Bodega Harbor 6/30

Steele_leader and I dragged anchovies in Bodega Harbor this morning in pursuit of some Halibut.   We got there at 6am and by the time we got in the water the local salmon charter fleet had all left the docks.  This was good news in that we had hoped to fish the channel and with all the fog around it was nice to know we wouldn't have a huge uncaring boat bearing down on us every 5 minutes.


Well we had been told by a reliable source that the halibut bite has started to pick up recently so we had to give it a try.   I started out trying to make bait and managed a 5" surfperch on the sabiki, but it was a bit large for any respectable halibut to consider so I let it go and switched back to the frozen chovies.



At one point we were in the channel in front of the Tides (the restaurant  made famous in Hitchcocks "The Birds").. Anyway,  I looked over behind me and Steele_leader's rod was doubled over.  


"Hey is that a fish?" I yelled.

He responded with some inaudible noise.

"What is it?"  I yelled again.

Again, I couldn't hear what he was saying, so I paddled over.


Once I got over I noticed that there wasn't any action to the rod and that he'd just snagged something.  The thing is, Bodega Harbor has very little in the way of rocks and is mostly sand, mud and eel grass so actually snagging something is a fairly rare event.


After about five minutes he finally brings this thing to the surface ....



 

Anyway, it's two of the larged anemones I'd ever seen on a small tire.


-Brian

Hey, battered and fried...

I lived in Bodega Bay for a numbe of years.  The hali's like to hang out between the jetties, off Campbell cove (aka "coliform cove") and in front of the coast guard rip rap.

Rising to peak tides are usually the best.

Ed

5" surfperch on the sabiki, but it was a bit large for any respectable halibut to consider so I let it go and switched back to the frozen chovies.

Don't be so sure.  My friend, who will remain nameless, caught the world record california halibut on a 12" spotted bay bass in San Diego bay.

No record, and no name because it is illeagal to bait spotted bay bass.

MolBasser

Since when do you have to show proof of bait for a record?  It was a mackeral that came off during the fight...

Aren't you allowed to use gamefish for bait 'long as they're legal sized anyway?

I would not have hesistated to put a 5" perch on the hook for butt bait.  Seems like a good size to me.

-Allen

hey big bait big fish, i have got halibut on 8 " smilt and it was nly 15# chef

Honestly, I thought the shape and positioning of the anemones would set you guys off, I guess I was wrong.

As for the surf perch, I did fish with it for a while but he was causing more trouble than he was worth; tugging on my line, wrapping himself in sea grass, etc...  Also, while I'd love to catch a big halibut, I was more interested in just catching a halibut.  Once I find where to catch them in Bodega Harbor I'll move on to catching the big one.

Sebastes,  thanks for the tip on the jetties.  I fish off the jetties often and have managed a several legal lings this spring, but I haven't tried kayaking fishing near them for halibut yet.  That might just be the thing to do while waiting for the ocean to calm down this week.

Brian

Brian:
Small world, I am a BML alumn.

Talk to Joe Newman or Bill Bennett and they will point you in the right direction of halibut in the harbor.

Ed

I heard that 2 were boated by one small aluminim at the end of the county launch near the BML entrance on Thurs.  Both around 20#.

I'll go dig up the picture of that halibut.

It was a brute.

MolBasser

Hey Brian - if you hit the harbor sometime during the week shoot me an e-mail or a PM. If you don't mind some company I'm down for some Bodega Butts. Last year was very slow, but the year before those cats in the small aluminums were slaying the 'buts inside the harbor. Some were having double digit days. Those reports were one of the main reasons I got my yak.

I would love to join you guys too.  I live in santa rosa and have heard a lot about halibut inside bodega bay.  I have been freediving for them in the jaws of the harbor and seen them there but I have never fished them inside.  Let me know if you are going to go. 542-6706
Dave

hi been try to get up that way my self if you guys dont mine look me up live in novato
415-250-0519
troy