of the beach but a good surf fisherman should always be prepared to do a bit of walking.

       Crabbing was the usual today, mostly bad. There were a few caught from shore, mostly reds but a couple of Dungeness as well. Dungeness should start to slowly improve as the clutch and molting finishes up. It probably won't be good, as there just aren't that many keeper-sized crab out there, but the little ones are growing and fortunes will change. 

      

 

      Rejoice! The CDFW has spoken and traps are still legal here! For a little bit. Figure that by May it is rings again, but until then, traps are in! For more info, here's the announcement from CDFW:

"Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program Update - Apr. 3, 2025

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and announced the continuation of the 25% Gear Reduction in Fishing Zones 1-2 and implementation of a 30-fathom Depth Constraint. The Director also announced the continuation of the 50% Gear Reduction and the implementation of a 30-fathom Depth Constraint in Fishing Zone 3 and a Season Closure for the commercial fishery in Fishing Zones 4-6. The 30-fathom Depth Constraint and Season Closure will be effective April 15, 2025, at 6:00 p.m.

A crab trap restriction for the recreational fishery in Fishing Zone 4 was also announced, effective April 15, 2025, at 6:00 pm. A Fleet Advisory will be maintained for all Fishing Zones for both the commercial and recreational fisheries."

The next scheduled risk assessment is expected to occur on or around April 21, 2025. The full news release can be found at the CDFW News Room and for more information, please visit CDFW’s Whale Safe Fisheries webpage.

    So nothing changes here for us sporties. The commercials need to move their gear inside of the 180 foot line if they don't already have their gear there. They still only get to use half of their "permitted" gear. In Monterey (Area 4) they must quit traps and commercial fishing by April 15. So, if you crab around here with traps, rejoice! Next year's rules will be different and choices about seasons and gear will change, so don't get used to the current mess of rules as the rules will change by next Dungeness season. What are those rules? They haven't decided yet, so when they do I'll pass on the info.

   Good news? Only that a very confused Greater Tern flew around here for a bit today. I had been thinking this, and then it was mentioned in a thread on Coastside, so it must be true, but when the terns really show up there's anchovies or other small bait about for them to eat. Good for them, good for halibut, good for us. Here's to hoping that misguided fool of a bird was right. 

  Poor optimists. 

   

      Much like March 1st, the Northwest wind is blowing like mad today. Happy spring, everybody! And it's not just the wind that is making it spring; the pelicans are back. Or they were for a bit this afternoon, but the sight of pelicans diving on bait in the middle of the bay for a half an hour was enough to lift me out of my fishing funk. For a little bit, at least. Just seeing somebody catch fish elevates the spirit, even if the guy you're watching is way better than you'll ever be. At least it is the confirmation of possibility, and in the pelican's case, they don't live here when there's nothing to eat. Let's hope they stick around, because that should mean there's baitfish, and baitfish mean there's other things that eat baitfish. Like Alec Bennett, but also halibut and salmon that we probably won't be able to keep. They're coming. Soon. Not soon enough, but soon. 

    Crab reports have been sad. My cousin the commercial crabber had a 650 pound pull after better than a week's soak. That's a little better than a crab per pot per week. No bueno. He has a pretty good idea idea on where to put his traps, too. Better than me, for sure, but I don't make my living on the water, just my reason to live. Inside the bay the numbers have been similarly poor. A few are being caught by boaters and snarers but the reds are mostly what you see in the buckets. A very few are getting some decent numbers, but it's mostly grim. The clutch and molt should be ending soon and the crab should start showing up again. A sure way to tell that the crab are coming is the word from on high that traps around Monterey and commercial trap fishing to Point Arena will be ending probably around April 15, not because whales are present in Area 3 (us) but because they should be present by then. Should be is good science, right? Hey, I should be a millionaire. Some guys I went to school with are. Same science. Whatever. Summary: Crabbing sucks, it will get better but soon you'll have to use rings again. Not yet, but figure May.

   Deep rockfish are open this month. The weather doesn't look to good for the next few days but who knows? It could happen before the month's out. Maybe. 

     So the report: Slow. One of the locals has a few pots in the Outer Bay and has been averaging around five Dungeness per day of soaking. His last pull was thirteen crab for two days soaking, so maybe better?  It's probably fresh bait pulling more crab early in the soak, but one can dream. Maybe they're coming in! (Spoiler: They aren't, yet. Soonish they will, but the clutch is likely in session, and soon traps will likely be closed as the whales return with April showers.) Shore snarers are getting a few but far from limits. It is the seasonal slow time, but it should get better as we approach the end of the season in June. 

