Let’s be honest, this is a very slow time of year unless you’re a sturgeon angler praying for rain or a duck hunter just hoping. The big news so far is the lack of any sort of weather, especially when compared to last year at this time. The caveat may be a storm door is supposed to open toward the end of January.
As of this writing, that storm door is still two weeks into the future, and if you know my history of working TV news or keeping track of “seven-day forecasts” you’ll know my opinion is that an ape with a dartboard could be equally as accurate.
This is not to slight my TV weather friends, most of whom actually have meteorology degrees. They’re just doing what they’re told by the news director, who saw the other station go to a seven-day forecast. The good weather people are the few who actually go outside and feel the weather before going on the air. Believe it or not, very few actually do this.
The better forecasters will run against the grain and occasionally say something like, “The National Weather Service is predicting this, but actually I feel this is what to expect.” These are the people I respect. Either way, by the time February rolls around we should have a very good idea where we stand on seasonal snow and rainfall totals.
Let It Rain
You can bet there are plenty of urban and agricultural water people hoping for a drought-like year just to push their agenda of a peripheral canal. Equally dangerous is the SoCal-based Coalition for a Sustainable Delta. These are the folks who sued the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) to rid the Delta of striped bass. Rather than fight the suit, DFG caved in to the deep-pocket coalition and has now practically offered to give up on stripers in order to settle the suit.
As has been mentioned here, and many other places, the DFG Commission is meeting Feb. 2 in Sacramento to possibly decide if the striped bass bag limit should be raised to six fish and the size limit lowered to 12 inches. There’s been a lot of opposition to the move, so there is a possibility they could reject the proposal or table it for a later date.
This is a classic confrontation of average citizens fighting for what’s obviously right pitted against big bucks and heavy-handed politics. The ultimate decision depends on how much pressure is put on the commissioners, and whether pro-fishing Commission President Jim Kellogg, whose term is up in January, is retained. If this were in Arnie’s court, Kellogg would likely be gone.
Slimmer Pickings
After a very good start to crab season, the pressure of commercial fishing started to show in December. No one is complaining, but the numbers for many sport crabbers outside the Gate and Half Moon Bay has dipped considerably for those working in less than 150 feet of water.
Of course, there are always exceptions and a new batch of crab could wander in from deeper water now that many of the commercial crabbers have stacked their pots on land. Those who stay the course can usually find success throughout the season if they’re willing to move the gear.
In Bodega Bay, there seems to still be enough crabs to fill both party boat and private limits. Most of the inside spots are picked fairly clean, but working in 150 to 200 feet of water is still a good bet.
As we get deeper into the winter swell, which has been almost absent to date, it’s important to understand where the dangers lie and why. Outside the Gate, you want to know where the bar stretches beyond Point Bonita, and when it’s safe to travel through Bonita Channel.
Pillar Point Harbor has a very rocky and dangerous reef in front of the breakwater. It’s generally a safe and easy area to maneuver, but knowing where not to be and understanding how things can change on a low tide is important for long-term safety.
Shore Rockies
Rockfishing from a boat is done for the next six months, but shore fishing for rockfish is open year-round. You may remember that when these ridiculous seasons went into effect, rockfishing was even closed to shore anglers. Fortunately, someone at DFG was listening and the rule was changed after a season or two.
The point is most of us started off as shore anglers, and although there are many advantages to the mobility of a vessel, the challenge of landing a decent rockfish from dry land can still be fun. Our coastline is full of productive areas, many of which I scoured as a kid.
Over the years, I’ve tried to scale back my gear around the rocks, but it just doesn’t work from shore. The only way to get through the kelp and haul a fish out of the rocks is a stout rod and at least 30-lb. test line.
Prawns are great all-around bait for perch and rockfish, but if you’re targeting just rockfish, squid works well. To get more specific, use abalone trimmings for cabezon. When fresh wasn’t available, we would buy canned abalone. The ab meat is so tough that you’re more likely to lose your hooks in snags than have your bait picked off by a fish.
Another way to go is tossing swimbaits off the Pillar Point breakwater. You won’t get a whole lot of bites, but there are quality fish lurking around the kelp. One of the more productive spots is about midway out on the south wall.
The key to shore-bound rockfish success is a calm sea. A big swell will swipe out any chance of staying put, and it makes the fish very uncomfortable as well.
Sturgeon Activity
It’s been hard to get a good read on sturgeon action in San Pablo Bay – which is my neck of the woods. There have been some good days on minus ebb tides, but the wide-open domination we saw last spring is not likely to happen without precipitation.
