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Fishing Report
ARCHIVE - 2012

Francis Japlit of Palo Alto with his beautiful 34 pound salmon he landed on Saturday, April 21 off Pigeon Point, the biggest salmon caught on the coast so far this season
IN THIS REPORT:

Past Scores
Past Whoppers
Past Daily Summary
2011 Archive
2010 Archive
2009 Archive
2008 Archive
2007 Archive
2006 Archive
2005 Archive
2004 Archive
2003 Archive

PAST SCORES:
Thu., Dec. 20 - Off for the rest of the year to enjoy the holidays!
Sat., Dec. 15 - 20 anglers, limits: 200 rockcod, 4 lingcod to 11 lbs.
Tue., Dec. 11 - 16 anglers, limits: 158 rockcod, 2 cabs, 8 lingcod
Sun., Dec. 9 - 14 anglers, limits: 140 rockcod
Sat., Dec. 8 - 6 anglers, limits: 60 rockcod, 2 lingcod to 9 lbs.
Sun., Nov. 25 - 15 anglers, limits: 150 rockcod
Sat., Nov. 24 - 29 anglers, limits: 289 rockcod + 1 cab, 9 lings to 11 lbs.
Wed., Nov. 21 - 26 anglers, limits: 260 rockcod, 5 lingcod
Wed., Nov. 14 - 8 anglers, limits: 80 rockcod, 3 lingcod
Tue., Nov. 13 - 18 anglers, limits: 177 rockcod + 3 cabs, 9 lingcod
Mon., Nov. 12 - Day off
Sun., Nov. 11 - 20 anglers, limits: 200 rockcod, 2 lingcod
Sat., Nov. 10 - 35 anglers, terrible conditions, terrible score
Fri., Nov. 9 - One more day off...back at it tomorrow
Thu., Nov. 8 - Day off due to ocean forecast
Wed., Nov. 7 - 9 Fishing Fools, found one last salmon for the season
Tue., Nov. 6 - 4 hour private charter, landed all they wanted to take home
Mon., Nov. 5 - Day off to attend PFMC meeting
Sun., Nov. 4 - Day off to attend PFMC meeting
Sat., Nov. 3 - 18 anglers, limits: 180 rockcod
Fri., Nov. 2 - 17 anglers, limits: 170 rockcod, 1 lingcod
Sun., Oct. 28 - Offshore Shearwater seabird watching trip
Sat., Oct. 27 - 36 anglers, limits:: 360 rockcod, 2 lingcod
Wed., Oct. 24 - 8 anglers, limits: 80 rockcod, 2 lingcod
Tue., Oct. 23 - 9 anglers, limits: 90 rockcod
Mon., Oct. 22 - Day off
Sun., Oct. 21 - Off due to ocean forecast
Sat., Oct. 20 - 34 anglers, limits: 340 rockcod, 1 lingcod
Fri., Oct. 19 - 16 anglers, limits: 160 rockcod
Thu., Oct. 18 - 14 anglers, limits: 140 rockcod, 2 lingcod
Wed., Oct. 17 - 15 anglers, limits: 150 rockcod
Tue., Oct. 16 - 9 anglers, limits: 90 rockcod
Mon., Oct. 15 - 15 anglers, limits: 150 rockcod
Sun., Oct. 14 - 14 anglers, limits: 140 rockcod, 2 lingcod
Sat., Oct. 13 - 33 anglers, 266 rockcod, 8 lingcod
Fri., Oct. 12 - Maintenance day off
Thu., Oct. 11 - 12 anglers, limits: 120 rockcod, 2 lings, 1 white seabass
Wed., Oct. 10 - Day off to give the crew a break
Tue., Oct. 9 - 11 anglers (I think) - limits (will update score)
Mon., Oct. 8 - 7 Fishing Fools, 5 salmon landed to 24 lbs., lost 5 others
Sun., Oct. 7 - Offshore Shearwater seabird watching trip
Sat., Oct. 6 - 35 anglers (will update score)
Fri., Oct. 5 - Friends of Rollo charter, kids did great!
Thu., Oct. 4 - 31 anglers, limits: 309 rockcod + 1 cab, 3 lingcod
Wed., Oct. 3 - 7 anglers, limits: 70 rockcod
Tue., Oct. 2 - 10 anglers, limits: 100 rockcod
Mon., Oct. 1 - Offshore Shearwater seabird watching trip
Sun., Sept. 30 - 29 anglers, limits: 290 rockcod, 3 lingcod
Sat., Sept. 29 - 34 anglers, 328 rockcod, 3 lingcod
Fri., Sept. 28 - 21 anglers, limits: 210 rockcod, 3 lingcod
Thu., Sept. 27 - 21 anglers, limits: 210 rockcod, easy and early again
Wed., Sept. 26 - 20 anglers, limits: 200 rockcod, 2 lingcod to 12 lbs.
Tue., Sept. 25 - 22 anglers, 201 rockcod, 1 lingcod
Mon., Sept. 24 - 9 anglers, easy and early limits: 89 rockcod, 1 cabezon
Sun., Sept. 23 - Shearwater Journeys offshore bird watching trip
Sat., Sept. 22 - Shearwater Journeys offshore bird watching trip
Fri., Sept. 21 - 10 anglers, 91 rockcod, 2 lingcod
Wed., Sept. 19 - Day off
Tue., Sept. 18 - 24 anglers,
Mon., Sept. 17 - Day off to attend PFMC meeting
Sun., Sept. 16 - 19 anglers, limits: 187 rockcod + 3 cabezon, 1 lingcod
Sat., Sept. 15 - 29 anglers, 3/4 limits of quality fish, 13 lingcod
Fri., Sept. 14 - Fishing Fools charter, shook 2 muckets, no keepers
Thu., Sept. 13 - 35 anglers, limits: 347 rockcod + 3 cabezon, 3 lingcod
Wed., Sept. 12 - 9 anglers, 4 salmon to 18 lbs.
Tue., Sept. 11 - 19 anglers, limits: 187 rockcod + 3 cabs to 11#, 1 ling to 9#
Mon., Sept. 10 - Too much wind offshore for Shearwater trip
Sun., Sept. 9 - Offshore Shearwater seabird watching trip
Sat., Sept. 8 - 34 anglers, 312 rockcod, 2 cabezon, 3 lingcod
Fri., Sept. 7 - 19 anglers, limits: 187 rockcod + 3 cabs to 8#, 6 lings to 11#
Thu., Sept. 8 - 12 anglers, landed 4 albacore between 22 and 28 pounds
Wed., Sept. 5 - 15 anglers, limits: 148 rockcod + 2 cabezon, 6 lings to 9 lbs.
Tue., Sept. 4 - 18 anglers, 175 rockcod, 1 cabezon, 4 lingcod
Mon., Sept. 3 - 34 anglers, limits: 340 rockcod, 5 lingcod
Sun., Sept. 2 - 36 anglers, 354 rockcod, 1 cabezon, 15 lingcod
Sat., Sept. 1 - 14 anglers, limits: 140 rockcod, 10 lingcod
Fri., Aug. 31 - 16 anglers, limits: 159 rockcod + 1 cab to 6#, 3 lingcod to 12 lbs.
Thu., Aug. 30 - 19 anglers, 136 rockcod, 3 cabezon, 4 lingcod, 1 halibut
Wed., Aug. 29 - 24 anglers, limits: 240 rockcod, 13 lingcod
Tue., Aug. 28 - 27 anglers, 255 rockcod, 4 cabs, 15 lings to 13 lbs., 2 halibut to 12 lbs.
Mon., Aug. 27 - Offshore Bird Watching Charter
Sun., Aug. 26 - 15 anglers, limits: 146 rockcod + 4 cabezon, 7 lingcod
Sat., Aug. 25 - 23 anglers, hooked 8 salmon, landed 4 to 20 pounds
Fri., Aug. 24 - 19 anglers, limits: 190 rockcod, 4 lingcod
Thu., Aug. 23 - 12 anglers, 26 albacore to 25 pounds, 1 bluefin to 10 lbs.
Wed., Aug. 22 - 28 anglers, 218 rockcod, 13 lingcod
Tue., Aug. 21 - Day off...whew
Mon., Aug. 20 - 24 anglers, 240 rockcod, 1 lingcod
Sun., Aug. 19 - 35 anglers, 302 rockcod, 7 lingcod, 1 halibut
Sat., Aug. 18 - 17 anglers, 155 rockcod, 2 cabs, 11 lingcod, 1 halibut
Fri., Aug. 17 - 12 anglers, hooked 3 salmon, landed 1 to 13 lbs.
Thu., Aug. 16 - 33 anglers, limits: 329 rockcod + 1 cab, 5 lings to 27 lbs!
Wed., Aug. 15 - 20 anglers, 175 rockcod + 2 cabezon, 6 lingcod to 21 lbs.
Tue., Aug. 14 - 24 anglers, hooked around 15 salmon, landed 6 to 19 lbs.
Mon., Aug. 13 - 8 Fishing Fools, landed 5 salmon to 17 pounds
Sun., Aug. 12 - Offshore Bird Watching Charter
Sat., Aug. 11 - 24 onboard, 18 fishing, landed 13 salmon to 12 lbs.
Fri., Aug. 10 - 21 onboard, 16 fishing, landed 11 salmon to 20 lbs., lost 5 bruisers
Thu., Aug. 9 - 29 anglers, limits: 290 rockcod, 1 lingcod
Wed., Aug. 1-8 - didn't post as I was out fishing myself....
Tue., July 31 - 23 anglers, limits: 227 rockcod + 3 cabezon, 13 lingcod to 18 lbs.
Mon., July 30 - 11 anglers, salmon took a hike
Sun., July 29 - Day off...offshore too mean for birding
Sat., July 28 - Shearwater trip, leatherback seaturtle hit of trip
Wed., July 25 - 25 anglers, went scouting, landed a 22 pounder
Tue., July 24 - 21 anglers, terrible weather, returned early
