Halibut Horizon
(March 20, 2018 newsletter) The Argo is just about ready to transition into the halibut mode, but not before putting the final touches on sturgeon and striped bass. The adage goes, “don’t leave fish to find fish,” and that is certainly the case right now.
Our anchor fishing in San Pablo Bay is still outstanding when tides and weather cooperate. Bass bites are consistent with limits or near limits of stripers topping off at 6 to 10 pounds on most trips. This will continue into April with the possibility of some very fun light-tackle trolling on the horizon. Next week is looking prime with optimum tides and a breakout weather forecast.
Sturgeon are loving this January weather appearance in March. After a dry spell in February, the recent precipitation has enticed sturgeon to become more active feeders. This will not last too much longer, but currently between the frisky bass and occasional sturgeon, the attention level is on high in San Pablo Bay.
As for halibut, a few keepers are trickling onto hooks, but not to the level worth chasing unless a group specifically wants to go on the hunt. This will change in a few weeks when trolling for flat fish will likely take precedence over anchor fishing. I think it’s fair to speculate we should see a respectable number of halibut judging by the number of smaller fish encountered last year.
It’s not too early to think salmon, but you’ll have to hold that thought until possibly mid June. The season opener is being delayed to insure more fish get upriver to spawn. Last year’s returns were slightly under what is needed to have a full season. We’ll know more when the dates are set in mid April.
The Argo hasn’t started catch and release shark trips yet, but there have been scattered reports of hard charging leopards roaming the bay. Sharking is great for folks just looking for something that pulls hard with the action ramping up into summer. All sharks are released unharmed on all our trips.
For the latest update or if you have questions, email or call (415) 361-7757. As with all our trips tackle, bait and fish cleaning are included within the price.
