While we won't have a salmon season there are other fisheries available for those, like me, just can't be off the water for too long. Ab pickers and divers will be descending on the Sonoma coast reefs and Dungeness crabbing though low in numbers in the spring is open through June. Rockfishing is open to shore  anglers year round and those on boats can start fishing on June 1st.  Halibut will arrive on the local beaches in July and the albacore usually arrive offshore of Bodega in August. Yes, salmon is our favorite fishery but with no season this year and likely next it's time for anglers to learn new tricks and check out some other fisheries. Local party boats will be doing the same. Rick on the Sea Angler will be running rockfish trips and will also be offering eco / whale watching trips throughout the year. The six-pack Sandy Ann will be running rockfish and ling trips as will be Vince on the 34' catamaran Miss Anita. Vince says they will be offering some halibut and albacore trips later in the summer and crab combos begin in November.
Regular reports will resume here once the rockfish season opens. The New Sea Angler will be running trips daily beginning June 1st.

Anglers need to get involved with the political process and support the many groups that are fighting for the fisheries we all so much love. If every California angler donated the equivalent of what they spend on their annual fishing license ($38.85 plus stamps) over $100 MILLION could be raised ever year. With a war chest of this size sportfishing organizations would have the political clout and funding to turn our fisheries around. If anglers don't support these groups then our fisheries and fishing rights will only continue to vanish right before our eyes.

It's been quite awhile since anglers have received any good news in regards to our fisheries but that is exactly what we want to share with our readers today. GOOD NEWS X THREE!. See our "Fishing News" page for key policy changes and a court ruling that will improve our future salmon returns. No, we will not have an ocean salmon season this year or next but this bill, a court ruling and a new F&G  and federal hatchery release policy will help enhance our fisheries in the future.

New Abalone Tags
Have any of you tagged an ab yet? I and a couple of friends took advantage of the weather window to punch a few tags off our abalone cards today. What a poorly thought out process theses new tags are. After about 20 minutes in the water it took us over 15 minutes to fill out our punch cards, date and tag both the card and the tags and attach the tags to the abs. I brought along zip ties to help with the process and they were too large and I had to borrow some from another diver. With wet, cold hands (that I tried to dry off the best as possible)  the ink still ran and was illegible. The type of paper used for the tags instantly clogged my pen so I also had to borrow a pen. If I had been stopped I would bet I would have been cited due to my punch card not being "properly filled out." Even if I had filled out the tag legibly it is doubtful that the date and time on the tags would have been legible by the time I reached my truck due to the water and slime that the abs are throwing off on the hike back. In the rain it would be IMPOSSIBLE to fill out that tag as required.
I support what F&G is doing to stop poaching but this new punch card system is a joke and will only lead to 100s of ethical anglers getting huge fines and will do nothing to stop poaching. If you want to take more abs than allowed you can just buy a whole new annual license and a new punch card. With no centralized computer system they will never know and when they bring new system on-line I would bet that unethical anglers if caught will get off and just claim they "lost their card and had not punched any abs". How would a F&G warden in the field ever know? We all want to see the poachers nailed but this new punch card is not the answer. The answer is to widen the "green line" and have more wardens in the field. After all wasn't one of the reasons for the punch card in the first place was to help pay for more enforcement? The cards will bring over one million dollars to the department this year why not hire a few wardens with those funds and have them concentrate on the large poaching rings that wardens claim take more abs than the 32,000 ethical sport abers combined.
I would bet that many of you will be cited this year and I would bet that most of those citations will be for not over limits, short abs or anything of the like but improperly filled out punch cards. This is just another example of the lack of thought and process of F&G. Why not sell individual tags only through the F&G regional offices and have them recorded as being sold to you? They could imprint all the info on a zip tie and wardens could check that info from the field. One name, 24 individual tags max and no trying to fill out a tag shore-side with wet hands. The department will have to first get a centralized computer system in place. They should see what other states like Alaska use for their systems with a centralized website where anglers can buy all their tags and licenses and info is collected and stored. This information would make a wardens job easier and possibly lead to some larger poachers getting busted instead of ethical, wet handed anglers wasting a day in court.
A few tips to keep you in the good graces of the wardens and out of court. Bring along some of the narrow (1/8th) X 4" zip ties. The tags are quite small and the larger zip ties will not work. Store a small towel or a few paper towels in a zip lock bag to dry off your hands prior to filling out your punch card. The fine point pen I brought along was not the best to use. A ball point is a better option. If it's raining filling out the tags would be impossible. If you can't fill out your tag when you exit the water I would at least attach my tags to my abs and immediately fill out when you return to your vehicle. Store your license, tags and two pens in a dry zip lock bag, close it securely and then place this into another zip lock bag. Though not following the letter of the law it's the next best option. Poaching is a huge problem and wardens need as much help as possible. If you see something suspicious call the DFG Cal Tip line. The number is on your fishing license.
Mike Aughney

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Albacore Sea Surface Temperature maps below: