Battle of the Bay Features Good Halibut Fishing Off Seal Rock, North Bar

September 2, 2004
By Jayson Lira

More Articles By Jayson Lira

"The Battle of the Bay" between Emeryville Sportfishing Center and Berkeley Marina Sports Center, organized by the Fish Sniffer magazine, featured solid halibut fishing and some beautiful striped bass to 18 pounds for Fish Sniffer readers.

The rules were simple. The two boats competing against each other, the Rapid Transit from Emeryville and Goldeneye 2000 from Berkeley, would leave the harbor at 6:00 am and fish anywhere the captains desired. At the end of the day, both boats would weigh the total of fish caught, with the winner receiving a plaque and friendly bragging rights.

On the way outside the Golden Gate, the deckhands on the Rapid Transit and Goldeneye 2000 gave the anglers a thorough review on how to nose hook a live bait.

"Make sure to grab the anchovy by the gill plate so you don't injure the fish and kill it," noted Greg Brown, deckhand aboard Goldeneye 2000. "Make sure the bait is still properly hooked once you drop the weight over the railing or you won't get bit. It has to be lively and swimming!"

Both boats were met with rough sea conditions, but fortunately, not enough to deter anglers from fishing. Aboard the Goldeneye 2000, Captain Quang Vo made his first run to the Northbar, as did Captain Mike Fernandez aboard Rapid Transit.

Vo made several passes on the North Bar, but the fish weren't biting. "Go ahead and come in side. We're going to make a little run up to Thornton Beach where we've been catching some big halibut," advised Vo.

However, Captain Fernandez located a good school of fish near where the Goldeneye 2000 had been fishing. During two hours of drifting, the anglers boated half a dozen halibut to about 18 pounds.

Dave Pucci started the day right by catching the first halibut, a 19 pounder, on the Rapid Transit. He followed this up quickly with another quality halibut. Merv Arnold of Citrus Heights also nailed two halibut weighing14.2 and 8 pounds in the first hour of fishing.

Back on the Goldeneye 2000, anglers caught halibut in the 8 to 12 pound class and some bass just off Thornton Beach. Once the boat arrived, schools of bass were working under balls of anchovies. Anglers fishing on the starboard side of the boat took off their weights and began fly-lining bait into the schools of bass.

"Check out the bait jumping on the water," noted Rodney Green of Elk Grove. "There must be bass pushing them towards the surface."

Quick to take advantage of the boiling bass, Fish Sniffer Advertising Account Representative, Sheldon Bright, began fly-lining his bait into the school and quickly hooked a 9 lb. bass. Aaron Page of Antioch quickly followed up with an 8-1/2 lb. bass and finished the day with two additional halibut to 17-1/2 lbs.

Not to be outdone, Toan (Tommy) Ly of Sacramento hooked a big 17 lb. striper that would eventually win him an Okuma rod and reel for biggest bass on the boat.

Anglers also managed to scratch out about 8 quality halibut before Quang decided to head over to Seal Rock.

Other anglers who scored fish aboard the Goldeneye 2000 include Tony Duong with two 10 lb. halibut and Russell Lam with a 14 lb. halibut. Jim Athey of San Leandro took the biggest halibut on the boat, a 20 pounder, as well as bagging an 18 pounder.

John Davis checked in with a 13 lb. halibut, while Michael Ly of Livermore brought in a 9 lb. flattie. In addition to the big bass taken by Toan Ly, he also bagged two halibut to 12 pounds. Nug Dinh and Lowell Norling both caught one halibut each, while Roosevelt Washington beat fellow angler Van (Hop) Hopkins with a 7 lb. bass.

Bill Bright bagged a fat 7 lb. halibut, as did Sheldon Bright. Abe Perry and Terry Hammond both had outstanding days, since they each bagged their limits of halibut. Meanwhile, Jean M. of Yuba City bagged the only jacksmelt on the boat, which later brought her an Okuma rod and reel combo.

As the day progressed, both boats kept on top of the fish, with anglers bringing in several halibut each pass. We also released a dozen king salmon aboard Goldeneye 2000.

Over on the Rapid Transit, Fernandez also began fishing off Seal Rock after the bite slowed down on the North Bar. Don Mott successfully battled two quality halibut going 11 and 19 pounds. However, it was Brian Denatly who caught the biggest fish on the boat and during the event, a 30 pound halibut that won him an Okuma rod and reel combo.

Tim Simons bagged a 5 lb. halibut while Rich Suppan and Errick Dennis each boated a 6 lb. fish. Dave Pucci finished his great day with a limit of halibut. Hector Lopez nailed a 12 lb. halibut, while Dexter Beaver checked in with a 13.5 pounder. Steve Morrissette weighed in a 10 lb. flattie, while Anthony Jenkins took an 8.5 pounder.

Daniel Bacher, Fish Sniffer managing editor, bagged two halibut to 7.5 pounds, while Bill Edmonds took an 8 pounder, as well as losing a huge striper right by the boat. Le Loc of Sacramento caught the largest bass of the event, an 18-pound striped bass, aboard the Rapid Transit.

In the final weigh-in, Emeryville checked in with a total weight of 232 pounds for 20 halibut to 30 pounds and an 18 pound bass, while Berkeley had 295 pounds for 24 halibut and 4 striped bass, winning the plaque for the total pounds of fish.

After they arrived at the Berkeley Marina Harbor Master Conference Center (graciously donated by Berkeley Marina), each of the participants received a mixed gift bag consisting of either Fish Sniffer, Okuma or Power Pro hats, Pautzke Bait Company Baits and Scents, saltwater and freshwater lures from River 2 Sea, spools of Power Pro fishing line and a package of swim baits and spool of Big Game Trilene Fishing Line from Pure Fishing.

The Fish Sniffer would also like to greatly thank Okuma High Performance for donating 10- 6'6" Diezel DZ-30L saltwater rod and reel combos that were awarded to the top four fish on each boat. Two additional rod combos were given to one person from each boat that did not catch fish.

Of course, none of this would have been possible if it were not for Captain Quang Vo of Berkeley and Captain Mike Fernandez of Emeryville, who skippered the boats for the good natured, fun" fish-off." Also, we give a very special thanks to all of the readers who showed up for the trip.

If you have additional questions regarding Fish Sniffer trips for next year or past trips, contact Sheldon Bright, Fish Sniffer Advertising Account Representative, 1-800-748-6599, ext. 31.

For more information about booking fishing trips on the bay and ocean, contact Berkeley Marina Sport Center at 510-849-3333 or Emeryville Sportfishing Center at 510-654-6040.