Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3907 Mar 13-27 | Page 29

March 13-27, 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 7 MONTEREY BAY cont. salmon is lower than the 2019 forecast and will likely result in reduced fishing opportunity in the areas north of Pt. Arena. “The outlook for Sacramento River fall Chinook is better than last year, but this season’s fisheries will be tempered by protections needed to conserve low numbers of Klamath River fall Chinook,” said Jennifer Simon, an environmental Get Your Fish On! With The Bay Area’s Premier Sportfishing Family… Halibut Now Booking S.F. Bay Halibut & Striper Stripers Live Bait Potluck Trips! Lingcod Salmon Sharks & More 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 “ I Captain Jonathan Smith’s 56’ Happy Hooker 27 scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Ocean Salmon Project. Recreational anglers and commercial salmon trollers at the meeting provided comments and voiced concerns to a panel of fishery managers, scientists and industry representatives. Stakeholder input will be taken into consideration when developing three alternatives for this season during the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) meeting, which will be held March 3-9 in Rohnert Park. Final regulations Mark was hunting for sanddabs aboard the Huli Cat on February 17 will be adopted at and got a surprise when this 17 inch petrale sole came knocking. the April 4-10 PFMC Photo courtesy of HULI CAT SPORTFISHING, Half Moon Bay. meeting in Vancouver, Washington. The PFMC may take a conservative approach when season setting process or crafting 2020 ocean salmon seasons general ocean salmon since both SRFC and KRFC stocks are fishing information, visit still considered to be overfished under the Ocean Salmon Project the terms of the federal Salmon Fishery web page or call the Management Plan. ocean salmon hotline at For more information on the salmon (707) 576-3429. La Paz Anglers Hook Up Despite Wind t was typically windy as if often the case this time of year and “cold” on top of it by Mexico standards. Locals were bundled up while tourists visiting La Paz for sunshine were walking around in shorts and t-shirts,” reported Jonathan Roldan of Tailhunter International. “As far as the wind was concerned, it blew hard in some areas some days and less so in other areas. And, of course, it affected the fishing. Some folks fishing one area pretty much got blown off the water or had to cancel trips. Others found some decent windows to get lines wet, even if only tempo- rarily before winds shifted and the waves just got too rough and choppy,” observed Roldan. “For our anglers fishing the Las Arenas/ Muertos Bay/ Cerralvo Island areas, there were the occasional dorado and we even got a surprising chunky tuna that ran about 70 pounds taken on a trolled Rapala. On the East side of Cerralvo Island, there was a quick jag of yellowtail that ran 15-25 pounds, especially if you got into the live mackerel that tempo- rarily schooled up,” Roldan exclaimed. “Inshore, pargo, cabrilla and jack crevalle provided some fun entertainment. For our anglers that were able to get out of the Bay and head north towards Espirito Santo Island, some yellow- tail were also found, but it was pretty rough getting These folks were exploring East Cape waters this February out of the Hotel Palmas De Cortez when they successfully battled this big wahoo. Photo courtesy of VAN WORMER RESORTS, East Cape, Baja. out there. Fortunately, there were some school-sized dorado just inside the bay that could be caught with most fish going about 10 pounds. But, it was still pretty rough out there,” Roldan concluded. Dorado Notes For The Baja Bound Angler LOCATED JUST 3905 Howard took a February long range trip aboard the Red Rooster III this February and successfully battled this huge 215-pound yellowfin tuna. Photo courtesy of RED ROOSTER III SPORTFISHING, San Diego. Dorado (or mahi-mahi as they are called some places or dolphin fish as they are called in other places) are one of the world’s most popular gamefish, and it’s no mystery why that is. They are spectacularly colored, fight hard and jump when hooked, and taste delicious. They are abundant in Baja and because they are a fast-growing, short-lived fish they are hungry more often than not. They die of old age around 5-6 years and attain a maximum weight of around 90lbs. In terms of offerings most dorado are caught on trolling lures such as rubber skirts meant for marlin or sailfish or feathers meant for Tuna. They also hit trolled plugs such as Rapalas. If dorado are concentrated in an area, either through chumming or because there is a piece of floating debris, a wide variety of lures may be cast to them. A favorite is a popper, which they will readily eat. If they are fired up they will pretty much eat anything. Dorado mostly eat fish so traditional baitfish such as sardines and Pacific Mackerel work well. Larger fish will eat larger baits. Dorado have relatively small mouths but it always amazing how they can somehow still engulf relatively large baits.