VOL . 42 • ISS . 13 |
MAP FEATURE |
September 8 , 2023 |
15 |
Rittenburg Bank / Marin County Coast Facts :
Charter boats : Sportfishing boats from throughout the Bay Area target halibut , striped bass , lingcod , rockfish and other species on San Francisco Bay and outside of the Golden Gate during their respective seasons . Contact Captain James Smith of the California Dawn , ( 510 ) 417-5557 . Other boats booking trips out of the Berkeley Marina include the ; New Easy Rider , ( 707 ) 422-2050 ; Pacific Dream , ( 510 ) 993-4414 ; Happy Hooker , (( 510 ) 223-5388 ; Hook ’ d Up Sportfishing , ( 707 ) 655-6736 ; Goldeneye 2000 , ( 510 ) 610-0888 , or Bay Charter Boats , 510-850-2285 or cell 510-672-6913 , For more information , call the Berkeley Marina Sportfishing Center , ( 510 ) 849-3333 . The New Huck Finn , C-Gull II , Lady K Oakland Anglers II , Pacific Pearl , Sea Wolf , Tigerfish , Sundance and other boats depart from Emeryville , ( 510 ) 652-3403 . The Bass Tub , ( 415 ) 456-9055 , Lovely Martha , Silver Fox Sportfishing , ( 415 ) 367-5600 , Gatecrasher Fishing Adventures , ( 925 ) 497-7171 ; and Flash Sport Fishing Charters , ( 510 ) 851-2500 , depart from Fisherman ’ s Wharf in San Francisco . The Predator , ( 707 ) 342-8481 , is berthed at the Vallejo Marina .
Rittenburg Bank : is approximately 50 kilometers ( 31 mi ) off the Marin County coast and lies at depths ranging from approximately 50 to 150 meters . Rittenburg Bank has a high density of sponges at its northwest region , 184 sponges per 1000 m2 , consisting of at least nine taxa of sponges . There are at least 35 taxa of fishes with a density of 139 fish per 1000 m2 and six taxa of anthozoans ( corals ), with a density of 138 anthozoans per 1000 m2 .
In October 2012 , the Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sancturary explored and mapped Rittenburg Bank . Rittenburg Bank has higher density of sponges in comparison to Cochrane Bank and Farallon Escarpment . The habitat at Rittenburg Bank appears to be highly suitable for corals and sponges , with 10.1 % being rugose , hard substrate . Many small corals and sponges were observed , suggesting recent recruitment to the coral and sponge populations .
Dr . Gary Williams , California Academy of Sciences , identified a new species of gorgonian coral from material collected during a 2012 survey . High densities of large sponges were observed in areas of highest rugosity and were not likely to have been impacted by bottom trawls . A reduction in trawl effort ( a consequence of fishery closures in the region enacted in the 2000 ’ s ) may have contributed favorably to the abundance and condition of corals and sponge observed on the Bank . The multibeam bathymetry , acoustic backscatter , and sea floor character data are publicly available online through the United States Geological Survey ( USGS ) website , and described in detail in Dartnell et al . 2014 .
US
Coast Guard Point Reyes Light Station
Point Reyes
Estero de Limantour
Drakes Bay
Marin County
Coast Pt . Reyes National Recreation Area
Limantour Spit
Limantour Beach
Santa Maria Beach Coast Camp
Sculptured Beach
Point Resistance
Limantour Rd
Kelham Beach Arch Rock
Wildcat Camp
Alamere Falls Double Point
Abalone Point
Sky Camp
Glen Camp
Palomarin Trailhead Pt . Reyes Bird Observatory
US Coast Guard
Fishing Notes The • Rockfish 50-fathom action Rockfish excellent Conservation this coast Area throughout ( RCA ) boundary the season line . Blue for , Black the Mendocino Bonitas , Brown Point , Groundfish Vermilion , Gopher Management , China , Widow Area (, GMA Olive ) and ( Cape Olive Mendocino Rockfish are to the Point main Arena varieties ), San caught , Francisco while cabezon GMA and ( Point greenling Arena also to Pigeon spice up Point the catches ) and Central . Anchovies GMA on ( Pigeon three-way Point live to bait Point Conception set-ups are effective ), is now , as in are effect Super through Flies and the other end of shrimp the groundfish flies either seasons fished alone . In these or tipped GMAs with strips , recreational of squid or boat-based anchovies . Many groundfish anglers fishing like to will toss be out ‘ offshore bars ranging only ’ from and 1 allowed to 8 only ounces seaward . Among ( away the better from bars land and ) of jigs the are 50-fathom Gibbs Minnows boundary , Mega line , Baits defined , River2Sea by straight lures lines and Horizon connecting Pirk Minnows waypoints in ( opens a variety in of new colors tab .) Berkley ( 50 CFR Gulp Part swimbaits 660 , Subpart , Fish G Traps ). Shelf and rockfish plastic grubs , slope in a rockfish range of and sizes lingcod produce may lots be of taken rockfish seaward every year of the . Point 50-fathom Reyes , Double boundary line Point , while , Duxbury it will Reef be , and unlawful Point Bonita to take are or among possess the nearshore many productive rockfish areas as defined to pursue in Title 14
rockfish , Section
.
