Halibut Arrival

(March 11, 2021 newsletter) — After a couple weeks of sprucing the Argo will be rolling down the rails, and splashing down where she belongs, ready for the weekend. No major changes, just some freshening and cosmetics.

For the next few weeks, we’re in the angler’s choice transition mode. Options are heading up the bay for action and variety, versus dredging the bottom to scratch out halibut or two in the South Bay. By April, halibut will dominate game plan.

Before going to dry-dock our up-the-bay efforts consisted of mostly reliable striped bass activity with an occasional halibut, shark and bat ray in the mix. The presence of sturgeon just never really materialized because of a lack of rain. The interesting aspect of this fishery, there are generally plenty of nibbles and you never know what’s coming over the rail.

The latest buzz is the increasing appearance of halibut within the bay. These are primarily trolling trips until live bait becomes available sometime in April. The success rate is hovering around a fish per rod or less.

Looking ahead to salmon, the season is not yet set, but there should be a more clear perspective in a few weeks. The Argo generally doesn’t begin these excursions until mid to late May. Until that time, or when the weather gods allow, we’ll be drifting live bait for bass and halibut in the bay.

We do still have room for anyone looking for an early-season halibut stab this weekend. Current forecast, subject to change, is very good Saturday and a slightly funky Sunday.