Mon., July 23 - 21 onboard, 16 fishing, limits of rockcod for them
Sun., July 22 - 17 anglers, 161 rockcod, 1 cabezon, 1 lingcod
Sat., July 21 - 27 anglers, 252 rockcod, 14 lingcod to 11 lbs.
Fri., July 20 - 27 anglers, ? lings
Thu., July 19 - 35 anglers, 305 rockcod, 3 lings, 1 cab, 10 lb. halibut
Wed., July 18 - 25 anglers, 13 salmon landed out of over 20 hooked
Tue., July 17 - 21 anglers, 17 salmon landed, more than that got away
Mon., July 16 - 23 salmon
Sun., July 15 - 18 anglers, 28 salmon to 26 lbs., lost lots more
Sat., July 14 - 17 anglers, limits: 167 rockcod, 3 cabs, 6 lingcod
Fri., July 13 - 18 anglers, landed 13 salmon, over two dozen more hooked
Thu., July 12 - 34 anglers, limits: 340 rockcod, 3 lingcod
Wed., July 11 - 21 anglers, 12 salmon landed to 22 lbs., 12 lost + ? shakers
Tue., July 10 - 21 anglers, tough day, tough weather, landed 4 keepers
Mon., July 9 - 9 Fishing Fools, limits: 18 salmon to 19 lbs.
Sun., July 8 - 32 anglers, limits: 320 rockcod, 2 lingcod to 16 lbs.
Sat., July 7 - 34 anglers, limits: 340 rockcod, 3 lingcod to 8 lbs.
Fri., July 6 - 27 Friends of Rollo kids, caught plenty of rockcod
Thu., July 5 - 24 anglers, 21 salmon to 21 lbs., lost 15, shook 12
Wed., July 4 - 32 anglers, 256 rockcod, 4 lingcod, 1 cabezon
Tue., July 3 - 25 anglers, hooked 60+ salmon, had to release 59 of them...
Sun., July 1 - 23 anglers, 8 salmon
Sat., June 30 - 35 anglers, limits: 349 rockcod, 1 cabezon, 2 lingcod
Fri., June 29 - 24 anglers, limits: 240 rockcod, 1 lingcod
Thu., June 28 - 25 anglers, 31 salmon to 20 lbs. (at least 30 more hooked)
Wed., June 27 - 18 PAL kids, limits: 176 rockcod, 6 lings to 11 lbs., 4 cabs to 6 lbs.
Tue., June 26 - 17 anglers, 15 salmon to 20 lbs., lost more than landed
Mon., June 25 - 21 anglers, limits: 210 rockcod, 5 lingcod to 9 lbs.
Sun., June 24 - 25 anglers, 9 salmon to 17 lbs.
Sat., June 23 - 25 anglers, 13 salmon to 21 lbs.
Fri., June 22 - 20 anglers, 9 salmon to 18 lbs.
Thu., June 21 - 22 anglers, 14 salmon to 19 lbs., lost more, shook 12
Wed., June 20 - 25 anglers, 182 rockcod, 1 lingcod
Tue., June 19 - 25 PAL kids, caught themselves dinner and then some
Mon., June 18 - 17 anglers, hooked LOTS, landed 12 keepers to 21 pounds
Sun., June 17 - Flat out nasty ocean, went out, turned around, came back
Sat., June 16 - 35 anglers, 272 rockcod, 4 lingcod to 6 lbs.
Fri., June 15 - Cancelled again...but fingers crossed for weekend
Thu., June 14 - Cancelled due to high winds
Wed., June 13 - Cancelled due to ocean weather forecast...too much wind
Tue., June 12 - 10 anglers, 85 rockcod
Mon., June 11 - 6 Fishing Fools, limits: 12 salmon to 26 POUNDS!
Sun., June 10 - 24 anglers, hooked 30+ salmon, landed 14 keepers to 19 lbs.
Sat., June 9 - Cancelled due to ocean weather forecast...too much wind
Fri., June 8 - Cancelled due to ocean weather forecast...too much wind
Thu., June 7 - Cancelled due to ocean weather forecast...too much wind
Wed., June 6 - Cancelled due to ocean weather forecast...too much wind
Tue., June 5 - 10 anglers, hooked 17 salmon, landed 1 keeper
Mon., June 4 - 6 anglers, 3/4 rockcod limits
Sun., June 3 - 26 anglers, slim pickings in the shallows
Sat., June 2 - 32 anglers, another tough day in the shallows
Fri., June 1 - 17 anglers, water too cold, found some lings but few rockfish
Thu., May 31 - 14 anglers, 18 salmon to 16 lbs., lost waaaay too many
Wed., May 30 - 11 anglers, couple dozen rockfish, 3 lingcod, 47 degree water
Tue., May 29 - 17 anglers, 16 salmon to 19 lbs., lots of action
Mon., May 28 - 25 anglers, 5 salmon to 16 lbs. (?), slow day but great weather
Sun., May 27 - Day off to attend wedding
Sat., May 26 - Cancelled...too much wind on the ocean
Fri., May 25 - Cancelled...too much wind on the ocean
Thu., May 24 - Cancelled...too much wind on the ocean
Wed., May 23 - Cancelled...too much wind on the ocean
Tue., May 22 - 10 anglers, 27 salmon hooked, 6 keepers to 19#, lost 6, shook 15
Mon., May 21 - 12 anglers, 12 salmon hooked, 2 keepers to 11#, 10 shakers
Sun., May 20 - 25 anglers, some shakers, one spurt of 4 keepers
Sat., May 19 - 24 anglers, 8 keepers, lost some, shook some
Fri., May 18 - Cancelled...still too much wind on the ocean
Thu., May 17 - Cancelled...too much wind on the ocean
Wed., May 16 - 21 anglers, 97 rockcod, 2 cabs to 9#, 11 lingcod to 21 lbs.
Tue., May 15 - 24 anglers, 15 salmon to 21 lbs., lost 10, shook 13
Mon., May 14 - 7 Fishing Fools, landed a few, fed some sealions
Sun., May 13 - 24 anglers, 6 salmon to ?? lbs.
Sat., May 12 - 11 anglers, 15 salmon to 21 lbs., hooked a lot more
Fri., May 11 - 24 anglers, 3 salmon to 22 pounds, pockets of fish
Thu., May 10 - Cancelled, but hope for tomorrow
Wed., May 9 - Cancelled...too much wind, too much swell
Tue., May 8 - 22 anglers, don't have the details
Mon., May 7 - 25 anglers?, 13 salmon to 17 lbs. (I think?)
Sun., May 6 - 23 anglers, 17 salmon to 18 lbs., lost at least 10 more
Sat., May 5 - Tried heading down the coast; too nasty, turned back
Fri., May 4 - 25 anglers, 13 salmon to 13 lbs., tough weather
Thu., May 3 - 24 anglers, 24 salmon to 17 lbs., hooked 2 to 3 times that many
Wed., May 2 - Cancelled...too much wind, too much swell
Tue., May 1 - Cancelled...too much wind, too much swell
Mon., April 30 - Cancelled...too much wind, too much swell
Sun., April 29 - Cancelled...too much wind, too much swell
Sat., April 28 - Cancelled...too much wind, too much swell
Fri., April 27 - Went out, too rough, came back
Thu., April 26 - 26 anglers, 52 salmon (LIMITS!) to 20 lbs. - BY 11:30 A.M.!!
Wed., April 25 - 11 anglers, 18 salmon to 19 lbs., lots of sealion donations
Tue., April 24 - 20 anglers, 15 salmon to 15 lbs., lost more than that
Mon., April 23 - 23 anglers, 19 salmon to 15 lbs., lost too many again
Sun., April 22 - 25 anglers, 32 salmon to 19 lbs., lost 3 to every 1 landed
Sat., April 21 - 24 anglers, 48 salmon (LIMITS!) to 34 lbs. - WOW!!!
Fri., April 20 - 9 bodies, 2 anglers, 3 salmon (fish are there; people were seasick)
Thu., April 19 - 22 anglers, 13 salmon to 14 lbs., usual dropsies and releases
Wed., April 18 - 14 anglers, 17 salmon to 18 lbs., could've had limits
Tue., April 17 - 10 anglers, 8 salmon to 14 lbs., other lost opportunities
Mon., April 16 - 12 anglers, landed 7 salmon to 18 lbs., lost 5 more
Sun., April 15 - 19 anglers, 6 salmon to 16 lbs., lots of good signs
Sat., April 14 - Off due to high winds and large swell
Fri., April 13 - Off due to high winds and large swell
Thu., April 12 - Off due to high winds and large swell
Wed., April 11 - 20 anglers, good grade found early, landed 7 to 16 lbs.
Tue., April 10 - Day off
Mon., April 9 - 6 Fishing Fools, landed 2 salmon, dropped a couple
Sun., April 8 - 25 anglers, 18 salmon to 12 lbs., 17 salmon released
Sat., April 7 - 25 anglers, 6 salmon to 12 lbs., 25 salmon released

