VOL. 36 • ISS. 18
San Francisco Bay Facts
Seasons: Fishing for halibut, striped bass and leopard sharks is open year round in San Francisco Bay and outside of the Golden Gate. The bag limit for striped bass is two fish 18 inches or over; halibut, three fish over 22 inches; and leopard sharks, 3 fish over 36 inches. There are seasonal closures for salmon, sturgeon and soupfin sharks in San Francisco Bay.
Rockfish: The recreational fishery for rockfish( Sebastes sp.) is open to divers and shore-based anglers year-round. This fishery is open to boat-based anglers from April 15, 2017 through December 31, 2017. These species may only be taken or possessed in waters less than 240 feet( 40 fathoms) deep. The daily bag and possession limit is 10 fish in combination of all species within the RCG Complex( includes all species of Rockfish, Cabezon and Greenlings) per person, with a sub-limit on black rockfish( 3 per person) and canary rockfish( 1 per person), also included in the 10 fish RCG Complex aggregate limit. Yelloweye rockfish bronzespotted rockfish, and cowcod may not be retained( bag limit: zero).
Lingcod: The recreational fishery for lingcod( Ophiodon elongatus) is open to divers and shore-based anglers yearround. This fishery is open to boat-based anglers from April 15, 2015 through December 31, 2015. Lingcod may only be taken or possessed in waters less than 240 ft( 40 fm) deep. The daily bag and possession limit is 2 fish, with a minimum size limit of 22 inches total length.
Charter boats: Sportfishing boats from throughout the Bay Area target halibut, striped bass, rockfish, lingcod and king salmon on San Francisco Bay and outside of the Golden Gatea during their respective seasons. Contact Chad Aho of Bay Charter Boats, 510-850-2285 or cell 510-672-6913, at the Berkeley Marina. http:// www. baycharterboats. com. Other boats booking trips out of the Berkeley Marina include the California Dawn,( 510) 417-5557; New Easy Rider,( 707) 422-2050; Captain Hook,( 510) 322-0493; Happy Hooker, 510-223-5388, Hook’ d Up Sportfishing,( 707) 655-6736; Goldeneye 2000,( 510) 610-0888; and Right Hook Sportfishing,( 916) 417-5670. For more information, call the Berkeley Marina Sportfishing Center,( 510) 849-3333. The New Huck Finn, Sundance, Superfish, C-Gull II, New Seeker, New Salmon Queen, Sea Wolf and Wet Spot depart from the Emeryville Sportfishing Center,( 510) 654-6040. The Bass Tub,( 415) 456-9055, and Silver Fox Sportfishing,( 415) 367-5600, depart from Fisherman’ s Wharf in San Francisco, while the Predator,( 707) 342-8481, and Morning Star,( 800) 464-1431, are berthed at the Vallejo Marina.
MAP FEATURE
Ross
Greebrae Larkspur
Corte Madera
Mill Valley
Marin City
Kirby Cove
Golden
Baker ' s Beach
Golden Gate Park
Richardson Bay
Belvedere
Lime Point
San Francisco
San Rafael
Tiburon
Sausalito
Pt. Cavallo
Gate
Legend
Shorefishing Areas
Launch Ramp Sportfishing Landing
San Quentin( State Prison)
Fort Mason
Paradise Cove
Angel Island
Alcatraz Island
Loch Lomond Marina
Marin County
Contra Costa
Richmond San Rafael Bridge
Racoon Straits
McNears Beach
San Francisco Bay
Fisherman ' s
Wharf
Treasure Island
Van Ness
Protero Point
Mission Rock
Hunters Point
County
Cypress Point
Yerba Buena Island
San Pablo Marina
Potrero Point
City & County of San Francisco
Aug. 18- Sept. 1, 2017
Central
Pinole Point
San Francisco Bay Drawn by
Parkway
Richmond
Alameda County
Dewayne Hight
Richmond
San Pablo
Richmond Marina
Fleming Point
Golden Gate Fields Race Track
Berkeley Marina
Rec. Pier
Emeryville Marina
Emeryville
Oakland Bay Bridge
Oakland
Robert Crown State Beach
Alameda
Pablo
Ave
Pinole
El action Cerrito.
