Fish Sniffer On Demand Digital Edition Issue 3908 Mar 27- Apr 10 | Page 26

24 Mar 27-Apr 10, 2020 VOL.39 • ISS. 8 SALTwater reports Berkeley Spring Halibut Bite Builds Bodega Bay Sonoma Coast Anglers Looking Forward to Rockfish and Salmon Openers BERKELEY - “I kayaked out to the Alameda Rockwall for my first try at halibut trolling this spring on March 5 and the fishing turned to be really BODEGA BAY – Life will resume out of the good,” reported Fish Sniffer reader Mark Wolff of Bodega Bay harbor beginning on Saturday, April San Lorenzo. 1st, as the local rockfish season will provide a “I trolled with anchovies on a three-way rig without reason for anglers to head outside of the jetties. a dodger. I hooked the first fish in 7 feet of water. It The rockfish opener will be followed by the April turned out to be a 23-inch keeper halibut. I worked 11th ocean salmon season in local waters, and the that area a little more and picked up a 14-inch early predictions and sign provide all indication for striper. After that I moved into deeper water. Almost a solid salmon season. In immediately I got an 18-inch the meantime, crab-only trips halibut and then an hour after by a few remaining six-pack that I landed a 22-inch halibut. boats fill the bill until the local When the wind came up I openers. All six-packs along headed in. It was a great start to with the only large party boat the season,” Wolff exclaimed. operating out of Bodega Captain James Smith of Bay, Captain Rick Power’s California Dawn Sportfishing New Sea Angler, are taking kicked off the halibut season a reservations for both openers. few days ago with his first trolling The local campgrounds will trip of the spring. On that trip, be crowded over both opening 9 anglers picked up 4 keeper weekends so reservations are halibut to about 10 pounds. a must when planning ahead. “The halibut are scattered Captain Rick Powers of around the bay, so it’s going to Bodega Bay Sport Fishing take some scouting to find the has his vessel ready for the best concentrations of fish. This season openers, and he is is the time of the year when taking reservations for both the fish are moving in from the seasons. Once the salmon ocean so you never know where season start, Powers will run the next hot spot will be. One his popular combination trips thing is certain. This is going to where anglers might have RJ headed out for a day of halibut trolling on be a great halibut season and the opportunity to target both S.F. Bay in early March and rounded up this things are going to get really rockfish and salmon in a single dandy fish on rigged herring. exciting when live bait becomes Photo courtesy of RJ SANCHEZ, Sacramento. available,” Smith predicted. CONTINUED ON PG 25 3807 GET ON BOARD! ROCKFISH & SALMON! Jigging Up Lingcod The depth and speed of the drift determine how much weight you’ll need to use. You always want to go with the lightest jig possible. Light jigs have the best action and catch the most fish. If the jigs you choose come with heavy chrome trebles, replace them with oversize bronze trebles, this way when the jig snags the high breaking strength of the braid will allow you to bend open the hook and then bend it back into shape when you get it back to the surface. Okay, you’ve got your tackle and now we are either on a private boat or charter boat at the lingcod grounds. The technique used for jigging is simple, yet if you deviate this basic approach your success rate will drop. The first thing you want to do is put a large swivel on the end of your braid and then attach a 24 inch section of 40 pound mono leader to it before tying on the jig. If the jig snags and you can’t work it free the leader will break before the braid and you won’t loose any line. The next step is to determine which way the boat is drifting. You want to be on the leading side of the boat, so you can pitch your jig up drift. Free spool the jig all the way to the bottom with light thumb pressure on the spool. When the jig hits the bottom, put the reel in gear, reel up the slack and start working the jig up and down with 3 foot sweeps of the rod tip. As the boat drifts toward the jig, you’ll have to keep retrieving line. The jig should just tick the bottom on the down stroke. Pretty soon the jig will be directly below you and then it will sweep under the boat. When it does reel it up and make another cast. HALF MOON BAY By Cal Kellogg Jigging for lingcod is nothing new. Anglers have been using jigs to tempt these toothy bottom dwellers for decades. However, recent advance in tackle from rods and reels, to lines to the jigs themselves have enabled jigging enthusiasts to take their game to a whole new level. At the core of my lingcod fishing system is braided line. Braid is exceedingly high in strength, small in diameter and offers virtually no stretch. This means that I can reach the bottom with a jig weighing far less than the jigs I’d need to use if I were fishing with mono. Lighter jigs are livelier and more action translates to more and harder strikes. The low stretch characteristics of braid translate to extreme sensitivity, giving me a great feel for the bottom. It’s snaggy in a lings living room. You want your jig working right above the rocks. If your jig drags, it will quickly become snagged. The luxury of using sensitive fine diameter braid has made the heavy rods and huge reels of yesteryear virtually obsolete. One of my pet ling rods wasn’t even designed for saltwater fishing. It is an 8 foot graphite black bass stick intending to be used for throwing swimbaits. This rod has ample power, yet it is nimble and sensitive. Since braid is significantly smaller than mono you can now get by using medium size high speed level wind reels. There are several great reels on the market from a number of manufactures. What you are looking for is a reel with a strong drag that is rated to hold 300 yards of 15 to 17 pound mono. When you head out of the water you want to have a selection of jigs from 4 to 8 ounces in weight. Now Booking www.hulicat.com 650-726-2926