VOL . 36 • ISS . 13

BERKELEY & EMERYVILLE

Salmon Fishing Redlines For East Bay Trollers

BERKELEY- Wind out of the northwest is a mixed blessing for Golden Gate salmon anglers . On one hand , several days of hard wind and big water kept Bay Area Charter boats confined to the bay . Yet those same winds create upwelling that brings krill and salmon to the surface . As a result of the recent upwelling , when the winds died down this week , salmon boats found stellar action on big hard kings to the south of the Golden Gate .

Out of Berkeley , the New Easy Rider has enjoyed several days of red hot salmon fishing . For example , on one trip their 11 anglers scored full limits of kings to 20 pounds . On May 21 , they stuffed the fish box with 19 limits of kings to 18 pounds .

As of this time there appears to be one school of kings in the Middle Grounds and another near S Buoy south of Seal Rocks . The fish are feeding on krill and fighting like demons !

On the live bait potluck front , anglers working S . F . Bay are enjoying very good fishing for halibut to 38 pounds and there have been a few stripers showing too .

Trips aboard the California Dawn piloted by Captain James Smith this week produced anywhere from 24 to 40 keeper halibut to 26 pounds along with lots of shaker halibut released .

Captains Chris and Jonathan Smith of Happy Hooker Sportfishing have also been putting their anglers on very good halibut action . They are averaging a keeper halibut per rod or better on most days with big fish approaching 30 pounds . On Captain Jonathan ’ s last drifting trip , his anglers pulled in 24 halibut to 28 pounds .

Captain Quang Vo of Berkeley ’ s Goldeneye 2000 is best known for the exciting lingcod and rockfish trips he offers , but so far this spring he ’ s been

The weather has calmed down and the Golden Gate salmon bite is back on . This big beautiful fish was landed on May 18 .

Photo courtesy of NEW SALMON QUEEN SPORTFISHING , Emeryville .

( 415 ) 367-5600

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Salmon , Halibut , Bass Potluck

Anglers fishing aboard Berkeley ’ s New Easy Rider have been crushing Golden Gate kings in recent days . This beautiful king was landed on May 18 .

Photo courtesy of NEW EASY RIDER SPORTFISHING , Berkeley .

Mr . Halibut , putting his clients on big numbers of big flat fish !

On Captain Quang ’ s last trip 48 halibut to 27 pounds went into the box !

BODEGA BAY

Sonoma Coast Rockfish / Lingcod Action Outstanding

BODEGA BAY - Rockfish and lingcod action both north and south of the Bodega Bay Harbor has been nothing short of phenomenal over the past few weeks , and the salmon are starting to make a showing in the brown , planktonrich waters .

Captain Rick Powers of Bodega Bay Sport Fishing and the New Sea Angler said , “ One our last five trips this week , we put in 125 limits of quality rockfish consisting of coppers , vermilions , quillbacks , and Bolinas cod with no school fish on our trips south of the harbor along with incredible lingcod action . We have landed 225 lings on these trips , and on one trip , our passengers put in 27 limits of lings within 49 minutes .”

“ With the extra depth this year , I have been able to work some spots that haven ’ t been touched in years ,”

said Powers . “ This has been the best lingcod action we have experienced in a long time as they are biting trap rigs , bars , swimbaits , and whole squid . People are leaving the boat with 50 to 60 pound sacks of fish .”

The salmon action has been slow over all , but there are signs of improvement on the horizon . Captain Jeff Carmella of the Miss Anita went out on a scouting mission on May 28th , and he and his deckhand returned with three salmon .

Powers added , “ They got these fish out in front of the harbor , and there are fish down the line so we will be starting off tomorrow morning in search of salmon . I still have the crab pots in the water , and we will pull the pots on occasion as a bonus .”

In addition to the Miss Anita , Captain Eric Holthouse of North Bay Charters found excellent rockfish and lingcod action for his clients on the ‘ Take Five ’ on each recent trip .

The months of June and July are normally the peak of the salmon season out of the harbor as the fish start moving closer to the shorelines .

- by David Hurley

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These anglers headed out on an S . F . Bay live bait trip on May 18 and returned to port with 40 keeper halibut to 25 lbs .

Photo courtesy of CALIFORNIA DAWN SPORTFISHING , Berkeley .

2855 Soquel Ave . Santa Cruz , CA

www . captainstevesfishinglodge . com P . O . Box 39143 , Ninilchik , AK 99639

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FISHERMAN ’ S WHARF

Live Bait Drifters Nail Hefty to 32 Pounds

SAN FRANCISCO – Halibut fishing continues to be solid for anglers going on both half day trips and full day trip aboard the Bass Tub .

“ We averaged 1 to 2 fish per rod on latest trips during the favorable small tides ,” said Erik Anfinson , captain of the Bass Tub . The half day trips – from 6 am to 12:00 to 12:30 pm – are getting popular .”

The passengers have been drifting live anchovies off the Berkeley Flats and Alameda for their halibut . The largest halibut caught over the past week weighed 32 pounds , while quite a few over 20 pounds have hit the deck .

“ This is the best halibut fishing I ’ ve seen in 15 years ,” noted Anfinson . “ In addition to the keepers , we ’ re released 75 to 100 undersized halibut on many trips .”

During a period of bigger tides , the 20 anglers boarding the Bass Tub on Saturday , May 27 , landed 11 halibut to 15 pounds , 2 striped bass and 2 leopard sharks . “ That was the slowest trip we ’ ve seen lately ,” he noted .

– by Dan Bacher

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