There are still a few scattered salmon around but few boats willing to hunt out the pockets of fish. Everyone wants to chase web reports instead of locating the next school. Granted there are not many fish out "there" but there are small schools of fish being reported from Monterey to Shelter Cove and today's hotspot is not necessarily where they will be tomorrow. Out of Bodega Bay private boats reported scores of 0 to 3 fish the past couple of days with most of the action reported along Ten Mile. One private boats did go scouting and scored three salmon in 240 feet SW of Bird Rock on Thursday. They found brown water, bait and whales and stuck to their game plan and were rewarded. If you are just waiting on the next hot "internet" bite it will probably be over by the time you are on the water. Search out favorable conditions, put good gear in the water and stick to a game plan and you too may be rewarded with a rare Sac run salmon.
On Saturday both Vince and Rick reported good action. Rick ran north to Ft Ross with 40 anglers who took full limits of mixed reds and blacks adding 11 lings to 9 pounds. Rick says the shallow water reefs are starting to load up with fish. He will be targeting both salmon and rockfish on combo trips next week.
Vince on the Miss Anita ran south to start off their day. After picking up 6 limits of rockfish and 6 lings to 12 pounds they switched over to halibut. Working the five fathom curve they put in 6 fish that ranged from 25 inches to 25 pounds. Vince will be running more rockfish / ling / halibut tips this week but will be ready to chase salmon as soon as something develops.
That's it boys and girls.... we are headed to Alaska for the next 2 weeks. 1500 kings and 46,000 sockeyes passed through the Kenai river sonar on Friday and fishing should be five star.

It's that time of year that we stow the keyboard and get serious about fishing. We are packing up the kids, extended family and friends and headed north to our vacation home on the Kenai peninsula for the next two weeks. This is our annual family trip that we look forward to all year. Alaska is still a place where they still value salmon and manage their fisheries for sustainability. (Cal fisheries managers could learn a lot by visiting) We will be targeting sockeye and kings in the local rivers, chasing halibut and lings in the salt, clamming along the local beaches and not typing reports. We still have one week available in the cabin this season, August 22-29th and are taking bookings for 2011.
Reports and updates will resume here on July 31st. In the time being please contact our sponsors or visit their websites for current reports, information and bookings. Many of them do have updated fishing reports.
Until then... good fishing!
Mike Aughney

On Thursday 7-15 captain Vince on the Miss Anita stuck to his game plan. He put the halibut gear (three way trolling set up with a dropper to a 1LB weight and a skirt over a herring behind a dodger). At noon he had just one fish in the box but stuck to his plan. In the afternoon they were rewarded with 5 more halibut all in the 10 to 20 pound class. He was working the top end of Ten Mile in 30 feet of water. Rick on the New Sea Angler started off halibut fishing and broke away to the rockfish grounds. They ended the day with one 10 pound butt (he trolled until noon on Ten Mile) and 13 limits of Point Reyes rockfish. They also lost a big king and Rick said private boats did scratch up a few kings but many were skunked. The weather was great this morning with just 5 to 8 knots of breeze over a 4 foot swell.

Abalone divers busted at Tomales Point

Nels Johnson

Six people were busted for abalone violations at Tomales Point by Point Reyes National Seashore rangers who seized 17 shellfish over the weekend. Citations totaling $2,600 were issued for violations including undersize abalone, no fishing license, failure to fill out an abalone punch card, failure to tag abalone and failure of each individual to have an abalone measuring device, said John Dell'Osso, national seashore spokesman. "The good news is that 11 of the abalone were salvageable" and placed back in the ocean, he added.
The bust came early Saturday morning on a low tide, which enables easier abalone picking, an occasion on which the seashore's 12 park rangers are on special alert.
Full Story at Marin IJ