1.91 ( a )( 1 ), cabezon or greenlings at any depth . Make sure that you review
• Lingcod roam the reefs of this coast . The top live baits are anchovies , mackerel , sardines , the current regulations before going fishing : https :// wildlife . ca . gov / Fishing / Ocean / kingfish , sanddabs and squid , while many lingcod will " hitch hike " on hooked rockfish as they Regulations / Groundfish-Summary are being reeled up from the depths . The same bars and jigs used for rockfish will work for
• Rockfish action is excellent throughout the season . Anchovies on three-way live lingcod , though you may want to use these lures in larger sizes than you do for rockfish . bait Berkley and Gulp trap 10 rig inch set-ups squid are and effective other large
, as are swimbaits shrimp and flies the , either
P-Line fished Ling Cod alone rigs or are tipped also with good strips lures to of have squid in or your anchovies lingcod . arsenal Among . the better bars and jigs are Gibbs Minnows , Mega • King Baits Salmon , River2Sea fishing is lures traditionally and locally-made best off this coast bars in June a variety , July of and colors August . Berkley when the Gulp swimbaits fish are fattening , and plastic up with grubs anchovies in a , range krill and of sizes other produce forage as lots they of get rockfish ready to every run up year the .
• Central Lingcod Valley roam rivers the to spawn reefs of . However this coast , the . The fish top appear live baits to be are late anchovies this year . Trollers , mackerel use , sardines anchovies , kingfish , herring , sanddabs a variety and of lures squid , , including while many Pro-Troll lingcod E-Chip will lures “ hitch , Apex hike lures ” on and hooked Krocodiles rockfish . Rotary as Salmon they are Killers being , Franko reeled Bullet up from Rotators the depths and hoochies . The same are used bars in and jigs used conjunction for rockfish with bait will to work entice for big lingcod salmon , . though Mooching you can may be want great to when use these fish lures are in larger schooled sizes over than concentrations you do for rockfish of bait . Popular . Berkley salmon Gulp spots 10 inch include squid Muir and Beach other , large Stinson swimbaits Beach , Duxbury and the Reef P-Line , Double Ling Point Cod and rigs Point are also Reyes good . lures to employ .
• Halibut can can be good be good in both in both sandy sandy rocky and rocky areas areas in this in area this . The area Marin . The Coast Marin is Coast known is for known producing for producing big halibut in big the halibut 20 to 30 in pound the 20 range to 30 every pound season range at every a number season of locations a , number including of Stinson locations Beach , including , Bolinas and Stinson Drakes Beach Bay ,. Bolinas Drifting live and bait Drakes is the Bay top . method Drifting . Striped live bait bass is are the often top caught method by . Striped anglers bass fishing are live often bait caught for halibut by or anglers trolling fishing for salmon live bait . Regardless for halibut of the species or trolling you fish for salmon for , make . Regardless sure that you of review the species the current you fish Ocean for , Sport make Fishing sure that you regulation review booklets the current and suppements Ocean Sport . Fishing regulations .
Duxbury Reef Preserve
Tomales Bay
Bear Valley
Bear Valley Rd .
Duxbury Pt .. Bolinas Bay
To Bodega Bay
Point Reyes Station
Inverness Park
Bolinas
Tocaloma
Jewell Jewell
Stinson Beach
Rocky Point
Sir Francis Drake Blvd
Gull Rock
Muir Beach Overlook
Nicasio Nicosio Reservoir
Lagunitas
San Geronimo
Kent Lake
Mount
Tennessee Cove Tennessee Pt ..
Nicosio Nicasio
Hwy .
Tamalpais Muir Woods National Mon .
State
Muir Woods Rd
Muir Beach Golden
Pirates Cove Gate
Rodeo Cove
Forest Knolls
Pt . Bonita Lighthouse Pt . Bonita
Woodacre
Fairfax-Bolinas Rd .
Petaluma Pt . Reyes Rd .
Nicasio Valley Rd .
