Departing from Fisherman ’ s Wharf • San Francisco
MARINE MECHANICAL REPAIR INC .
24 Nov . 10 - 24 , 2017
SALTWATER
VOL . 36 • ISS . 24
SALTWATER REPORTS
BERKELEY
Crab Season To Kick Off On November 4 !
BERKELEY - The fishing is great both inside and outside the Golden Gate , but in reality , fishing has been in a holding pattern as anglers await the November 4 crab opener , when rockfish , lingcod and crab combo trips will kick into high gear .
For example , Captain James Smith of California Dawn Sportfishing has been running with light loads . Inside the bay his anglers have been bagging stripers , halibut , a few lings and rockfish and even the occasional white sea bass .
Outside S . F . Bay Smith has been running to the Farallon Islands and scoring limits and near limits of lingcod along with limits of big quality rockfish .
Things have been much the same on the Happy Hooker . When Captains Chris and Jonathan Smith have run to the islands , the lingcod and rockfish results have been nothing short of epic , but most days they have remained in port due to a lack of anglers . Despite the fact that the fishing is excellent , most anglers are waiting for crab fishing to get started before they hit the water again .
Captain Quang of the Goldeneye 2000 has been enjoying great success at the lingcod grounds beyond the Golden Gate , but like the Smith ’ s he has either been in port or running with light loads as most of his clients hold off on their fishing plans pending the crab opener on November 4 .
My first yellowtail bit a white Candy Bar
lure on a trip to the Coronados out of Imperial Beach . Pure luck ! I was casting for bonito when a school of yellows moved through , scarfing everything in the water and snubbing anything that splashed down afterward . My lure
THE SONOMA COAST by Kathie Morgan was in the water at the right time . Experienced anglers around me cast frantically at the retreating school but without success .
Fifty years later , I know a whole lot more about fishing for yellowtail , but I ’ m not sure anything I know now could have got me a bite that day when I purely lucked out .
Still , I ’ ll cherish the lessons I ’ ve learned and I ’ ll keep learning until I
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BODEGA BAY
Crab / Rockfish Combos Begin
BODEGA BAY - The ocean salmon season ended on October 31st , and rockfishing will remain the top option for the remainder of the season until the closure on December 31st . The Dungeness crab opener on November 4th will breathe life into the region that has been severely affected by the devastating fires within the past month .
Captain Rick Powers of Bodega Bay Sport Fishing is ready for the crab opener , and the domoic acid tests have returned clean . Powers will be running rockfish / crab combination trips on his large 65-foot New Sea Angler for $ 130 / angler while for those wanting a more private experience , Captain Eric Holthouse of North Bay Charters will operate the combination trips on his six pack , the Take Five . The opening weekends of the Dungeness crab season are either full or getting close to full while there is plenty of room during the weekdays .
Despite the depth restriction returning to 30 fathoms in mid- October , rockfishing remains excellent , and the ling cod should
hang up the rods for good . Because I believe that skill will take you further than luck ever could toward catching a lot of fish – and the law of averages indicates that the more fish you catch , the likelier you are to catch a big one .
We had a lot to learn that first day on the Napa River , fishing a private tournament in a borrowed boat . For that reason , I began keeping a fishing log , and I kept modifying the form as I kept learning . I began by recording time of catch , place , and lure used . Soon I added where the tide was at time of catch . How many days before or after a full moon or new moon ? Then I believed I should record the water temperature . The stuff we thought we knew got seriously revised . Eventually it occurred to me to note not only the place where we hooked up but the direction we were heading , if we were trolling .
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CONTINUED ON PAGE 24
MARINE MECHANICAL REPAIR INC .
LY TOM ’ S BOAT MAIN
Suzy landed this dime bright king salmon while trolling outside the Golden Gate aboard the New Easy Rider this fall .
Photo courtesy of NEW EASY RIDER SPORTFISHING , Berkeley .
FISHERMAN ’ S LUCK
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Yes , it was a lot of trouble , taking notes while the fish were biting , but in the heat of action , your memory will let you down . More time was consumed transcribing my notes back at the computer , but I built on knowledge .
One thing I learned about fishing for yellows I learned by accident . Luck if you will . At the time we all believed that whipping a Salas lure across the surface at breakneck speed was the surest way to trigger a strike . Only thing better was to skip a Vivif “ Toad ” over the water , and see a yellow roll over on it while sucking it down .
Being a girl , I often could not reach the schools of fish yonder . So one day I just let my lure sink until it touched bottom . Couple of lazy cranks up and whoa ! Hookup !
Fish ALASKA
Maybe it was a fluke , but I let my next cast sink again and hooked up again the same way . The “ pros ” around who didn ’ t know me chalked up to luck the fact that soon I led the pack in the yellow count . But I knew it as a lesson to last me the rest of my yellowtail-fishing life
I ’ m not counting it out , therefore . Luck plays an important role in fishing . I ’ m just saying , the more you learn , the “ luckier ” you will be . My fingers crossed , I ’ ll be looking for you on the banks .
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