Bay Striper Fishing is Great as Captains Gear Up for Crab, Rockfish Adventures

SAN FRANCISCO – Anglers drifting live bait are continuing to hook limits of striped bass and some halibut in San Francisco Bay as charter boat captains get ready for crab/deep water rockfish combos and crab-only trips on the ocean starting Saturday, Nov. 4.

The Lovely Martha returned with 21 limits of striped bass and four halibut on their last half-day live bait drifting adventure from 6 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Oct. 28.

“We landed most of the fish within a two-hour period,” said Captain Frank Rescino. “We hooked the halibut in the bay at Southampton Shoals and the stripers at Angel Island.”

“Anglers used live anchovies and swimbaits to hook the bass. The bass averaged 22 inches long and went up to 7 pounds, while the halibut weighed up to 9 pounds,” Rescino stated.

On Saturday, the 18 anglers aboard the Lovely Martha bagged 18 limits (36) of striped bass while drifting live bait.”

Like many other Bay Area skippers, Rescino is gearing up for the beginning of crab-rockfish combos and crab-only fishing adventures with the opening of recreational crab season on Saturday, Nov. 4.

The Lovely Martha has also been fishing for shelf and slope rockfish at the Soap Bank. The latest trip to the bank yielded 25 limits (250) of rockfish. “The fish were mainly yellowtail rockfish, with some vermilions up to 6 pounds,” he noted. “The anglers used red and yellow shrimp flies to catch the fish.”

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The Bass Tub will be getting the crab davit on pretty soon and “get everything sharpened up for crabbing,” reported Erik Anfinson of Bass Tub Sportfishing. Captain Aaron Anfinson will be booking crab and rockfish combo trips and just crab only.

California Dawn Sportfishing continues to focus on Rittenberg Bank rockfish and lingcod fishing adventures and live bait trips on the San Francisco Bay. They will also begin crab/rockfish combos starting Nov. 4.

“We fished offshore today at Rittenberg Bank,” reported Captain James Smith on Saturday, October 28. “We finished up with full limits of rockfish and around a fish per rod on lingcod. The final count was 250 rockfish, 23 limits plus crew and 22 lingcod.”

On his previous trip, Smith targeted stripers and halibut on the bay.

“We fished the bay today and found lots of willing striped bass and a handful of halibut,” reported Smith. “We returned to the dock with 12 limits of striped bass and 6 halibut.”

Other charter boat captains in Bodega Bay, Berkeley, Emeryville, Half Moon Bay and Monterey Bay will also begin crab/rockfish combos starting Nov. 4, weather permitting.

Anglers should familiarize themselves with the current recreational crab and groundfish fishing regulations before going fishing.

The recreational take of Dungeness crab using crab traps will be temporarily restricted between the Sonoma/Mendocino county line and Lopez Point, Monterey County (Fishing Zones 3 and 4) when the season opens “due to presence of humpback whales and potential for entanglement from trap gear,” according to an announcement from the CDFW.

Recreational take of Dungeness crab by other methods, including hoop nets and crab snares, is not affected by the temporary trap restriction and is allowed statewide beginning Nov. 4.The use of recreational crab traps in Fishing Zones 1, 2, 5 and 6 is also allowed.

In addition, a Fleet Advisory has been issued for all Fishing Zones (1-6) for the recreational fishery.

“Large aggregations of humpback whales continue to forage between Bodega Bay and Monterey and allowing the use of crab traps would increase the risk of an entanglement in those fishing zones,” said California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham.

“We will continue to work with both the recreational and commercial Dungeness crab fisheries to protect whales while working to maximize fishing opportunity. We appreciate the ongoing commitment by both the recreational and commercial fleets and the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group to manage entanglement risk in this iconic fishery,” said Bonham.

CDFW reminds anglers that the deployment and use of crab traps in any recreational crab fishery (including rock crab) is temporarily restricted in Fishing Zones 3 and 4 until lifted by the CDFW Director.

Recreational crabbers should also implement best practices, as described in the Best Practices Guide.

In addition, if adopted, proposed regulations for recreational groundfish will allow the deployment of Dungeness crab traps shoreward of the 50-fathom Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) boundary line (50 CFR Part 660, Subpart G) when groundfish are onboard. Until the emergency regulations are in place, no fishing gear of any type may be deployed shoreward of the 50-fathom RCA line when shelf rockfish, slope rockfish or lingcod are onboard.

CDFW anticipates the next risk assessment will take place on or before Nov. 17, at which time the Director will re-evaluate risk for the Dungeness crab fisheries. That risk assessment is expected to inform the potential for a statewide commercial fishery opener on Dec. 1 and the potential to modify the recreational trap restriction.

For more information related to the risk assessment process, please visit CDFW’s Whale Safe Fisheries page or for more information on the Dungeness crab fishery, please visit wildlife.ca.gov/crab.

Delta Black Bass/Stripers: Black bass fishing has been very good in Miner Slough and at Liberty Island. “Denise Loo and I ended up with a 20-pound limit of five largemouth bass during our latest trip to Miner Slough on October 25,” said Alan Fong at Fisherman’s Warehouse in Sacramento. “We were flipping with Brush Hogs and Rage Craws in 3 to 5 feet of water.”

For striped bass, Fong recommended fishing five-inch pearl swimbaits at Liberty Island or in the Sacramento River at Rio Vista and Sherman Island.

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Lake Amador Trout: The temperature of the lake has reached the mark for the Lake Amador management to start releasing trout grown in the on-site fish hatchery.

“Five hundred pounds of trout were released yesterday right at the blue dock,” said Lee Lockhart at the Lake Amador Resort on Oct. 26. “There were a few blues and trophy-sized fish, but most were Cutbows in the 2 lb. class. I would expect these fish to start out running a little deeper in the 15’ range, but the lake is cooling fast with the chilly nights. Most trout should be feeding right on top very soon.”

The lake level is 22’ down and the surface water temperature is 71 degrees. The water clarity is 8 feet and the oxygen level is 8.8mg/L.

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Fishing Captains Gear Up for Crab, Rockfish Adventures