BY DAVE HURLEY
HALF MOON BAY – “The bonita took a hike,” exclaimed Captain Jared Davis of the Salty Lady currently working out of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing, referencing the water temperature has dropped to 54 degrees after temperatures were four degrees higher at 58 degrees at the start of salmon season below Pigeon Point on April 11. Davis added, “It doesn’t matter much with a four-degree change in air temperature, but it makes a huge difference on the water. The water looks different as it is a murky green, much changed from the clear water a few weeks ago. We were catching more Bonita than salmon then, but we had lots of action in the morning as salmon were taken as shallow as 40 feet in depth. Our final score of 8 salmon doesn’t tell the full story as we released close to 20 sub-legal fish under 24 inches with a number over 20 inches plus quite a few lost after being hooked. Salmon were hooked from 40 to 70 feet when only 10 days ago, we were fishing as deep as 200 feet. We take whale watching trips to the Farallons on the weekends, and the water looks great south of the islands, just loaded with life.”
The New Easy Rider confirmed the improving action on Saturday with 10 limits of salmon, all between 60 and 90 feet in depth. Rockfishing remains excellent for limits of coastal rockfish and a handful of ling cod, and Captain Melynda Dodds of the New Captain Pete is running a special half-day rockfish trip for $100/angler on May 8.
This is all good news after the dismal start to the salmon season, and the change in water temperature is a great sign of things to come for the June 27 recreational salmon opener above Pigeon Point.