We’re really in that “put in your time and hope for the best” mode right now. Similar to last year, mud shrimp has been the primary bait of choice for discriminating sturgeon. At times, using salmon roe has made a difference.
Remember: When a bite does come you want to be prepared, know what to look for, and be capable of converting. Many of these bites are very subtle and pull no harder than a crab nibbling on the line. When you see that little nibble on the rod tip, set the hook hard – remember, swings are free.
Never place the rod in a rod holder. And always have your rod in a place where you can easily get to it and set the hook all in one motion. Best of all is holding the rod. It takes stamina and patience, but you rarely miss a bite.
To demonstrate an example of a soft bite from a big fish, I posted a video clip from “Hooked on Fishing the Golden Gate” volume four on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uNRih8Tltg.
Napa Combo
When most folks think of a combo trip it’s most likely crab and rockfish, but in the Napa Marsh it’s ducks and sturgeon, or maybe a bass. I’ve done a lot of fishing in this area, but very little hunting.
My friend Chris Randall talked me into a scouting trip for ducks on a foggy December morning.
We launched at Skaggs Island where you need to purchase a key from the county to access the small Sonoma County launch ramp. This puts you right in the marsh and only minutes from both ducks and productive sturgeon water. The other option is to launch at Cuttings Wharf on the Napa River and run downstream.
This is a great area for the small boater. Sturgeon can be found anywhere from in front of the launch ramp down to the Highway 37 bridge, or in any of the sloughs. You can even use the Napa Slough to traverse over to Sonoma Creek.
We ended up hiding on the edge of the Napa River in the area, where we scared up some birds. The plan actually worked as we dropped a couple of passing teal. As the tide got lower, we had to move and we worked our way inside the marsh where we found another spot on a point. This also worked.
There were a lot of birds sitting on the very shallow water in the middle of the marsh. We figured some real weather might move these birds and produce some decent shooting.
As I mentioned, this is a really good area without too much traffic for small boaters. One place nearby you can store a vessel of any size is the Napa Valley Marina. They have a huge storage yard and plenty of slips, many of them covered. You can literally be fishing or hunting in minutes.
What It’s Worth
A DFG study done in 1985 states that the California economy lost $2.3 billion during a 20-year period between 1963 and 1983. This was due to a decline in fisheries. More specifically loss of those worthless striped bass cost the economy $839 million over 20 years – project that into today’s dollars and imagine what that has done to the industry. It’s no wonder so many sport shops have gone out of business even in the past 10 years. Then imagine what may happen if the water barons get their way.
The decline of steelhead for the same period cost the state $827 million, and salmon came in at $647 million. I’d guess the salmon number could be double that today.
In 1983, these fisheries generated $113 million to the California economy. It’s estimated these same fisheries could bring an additional $250 million annually if stocks were restored to historical levels. This is a pipe dream, but it certainly beats the nightmare we’re facing now.
Pricey Fish
The price of fish keeps going up, especially for high-grade bluefin tuna.
A 593-pound bluefin caught off northeastern Japan ended up at Tokyo’s Tsukiji market where it sold to Kiyoshi Kimura, president of a sushi restaurant chain, for 56.49 million yen – that’s $736,000. That translates to $1,238 per pound.
Can you imagine what a plate of sushi must cost in Japan?
Steelhead Report Cards
The DFG likes to remind anglers that they are required to return 2011 Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Cards between Jan. 1 and Jan. 31. Anglers are requested to review their cards carefully and complete the information as accurately as possible. Information collected from report cards provides DFG with data necessary to monitor and manage California’s steelhead fisheries.
The Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card is a fishing report as well as a catch report. Steelhead anglers record where and when they fished, even if no fish were caught on a given trip. Anglers are encouraged to submit steelhead report card data online at www.dfg.ca.gov/steelheadcard.
Report cards can still be submitted the old fashioned way by snail mail. Information must be submitted regardless of whether or not the angler fished for steelhead. Look on the card for the address.
Additional information and a list of frequently asked questions about the program can be found on DFG’s Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card Program webpage (see the link above). The webpage includes an overview of steelhead biology and statewide status, projects funded with steelhead angler dollars, angling data, and monthly angling effort and monthly catch for a majority of the state’s streams.
Anglers may download a copy of the overview or they can request one be mailed to them when they return their Steelhead Fishing Report and Restoration Card.
If you have any comments, you can send an e-mail to me at fishing@yachtsmanmagazine.com.