    The last I checked, these were the final options the PFMC came up with for salmon season this year. Only one is no season! The other two options have very limited seasons with short four day windows and a maximum number of fish allowed to be caught. The photo above shows the actual numbers and they're slightly different, but the important thing to know is that, if one of these two fishing options is approved there's a good chance that all the fish will be caught during the first window. 6500-7000 fish for the whole state in four days seems totally doable when there's a pent up desire to catch some of these fish that we've been having to let go. If the weather is good there will be hundreds of boats hitting the water at Santa Cruz, Moss Landing and Monterey and they will catch them all, as the fish usually haven't made it up here yet. But, early June usually sucks, so we have a chance at a second opening. I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, though, a s I hear the chance for any season is 50:50 and secondly, there has never been a year in which sport guys fished and commercials sat it out, and the commercial offering is, well, crap. Ten fish per boat per week? I don't think any commercial could afford to do that, and if they did they'd need to high grade like heck just to break even. I don't think the commercials will go for it, and if they don't go fishing there's a good chance we won't go fishing. So, halibut and rockfish take it for the team again. Good luck, boys.

   On the rockfish subject, it appears that the PFMC has approved a plan to open up the deep water around Cordell Bank. It will become official when it becomes official, and that day might be a while. Someday we can fish around Cordell, and as someone that has fished at Cordell before (I'm old enough that it was legal....) it is awesome. Or was, at least, and after making a pass over it while trolling for bluefin last year my fishfinder says it looks super good now. Let's hope that we get to find out this year. 

    On the deep water rockfishing subject of "can I make it out there in my boat?", well, if you're not sure, then no. And if you've never been out there but you're totally sure, then no. Go with someone who has been before. Charter a trip on a six-pack or make a run with Rick on the New Sea Angler and see what it takes. The six-pack option would be closer to your situation, so probably that. Make sure of your forecast before you go and be prepared to bail and run home with nothing if the forecast goes south. The worst weather I was ever in was on the second day of a three day run of "winds light and variable to 5 knots" when the wind came up to 30 and 1 foot seas were breaking 15 to 20 feet high 25 miles out and I was in a 16 foot Whaler. The forecasts are usually right, but if things satrt looking questionable don't be an ass like me and stay. Run Home. I wish I had. I'd sleep a lot better with less nightmares. I saw the 20.5 foot boat in front of me broach twice in white water on the way in. I thought I was going to be picking bodies out of the water. Tom Gerbi and Bob King were making a small patch of calm water in their wake right behind the boat and I was staying in it until a breaker would come in from the port stern quarter and I'd back off (as they have the right of way). I thought I was dead. I didn't die, but pick your days better and give up and go home earlier. Or just go with a guy that knows.

    On surfperch, the wind that I have been whining about (and will whine about some more, I assure you) has actually done what it is supposed to do and not just added sand to the beach in front of the Boathouse but added some structure to the beach. I haven't heard any catching reports of surfperch but the structure in front of the beach looks good on the north end of Dillon Beach. You have to cast around a bunch of surfers, but there's bars a go-go there. Fish? Maybe not yet, but if you build it, they will come.

.

  Good news if you like wind, because we have it! We have so much fresh air that you can barely stand up. I realize that spring isn't officially here until March 20, but, hey, who are we kidding? On March 1 the northwest wind hit and has stayed (except for yesterday), which to me means spring. Spring sucks. Yes, tiny animals, longer days, colored eggs. I know, but here it also means wind, and the wind, well, blows. Having said that, it also tends to build up the beach that washed out over the winter, not just in front of the boathouse but even off of Dillon Beach proper, where all structures were removed by the huge swells this winter. No more bars or other high spots to concentrate fish. But the wind is blowing, and as much as I hate the wind I also appreciate it for building the beach and structure and for upwelling all those nutrients that the baitfish and baby salmon will be needing to survive. Yes, it is the very definition of a love/hate relationship. To be fair, the wind doesn't care what I think, so all the emotions are on my side of the equation. But hey, unofficially, happy spring!

   On the subject of beach fishing and structure, we don't have any. There have been some people trying. I didn't see any fish, but some of them kept coming back every few days, so I thought they must be catching something. Then they quit coming.... The fish will return, especially as the wind continues to build structure, but until then, here's a report from Branden Mendoza: "Hey Willy. Just wanted to give you a heads up. We've been out doing some surf perch fishing out on Doran beach. We've been using ghost shrimp from the mud flats. We've done ok. We got 6 Red tails 2 weeks ago 3 keepers 3 shorts. Went out last Saturday caught 6 but Red tails 1 keeper and 2 striped perch that we kept. The main reason for this report is we were walking past a group the was there before us and they and a 24 inch striper in the bucket that they caught on prawns. Thought it was some positive news and I share it. Thanks again for all the reports and updates. "  Fish of any kind sounds very impressive to me, Branden, but multiple fish are even better. Those perch are pretty tasty, especially fried up whole with a few slits in the skin....  wow. And saltwater striper is its own thing. Yes, I'm currently eating fish from my freezer of an unknown vintage, and the taste makes me think of, well, fresh fish. Because this stuff sucks. Come on halibut, and April, please give me a weather break on the right day because deep water rockfish opens April 1 and I need some fish that is actually good.

