THE FISHING REPORT

There are times when I write this column when there is nothing
to write about. I probably shouldn’t admit that, but there are more
of those times than you should know about. And then there are times
like today when there is so much to write about you aren’t sure
where to start.
So Tuna Tales is where I am going to begin. I get reports from a
lot of sources and when they are good they come with monikers like
“they were really snapping” or “It was wide open (WFO)” or even “we
left them chewing on the bottom of the boat” but there is one that
really gets my attention especially when used by multiple sources
and that is the term “EPIC”.I mean “EPIC” is one of those terms
that isn’t used very often, for obvious reasons. If it did, then it
would have the same value. So when fishermen use it to describe a
day of fishing it is truly a very special day.
Eric Petereit and his friend Doug left Healdsburg at 3:30 a.m.
on Sunday morning and trailered the boat up to Ft Bragg. Reports
were that was going to be dicey but they had plan “b” to fish for
salmon. As they traveled out the harbor, the sea was much calmer
than predicted and so on they ventured on to the blue water. At 20
miles off shore they put ‘em in and were rewarded almost
immediately with a couple of fish and then things slowed. Another
couple of fish and a couple of hours later they were still far
short of “EPIC.” Then they got a call, which is what good fisherman
do, to a new location. They traveled and put ‘em in again and then
things really started to bust open. At one point they had all their
rods loaded with 15-25 # Albacore. Quints, and Quads were the order
of the rest of the day meaning that they had four and five rods all
with fish on at the same time along with all of the ensuing chaos
that goes along with this type of fishing. They ended the day with
32 Albacore tuna. Now that is “EPIC!”
Comparatively, my Sunday out of Bodega Bay was not nearly in the
“EPIC” category but certainly very good. We managed a nice limit of
Salmon along with a selected half limit of rockfish to go along
with, including a couple of decent ling cod. We were fishing around
the Ft Ross buoy for both species. The Salmon preferred the
Hootchie/flasher combo versus the straight herring bait which was
the alternative. Salmon fishing out of Bodega has been pretty
steady this last couple of weeks. Most fish are two year olds in
the 24-26 inch category but every once in a while a big one can be
caught. My brother Chris landed a beautiful 35# salmon last
Wednesday off of Bird Rock.
Salmon fishing also is steady down along the Marin coast with a
lot more big fish staging to go up the river. Limits were the rule
during the middle of last week out at the channel markers. These
fish are looking to come into the bay and go up the Sacramento
River. Another hot spot in the Bay has been the California City
Area which is on the north side of the Tiburon Peninsula. This area
fishes best at the top of the tide.
Halibut and Bass are still showing in the bay but with less
frequency. Water levels in Sierra streams are finally coming down
so that anglers can fish. This is a great time to visit the Burney
Falls area for some outstanding weather and fly fishing.
For more information or to provide first person reports, please
contact Hunt Conrad at Prospect Mortgage, 431-9715.