Back on the Soap Box
I took some heat this past winter for my stand that a salmon season was not justified given the lack of Central Valley fall run kings the past two years (despite the salmon closure). But now I am starting to get alarmed. To date ocean harvest is far worse than I thought it would be. This is not lack of fish just in the local waters, this is coast wide. The North Coast opener last week was a bust and every harbor from the Oregon border to Monterey is reporting the same dismal counts despite favorable feed conditions. Counts are FAR worse than 2007 and with the exception of some decent numbers coming from boats (doing a DNA study for the NMFS) off Ft Bragg there are fewer than 100 salmon being harvested coast-wide by sport anglers PER DAY. As I have said many times in the past.... what good is a season if we don't have a fishery? The majority of commercial and party boats captains were against having an opener this year and their predictions that the fishery can not sustain harvest are only more appearent now.
Before it's too late we need the Cal Fish and Game Commission to put ocean and river seasons back on the table. While the PFMC has made their recommendations and closed shop for the year, Cal F&G Commission should reconvene and close state waters immediately until they receive more feedback from California DFG biologists. The PFMC knew from the start that the jack counts were skewed and 2010 CV returns overly optimistic. Now it's time for the Cal Fish and Game Commission to step up and announce an emergency closure (the first ever) for marine state and Central Valley waters. The few remaining fish out there need to be protected from harvest not only for future but also how water rights and diversion can be affected if the CV fall run is listed as threatened. It's already very apparent that the 2010 CV Fall run will not meet lower escapement goals and this would be the forth year that will happen. Agriculture is a big part of our state economy (yes we can have both responsible water diversion and healthy fisheries as we had for decades prior to 2002) and future water allotments could severely impact legitimate farmers who grow on fertile soil unlike those in the "Wastelands".
Klamath Management Zone ocean commercial, and Klamath in-river sport and gillnet quotas also need to be cut until their is enough escapement to meet minimum in-river goals. Tribal gillnetters are allowed to harvest their full quota (over 30,000 fish this fall) before their is any escapement above the estuary. It's still unknown what factors are that are causing this collapse of king runs on many west coast rivers. What we do know is that harvest cannot continue until we have a handle on the cause of the decline.
Mike Aughney

Reminder: Salmon Fishing is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the remainder of the season, and the size limit is 24-inches.
New regulations for the MLPAs are now in effect from Pt Arena to Pigeon Point. Anglers need to know which areas are affected and the regulations and the boundaries of the different zones. Please use this link and be sure to print a map for these areas to carry with you.

Wardens Arrest Five In Alleged Abalone Poaching Case

Department of Fish and Game (DFG) wardens arrested five suspected abalone poachers this morning in Sonoma County. The incident culminated with the suspects pitching abalone out the window as they sped down Highway 1 with a warden closing in. Game Warden Joe Laugesen contacted Charles Lester Miller IV, age 20, and Michael Ray Phipps, age 19, both of Santa Rosa after Miller completed a SCUBA dive near Fort Ross. He recognized him as a person he had recently arrested for suspicion of poaching abalone for commercial sale.
That case has yet to make it through the judicial process. Everything appeared in order and Warden Laugesen let him go, but he suspected something was amiss. He scoured the beach and located a hidden sack of abalone. Wardens conducted surveillance of the area until just after midnight, when suspects Miller and Phipps reappeared with three additional associates in two vehicles. They went through extensive effort to conduct counter-surveillance by switching cars, passing the area multiple times, searching for lookouts, etc. Two and a half hours later, the suspected team of poachers finally stopped to recover their stash of abalone. They were allowed to leave the scene. Warden Laugesen then followed them and made a vehicle stop. In his headlights, Warden Laugesen saw an abalone ejected from the window of the vehicle as the driver sped down Highway 1. Soon after, a heavy duffel bag was pitched from the window, then a backpack, then another backpack. When they finally stopped, they were arrested and booked into Sonoma County Jail on felony conspiracy to poach abalone for commercial sale among other charges. Those arrested also include Joshua Cowan Berto, age 19, Joshua William Stockman, age 19, and Colin Robert Devlin, age 20, all of Santa Rosa. Wardens searched the roadside and recovered 31 abalone from the side of Highway 1.

We appreciate all of our readers support and we will continue delivering timely fishing reports. All we ask in return is for your support of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance.
We are working hard to keep you on top of the fish and the CSPA is working even harder to protect them.
Become part of the solution!
Mike Aughney

Upcoming Events:
USAFishing proudly supports the many fishery and wildlife organizations that benefit anglers and hunters throughout Northern California. Does your organization have an upcoming event? Contact us at fishsite@aol.com and we will gladly post the information on our reports pages.

California Waterfowl 2010 Dinners and Youth Events Calendar

2nd Annual Fundraiser for Sonoma County Abalone Network, August 21st at Ocean Cove Campground all proceeds will be donated to the Sonoma County Abalone Network contact mattmattison707@yahoo.com

Party Boat Contacts:
The Bodega Bay Sportfishing Center is currently booking trips on the New Sea Angler. They also book the six pack Sandy Ann, Profishn't and during the summer the Predator. Reservations can be made at 707 875-3344.

The 34' Miss Anita captained by Vince Orsini, 6 passenger catamaran charter 707 875-FISH

Albacore Sea Surface Temperature maps below:

Check Out the NEW Bodega Bay Sportfishing Site! 707 875-3344

Abalone divers busted at Tomales Point

Check Out the NEW Bodega Bay Sportfishing Site!
707 875-3344