Let the Games Begin!

The halibut fishery is starting to come around. The scores are not like years past but the chances of you taking halibut home to eat are pretty good.

  This week we started the day after Mother’s Day.

Monday:  I commercial fished SOLO and managed to get 6 halibut to the boat. The grade of fish was superb. With fish to 16 pounds and most others in the 10-12 pound range. Alameda Rock wall was the ticket and 20-22 foot of water seemed to have halibut in it.

Tuesday: Another commercial day that didn’t pan out so well. I wound up fishing other locations due to the lack of action at Alameda Rock Wall. I got called by a fellow angler to San Bruno Shoals. We put in 2 butts before the wind came up. It was hard fishing but gave me a great starting point for my Wednesday Charter trip.

Wednesday:  This fine day would start with a bang.  The charter specified NO Deck Hand. This is a major challenge normally. Imagine having to play basketball with a new team and you’re the only one who knows the rules.  These guys had enough fish savvy to get the job done. We only lost 2 of our 8 hook-ups. And as you can see we hooked up some pretty good fish.

  The day started at the end of the Alameda Air strip with lots of bait in 17 foot and a slowing flood, we boxed a 12 pound halibut for my 3 tack effort.

We then ran up to San Bruno shoals for a small time slug fest with another Six Pac boat and a few commercial guys. I love this, Confident, proud and producing. That’s what we do!

See you next good tide set. Until then we are back to work and fishing Wed, Thurs and Fridays again.

More Halibut Action

We weren’t expecting much. Even though some reports are boasting "FISH" , the scores of 2-3 fish don’t really give you a great feeling for a mass of fish in any one location. Traditional spots get pressure regardless of their fish holding nature. Nobody can really pinpoint a great bite unless you actually go out and look.
We have been fishing. Normally, we get out and find some fish in their normal locations. This year has been tough.
One of the most consistent boats that I see is Lovely Martha. Michael has been getting out often and seems to be making the best of it. His reports are easy to find and he seems like a real stand-up guy. He tells you like it is.
Monday I ran out of Richmond. I heard Michael's score from a few of his groupies. I saw him over at South Hampton. Before I could get my gear out he was calling to say Hi. It seems as though over the weekend the bite was good at South Hampton. How Good? Scores of fish around and even some double digits from full boats.
Right now Michael’s is trolling. Definitely a solid tactic considering the price of shiners at the only gig in town or spend the time catching your own bait.
We managed to hook 2 -10 pounds on the SHS both 10 pounds on the last of the flood. We then ran over to Paradise for one more 10pounder. We finished the day with 3 butts.
Tuesday we took the same pattern and started at SHS for another 10 pound fish and got over to Paradise before the start of the ebb. We worked pretty hard for 6 more butts. We ran out of current, looked in the Berkeley flats and found some dirty water so we went home.
Wednesday I had to go sell fish so, I made it out late, giving SHS 2 solid tacks. Nothing! Over to P-dice. We trolled around for a solid 2 hours checking bait as often as possible without boring my new Deck Hand. A 20pounder hit the deck! Then 30 minutes later a 4 pounder and that was it for us we left a small fleet of commercial guys at paradise with some dirty water and a great memory for my next door neighbor.

You guys looking for an advantage: Best advice I can give is keep going until you stumble on something. My large dodgers in green (Seps) combined with smaller baits have done equally well.