Click here to go to our 2011 Archive
Click here to go to our 2010 Archive
Click here to go to our 2009 Archive
Click here to go to our 2008 Archive
Click here to go to our 2007 Archive
Click here to go to our 2006 Archive
Click here to go to our 2005 Archive
Click here to go to our 2004 Archive
Click here to go to our 2003 Archive
Or click here to return to our current Fishing Report

WHOPPERS (20 lbs. and over in bold):
Thu., Oct. 11 - 22 lb. white seabass
Mon., Oct. 8 - 24 lb. salmon
Tue., Sept. 11 - 11 lb. cabezon
Tue., Sept. 10 - 10 lb. cabezon
Fri., Sept. 7 - 11 lb. lingcod
Thu., Sept. 6 - Leo Shebalin of ? - 28 lb. albacore - Pioneer Canyon
Mon., Sept. 5 - 10 lb. vermillion
Fri., Aug. 31 - 12 lb. lingcod
Tue., Aug. 27 - 13 lb. lingcod
Thu., Aug. 23 - Henry Ruiz of ? - 25 lb. albacore - 32 miles S.W. of HMB
Thu., Aug. 16 - Kevin Miu of Hayward - 27 lb. lingcod - Pescadero
Wed., Aug. 15 - 21 lb. lingcod - Pescadero
Tue., Aug. 14 - 19 lb. salmon - Channel Buoys
Fri., Aug. 10 - 20 lb. salmon - Channel Buoys
Tue., July 31 - 18 lb. lingcod
Wed., July 25 - Jim Rajchel of San Rafael - 22 lb. salmon - Pescadero
Sat., July 21 - Ernie Fries of Fremont - 11 lb. lingcod - Pescadero?
Thu., July 19 - Steve Dyer - 10 lb. halibut
Sun., July 15 - 26 lb. salmon
Wed., July 11 - 22 lb. salmon - W Buoy
Mon., July 9 - 19 lb. salmon - W Buoy
Sun., July 8 - Geno Charles of Sacramento - 16 lb. lingcod - Pescadero
Thu., July 5 - Mary Beth Govier of Citrus Heights - 21 lb. salmon - N Buoy
Thu., June 28 - 20 lb. salmon
Wed., June 27 - 11 lb. lingcod - Pescadero Tue., June 26 - 20 lb. salmon
Sun., June 24 - 17 lb. salmon
Sat., June 23 - 21 lb. salmon
Fri., June 22 - 18 lb. salmon
Thu., June 21 - 19 lb. salmon
Mon., June 17 - 21 lb. salmon
Mon., June 11 - Archie Frick of Cupertino - 26 lb. salmon - W Buoy
Sun., June 10 - Michael Luna of El Granada - 19 lb. salmon - 10 miles west
Thu., May 31 - 16 lb. salmon
Tue., May 29 - 19 lb. salmon
Mon., May 28 - 16 lb. salmon
Tue., May 22 - 19 lb. salmon - Deep Reef
Wed., May 16 - Cedric Wilcox - 21 lb. lingcod - Pigeon Point
Wed., May 16 - Cedric Wilcox - 14 lb. lingcod - Pigeon Point
Tue., May 15 - 21 lb. salmon
Sat., May 12 - Mike Garcia of San Jose - 21 lb. salmon - Deep Reef
Fri., May 11 - 22 lb. salmon
Sun., May 6 - 18 lb. salmon - Pigeon Point
Thu., May 3 - Mark Ciccarello of ?? - 17 lb. salmon - Pigeon Point
Thu., April 26 - 20 lb. salmon - Deep Reef
Wed., April 25 - John Wood of Florida - 19 lb. salmon - Pigeon Point
Tue., April 24 - Raman Najjarian of San Jose - 15 lb. salmon - Deep Reef
Mon., April 23 - Jim Cousland of Rio Visa - 15 lb. salmon - Deep Reef
Sun., April 22 - Steve Leca of Fremont - 19 lb. salmon - Pigeon Point
Sat., April 21 - Francis Japlit of Palo Alto - 34 LB. SALMON! - Pigeon Point
Sat., April 21 - Emily A...? of Union City - 21 lb. salmon - Pigeon Point
Fri., April 20 - Sonny Le of Sunnyvale - 13 lb. salmon - Pigeon Point
Thu., April 19 - Gayle Sinkiewitz of Mountain View - 14 lb. salmon - Pigeon Point
Wed., April 18 - Jeff Sanders of San Jose - 18 lb. salmon - Deep Reef
Tue., April 17 - Dan Allen of Washington - 14 lb. salmon - Deep Reef
Mon., April 16 - Bruce Day of San Mateo - 18 lb. salmon - Deep Reef
Sun., April 15 - Mark Hickmott of Sunol - 16 lb. salmon - Deep Reef
Wed., April 11 - Cameron Robbins of San Mateo - 16 lb. salmon - Pigeon Point
Mon., April 9 - Ralph Cheek of Cupertino - 8 lb. salmon - Deep Reef
Sun., April 8 - Jack Heringer of Mountain View - 12 lb. salmon - Deep Reef
Sat., April 7 - Michael Miller of Palo Alto - 12 lb. salmon - Deep Reef

Click here to go to our 2011 Archive
Click here to go to our 2010 Archive
Click here to go to our 2009 Archive
Click here to go to our 2008 Archive
Click here to go to our 2007 Archive
Click here to go to our 2006 Archive
Click here to go to our 2005 Archive
Click here to go to our 2004 Archive
Click here to go to our 2003 Archive
Or click here to return to our current Fishing Report

PAST DAILY SUMMARY:

Thursday, December 20 - Our season is now officially over! The ocean forecast is downright nasty for the next several days and there's absolutely no way we'll be able to get out between now and Saturday, so all trips have been cancelled. So, that's it...we're done for the season as we're taking off to enjoy some time with our families. The rockfishing season officially closes on December 31 and will reopen on May 1, 2013. The salmon season is already closed and the opening date for the 2013 season will probably be sometime around the first Saturday in April, but we have to wait until the actual date is decided at upcoming fish and game meetings. During the winter months it's time to take care of our annual maintenance and, depending on how much time that takes, we'll probably run a few whale watching trips, hopefully a trip or two to view Mavericks, and possibly chase a Humboldt squid or two if they're in the area. Check back every once in a while or an update, or feel free give us a call. Our shop, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing, will continue to operate from at least 8am to 4pm daily except for an occasional day off here and there for the holidays. Hope you and yours have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and a Safe and Happy New Year!

Monday, December 17 - This is it! Last week for the season! The ocean gods let us make it out and head down the coastline on this past Saturday to find fish waiting to chomp. It didn't take long to put limits in the boat for all 20 anglers onboard again with several nice fish in the mix along with four lingcod. If you're thinking about getting that one last trip under your belt before we pack it in for the season, at this point it looks like the ocean might let us squeek one more trip in for this Wednesday morning unless the forecast changes. We're planning on running through Saturday, but we'll have to wait another day or two to see what the forecast has to say to see if it's a possibility or not. If you're interested in giving any day this week a try, make sure to check in with us no later than 2pm the day before the trip if possible so we can give you an update and so we can know how much interest there is in a particular day.

Wednesday, December 12 - Good weather, good folks and good fishing yesterday. We had enough folks join us to allow Capt. Bob burn the fuel and head almost down to Pigeon Point where several nice fish were landed with limits for all along with eight lingcod and a couple of cabezon. We've scratched the trip for tomorrow on Thursday as we just haven't had enough calls to put the trip together, but Friday is looking promising, with conditions similar to yesterday's forecast. If you'd like to join us on Friday, be sure to give us a call no later than 2pm Thursday so we can judge how much interest there is in Friday's trip. Ten more days and we're done for the season....

Monday, December 10 - Back out this past weekend and returned with limits of rockfish for all onboard both days plus a couple of lingcod on Saturday. Forecast looks good for tomorrow on Tuesday and we're definitely going fishing. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of space available. Don't worry about calling or getting a hold of us tonight. Just come on down and check in at the shop between 6:00 a.m. when we open to no later than 6:30; we leave at 7:00.

