The big swell kept the fishermen in the bay this past weekend. Counts were low for halibut, especially further in the bay. There was a quick bite at 1PM on Saturday on the bar which saw three boats catch five halibut, including Gerard Fitzgerald's 22 pounder. The sardines are still in the bay but are getting harder to find. Hopefully the weather lays down this week and lets us get to the tuna.

Mike Gibson of Lodi caught these three halibut up to 31 pounds on the bar on Wednesday. Other nice fish came from that area as well, including Mike Garello's 23# and Bob King's 21# fish. Today a few boats went out for albacore and the count so far is two fish in the area of 38.07 by 123.37 and 13 fish at 38.03 by 123.26. Too bad the wind is forecast to blow. Maybe the forecasters will be wrong.

Tony Georgis of Roseville caught this 27# halibut on the bar on a live jacksmelt. Unpictured, but for the record, Gerard Fitzgerald was responsible for his boat bringing in four nice halibut from Marshall.

Mara Nursement of Colfax with a 20# halibut from the Tomales Bay bar. The bar started kicking out a few fish today, finally. There were many more fish from the Marshall area but the average size was definitely better in the mouth. Not much happened outside this weekend due to the weather.

Ablacore counts from yesterday were 2, 6, 13 and 13 for the four boats I spoke with. The fish were scattered through a few square miles, centered in the area of N38.00 by W124.05. Now the wind offshore is forecast to blow for a few days. Three limits of halibut from Drake's Bay yesterday. That's a fishery you can't wait for since that area is on the MPA closed list for next year.