BY DAVE HURLEY
BODEGA BAY – Deep water rockfishing more than 50 fathoms actually opened on Tuesday, April 1, but the party boats out of Half Moon Bay, San Francisco Bay, Bodega Bay, and Fort Bragg had to until the weekend to find weather conditions to make the trek. When the ocean lay down over the weekend, it was more than worth the wait.
Out of Bodega Bay, Captain Rick Powers of Bodega Bay Sport Fishing was out on both Saturday and Sunday for the 23-mile trek to Rittenburg Bank for a combined 52 limits of huge vermilion, canary, and Boccaccio rockfish along with 64 ling cod to 25 pounds. Powers said, “It was flat, glassy calm out there, and it looks like we have a few more days before the weather comes up again mid-week. There is some very good news on the horizon with the possibility of a section of Cordell Banks being open during the next deep-water window during the month of October. The opening will not be the entire section of the banks, but there is a good portion of solid fish-holding ground there. This hasn’t been open for over 25 years, and for those who have the memories of the ‘good old days’ of Cordell, it will be phenomenal.”
Captain Chris Smith of the Pacific Dream out of Berkeley was also out at Rittenburg over the weekend for limits of rockfish and a whopping 69 ling cod. Up to 30 Petrale sole have been landed by private boaters working the deep water.
Further north out of Fort Bragg, Captain Tim Gillespie of All Aboard Adventures reported limits of quality rockfish and a number of sablefish working 425 feet in depth north of the harbor. Gillespie added, “Dungeness crab scores continue to be solid with 14 limits on our last trip.” He will be running rockfish and/or crab trips in the coming weeks, and 50-fathom water is only around 5 miles from the harbor.
Half Moon Bay also got in the act over the weekend with the Queen of Hearts out of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing loading up with 24 limits along with a ling cod on Sunday. It is a long trek of over 20 miles to deeper than 50 fathoms.
