By: The Fish Sniffer Staff March 24, 2005 Last Issue
My buddy, Tim Wood, caught this 27# Striper 3 weeks ago on Steve Talmadge's boat. Photo submitted by Ryan O'Connell

MORRO BAY
After a long winter of sanddab fishing and whale watching, anglers along the central coast are poised for the April 2 salmon opener.

"Our season opens on April 2 and there will probably be fish available into the month of June, but the best fishing is likely to take place during April. The outlook for the season is great. Experts are predicting that this could be our best salmon season in many years due to the high amount of rain we received this winter," disclosed Tom Dietrick of Virg's Landing.

During the first two weeks of the salmon season, the folks at Virg's Landing will be running a salmon derby. It costs $25.00 to enter and the top prize will be $800.00 for the largest fish, $500.00 for the second largest, and $300.00 for the third largest. Prize amounts are based on 100 people entering the derby.

Virg's Landing is currently booking reservations for the salmon season as well as the May 1 rockfish opener.

MONTEREY
The jumbo squid fishing slowed down on the last three charter boat trips out of Monterey.

"We didn't get any squid on three trips in a row, so we went sanddab fishing on our last two trips," reported Pete Bruno of Randy's Fishing Trips. "The sanddab fishing was good, in spite of wind in the afternoon."

Three anglers chartering the Sur Randy on Saturday, March 19 landed 40 sanddabs per rod. On the same day, 14 anglers on the Chubasco averaged 40 sanddabs each also. Randy's will continue to book sanddab trips until the beginning of salmon season.

Randy's and Chris' Fishing are now getting ready for the opening of salmon season on Saturday, April 2. The outlook is good, based on a record ocean abundance estimate of Central Valley chinooks.

SANTA CRUZ
The Santa Cruz Harbor launch ramp is scheduled to open "by Saturday April 2, if not sooner," according to a press release from the harbor office.

"Santa Cruz is offering free visitor berthing on Thursday March 31 and Friday April 2," the release said. "This is on a first come, first served basis."

However, due to launching delays, boaters are encouraged to launch at nearby harbors. In addition, boaters who take advantage of the free berthing offer can extend their stay through Saturday April 2 at a rate of $10 a night. If you have any questions, call the Harbor at (831) 475-6161.

Surfperch dominate the Monterey Bay angling scene as anglers gear up for the king salmon opener on Saturday, April 2. "It's been breezy and choppy, but the perch are biting," said Ed Burrell at Capitola Boat & Bait. "A group of 12 Boy Scouts from San Jose experienced good perch action off the wharf on Saturday, March 19."

The anglers bagged a 12 inch black perch, 3 pile (splittail) perch) and 2 dozen walleye perch averaging 8 to 9 pinches. "They had a ball catching the fish on shrimp baits," Burrell noted.

A big (10 to 12 foot) groundswell has kept most anglers from fishing off Santa Cruz, according to Bill Rawson at Shamrock Charters. "Somebody was lost off the Cliffs yesterday," cautioned Rawson. "That's the third person swept away by big waves this year."

HALF MOON BAY
When the weather allows us to get out, the Humboldt squid fishing has been outstanding," reported Captain Roger Thomas of the Salty Lady.

"One day last week we were able to catch 85 jumbo Humboldt squid for 21 anglers. On another trip we had 56 jumbo squid for 19 anglers. We have been averaging about 2 to 3 squid per rod on our trips since we began targeting them," continued Thomas.

When asked if the presence of the jumbo squid was impacting other gamefish, he replied, "At first we were concerned that the squid might be eating rockfish or even salmon. However, research done in the Santa Cruz area, based on stomach samples, indicates that the squid are primarily feeding on hake, lantern fish, and short belly rockfish. Short belly rockfish are a forage species that don't get very big," replied Thomas.

The salmon opener on April 2, promises good action in the Half Moon Bay area. Based on the presence of baitfish and krill, there should be good numbers of salmon available. "There is an estimated 1.7 million Sacramento River salmon swimming our coastal waters. If conditions are good, we should have an outstanding season," predicted Thomas.

The perch action remains strong on local beaches for anglers soaking bait and working motor oil colored grubs. Anglers should use caution when fishing from the beaches due to rough conditions and large groundswells.

SAN RAFAEL
Erik Anfinson, captain of the Bass Tub, made the first live bait trip of the season in San Pablo Bay on Saturday, March 19. Although he departed from Western Boat Shop on that trip, he will now be berthed at Fishermen's Wharf in San Francisco.

"The 16 anglers fishing with me landed 10 bass to 15 pounds," said Anfinson. "We used shiner perch and smelt at the Pumphouse and China Camp. The weather was really bad, with rain and wind making it tough."

He plans to begin live bait trips in the central bay by the time this paper comes out. He will use shiner perch and smelt until live anchovies become available at the wharf this spring.

In spite of "horrible conditions" on March 19, the 10 anglers on the Predator caught 10 stripers to 14 pounds in San Pablo Bay, revealed Keith Fraser at Loch Lomond Live Bait and Tackle. The anglers both anchor fished with shrimp baits and trolled with wormtail rigs.

"The sturgeon fishing is no better than fair," emphasized Fraser, "but the bass fishing has been unreal for this time of year on the days the weather cooperates."

Phil Heigt bagged a 15 lb. halibut at the Pumphouse while soaking a herring fillet, pointing to improving halibut prospects in the coming weeks.

