BERKELEY – After a week of blustery offshore weather, a window broke out mid-week, and the boats were on their way offshore in search of bluefin tuna. The winds changed the water pattern, and the albacore have vacated the shelf, but the bluefin came into play. Private boaters landed as many as four big blues on Sunday while other scores ranged from 2 to 0. Much of the fleet focused upon the area around the Half Moon Bay Weather Buoy, but there have been bluefin splashing about on a line north outside the Farallon Islands to Bodega Canyon. The pressure was intense over the weekend, and bluefin are very shy when it comes to boat traffic.
Captain Jerad Davis of the Salty Lady out of Sausalito picked up a bluefin earlier in the week, but on Sunday’s whale watching trip outside the Farallons, he said, “The tuna put on a show with big fish in the 150- to 200-pound range jumping within yards of the boat. My deckhand had to go downstairs and bite his hands to keep from letting out a MadMac.’ Deep water rockfishing starts on October 1, and if the weather is cooperative, Bay Area boats will be making the long 33- to 38-mile run to Rittenburg Bank.
Presently, Captain James Smith of the California Dawn 2 has been turning left at the Golden Gate to travel south of Pigeon Point for quality coastal rockfish, lingcod, and a few bonus halibut. Mind you, Pigeon Point is 18 miles south of Half Moon Bay, making for a long boat ride for the best quality in the region.
The California Dawn 2 returned with 25 limits of lingcod to 22 pounds on Sunday along with 28 limits of rockfish, including crew, and a halibut while the California Dawn 1 posted 23 lings to 12 pounds, 23 limits of rockfish, and 3 halibut to 14 pounds. Inside the bay, striped bass remain willing to bite, and Captain Ron Koyasako of Nautilus Excursions out of San Francisco sat on a school and tossed out some anchovies to load up with 10 limits of striped bass before working the sand for three halibut on Saturday.
He said, “We went searching for ghosts at first, but they were absent. However, I am optimistic for white sea bass to be showing up within the next few weeks in greater numbers.”