Monday, December 3 - Haven't been out since the weekend after Thanksgiving with the storms that have been rolling through. Sounds like the rain is going to back off this week and hopefully we'll be back on the water if there's enough interest for us to run. If you'd like to join us on a trip, please be sure to give us a call as soon as possible so we can put you on the books. We've set our last rockfishing date for the 2012 season for Saturday, December 22.. The fishing season is open through the end of December, but we're going to throw in the towel a little beforehand so we can enjoy the holidays with our families. Our shop will still be open pretty much daily with the exception of a day or two off here and there for Christmas and New Years.

Tuesday, November 20 - Yes, we are fishing tomorrow on Wednesday, November 21. The forecast is calling for the skies to clear and the rain to end just about the time we'll be shoving off around 7 in the morning, so if you have a reservation to join us, plan on coming down and checking in as scheduled around 6 to 6:15 a.m. If you don't have a reservation, we still have space available. We'll be off on Thursday and Friday to enjoy Thanksgiving, but we're open for rockfishing on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. For those of you looking to take home some dungeness crab with your catch, there are plenty of commercial boats selling directly off the boats we can hook you up with when we get back to the dock at the end of our fishing day.

Tuesday, November 13 - Captain Bob called in around 8:15 this morning and you could hear the smile on his face. The fish were biting, they already had landed a handful of lingcod and a couple of cabezon, and they were well on their way to having a good day on the water. Next phone call was a little after noon when he was already in his truck heading home after returning to the dock with 18 limits, 9 lingcod and 3 cabezon. The ocean forecast looks fantastic for tomorrow and we have lots and lots and lots of room available (less than 10 people on the books by the end of the day). If you'd like to join us tomorrow on Wednesday, don't worry about calling or making a reservation. Just simply come on down in the morning and check in at our shop, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing, by around 6:15. Bring your gear if you have it; if not, you can pick up whatever you need, including fishing licenses, at our shop when you check in.

Monday, November 12 - What a difference a day makes on the ocean. Our last peek at the ocean forecast on Friday afternoon looked like we were fine for this past weekend. Unfortunately, though, the forecast changed for the worse by Saturday morning with a lot more wind and a lot more swell than we were expecting. We were able to make the day, even though I'm sure there were lots of folks onboard who probably wished we hadn't by the time it was over. The vast majority of folks onboard had never been fishing on the ocean before, and it was not a good day to try to learn. There were a few folks who walked off with their limit, and then there were others who were lucky if they even caught a fish or two. Then came Sunday. Wow, what a difference. Gorgeous weather compared to Saturday, oodles of biting fish, and fishermen who returned with smiles on their faces and limits in their sacks for all onboard before noon. The ocean forecast looks fine again at this point through the end of the forecast period on Friday. Weather and interest permitting, we're currently scheduled to go fishing Tuesday through Friday, but we're not available this Saturday or Sunday as we have private charters. Weekdays are pretty light this time of year, so reservations are a good idea not just to save a spot for you but mainly to let us know how many folks are interested in going. By the way, as of this Thursday, the commercial dungeness crab season is scheduled to open, so folks who want to take home live crab along with their fish can purchase crab directly from the commercial boats right down the docks after fishing with us.

Friday, November 9 - I just found out yesterday that my reservation request page was sending reservation requests into cyberspace heaven, so if you submitted a reservation request within the past week and haven't received a response, that's why. Sorry about that, but it's all better now. As far as this coming weekend, the ocean forecast looks good, and we'll be rockfishing on both Saturday and Sunday. There's still space open on both days. It will probably be on the cold side, but the coastside is absolutely gorgeous this time of year with crystal clear blue skies. Without a doubt, November is the best weather of the year in Half Moon Bay. Since my last update it's been limits, limits, limits on the rockfishing trips day in and day out, and we don't see any reason that will change any time soon. Weather and interest permitting, we plan on continuing to run rockfishing trips into the middle of December and call it quits for the year before for the holidays.

Tuesday, October 30 - The fish are still cooperating and we're catching limits just about every trip out, but the weekday business is slowing way down now that we're in the heart of the fall months. We're still offering trips just about daily as long as weather and interest permits, but there are more days that weather and interest do play a part in whether we're going out or not. It's definitely that time of year where reservations are important not just to know you have a spot, but also to ensure we can let you know if there's a change in plans for a particular day. Nothing worse than showing up at six in the morning to find out that the boat isn't going out. And, on that note, our trip for tomorrow on Wednesday, October 31 has been cancelled. We're still scheduled to go fishing the rest of the week, though, as long as there are enough folks interested in joining us. If you're looking to go out and don't get a chance to contact us during the day, you can still give us a call 24 hours a day and listen to our recording which will let you know the next day's plan. There are still two months left in the 2012 rockfishing season which is open through the end of December. We'll probably continue to run and then call it quits sometime until mid-December so we can enjoy the holidays with family and friends.

Tuesday, October 23 - Just like we thought, we made it out this past Saturday before the wind hit the coastline and ended the day early once again with 340 rockcod and one bonus lingcod landed for all 34 anglers onboard. Heard the wind was howling all day on Sunday so it sounds like we made the right decision crossing that one off. But, just as quick as it arrived, the wind has backed off so we were back out today on Tuesday and found more cooperative fish for easy and early limits again. The forecast called for scattered showers today but, other than wet roads on the way to the harbor this morning, we didn't see a drop of water fall from the sky all day. We've got another real light load tomorrow but we're going fishing. If you'd like to join us on Wednesday, don't worry about calling or making reservations. Just come on down and check in at our shop by around 6:15.

Friday, October 19 - It's still been early limits every day, some days fast and furious, others that take a little bit longer, but overall still real good fishing. It's that time of year, though, where the weekday business slows and the weather starts playing a part as well. So we're officially crossing off Mondays through the end of the season unless someone has a big group or wants a private charter, but we're still planning on running rockfishing trips Tuesdays through Sundays, weather and interest permitting. And, speaking of weather, looks like a fairly decent system on the ocean is going to roll in on Saturday night through Sunday. It's a good enough of a system that I'm throwing in the towel early and crossing off our trip for Sunday. Just looks like too much wind is going to hit the coastline to even worry about giving it a try. As it stands right now, though, the various forecasts I watch are showing that we should just be able to squeek Saturday's trip in just before the wind arrives.

Tuesday, October 16 - Capt. Bob said the bite today was absolutely epic, something he doesn't say lightly. The fish were feeding like there's no tomorrow. It took all of about 20 minutes to land limits of chunky blacks, browns and a few other assorted rockfish for our fall weekday load of 9 onboard today. The weather forecast was calling for the wind to increase this afternoon, but it had no bearing on our trip today because we were back to the harbor long before it hit.

Thursday, October 11 - I raced out the door last Saturday after I got the last customer out the door, zoomed to the airport, jumped on a plane and headed across country to visit our daughter who lives in Long Island...so I've been away from the computer for the past week. Had a great time back East. Took a drive on Monday and headed up to Mystic, Connecticut. It's a historic New England seaport with a ton of wonderful exhibits and boats to explore. Didn't know much about it before we decided to go there, but definitely glad we did. Highly recommend checking it out. Anyway, back on the home front, rockfishing is still cranking out limits and some lingcod here and there. Today we also landed a 22 pound white seabass, first and only one so far this year for us. Also first white seabass for deckhand Mike...he didn't know what the heck it was until Bob went back and quickly gaffed it to to get it onboard. Hooked it on something special? Nope, just the same good old Half Moon Bay Sportfishing shrimp fly rig we always use. Bob has to replace a part on the boat tomorrow so our trip on Friday has been cancelled, but we'll be back running on Saturday. Right now only a few spots left for Saturday but still lots of room open for Sunday and all next week.

Thursday, October 4 - It's been limits, limits and more limits of rockcod just about every day the last several weeks, and we don't see any reason it won't be the same for at least the next several days with more good weather on the ocean in the forecast. The majority of the catch is still made up of some quality blacks with a china cod or brownie or vermillion thrown in for good measure along with a lingcod or two or three. We're still pretty much running seven days a week except for a private charter here and there, but, as always, good idea to check our availability before coming down in the morning. We only have one spot left for our trip on this Saturday but are booked with private charters tomorrow on Friday, Sunday and Monday, so, other than the one spot on Saturday, our next available date is on Tuesday, October 9. The weather forecasters are getting all excited because they're saying there may be a chance of seeing the first sprinkles of the fall by the beginning of next week, but don't let them scare you off. The ocean forecast looks fine with very low swells and not much wind to speak of, definitely nothing that's going to make any change in our plans. It's not the sky that matters for our trips, it's the ocean, and the fish don't care about a few showers...they're already wet.