Rodeo
Sam Pablo Res
17
Hercules
Fishing Notes
• Halibut can be taken in the central bay year round, but the best months are generally from April through October. Live bait drifting is the main method that anglers use to catch the halibut, though trolling is also very effective. Both live anchovies and shiner perch are productive baits. Top areas to fish include the Berkeley Flats, Paradise Cay, Southampton Shoal, Richardson Bay, Angel Island, Alcatraz and Crissy Field. Generally, the smaller tides when the water is relatively clear yield the best
• Striped Bass also offer year round fishing, but these hard-fighting fish generally appear at the same times as the halibut, since both species are drawn into the central Kensington bay feed by large schools of anchovies that move into the area from spring through the late fall.
Albany Live bait anglers target the rocks and reefs of the bay, including the Rockpile, Shag Rock, Yellow Bluff and Mel ' s Reef. Trollers can also bag lots of schoolie stripers while using white and chartreuse worm tail jigs and Rat-L-Traps at the top of the tide. Shore fishing for striped bass can be fabulous when you find a concentration of fish on the flats, particularly in the Oakland, Emeryville and Berkeley area. Toss out swim baits, Kastmasters and Krocodiles for past-paced light tackle action.
• Leopard, Soupfin and Sevengill Sharks are often caught by anglers drifting for halibut and stripers. To target the leopards, fish midshipmen and squid for bait in the deep holes. The sevengills and soupfins can be taken on large cut baits in the deep water at Yellow Bluff and Angel Island. Piedmont
• Lingcod and Blue, Brown and Other Rockfish move into the bay from the adjoining ocean waters to feed on anchovies, herring and other forage. These bottomfish are caught on the central bay reefs during the slower tides. Excellent rockfish action is available at times just outside the Golden Gate Bridge at Seal Rocks, the Mile Light and Point Bonita. eral days before ours, coming back to the port with 4 halibut and one striper for 3 anglers.“ We also threw back 10 stripers,” he noted. On our trip, we started at Paradise Cay, due to the heavy wind on the bay. Paradise is always protected from the wind; that is probably how it got its name.“ The halibut fishing has been really good this year,” Aho explained.“ On the slower tides, we are fishing the deeper water where we hook the larger fish. When the tides are bigger, we fish the shallower water.”“ The thing I like is the variety of fish that you can catch while live bait fishing, including halibut, stripers, rockfish, lingcod and occasionally a shark,” he said. Aho served as deckhand on the New Keesa from 1990 until when he got his captain’ s license in 1994 while the Captain Mike O’ Connell was still alive. He skippered the New Keesa from 1994, as a relief skipper, until 2002 when O’ Connell passed away of a heart attack.“ The halibut fishing is very good this year,” he stated.“ Our best year ever for halibut was 1994. This year there’ s a lot of shaker halibut in the system, along with undersized stripers, pointing to great fishing in the future.” He started trips in his new boat in June. The boat, made out of a Fiberglass hull for the navy, was used as a Vessel Assist rescue boat and a commercial fishing boat before he purchased it last November and refitted it for fishing on San Francisco Bay and the ocean with a Cummings engine. The fishing was tough for keeper fish on the day we fished, but we did manage to catch a keeper halibut and striper at Paradise Cay. Although we didn’ t put a lot of keeper fish in the boat, we all had a lot of fun catching and release undersized halibut and stripers both at the cay and off Angel Island. During the trip, Aho and I reminisced about the antics of Cliff Anfinson and his long time friend, O’ Connell, back in the 1980’ s and 1990. They were two of the funniest and most feisty guys I’ ve ever met. They were also strong critics of government policies and advocates for fishery restoration and conservation who showed up at meetings, hearings and protests. They often played outrageous jokes on one another and other skippers. When O’ Con- nell finally bought a cell phone for his boat, he bought a plan with limited free minutes. So Anfinson told commercial and recreation anglers on the radio that that it was Mike’ s Birthday that day – and to call him on his cell phone to wish him well. During the trip, O’ Connell received one call after another from folks wishing him“ Happy Birthday,” even though it wasn’ t his birthday. Soon his free minutes were exhausted, according to Aho. In addition to live bait fishing on the bay, Aho is available for rockfish and salmon trips outside of the Golden
Gate and shark and sturgeon charters in the bay out of the Berkeley Marina. On his latest trip outside the Golden Gate, the 4 anglers fishing with Aho landed 4 salmon to 10 pounds while mooching with anchovies at 45 to 50 feet deep. They also kept a half dozen quality blue and brown rockfish, as well as releasing others, before targeting salmon. For more information, contact Bay Charter Boats, 510-850-2285 or cell 510-672-6913, http:// www. baycharterboats. com /
Paradise Cay is one of the best spots to fish for halibut and striped bass on San Francisco Bay. Photo by DAN BACHER, Fish Sniffer Staff.