Here's the first photo sent in to me today. 24" and caught "in the deep, 7 feet of water." Just texted me of another (barely) keeper and a short returned. Trolling anchovies and Zoom Flukes.
   Update: Limited out with a 26.5" final fish. You've got to watch out for those marine biologists that fish because they have all of that extra learning. Fish don't stand a chance.

    Here's a quick word on the halibut in Tomales Bay :"Caught this little hallelujah this morning down by Chicken Ranch. 

My fishing buddy caught a shaker that let go at the boat as well. 

Surface water was about 60 degrees.

Fish and Game told us there was another about this size caught in the same area this morning as well.

Things are heating up!

FYI, DFG frowns on taking clam limits for you and your spouse in the Hog Island eel grass, as some uneducated soul found out the hard way.

Vince"

That sounds like two tickets at least. Clamming is open but digging for someone else is not, nor is disturbing the eel grass. You can't eat the clams, either, so unless you are using them for bait it is a waste of game, another ticket.

     No pictures from the rockfish opener here, probably because nobody in Tomales Bay was willing to try crossing the bar with the 9 to 12 foot swell. No wonder the crabs are so hungry. Not so hungry that people are limiting out but there's a few getting caught. Gage showed me a picture of a halibut caught by a kayaker fishing in the bay (Matt Shapiro, send me a picture!) but I have no other info on it. The weekend weather forecast looks decent for in-the-bay fishing but not too hot for any rockfish pictures.

   More good news! Rick Murphy sent a follow-up report:"Hey Willy, we picked up a couple today, had 4 or 5 shorty’s, a nice one come undone at the boat and a lot of scratched baits. Seen another boat get a few also, from Marshall to just past the marina, the marina having the most action.  Water was 58 to about 61. It’s picking up"
   Looks like a damp opener for rockfish on Sunday, but I'd worry more about the wind than the rain. The Southwest wind is only supposed to blow 5 to 15 but it seems like the South wind has a hard time staying below the forecast numbers. If nothing else, the dropping barometer and overcast skies should have the surfperch biting, or so my perch whisperer tells me.

So who likes good news? First, this:

Recreational Canary Rockfish Bag Limit Increases Effective April 14

Canary Rockfish  photo by V. Okimura, courtesy WDFW The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announces a statewide increase to the recreational canary rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) daily limit within the Rockfish, Cabezon and Greenling (RCG) bag limit. The sub-bag limit for canary rockfish will increase from one fish to two fish within the RCG daily bag limit of 10 fish, effective Saturday, April 14, 2018. Limited retention of canary rockfish in California's recreational fishery began last year as a result of the stock being declared rebuilt. Because retention of canary rockfish had been prohibited in recreational fisheries off California for more than a decade, a one fish daily sub-bag limit was implemented as a matter of precaution. Catches were monitored weekly to ensure harvest limits were not exceeded. "We saw great fishing in 2017 and higher than expected effort for rockfish," said CDFW Environmental Scientist Joanna Grebel. "Despite this, catches of canary rockfish under a one fish bag limit were less than predicted. We are excited to be able to offer additional fishing opportunity in 2018." Pursuant to California Code of Regulations Title 14, Section 27.20(e), CDFW has the authority to make in-season modifications to the recreational fishery, including adjustments to bag and sub-bag limits. CDFW encourages anglers to avoid known yelloweye rockfish hotspots when pursuing canary rockfish. Yelloweye rockfish cannot be retained and stringent annual limits on yelloweye rockfish bycatch mortality remain in effect for California's recreational groundfish fishery in 2018. Bycatch mortality of yelloweye rockfish is monitored during the fishing season and modifications to regulations could be made if mortality amounts reach annual limits. For more information regarding groundfish regulations, management, stock status information, fish identification tools, and current catch trends, please visit the CDFW Marine Region Groundfish website Then this on salmon: Point Arena to Pigeon Point (San Francisco) :  June 17-October 31. Open seven days per week. All salmon except coho may be retained, two salmon per day. Chinook minimum size limit of 20 inches total length. See gear restrictions and definitions.  In 2019, season opens April 6 for all salmon except coho, two salmon per day. Chinook minimum size limit of 24 inches total length; and the same gear restrictions as in 2018 . Other good news includes a report of a 22 pound halibut caught last Friday in the rain off of Tom's Point (The hardcore angler is supposed to be sending a photo), the Dungeness crabbing in the bay doesn't completely suck and is fair or better outside, and the surfperch bite is still pretty good. Here's a perch report:"Water cleared up after the storm..perch were chomping non stop in the evening before the tide switch..Even caught a lil flattie. Cheers! Jeff Hunter"    The flatty in question here looks like a sand sole which would make it a keeper and darned good eating..