     The last two days every time I drove down our road I saw fishermen with surfperch. Well, fisherbirds. The ospreys are hammering the perch, possibly black or striped perch as they seemed awful dark from below. The problem with relying on ospreys for fish reports is that ospreys aren't limited to shore fishing for perch as we are. The fish they're catching could be from anywhere. Both blacks and striped perch prefer rocks and kelp, not sand, so I'm guessing the ospreys aren't working the shoreline here. Also, I wrote this part a couple of days ago and then fell asleep, and now, two days later, I haven't seen an osprey since. So, I guess there were some fish but you wouldn't have caught them anyhow, and now they're gone. Helpful, this is not, but illustrative of the ocean and nature in general, it is kinda okay. At worst, it's a story, and stories have been lacking, so....

   Crabbing, as usual, has been slow, but, as usual, a very few have done well. Yesterday almost everybody coming into the store had none, reds or Dungeness, but one guy in the afternoon came in and reported that he had limited out. His methods were not shared, only his success. So, as usual, the reports are probably not, but maybe? The outer bay has been slightly better and a couple of guys with traps out there have been limiting, but those limits come with several days soak on multiple pots. For a day trip guy, you'll probably catch a couple but numbers are hard.

    The results of the salmon meeting can be summed up pretty easily: No. It won't be decided until April, but if we didn't have enough fish forecast for last year and this year's forecast is even less, and the recent forecasts have been hopelessly optimistic (like, 2x), and even the PFMC admit that their models leave a lot of questions when confronted with reality, well, no. So, it ain't for sure, but if I was a betting man I wouldn't be loading up on salmon tackle for my tackle shop. And I didn't. Go halibut! And stripers! And rockfish! Deep water rockfish will open next month on the first. There's a chance that there will be a day or two in April that the weather is good enough to make the run to Rittenburg. It didn't happen on a day that I had off last year, but this is a new year. Good luck to us all!

    I post reports as they come in, so here I am, three weeks later, finally writing something. Fishing report? Not so much. Mostly a place keeper. But, while I'm here, a few things...

    Friends of the report have been doing okay, close to limits of Dungeness, in the outer bay in relatively shallow water. They've been servicing their traps at four to eight day intervals and there's been no "jumbos!" claim, just dinner. The commercial guys are getting about $8 a pound at the dock which is an economic indicator of two things: Market interest and availability of product. Low catch rates plus high demand equals a situation approaching (but not even close) to the chicken egg situation (ducks, be afraid). My guess is that the guys going home with crab are taking many that aren't commercial legal. That's fine, but we all dream for jumbos. It's the same work to clean a jumbo crab and a barely sport legal crab, and it's not no work; there's some effort. Is it worth it? Heck yes, but at the end of the job we all would like a larger pile of crab meat. So the big pile isn't happening, but crab is there for the catching and eating. Just bring something else to eat, too.

   This year's salmon season looks like it's going to be a lot like last year's salmon season. The seasonn won't be determined until mid-April, but forecasts will be released on Thursday. Returns to the rivers have already been shared by the PFMC and they aren't awesome. In the Sac system, as expected, returns to the one river it counts (the Sac proper) were appalling yet again. Everybody else killed it. Trucked fish lived and river fish died. I'm sure that there's no significance to that similarly appalling correlation. How could just the difference of going down a river make that much of a change? Maybe it's the lack of water. And that's water that ain't coming back. You can fight it, but you ain't gonna win unless you're Elon. Money talks, and if you're reading this, well, might as well shut up. Adults are talking about water. We need to get more trucked, factory fish, fin clipped, because the fight for water in the river has been lost. No matter what your politics are, when Gavin and Trump can agree on a thing like draining the river, well, that thing is a done deal. Done. Stick a fork in it. Let's figure out another way to go fishing, because natural born fish are goners. Also, when guys that are so different can agree on something so contentious, how different are they?

   Since halibut seems likely to be the main menu item yet again this season, I guess we should speak about them for a moment. The halibut bite in Tomales Bay seems to follow San Francisco Bay's bite by six to eight weeks. So far, it sounds like the bite hasn't started in SFB, so ... maybe later. For those new to the early season fishery, the farther back the better when it starts, as the bay warms from back to front, and warmth is the key for biters. Halibut can be in super cold water but they tend to bite when it's warm and they're happy, so... Simple math: Fish when they bite and you'll catch more. They're coming.  Just not yet. But just know that I'm feening for a fish hard, so when it happens I and then you will know.

 

     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.