Departing from Fisherman’ s Wharf • San Francisco
SALTWATER
28 May 25- June 8, 2018 VOL. 37 • ISS. 12
Halibut Bonanza Aboard The Happy Hooker!
S pring is a great time to be a fisherman in Northern California. There are lots of great angling opportunities available.
Take your choice: stripers, black bass, crappie, trout, kokanee, rockfish and halibut to name just a few.
For me personally, I have been waiting all season to do a bit of live bait potluck fishing. Early in the season, the focus is primarily on halibut and striped bass. As the season progresses, rockfish become part of the mix.
SILVER FOX
Sportfishing
( 415) 367-5600
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Salmon, Halibut, Bass Potluck
WHAT’ S HOT SALTWATER by Mark Fong
Big halibut, big smiles and beautiful San Francisco Bay Area scenary … That’ s been the story aboard the charter boat Happy Hooker this spring.
Photo by MARK FONG, Fish Sniffer Staff.
With my decision made, I gave Captain Jonathon Smith of Happy Hooker Sportfishing a call( 510) 223-5388; www. happyhookersportfishing. com) and booked a spot on the rail.
Jonathon and his father Chris operate the 56’ Happy Hooker out of the Berkeley Marina during live bait season.
Once on board, Captain Jonathon confirmed we would be drifting live anchovies on a standard live bait three way swivel rig.
After leaving the breakwater, Captain Jonathon steered the Happy Hooker toward the barges near the east side of Treasure Island where he carefully set up for our first drift.
I baited up with a lively anchovy and lowered my rig to the bottom. After a few drifts, the halibut started to bite. Unfortunately, the fish were all shy of keeper length which prompted the Captain to make a change.
Captain Jonathon announced that we would be making a run to the South Bay to catch the tide change. When we arrived at our destination, the tide was just starting to get right and it did not take long for the fish to start biting. The first fish to come over the rail was a nice schoolie striper. Soon bigger halibut started to hit the deck.
As we drifted along, I kept my eyes fixed on the tip of my rod as it bobbed up and down in
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Departing from Fisherman’ s Wharf • San Francisco
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Mark Fong nailed this impressive 20 pound California halibut while fishing San Francisco Bay aboard Berkeley’ s Happy Hooker this April.
Photo by MARK FONG, Fish Sniffer Staff. the rod holder. All of a sudden the rhythmic cadence changed. I removed my rod from the holder and let the fish load up. Once I felt the weight of the fish, I began reeling quickly to set the hook.
“ Fish On,” I cried out and deckhand Greg was quickly at my side with the net. The fish made a powerful run and I knew that this was not a shaker. After an extended tug of war, Greg slid the net under a beautiful halibut in the 20lb range.
By this time other anglers on the boat were hooking up too. For the next several hours a mixture of keeper halibut and shakers kept the boat a buzz with
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I caught quite a few more fish, but none were of legal length. My day ended with one very nice keeper halibut. The boat score for the day totaled 27 keeper halibut to 22 lbs and 2 keeper striped bass for 14 anglers.
I had a great time fishing with Captain Jonathon and deckhand Greg. Captain Jonathon told me he expects the fishing to get even better. Once the striped bass return from the Delta, watch out. I can’ t wait to get out and fish again.
Don’ t you miss out. Now is the time to get in on some great saltwater fishing action.
www. captainstevesfishinglodge. com P. O. Box 39143, Ninilchik, AK 99639
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