Monday, October 1 - Just updated our schedule and realized that, for the first time in a long time, we are open and available every Saturday for the next four weeks...no private charters on Saturdays all this month. The best part about that is that October is typically one of the best months weather-wise on the ocean in our area. Not trying to be politically incorrect, but the locals around here know this is the time of year for what is referred to as indian summer, some of the most gorgeous, clear, calm weather of the year in Northern California. And that's exactly what I see for this week...looks good on the ocean all the way through the the end of the week. Rockfishing is still pretty much consistent limits, some days with the fish jumping in the boat and other days where we have to work at it a little. We have room every day this week except for Friday and Sunday. As always, reservations recommended, so give us a call or shoot us an email if you'd like to join us.

Thursday, September 27 - The last two days the fish have been biting fast and furious. In just a little more than two hours, we had made it to the fishing grounds, put the lines in the water and caught 200+ fish, making it easy to end the day with limits for all 21 anglers onboard. The catch right now is made up primarily of good size black rockfish with a sprinkling of brownies and a vermillion here and there, real decent quality fish that make for a nice 10 fish limit. We're still fishing 7 days a week...the crew is calling me a slave driver...and we will be out again tomorrow on Friday. Still plenty of room on tomorrow's trip if you'd like to join us. Give us a call before 4pm today or you're welcome to just check in at our shop between 6 and 6:15 a.m.

Monday, September 24 - Rockfishing is still going strong, just as we expect around these parts this time of year, with limits pretty much every day. Today was no exception...it took no time at all for the 9 anglers out today to put 90 fish in the boat and head back to the barn with early and easy limits. Looks like we'll be sticking with rockfishing trips from here on out, as the salmon have moved north out of our area and are just not in sufficient numbers for us to have the time needed to be able to target them. We might still throw in an albacore trip now and then if there's enough interest. Unfortunately, though, between the cost of the trips, the unpredictability of success and some rotten offshore weather more often than not, so far there just haven't been enough folks looking to go to be able to put more than a couple of trips together. We will be rockfishing every day this week except for Sunday when we have a private charter. Plenty of room on the weekdays at this point, but Saturday is starting to fill up, so it's a good idea to call for reservations sooner than later if you want to join us on Saturday.

Friday, September 7 - Rockcod update: The rockfish were downright chomping today. Nice fish, too, the kind you keep catching while they're biting. By 9:30 they were only 12 fish away from limits and the way the fish were biting it didn't take much longer for that to happen. It was an early return to the dock with 187 rockcod, 3 cabezon to 8 pounds and 6 lingcod to 11 pounds, with several nice blacks, browns and vermillions. Albacore update: Yesterday on Thursday we ran offshore to the tuna grounds between 32 and 47 miles from the harbor. It was an absolutely gorgeous day on the ocean, flat glassy calm with just a gentle swell rolling through. We had a double jig strike within just a few minutes of putting the lines in the water. We landed one but unfortunately the second fish came unbuttoned. After that it was a lot of trolling and looking without much happening. Finally a little before noon we got a second fish, then a little later a third and finally a fourth, but that was it for the day. All of the fish were quality 22 to 28 pounders and gave each of the lucky anglers who landed them a taste of how hard a tuna pulls. We had a great group of folks onboard that we were really hoping would get a good shot at landing a bunch of fish, but it was just a slow day offshore with not a lot of action anywhere. We're not giving up or giving in yet, though, so we've put another albacore trip on the books for Wednesday, September 19. Same as before: trip limited to 12 people, 12 hour trip departing at 5am and back by 5pm, $275 per person. If you're game, give us a call and let's go give it a shot. Salmon update: There's been great bait signs just north of Half Moon Bay by Mussel Rock but the salmon just don't seem interested in hanging around there much so far. Good numbers of salmon are still being landed around the Channel Buoys area outside the Golden Gate. We have a salmon trip on the books for next Wednesday, September 12 and the following Friday, September 21. Anchovies update: Acres and acres of anchovies showed up and invaded the harbor last night. Could be a good weekend to bring your kids and sabiki rigs and have fun loading up on some anchovies in the harbor for the first time in a couple of years. Have a great weekend!

Friday, August 31 - I love rockfishing this time of year. It's awfully nice to take folks out fishing and have them come home with a mess of fish as my grandmother would say. Today was another day with limits for everyone onboard, 159 rockcod and a cabezon for 16 limits, plus three lingcod up to 12 pounds. Yesterday we didn't quite have limits for everyone, but it was darn close with 136 rockcod, 3 cabezon, 4 lingcod and a halibut for 19 anglers. Main reason we don't end up with limits every single day is primarily due to folks wanting to use gear that worked in the past but unfortunately didn't work this time. We like using plastics and bars as anyone, but without a doubt the shrimp flys are still catching more than day in and day out than anything else out there. And not the old fashioned huge 7/0 hook with hard bristles shrimp flies, but the updated, fancy feather flies. Sometimes spending that whopping extra three bucks could make the difference whether you're just fishing or whether you're catching. We're now booked solid for the holiday weekend, but the other two boats out of our shop do still have some space available; give our shop a call if you're interested in joining them. Otherwise, we're available for rockfishing next week on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. We're going to give the tuna another run for their money on Thursday, and Thursday's trip outcome will determine if we put another tuna trip on the books.

Tuesday, August 28 - A real good mixture of fish today with 255 rockcod for 27 people along with four cabezon, 15 lingcod to 13 pounds and two halibut to 12 pounds. The forecast this week is calling for relatively low swells but a little wind off and on. So far the wind has been holding off in the morning and coming up in the afternoon, and it's nothing that's going to knock us off the water.

Monday, August 27 - We're getting into the heart of our rockfishing season, and the quality rockfish are starting to load up the bags, with the last two trips limiting out on a whole bunch of quality brownies and a handful or two of lingcod and cabezon. We ran a salmon trip on Saturday and trolled around the Duxbury area where we hooked 8 big salmon and got 4 of them onboard with the biggest a nice 20 pounder. And last but not least, we got the albacore ball rolling with our trip last week. The latest albacore reports are saying that the fish are within 27 miles of Half Moon Bay. No huge scores, but plenty of fish to make it a very worthwhile for a very special trip. This week we're sticking with the about-as-guaranteed-as-you-get rockfishing trips during the weekdays and we have a few spots left for our trip on this Sunday, too.

Thursday, August 23 - Yes, we caught albacore! And one bluefin tuna, too! And we were "that close" to cancelling the day before the trip...the offshore forecast was on the iffy side, last week's warm offshore water was broken up and no one had gone out hunting for tuna for the last few days. But, what the heck, we decided to give it a try anyway. And we're glad we did. Most of the folks who joined us had never had a chance to catch a tuna before, and by day's end 11 out of the 12 guys onboard had caught at least one and a couple of guys had three and four a piece. And thanks to a couple of boat line fish, everyone that wanted to went home with at least a fish and a half each. They were a nice grade of albacore, with the majority in the 20 to 25 pound range and a few footballs thrown in. We started the day off with a bang, too, with a bluefin landed on the first stop of the day. It wasn't big, probably around 10 pounds or so, but a bluefin's a bluefin and we'll take it. Most of the fish were caught on the troll, but a couple of guys did hook some fish on the iron and plastics, too. We ended the day with 26 albacore and one bluefin for 12 anglers. It was gray, cold and a little on the bouncy side, but fine tuna fishing weather. Weather and fish permitting, we've scheduled the next albacore trip for Thursday, September 6. Same as yesterday, the trip is limited to 12 anglers, $275 per person, a 12 hour trip leaving at 5:00 a.m. returning by 5:00 p.m. Spots didn't last long last time and I expect the same again, so, if you want to give it a try, give me a call sooner than later to grab a spot or two.

Thursday, August 16 - Another nice day on the ocean and more cooperative rockcod, with 33 limits today, 329 rockcod plus one cabezon, as well as five lingcod with Kevin Miu hauling in a huge 27 pounder. What did he catch it on you ask? The same thing all five lingcod were caught on: our custom made Half Moon Bay Sportfishing white feather shrimp fly rigs with a strip of squid. Without a doubt, the flies have been working the best day in and day out. Everyone wants that secret fancy dancy lure to land that big lingcod. The shrimp flies aren't fancy dancy, but they sure do work. There's been a lot of squid in the area recently, so it could be one reason the white flies are working so well right now. But that's today and that's fishing. We'll know what tomorrow will bring tomorrow. Wanna mention: Our weekends in September are getting absolutely wiped out. As it stands right now, the only open weekend date we have available is on Sunday, September 2. So, if you are thinking about joining us on a weekend next month, grab a spot on the 2nd sooner than later. Some of the charters are still in the planning stages which means the schedule could open up a little, so don't count the weekends out completely yet. Most of our weekdays still are wide open, so no problem joining us on weekdays.

Wednesday, August 15 - We were met with flat calm conditions for a very nice change today. Our OLA private charter made the choice to head south towards the rockcod grounds and it paid off with just a few fish shy of limits for all onboard, 175 rockcod and two cabezon for their group of 20 guys and kids, plus they scored 6 lingcod with a 21 pound monster to top things off. Our rockfishing trip is full for tomorrow on Thursday, but we do have space available on our salmon trip on this Friday and there's still room on this Sunday's rockfishing trip. And, just as like thought, the albacore trip for next Thursday is filling quick...just three spots left at this point. Wanna join us, give us a call.

