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Until the ocean salmon season open between Horse Mountain and Point Arena on
February 15, rockfishing off Punta Gorda north of Cape Mendocino will remain
the top angling option open to recreational anglers of the Fort Bragg and
Shelter Cove areas.
Punta Gorda, or "Jurassic Park" as it's called locally, is legendary for the
quality and quantity of lingcod and assorted rockcod that it produces. With
the rockfish season closed until July 1 on the rest of the California coast,
the "northern zone" is the sole area open for anglers that have the urge to
catch some tasty rockfish and lingcod. The only problem is that you can only
fish this area when the seas are calm enough to allow a boat to get up the
coast.
"This week, we finally made it up to Punta Gorda to catch big sacks of
rockfish and lingcod on two consecutive trips," stated Don Powers from Noyo
Fishing Center. "Although we have had a lot of interest in rockcod trips,
it's been tough getting out because of the numerous winter storms that have
passed through this area."
On January 16, fifteen passengers fishing aboard Rumblefish with Captain Tom
Johnson landed full limits of assorted rockcod and limits of hefty lingcod
to 20 pounds. The average lingcod weighed a solid 12 pound.
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During the following trip, the lingcod bite slowed, but the 21 anglers aboard El Patron were still able to catch their limits of rockfish and 25 lingcod to 20 pounds. They tricked the fish with 6 to 8 ounce bars and shrimp fly teasers at 90 to 200 feet deep. "Our boats took their passengers to fish off Rogers Break and the mouth of the Mattole River," stated Powers. "Although we are known most for our ocean fishery, we also offer some fine coastal fishing for steelhead and redtail surfperch," said Powers. "Fortunately for me, not many anglers know how good the steelhead runs on the Navarro River and Noyo can be, so we can often have the rivers virtually to ourselves." Powers noted that catch and release of steelhead is mandatory now, since the fish are all wild. "The river isn't very far from Fort Bragg and the 8-10 pound fish we catch on the Navarro are well worth the drive," said Powers. Don suggested fishing with roe or Wiggle Warts. The steelhead season is open from January 1 until March 1. Another productive fishery for Fort Bragg anglers is surfperch fishing along the beaches north of Fort Bragg. "The majority of beaches to the north are prime locations to try for perch between January and May," he explained. The bag limit for these tasty fish is 5 per person and a minimum size of 10 inches is required. For the best results, Powers suggested targeting Usal Beach, Westport Union Landing or Ten Mile Beach. "These are not the easiest fish to catch and it will take a little finesse to take them consistently," he said. "The top baits for surf perch include red yarn with shrimp baits." Although interest has been light for flatfish/crab combo trips, Noyo Fishing Center plans to spice the action up on February 14 with salmon/crab combos. Crab pots will be picked up along Ten Mile Beach and Westport in 100-150 feet of water. According to Powers, the average crab weighs 2-2-1/2 pounds now. Meanwhile, Anchor Charters will be concentrating on whale watching trips until salmon season opens on February 15, when they will begin running salmon/crab combination trips, according to Captain Rick Thornton. Judging from the amount of bait they're seeing on their whale watching trips, this could be another great salmon season. For more information about booking a rockfish trip to Punta Gorda or a crab/salmon combo trip, contact Noyo Fishing Center at 707-964-3000 or http://fortbraggfishing.com For fishing trips out of Anchor Charters, contact (707) 964-455 or www.anchorcharterboats.com. For fishing adventures out of Telstar Charters, contact (707) 964-8770 or www.gooceanfishing.com. Make sure to check your California sportfishing ocean regulations booklet before going fishing! |
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