THE FISHING REPORT

“If I had a dollar for every time I heard that I should have
been here yesterday, I would be a rich man,” I announced over the
radio last Friday. We were fishing for salmon out of Bodega Harbor.
The reports from the day before were “wide open,” “limits all
around.” We were first on the fishing grounds, expecting a large
number of boats to have heard that the fish were biting, but by one
o’clock we had caught only the one small fish when we called it
quits. At least 100 boats were trolling the area between Tomales
Point and the large rock to the south known as Bird Rock. The fish
were in tight the day before and so was the fleet, fishing in no
more than 70 feet. But 75 of the boats had zero fish and only a
small percentage had more than one. What a difference a day
makes.
Saturday’s fishing was similar to Friday’s results, but Shawn
Widdick, Healdsburg dentist extroidinare, was high boat with three
fish for two, fishing further south of the fleet off of Ten Mile
Beach. It has been just that kind of year for the salmon off the
coast. I can only think that it has a lot to do with total numbers
of fish. When we have a lot of fish in the ocean then the schools
of fish that pass through can sustain a bite for a week or more but
this year the numbers are clearly down and the hit and miss fishing
is all we can really expect. Sunday the bite went wide open again
with big king salmon to 42 pounds. I should have been there
yesterday.
The good news is that the ocean conditions this year appear to
be truly phenomenal. The amount of life we are seeing while we are
fishing is extraordinary. Birds of all sorts are feeding on the
abundant krill and bait fish that we are able to see on our sonar
devices. Whales are commonly seen as are porpoise, seal and sea
lions. I spoke with the Fish checker at the dock for a moment on
Friday and he told us that the survey boat reports huge success
rates for the out migrating molts this year. He also mentioned that
the rockfish spawn is way above normal and that is helping supply
an additional food source for the salmon. So while this year salmon
take is seemingly low, the indicators for a rebound next year are
good.
Halibut counts have dropped in the San Francisco Bay as have the
bass fishing. Big tides and gusty winds have really made life tough
for the party boat skippers as well as the private boaters who
should not even think about trying to fish in 35 knots of breeze.
Skipper Andy Guiliano of the six pack boat Talisman out of
Emeryville has been providing a nice option for those fishermen
that cannot reschedule their fishing date. He takes them to the
south bay flats between AT&T Park and Oyster Point and catches
sharks. This is great fun for the kids and adults alike. He anchors
the boat and puts out a chum line comprised of squid and sardine. 
Then only four rods are baited and before you know it rods are
bouncing everywhere as the sharks attack. Most of the sharks are
small sand and hounds tooth sharks but the occasional leopard, cow
or seven gill to five feet makes things quite a bit more
interesting. And then there are the bat rays which can really bend
a rod when they take off. All in all it is a great way to make the
most of an otherwise windy/less fruitful day on the bay. Tides look
to be improving throughout the week and I look forward to seeing
the bass and halibut scores rebound.
For more information and or reports please contact Hunt
Conrad at Prospect Mortgage in Healdsburg, 431-9715.