Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3905 Feb 14-28 | Page 26

24 Feb 14 - 28, 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 5 SALTWATER REPORTS BERKELEY Stripers & Sturgeon Excite Winter Anglers BERKELEY Most East Bay charter boats have either left the East Bay to chase sturgeon in the upper bays or they are offline preparing for the salmon and rockfish seasons to come. There have been a few sporadic reports of stripers from anglers fishing the Race Track shoreline. Kastmasters and shrimp baits have gotten the stripers. There are good numbers of rays being caught by bait anglers and some of them are decent size. Anglers fishing grass shrimp and pile worms under bobbers and off the bottom have picked up the first surfperch of the year. In the south bay, a small shot of herring activity prompted some sturgeon success for private boaters. The best action is taking place in the extreme south end of the bay, but fish Central coast anglers had have been caught lots of fun reeling up big along the channels numbers of tasty sanddabs this January. off Alameda and Photo courtesy of HULI CAT San Leandro too. SPORTFISHING, Half Moon Top baits at this time Bay. are ghost shrimp, herring fillets and eel. S.F. Bay halibut action is right around the corner. Chris Barfield nailed In the San Leandro this handsome bay halibut last May. area perch anglers Photo courtesy of CHRIS BARFIELD, Sacramento. are starting to see increasing numbers of shiner perch moving into the area. Pile worms, ghost shrimp and white prawns are the favored baits for anglers fishing from shoreline trail. BODEGA BAY Charter Boats Continue with Crab Only Trips BODEGA BAY – The doldrums of the winter months continue, and party and private boats are looking forward to the rockfish opener on April 1st. However, there has been a call for crab-only on occasion out of this Sonoma County port. Limits of Dungeness crab remain the rule after on a few pulls as the crab counts are climbing up again since most commercial vessels have pulled their pots and headed to other grounds. Our first glimpse of the regulations for the upcoming ocean salmon season will be revealed during the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Annual Salmon Information meeting on February 27, at 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the Sonoma County Water Agency, 404 Aviation Blvd., Santa Rosa. The meeting will cover 2020 abundance forecasts and serves as an opportunity for the public to provide input regarding the upcoming ocean salmon season. Captain Rick Powers of Bodega Bay Sport Fishing was twice this week with a combined 20 anglers for limits of Dungeness crab to 3.5 pounds in a little over 2.5 hours. He said, “The weather was beautiful with gray whales migrating south. We will continue to do these These anglers crushed limits of sturgeon during an early January Suisun Bay adventure trips weather and interest dependent, but now with Captain Hayden Mullins. Photo courtesy of DRAGON SPORTFISHING, Pittsburg. is the time to get out and watch these whales migrate while pulling up a limit of crab. I was back out again with 8 anglers on Saturday, and they were back at the dock within two hours with limits of crab. I have postponed my haul-out unit March in order to take advantage of the good crabbing throughout the month of With The Bay Area’s Premier Sportfishing Family… Halibut February.” Powers was out on a scientific research trip Now Booking S.F. Bay Halibut & Striper Stripers to the Cordell Banks within the past week, Live Bait Potluck Trips! Lingcod and their mission was to collect yellowtail and chilipepper rockfish loaded with eggs, and Salmon they found multiple species that were released with a descending device. On the way out to Sharks Cordell, there were schools of anchovies ‘all & More the way out and all of the way back.” - Dave Hurley Get Your Fish On! Charters & Open Loads Available Departing Daily From The Berkeley Marina Happy Hooker (510) 223-5388 Pacific Dream 3807 (510) 993-4414 Follow Us On Facebook Building On The Legacy of Capt. Jim Smith! Two Boats To Turn Your Fishing Dreams Into Reality! PACIFIC DREAM Captain Chris Smith’s 58’ Pacific Dream Captain Jonathan Smith’s 56’ Happy Hooker HALF MOON BAY Party Boats Awaiting Rockfish Opener Fill Bill with Sanddabs, Sole and Crabs EL GRANADA - Half Moon Bay private and party boats are filling in the time between the end of the 2019 rockfish season and the start of the 2020 rockfish season on April 1st by either settling for boat maintenance or taking out light loads for sand dab/crab combination trips. The good news is the crab limits remain the rule as the pots are filling up once again CONTINUED ON PG 26 Sturgeon fishing has been great this winter for anglers fishing the West Delta with Captain Hayden Mullins. Photo courtesy of DRAGON SPORTFISHING, Pittsburg.