Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3820 Sept 13-27 | Page 23

GONE FISHING were running pretty high for a productive afternoon. I’m not going to lie, after the early wake up and running around the pitching deck all morning I was feeling pretty sleepy, so I headed down below decks, stretched out and was soon sound asleep. When Jonathan slowed the engines 90 minutes later, I was up and ready to smack some halibut around. I hadn’t brought a rod along since I wasn’t sure if I’d have time to fish, so Jonathan let me use his new halibut rig topped with a beautiful blue Accurate reel. Anglers fishing aboard the Happy Hooker in late August picked up good numbers of white sea bass, including one day when the entire boat limited out on the great eating hard fighting fish. Photo courtesy of HAPPY HOOKER SPORTFISHING, Berkeley. Sept 13-27, 2019 FRESHWATER VOL.38 • ISS. 20 21 Continued from page 1 On our first drift at Paradise, on the fish and flats south of Red Rock we picked up passed one several jumbo shaker halibut and a pair off during a of keepers. For the next couple hours, Cal Kellogg we enjoyed wide open halibut fishing. School There were a lot of big shakers Fishing feeding, but every fourth fish or so adventure. was a keeper. About midway through As a result, the afternoon, I hooked up with a big I’d never halibut in the 15 to 20-pound class. I tried eating knew the fish was big and did my best sea bass until to slowly float it to the surface, but the Jonathan fishing gods were against me and for gave me a some reason the hook pulled free and fillet this my prize was gone. week. I boated a pair of keepers, but losing As readers that big boy stung and I’m still reliving of the Fish it now! I tend to catch a lot of keeper Sniffer know, halibut, but I haven’t gotten many fish I love eating over 15 pounds while fishing California halibut, waters, despite decades of drifting live lingcod and anchovies both inside and outside the rockfish, but bay. I’ve got to When we called it a day around Looking ahead, the Happy Hooker say that white 4 o’clock we’d released 75 shaker sea bass will be spending a lot of time at the Farallon Islands and Point halibut and had put 19 keepers into might be the Reyes in search of big rockfish the box. It had been a long fun day best Norcal and trophy lingcod. and there were a lot of smiles to be Photo courtesy of HAPPY HOOKER fish I’ve seen as we pulled into the Berkeley SPORTFISHING, Berkeley. ever eaten. I Marina. Several anglers took home blackened it prize rods and just about everyone got a in a hot pan just like a cook halibut and it spool of P-Line. was super good. It was tender, sweet and Upcoming Captain Jonathan plans to as white as a fine China dinner plate! begin targeting trophy lingcod and big In closing I’d like to thank everyone rockfish at the Farallon Islands, but he’s that turned out for Cal Kellogg School Of committed to staying in the bay at least Fishing trips this season. We had some one day a week for live bait potluck laughs, saw some handsome fish hit the fishing for halibut, stripers and perhaps deck and there is nothing better than some more white sea bass. hanging out with a bunch of Fish Sniffer I’ve hooked a couple white sea bass readers. Not only in my S.F. Bay fishing career. I lost one are we blessed Halibut fishing was red hot inside S.F. Bay during the Cal Kellogg School Of Fishing trip aboard the Happy Hooker on August 22. Photo courtesy of HAPPY HOOKER SPORTFISHING, Berkeley. with readers that know how to fish, they are also good sports and always ready to smile! I’d also like to thank the skippers and crews that hosted all of us. Skippers are stoic and deckhands often look pretty tough, but below the surface they have hearts of gold and they devote themselves to helping their anglers catch fish, while keeping everyone safe and happy! Keep your eyes on the pages of the Fish Sniffer. While I don’t have a date on the books yet, I generally host an end of the season crab and rockfish trip to top off the freezer and say goodbye to the charter season that was. I hope there will be plenty of Fish Sniffer readers to join me! Gone Fishin’ Marine Customer Appreciation Day Slated For September 21 At Lake Berryessa! G one Fishin’ Marine is hosting their first annual customer appreciation day at Steel Canyon Park at Lake Berryessa on September 21. The event features a bass tournament on September 21 and a trout tournament the next day. All boats and brands are welcome. In addition to the fishing there will be a free BBQ, a huge raffle and activities for the kids. To sign up for the fishing segment of the event go to Anglers- Press.Com. About Gone Fishin’ Marine When a lot of folks think about Gone Fishin’ Marine in Dixon, Ca they think about Duckworth, KingFisher and Tracker Boats. Sure, the Gone Fishin’ Team features all these boat lines, but there is so much more to choose from. In terms of boats and motors, Gone Fishin’ is proud to provide Evinrude, Yamaha, Mercury and Honda motors and boats from the following lines: Tahoe, Sun Tracker, SeaRay, Lund, Nitro, Harris and Ranger. And of course, in addition to all the brand-new boats and motors we listed, Gone Fishin’ also houses an ever changing and extensive pre-owned inventory. Moving on, Gone Fishin’ recently made a significant expansion when they opened Ride On Power Sports right next to their boat dealership. Ride On provides a full line of Can-Am atvs and Sea-Doo Jet Skis! Fishing, off roading, water skiing, wake- boarding, cruising or adrenaline filled jet ski action… Gone Fishin’ Marine has got YOUR brand of recreation covered. Gone Fishin’ Marine is located at 1880 N. Lincoln St. in Dixon, Ca. Ride On Power Sports is right next door. For more information call (877) Karena 305-7538-www.gfmarine. 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