Steve Smith sent in a follow up report:"5 nice ones and left them biting!" Gage also had a good afternoon on the beach, bringing home eleven perch and released another two dozen. I was fishing with Gage as the bite started but then I mistakenly answered my phone. I will leave it at home next time. I left Gage as the bite took off. At least I caught a few. Gage did tell me that it's not like I missed the best bite ever, "probably only my third or fourth best bite." Dammit...

Rick Murphy sent in this report today: "Trolled from Hog to the back nothing started back north nothing, decided to call it pulled one rod in when the other went off. 22” around chicken ranch.Wish we had went straight to the back." Nice job Rick. A little further back the water shallows up to 6 to 8 feet and if it is murky enough might be even better for catching. It worked before, at least.

So, earlier today I said that the surfperch fishing was spotty. Steve Smith reports, "Hey Willie, Got this 15" fat boy at Dillon this afternoon. Pre storm had em biting. Small sand crabs were the ticket. All fish released. I'll try again tomorrow afternoon"  I'm told that the overcast gets them biting. Or,  it could just be Steve.

  It sounds like the halibut are biting well in San Francisco Bay but here in Tomales Bay the big bite hasn't kicked off yet. A few have been caught but in the last couple of weeks I haven't spoke to anybody that caught one. There's not many people fishing for them, though, so that could be part of it. The water temperature near Hog Island is borderline, bouncing back and forth from 56º to 58º in the last few days. If I were going to go (and I probably will be, next week) I'd try further back in the flats near Inverness. The water warms from the top down, and in 6 to 8 feet of water the bottom is closer to the top. Assuming not too much fresh water input from the creeks (which may be going to happen this weekend) and water that's not gin clear, those 20" to 24" halibut that were back there last year should bite in 60º-ish water. If you go, be aware that there is a submerged fenceline that will ruin your boat and day if you hit it. Here's a map:

    Salmon season opens below Pigeon Point on Saturday but we will have to wait until at least June 9 or later for our chance. A decision on the season will be made during the Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting of April 5-11. Stay tuned...
     The surfperch bite has been spotty and the only ones consistently getting them are the ospreys. The Dungeness crabbing has been slow as usual but they're still getting caught. Here's a report from the weekend by Bodega Jack:"Just a quick note that there are still a few crabs around.  We (Ted Rebello) and I picked up two limits of "barely legal" to medium size Dungeness crabs on an overnight soak in the outer bay to supplement our Easter dinners."

What day is it?

This was sent to me today. Hopefully this means we'll have a good tuna year this year. Probably it means nothing. Looks good, though.