Mike Eberhart and two friends had great day fishing off the China Camp Pier. They landed 6 bass to 17 pounds and limits of perch while tossing out grass shrimp. "They had four varieties of perch, including silver, poagie and rubberlipped perch," noted Fraser.

EMERYVILLE
"We would like to get out for another crack at those squid before the salmon season opens, but the high winds and heavy swells have kept our boats inside the bay," revealed John Perrodin of the Emeryville Sportfishing Center.

"The Rapid Transit went out looking for sharks yesterday and they ended up with 7 big leopards and a soupfin shark for 12 anglers. They were only able to fish for a half day because of high afternoon winds," added Perrodin.

Salmon fishing beyond the Golden Gate is expected to be good once the season gets underway. The water is warmer than normal in some areas, but it is believed that this will not have a negative impact on the fishing.

As soon as anchovies are available at the bait docks within the bay, charter boats operating out of Emeryville plan to begin offering live bait potluck trips. These trips should begin by the end of April if not sooner.

The Emeryville Sportfishing Center is currently booking reservations for shark, sturgeon, and the April 2 salmon opener.

BERKELEY
After a long winter of chasing crabs, sanddabs, squid, and sturgeon, charter boat operators and anglers alike are ready for the April 2 salmon season opener.

Last season was outstanding, so it is no surprise that expectations are running high for the upcoming season. Fishery believe that around 1.7 million Sacramento River system salmon are swimming northern California's offshore waters and it is hard to find a serious skipper or angler that doesn't want to tap into that resource.

According to the staff at the Berkeley Marina Sport Center, several boats are slated to depart from the Berkeley Marina on the opener. Trolling will be the name of the game as the charter boat disperse toward Pacifica to the south and the Faralon Islands to the west, and of course there will also be skippers testing the waters around the Light Bucket closer to the gate.

Captain James Smith will be moving his boat, the California Dawn to the Berkeley Marina in May and will be offering potluck trips both inside and outside the bay, as well as salmon trips.

Bank anglers fishing along the Berkeley shoreline are having good success nailing perch, kingfish, flounders, and the occasional striper. With reports of large numbers of stripers being spotted in the San Pablo Bay, it won't be long until the spring run of schoolie bass arrives along the east bay shoreline.

CROCKETT/MARTINEZ
The sturgeon bite in the Crockett area has perked up recently and good numbers of stripers are showing as well, said Gordon Hough of the Morning Star.

"Yesterday we had 11 keeper stripers and 4 or 5 flounders while soaking shrimp baits for sturgeon," reported Hough.

James Smith, skipper of the California Dawn, has been experiencing decent sturgeon action. "We got a 58 incher yesterday while using grass shrimp. Last Sunday we landed 10 stripers up to 15 pounds. The striper trolling has been good and is only going to get better. Right now we are pulling swim baits and Hair Raisers," confided Smith.

A variety of shrimp baits have been working for sturgeon in the Martinez area with grass shrimp leading the list followed closely by ghost shrimp. For big fish eel is probably the best choice even though you will get less bites overall.

Many of the stripers that have been landed recently have been caught incidentally by anglers targeting sturgeon. If you want a large striper, your best bet is fishing bullheads if you can get them. Shrimp baits tend to attract the attention of the smaller schoolie bass.

James Smith of the California Dawn is offering a night fishing trip for sturgeon on April 8. The California Dawn is fully equipped for night fishing and Smith is expecting some good action.

BODEGA BAY
The charter boats have not been able to go fishing for Humboldt squid this week, due to the rough weather. "When it calms down, I expect the squid action will still be going strong," reported Captain Rick Powers at Bodega Bay Sportfishing.

According to Captain Powers, the prospects for the April 2 salmon opener look very good. "There is a lot of feed out at the 40 to 50 fathom mark and I think we will find excellent salmon action when the season finally opens," said Powers.

Chris Cacaramo at Will's Bait and Tackle agreed with Powers' assessment saying, "The water is the right temperature and the color is great, so hopefully we will see some good salmon action on the opener".

Perch fishing on beaches in the Bodega Bay area has been very good when the swell isn't too big. The perch are being taken on a variety of baits such as shrimp, pile worms, mussels, and strips of squid.

"There have been a lot of people crabbing from the Lawson Landing pier and they are doing really well. Most people are able to get their limit. I had a guy visit us last week that was able to get his limit in about 3 hours," reports Kerri Apgar at Lawson's Landing.

Bodega Bay Sportfishing, Calico Sportfishing and Will's Bait and Tackle are currently taking reservations for salmon fishing.

FORT BRAGG
"Salmon fishing has been slow, but there is tons of bait in the area and I expect the bite to bust open anytime now. The fish we are catching have bellies full of bait and that is a good sign," reports Captain Jason Rossetto of the Lady Irma II, operating out of Noyo Harbor.

Angler booking salmon and dungeness crab combination trips out of the harbor are taking easy limits of crab in addition to the occasional salmon. On the Lady Irma's most recent combo trip, 5 anglers aboard nailed 2 salmon to 17 pounds in addition to limits of crab. The crab limit in the Fort Bragg area is 10 crabs per person.

A lot of the crabs being harvested measure around 7 inches, which represents are really good specimen, especially this late in the season. The best action for both salmon and crabs is taking place off 10 Mile Beach.

Perch fishing off local beaches has been good with anglers scoring 2 to 5 perch per outing while soaking shrimp baits and mussels.

At press time, a strong Pacific storm with heavy winds was making its way on shore. It is hoped that the heavy ground swells associated with the storm will push more salmon into the Fort Bragg area, but only time will tell.