Tuesday, August 14 - ATTENTION TUNA JUNKIES...HERE'S WHAT YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR: WE'RE NOW SCHEDULED TO GO ALBACORE FISHING NEXT WEEK ON THURSDAY, AUGUST 23 The weather on the ocean finally gave boats enough of a break to head offshore the last couple of days and, just as we expected, there are albacore off the coastline within our reach. So we've put an albacore trip on the schedule for next Thursday, August 23. It will be a 12 hour trip departing at 5:00 a.m. and returning by 5:00 p.m. The cost is $275 per person, limited to a maximum of 12 anglers, which will give us three trolling teams of four anglers on each team. It will be a trolling/jig only trip. A $125 deposit per person will be required at the time of the reservation, with the balance due the morning of the trip. These spots could get booked pretty darn quick, so, if you want to grab a spot or two, give us a call and we'll get you all set. Now, back on the local scene, the rockfishing trips are still cranking out limits of rockcod daily along with a handful or two of lingcod and a few cabezon, and the salmon fishing is still taking place around the Channel Buoys area outside the Golden Gate where the scores have been a few fish plus or minus a fish per rod most days. Our retired Fishing Fools gentlemen joined us yesterday on Monday and landed five salmon for their group of eight with a nice 17 pounder taking top honors.

Friday, August 10 - Well, how about that? There are still salmon out there. Even in spite of some pretty bouncy conditions that proved the weather forecasters were wrong again and put several folks out of commission at the rail, we found a decent number of cooperative salmon. We had about a fish per rod type of action, ending the day with 11 salmon in the box to 20 pounds for our 16 surviving anglers, and Capt. Bob said they lost at least 4 or 5 more really nice bruisers that would definitely have been competition for the jackpot, as well as a few more that were shook or jumped off the hook as fast as they hit. We're fishing up with the rest of the Bay Area fleet around the Channel Buoy area, and several big fish were reported by all the boats. So, is it worth going salmon fishing? You betcha. Are you guaranteed you're going to catch a salmon? Nope, but your chances continue to be real good as they've been all season, and, if you are one of the lucky ones, you could be going home with a nice trophy fish. We currently have 3 spots left for tomorrow's trip on Saturday, available first come, first serve when we open the doors at 5am.

Thursday, August 9 - Bob and I returned from our annual long range trip yesterday, and we're both back in action at the shop and onboard the Queen of Hearts today. Sounds like Bob picked up right where our crew left off with limits of rockcod for everyone onboard, 290 rockcod for 29 anglers plus one lingcod. Right now I'm trying to dig out from being away for the last 10 days, so hopefully I'll catch up soon and be able to fill in the blanks on the QH's scores and whoppers while we were gone as well as some details and photos from our trip.

Tuesday, July 31 - Rockfishing is pretty much kicking into full gear now, with limits or close to limits every single day and more and more lingcod and varities of fish showing up, so it's a great way of going. We ended up with 23 limits today, 227 rockcod plus 3 cabezon, and landed 13 lingcod to 18 lbs. We're rockfishing on this Thursday and Friday, and will wait until Saturday to give salmon another try. We were hoping the salmon would be swimming by our area this past week, but it just hasn't happened. There are fish within our reach north of us which is probably where we'll be heading for Saturday's trip unless something changes between now and then. On a different note: This will be my last report until August 8 as it's time for Bob and me to have some fun fishing ourselves. We're departing on our annual long range fishing trip onboard the Royal Polaris out of San Diego tomorrow to see if we can find some hungry bluefin, yellowfin, yellowtail, dorado and the like in the offshore waters off the Baja coast. Our trip this year leaves on Wednesday, August 1 and returns on Wednesday, August 8. No worries, though, the Queen of Hearts and our shop will be operating seven days a week as always in the capable hands of our supporting cast and crew who we know will take good care of everything and everyone while we're away. Feel free to give our boat and shop a call if you'd like an update or reservation. And, if you'd like to see how Bob and I are doing on our trip, check out the daily fishing reports on the Royal Polaris' website at: http://www.royalpolaris.com and click on "Current Conditions" (the third tab on the left side of the page in the "Main Menu" section). Wish us luck! And, if you're joining our crew while we're away, we wish the same to you!

Wednesday, July 25 - Capt. Bob is rarely content with going to a spot where just a couple of salmon were caught without knowing what else is available in untested waters. Like he always says, he's not looking for a couple of fish, he's looking for a lot of fish. They searched outside and below the Deep Reef to see if they could intercept the salmon we know are heading from down south up our direction, but unfortunately no one was home out there. They travelled back to the inside and found one on the large smokers that have been hanging out there, a nice 22 pounder, but that was it for the day. Maybe tomorrow will be the day we find what we're looking for, but it wasn't in the cards for today. It's all a matter of being in the right spot at the right time. There's no way of knowing when that next big wave of salmon are going to arrive, but we know it will. If you want to give it a try for tomorrow, we still have plenty of space available. Check in at our shop, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing, between 5 and 5:15 a.m.

Monday, July 23 - Our private charters the last three days all did well rockfishing, catching and taking home pretty close to limits every trip including for those who didn't fair well with the bouncy ocean conditions we continue to do battle with off and on. We're starting to see more variety in the fish being landed, with a few more vermillions, brownies, china cod, gophers and other assorted rockfish along with the veracious blacks that have been doing a good job of filling out the catch. More lingcod are starting to show, too, with 14 caught on Saturday's trip. On the salmon front, the boats have been on the hunt the last three days as the hot bite that had taken place around N Buoy and W Buoy has died out. What's died out in quantity has been made up in quality though, with some huge fish landed yesterday and today. One of the boats out of our shop found four big salmon yesterday with a 31 pound monster hitting the deck with a thud. Sounds like a couple of nice salmon have been landed this morning, too. The salmon have been coming through in waves, and with more fish coming up the coastline our direction, there will be many more salmon waiting to be hooked for a while to come. We have private charters this weekend but we are available for rockfishing tomorrow on Tuesday and salmon fishing on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Thursday, July 19 - Today was not a fast and furious day, but one by one the fish added up and we ended the day with 305 rockcod for 35 anglers, plus 3 lingcod to 8 pounds, 1 cabezon, a sand sole and a 10 pound halibut, our first halibut of the 2012 season. The folks on yesterday's salmon trip on Wednesday were treated to some of the absolutely best weather we've had all year long. Flat, greasy calm is what I was told. Only problem was the ocean had also turned a clean, clear, pretty blue, which is great if we were tuna fishing offshore but it's not what we want for fishing salmon that prefer dark brown, murky water. Too bad, too, because we had a great group of folks onboard that were doing a real good job of checking their baits and keeping tangles to a minimum. We started off okay landing 12 out of the first 20+ fish hooked and then the bite just shut off. We found one more kamakazee fish at the end of the day to end up with 13 fish in the box. Sounds like that was pretty much the same story around the fleet. That's salmon fishing. What happens one day means absolutely nothing about what will happen the next day. You never know how salmon fishing is going to be on the day you're fishing until you put the lines in the water and see how the day turns out. Overall it's been one of the best salmon seasons we've seen in years. Not easy, early, wide open limits every day like we saw back in 2004, but definitely anglers have a darn good chance of going out and bringing home a fish or two most days. We have private charters the next three days, but we are available for rockfishing on Monday and Tuesday next week, and we'll be salmon fishing and have space available on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

Sunday, July 14 - You can't go wrong either way right now. Both the salmon fishing and the rockfishing trips are cranking out fish along our coastline. We hooked plenty of salmon to have ended up with limits on Sunday. Too many of the big boys won the fight...again...but we still ended up with a darn good score of 28 salmon for 18 anglers with a 26 pound smoker taking the jackpot. Our salmon trip on Friday also saw good action, with 18 anglers hooking over three dozen fish and landing 13 keepers. Our rockcod trip are sure bets right now with limits the last several trips. Our 17 man private charter on Saturday was no exception bringing back 167 rockcod and 3 cabezon for limits and 6 lingcod to sweeten the pot, and our open load trip on Thursday cranked out 34 limits of rockcod, 340 rockcod and 3 lingcod. We have a lot of private charters coming up through the end of this month, so be sure to give us a call or check our Schedule webpage to check our availability.