Bon Tempe Lake
Panoramic
Park
Alpine Lake
Lagunitas Lake
National
Homestead Valley Tamalpias Valley
Marin City
Recreation Area
Fairfax
Sleepy Hollow
Larkspur
Corte
Madera Mill Valley
Stafford Lake
Lucas Valley Rd .
Lucas Valley
San Anselmo
Ross Kentfield
Richardson Bay
Sausalito
Fort Baker
Point Diablo Kerby Lime Pt . Cavallo
Pt . Cove
To San Francisco
|
and lingcod populations , Rittenburg ’ s ecosystem is also known for its high density of deep coral and sponge species .
50 fathom rockfish conservation zone goes into effect The California Department of Fish and Wildlife ( CDFW ) announced that as of 12:01 a . m . Friday , Sept . 1 , 2023 , the 50-fathom Rockfish Conservation Area ( RCA ) boundary line for the Mendocino Groundfish Management Area ( GMA ) ( Cape Mendocino to Point Arena ), San Francisco GMA ( Point Arena to Pigeon Point ) and Central GMA ( Pigeon Point to Point Conception ), will take effect . In these GMAs , recreational boat-based groundfish fishing will be ‘ offshore only ’ and allowed only seaward ( away from land ) of the 50-fathom boundary line , defined by straight lines connecting waypoints ( opens in new tab ) ( 50 CFR Part 660 , Subpart G ). Shelf rockfish , slope rockfish and lingcod may be taken seaward of the 50-fathom boundary line , while it will be unlawful to take or possess nearshore rockfish as defined in Title 14 , Section 1.91 ( a )( 1 ), cabezon or greenlings at any depth . In the Southern GMA from Pt . Conception to the U . S . -Mexico border , these same ‘ offshore only ’ rules will take effect as originally planned on Sept . 16 . During the ‘ offshore only ’ fishery , fishing gear shall not be deployed shoreward of the 50-fathom RCA boundary line when shelf rockfish , slope rockfish or lingcod are possessed
|
|
|
|
Oscar Whitney of Berkeley caught these two brown rockfish while fishing a white swimbait from a kayak off Muir Beach on August 5 . The ocean is closed to fishing for rockfish and lingcod within 50 fathoms of shore now .
Photo by Dan Bacher
onboard the vessel , however vessels may transit shoreward of the 50-fathom RCA boundary line with these species in possession if no gear is deployed . Additionally , vessels fishing in the adjacent Southern GMA and transiting back to the Central GMA must adhere to the ‘ offshore only ’ provisions effective in the Central GMA and shall not return with nearshore species aboard . These changes do not apply to shore-based anglers or divers . CDFW is carefully monitoring the harvest of quillback rockfish from both the recreational and commercial fisheries throughout the state
|
This angler shows off a huge canary rockfish that he landed while fishing offshore at the Rittenburg Bank the California Dawn on September 2 .
Photo courtesy of California Dawn Sportfishing
and has taken a series of steps in an effort to reduce quillback rockfish mortality . On Aug . 7 , retention of quillback rockfish was prohibited statewide , followed by closure of the recreational nearshore fishery in the Northern GMA , on Aug . 21 . Newly available recreational data from the Mendocino , San Francisco and Central GMAs for the second week of August showed double the estimated recreational take and indicated the 2023 quillback rockfish harvest limit specified in federal regulations has been exceeded . This additional in-season action authorized by Title 14 , Section 27.20 ( e ) to
|
adjust the fishing depth is necessary to prevent further overage . CDFW urges anglers to use best fishing practices to reduce impacts to quillback rockfish and other prohibited groundfish species . These include reducing mortality when releasing fish by utilizing a descending device ( PDF )( opens in new tab ) and relocating to different fishing grounds or switching targets if quillback rockfish or other prohibited species are encountered . CDFW recommends reviewing the Summary of Recreational Groundfish Fishing Regulations page before each trip to ensure anglers are up to date on the most recent groundfish regulations , including a complete list of authorized species . For details regarding the quillback population estimates and how these changes were developed , please see CDFW ’ s Quillback Rockfish In-Season Informational Briefing ( PDF )( opens in new tab ). For information on all groundfish regulations visit CDFW ’ s Marine Region Groundfish page . Pursuant to California Code of Regulations Title 14 , section 27.20 ( e ), when federal harvest limits are exceeded or projected to be exceeded , CDFW has authority to make in-season changes , including adjustments to bag and sub-bag limits , seasons and depths . s subject to in-season regulatory changes . Stay informed by visiting CDFW ’ s summary of recreational groundfish fishing regulations webpage before fishing : https :// wildlife . ca . gov / Fishing / Ocean / Regulations / Groundfish-Summary |