Wednesday, July 11 - We're ready to have some fun rockfishing tomorrow, as the past two days' salmon fishing have definitely been on the frustrating side. After Monday's trip we had high hopes for Tuesday. But Tuesday turned out to be a bust primarily due to being met by an unexpected sharp swell hitting us head on in the morning and ominous reports of wind offshore that completely changed our gameplan for the day. Capt. Bob must have burned $600 worth of fuel trying spot after spot but it just wasn't in the cards. So today on Wednesday the plan was to fasten the seatbelts, strap everyone into their seat and head to the promised land. We made it to the main body of fish but ended up fighting tangles and letting too many get away, resulting in 12 in the box, at least 12 more that got away, and another dozen or more we had to release. So, again, we're looking forward to an enjoyable day of much-less-stress rockfishing tomorrow. Thursday's rockfishing trip is full, but we do have 7 spots still left on Friday when we'll be going out on the hunt for salmon again. Maybe we'll end our week the way we started....

Monday, July 9 - Our private charter of Fishing Fools who have joined us for years are having fun again this season catching salmon. Today it was limits for all 9 people onboard before noon with the biggest fish taking top honors at 19 pounds. Capt. Bob said the conditions are absolutely amazing on the salmon grounds, with literally dozens of whales feeding on acres of bait. There are salmon being reported all up and down our coastline, with fish at the Deep Reef area all the way up past Point Reyes. It's just a matter of how many shakers are in the school of fish on a given day and how many sealions we have to contend with making the difference on how a day turns out. Without a doubt, this is the best salmon fishing we've seen in a long, long time. Definitely time to come out if you've been waiting on the sidelines. We are available for salmon fishing tomorrow on Tuesday, as well as Wednesday and Friday. Our only available rockfishing trip this week is on Thursday.

Saturday, July 7 - Wow! There was a rare siting of Sherry onboard the Queen of Hearts...as a customer no less! Yep, I finally jumped onboard and had some fun out rockfishing with Capt. Bob's niece Molly and her husband Danny. It was the usual Half Moon Bay gray kind of day, but the ocean wasn't bad with just a bit of a swell and really not much wind to speak of. There were several onboard who'd beg to differ, as I'd swear there must have been a side jackpot for the person-with-the-best-tone-while-feeding-the-fish award. So, please take our advice: if you're not used to being on the ocean, please, please take some type of anti-seasick medication before coming out so you can enjoy your day. I had a ball being back on the boat as did Molly and Danny, each of us easily catching our limit, and by days end everyone onboard walked off with their 10 fish rockcod limit. There were lots of biting blacks, but I found my share of gophers and a nice vermillion to take home, too, staying in contact with the bottom to catch more of the bottom dwellers. We fished shallow all day, from as little as 30 feet to no deeper than 60 feet off of the Pescadero area.

Thursday, July 5 - Trying to find the time to update the last few days, so, in the meantime: We ended up with 21 salmon for 24 anglers to 21 pounds...all extremely feisty fish that didn't give up without a fight. Capt. Bob says probably another 15 were lost during the battle. At least a dozen more had to be released, but, as of tomorrow, just about every one of those fish will be keepers as the minimum size for salmon is reduced tomorrow from 24 inches down to 20 inches. Without a doubt, we will be seeing better scores if the bite is anything like it's been the last several weeks. On the rockcod front, good fishing the last several trips with limits or close to limits along with a handful of lingcod and a few cabezon thrown in. With the salmon minimum size reduction and the rockcod finally getting into full swing, we could be in for one heck of a month.

Friday, June 29 - Sounded like it was almost too easy today with the rockcod ready and willing to bite. Limits for everyone onboard, 240 rockcod for 24 people plus 1 lingcod. Our trips are full for this weekend but we do have another boat out of our shop that has room for rockfishing on Saturday and one with room for salmon on Sunday. Saturday's rockcod trip leaves at 9am so you have plenty of time to contact us early in the morning if you want to join the trip, and give us a call, NOT an email, if you want to join Sunday's salmon trip.

Thursday, June 28 - People often call and ask, "so how big are the salmon?" Today they were too big for folks to handle, with easily more lost than landed, and even then we still landed 31 of them with a whole bunch in the same size range at the 20 pounder that took top honors. Pretty phenominal salmon fishing going on right now. We were sketical of the reports of the number of salmon in the ocean before the season began but we're believers now. It's really been a good season and just keeps getting better. We're bouncing back and forth between running salmon trips and running rockfishing trips, and tomorrow we're back to rockfishing. We still have around 10 spots available for tomorrow's trip, so if you'd like to join us tomorrow, feel free to just come on down in the morning and check in at our shop at 6:00 a.m. We'll have a spot ready for you.

Wednesday, June 27 - The kids with the San Mateo Police Activity League put the fish away today, landing limits for everyone onboard, 176 rockcod plus 4 cabezon to 6 pounds and 6 lingcod to 11 pounds. On the salmon grounds, I heard it was absolutely wide open action today with some huge fish in the mix again. So right now it's a take your pick game between rockfishing or salmon fishing. We're salmon fishing tomorrow on Thursday and have just one spot left at this point. We're rockfishing on Friday and Saturday and still have plenty of space available on either trip, but, as always, reservations are definitely recommended.

Tuesday, June 26 - Thankfully the salmon have finally emerged from the acres of jellyfish we were fighting last week and we had a good day with 15 salmon landed for 17 anglers, with lots more than that lost during the heat of the battle and lots more that had to be released because they didn't meet the 24 inch minimum size limit. There are lots of reasons salmon get away, but one big reason this year is because the salmon are feeding on krill. Salmon feeding on krill is like massive drinking doses of energy drinks to us. To try to give you an idea how energized these fish are: One salmon hooked on the bow today actually swam past the front of the boat after it was hooked, meaning it was swimming faster than we were trolling, which just doesn't happen very often. The best part of salmon feeding on krill, though, it that they are some of the brightest pink meat, best tasting salmon around.

Monday, June 25 - Rockfishing and salmon fishing both heating up! Looks like the ocean's finally starting to cooperate: Limits today, 210 rockcod along with 5 lingcod, for 21 people onboard the Queen of Hearts. The water has warmed up and the fish are biting. And, on the salmon front, the other boat that works with us from our shop, the Riptide, had 22 salmon, limits for 11 anglers, before 9:30 this morning. There have been salmon caught up and down the entire coastline from Morro Bay in the south all the way up to Mendocino and beyond in the north. Hot spot changes from day to day. This past weekend we had excellent quality salmon but didn't have as much in the quantity category as we were hoping for. But maybe that will change tomorrow as the fish landed today were just a hop, skip and a jump out of our harbor. We're salmon fishing tomorrow and have plenty of room available at this point. If you'd like to join us, give us a call, please DON'T email, if you'd like to join us.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, June 22, 23 and 24 - Salmon fishing all three days. Working on update...check back a little later for details....

Thursday, June 21 - The jellyfish have invaded the coastline and the salmon are swimming right in the middle of the acres of jellyfish, making trolling a real workout. But it's been worth it, with trophy size salmon going home with those lucky enough to get their catch onboard. We ended today with 14 keepers, all commercial grade bombers, lost at least that many more and probably shook another dozen. We still have plenty of space available for our salmon trip tomorrow; if you'd like to join us, don't worry about sending an email or giving us a phone call. Just simply come on down in the morning and check in at our shop, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing, between 5:00 and 5:15 a.m.

Wednesday, June 20 - We were rockfishing down the coast between Pescadero and Pigeon Point today. The water temperature if finally starting to warm up to between 52 and 54 degrees, but we're still having to work hard to find the biters with the leftover swell we've been dealing with recently. We ended up with 182 rockcod and 1 lingcod for 25 anglers. Not limits, but not bad, either, and much better than it was a few weeks ago. The "I-watch-it-constantly" marine forecast is now telling us the weather on the ocean is really supposed to calm down by this weekend, so rockcod scores should continue to improve. On the salmon front, it was real good fishing today. The other boat out of our shop, the Riptide, found a spot of fish at the end of the day and put 11 fish in the boat in a half hour period to end up with limits to 22 pounds. We're salmon fishing the next four days so we have our fingers crossed the fish will be waiting for us. We have a few spots left for Friday's trip and are currently full but taking standbys for the weekend.

Monday, June 18 - This past Saturday we finally had some decent weather along the coastline and the rockcod finally started to bite. The water temperature started out at a cold 48 degrees but warmed up to 52 degrees after the tide changed. Four degrees may not sound like much in our world, but it's a major difference in the ocean world. Some folks caught their 10 fish limit while others had less, but by day's end we had a good day with 272 rockcod and 4 lingcod going home for 35 anglers. Definitely an improvement that we expect to continue as the season goes on. On Sunday we were completely taken by surprise by the weather we encountered. The forecast didn't sound terrible, but, boy, oh boy, the ocean was downright nasty. The best salmon fishing the past few trips had been northwest of Half Moon Bay, so that's the direction we headed. Only problem was the swells and wind got worse and worse the further we went. By the time we finally made it out to the fishing grounds, it was so bad the captain made the decision to turn around and headed back. Thankfully today on Monday the weather is MUCH better and we're out catching salmon. Sounds like there's pockets of fish scattered here and there. Just a matter of picking away on the right spot. Lots of action as the day went on, with lots and lots of fish hooked that will be keepers next month, the couple of handfuls of fish that got away, and 12 keepers to go home with a 21 pounder taking the jackpot.

Friday, June 15 - Finally the wind is calming down and, as long as we're being told the truth, looks like we could have a good weekend ahead of us. Our trips are full this weekend, but there is room on another boat that works out of our shop, the Ankeny Street, for rockfishing on Saturday and Sunday leaving at 9:00 a.m. If you'd like to join him on Saturday, give us a call in the morning to let us know you're coming and check in at the shop by around 8am.

Thursday, June 14 - The afternoon forecast bumped the wind back up to 20 to 30 knots for tomorrow on Friday, knocking us off the water...again. No choice but with the high winds forecast our trip for Friday has been cancelled. The latest update is calling for the winds to die down Friday afternoon and, unless there's a drastic change, we'll be out fishing on both Saturday and Sunday. Still a few spots left for Saturday's rockfishing trip. If you're interested, be sure to give us a call.

Wednesday, June 13 - We made the right call cancelling our trips today and tomorrow due to the high winds on the ocean, but it looks like the wind is going to back off starting on Friday afternoon, so at this point we're planning on going rockfishing Saturday and then we'll be salmon fishing on Sunday. Plenty of room on both of the rockfishing trips still, but our salmon trip for Father's Day on Sunday is currently full.
On a different note, I've been meaning to post this tidbit of info I received a long time ago from the Department of Fish and Game: They developed a mobile website where anglers can search for up to date info about marine restricted areas and, using the GPS on their mobile device, find out if the angler is in or close to a MPA and get a summary of the regulations for the area. The mobile website is at: www.dfg.ca.gov/m/MPA. As long as there is cell phone coverage, this website could be a great tool for both shore and boat-based users.

Tuesday, June 12 - We weren't sure if the ocean was going to let us out today, but thankfully the wind held off long enough for us to put our time in down the coast. Nothing fast and furious, but a fish here, a fish there ended up as 85 rockcod total by the end of the day for our 10 anglers. The wind is forecast to howl again tomorrow and on Thursday as well. Most of the time we wait to see if the forecast might improve, but we know better this time and have cancelled both our trips for tomorrow on Wednesday as well as on Thursday. We're still scheduled to go at this point on Friday, but we're definitely keeping a close eye on the forecast. According to a couple of the ocean weather websites I watch, it's looking like we should be back out fishing on Saturday and definitely on Sunday, with much better weather finally coming our way next week...hopefully.

Monday, June 11 - Heard from Capt. Bob early on and sounded like there were some salmon being caught, so I had my fingers crossed the next call I'd get would be good news. He said the ocean was fine, too. Next call at 11:30 was exactly what I was hoping for: heading on the way back in with limits for our six man private charter, 12 salmon with a 26 pound sluggo taking top honors. Unfortunately, though, the five day ocean forecast is calling for the wind to kick up again this week. We're hoping we'll get our rockfishing trip in tomorrow on Tuesday and then we'll be back to taking it day by day watching and waiting for the winds to die out. If you'd like to give it a try tomorrow, definitely give us a call and make a reservation so we can let you know later this afternoon if there's a change in plans.

Sunday, June 10 - Back on the water today; sloppy in the morning but definitely improved as the day went on. Found a few shakers early and finally had a decent bite start up right as Capt. Bob was reaching for his mic to have everyone wind them up. After the final spurt we ended up with over 30 fish being hooked for the day and out of them 14 were keepers up to 19 pounds. The fish were about 10 miles due west of Half Moon Bay, around 10 miles north of the Deep Reef and a good 15 miles south of the Farallons.

Wednesday, June 6 - We usually wait until the afternoon before the next day's trip to make our final decision whether we're going to run on the next day or not if the weather on the ocean is questionable. With the forecast we have right now, though, no reason to wait. At this point the forecast is calling for 20 to 30 knots of wind the next couple of days, so we've cancelled our trips for both Thursday and Friday. We'll wait a bit longer to see if the forecast will come down for our trips for the weekend. Saturday is pretty doubtful but we might luck out for Sunday. Like I always say, forecasts are not written in stone, and they can and do change. All we can do is watch and wait. If you have a reservation, we will definitely call you no later than the afternoon before a scheduled trip if it looks like the weather on the ocean is not going to cooperate. Looking at one of the online wind models, the winds are supposed to move further offshore and give us a break along the coastline as of the beginning of next week if not sooner.

Tuesday, June 5 - I was right about one thing: today was the best day to go out this week based on the marine forecast we got on Monday. But the weather we ended up with on the ocean today was not what we were expecting. The morning started out okay, but the winds started howling by mid-morning and just kept getting worse as the day went on. We did hook several salmon, somewhere around 17 or so, but unfortunately all but two were less than the 24 inch minimum and had to be released, and the bigger of the two keepers broke off just outside of net range. Even in spite of the weather and the lack of keepers, I still received a very encouraging and appreciated phone call after the trip from a gentleman who joined us for the day complimenting our crew on the great service they gave. The wind is forecast to blow hard for the next few days, so we've cancelled tomorrow's trip on Wednesday and will watch the forecast closely again to see when we'll be able to get back on the water.

Monday, June 4 - First things first: I know it's raining outside right now, but the ocean forecast for tomorrow on Tuesday looks really, really good. Salmon fishing has also been really, really good, with lots of fish being hooked and lots taken home for those finding the keepers instead of the shakers. We are salmon fishing tomorrow and still have lots of room at this point. Looking at the five day marine forecast, tomorrow's the day to go, as the forecast at this point is calling for the weather on the ocean to pick up again as the week progresses. If you'd like to join us tomorrow, give us a call. Now, as far as this past weekend, I've heard people say I only report when fishing is good. Wrong. So here you go...how's this for honest?...this past weekend rather sucked. We had high hopes for some good old, let's-go-out-and-have-some-fun rockfishing, but it was tough pickings in the shallows. I don't even think we ended up with a little more than 100 rockfish total for the three days, even though there were a few lingcod and a couple of cabezon caught. The weather on Friday was downright snotty which didn't help, not much better on Saturday, and Sunday the beers and shots of Crown Royal first thing in the morning did several of the guys in before we even made it to the fishing grounds. Sounds like fishing was better out in the deeper end of the spectrum, so I think that's where Bob planned on going today. The water is extremely cold along the coastline right now after all the wind we've had this past month, so we may have to let the shallows warm up a couple of degrees for the fish to take off their winter coats.

Thursday, May 31 - The day started off with three salmon hooked right off the bat first thing in the morning, and one out of those three made it in the boat. It continued like that for a while, but at one point in the day the bite busted wide open and mass pandemonium really hit the fan. We have no idea how many fish were busted off, sawed off, came off, but, from the sounds of it, it was just way too many. Some how, some way, we did end up with one heck of a good score in spite of all the craziness with 18 salmon landed for 14 anglers to 16 pounds. All I have to say is, Please, Please, Please, if you haven't done this before, Please listen to the crew. Calm down, slow down, and LISTEN TO THE CREW! Anyway, just in the nick of time, thank goodness tomorrow on Friday is Opening Day for rockfishing off our coastline! As of tomorrow we can go rockfishing at our favorite coastal spots such as San Gregorio, Martins Beach and Pescadero that were off limits for the past month when we were required to fish below Pigeon Point, and the next four days on the Queen of Hearts will be rockfishing trips. We'll still have plenty of salmon days on the books, too, alternating back and forth between the two type of trips as long as there remain cooperative salmon within reach. Be sure to check our Schedule webpage to get an idea of what we have scheduled for the next few weeks or feel free to give us a call or email for dates not yet listed.

Wednesday, May 30 - Finally got our second rockcod trip of the season in this month below Pigeon Point. The water temperature was an outrageously cold 47 degrees. You ever see a picture of penguins looking like they're shivering and all huddled together for warmth in the middle of a snowstorm? Figure that's what the rockfish were doing. We were able to entice a couple dozen fish and three lingcod to come out and play but it was a tough day of fishing. Sure are glad the coastline will open up along our coastline as of this Friday. Tomorrow on Thursday we'll be running a salmon trip. Still plenty of space available for tomorrow's trip. If you'd like to join us, don't worry about getting a hold of us. Feel free to simply come on down in the morning and check in at our shop, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing, when I open the doors at 5:00 a.m. The boat departs at 6:15 a.m.

Tuesday, May 29 - Our good old buddy old pal The Wind finally gave us a break and let us back out salmon fishing yesterday and today. Even though the weather was downright nice yesterday, try as we might, we just couldn't find very many cooperative fish and ended the day with five keepers to 16 pounds. The weather kicked up a bit today on Tuesday but so did the fishing. After a brief cell phone call with Capt. Bob it sounded like they had lots of action, since he told me if all the shakers had been keepers they would have been going home with early limits. After wading through all the fish they couldn't keep, they ended up with a good score of 16 keepers for 17 anglers to 19 pounds.

Friday, May 25 - The wind on the ocean is still howling and is forecast to continue tomorrow, so we've now cancelled our trip for Saturday. We'll be off on Sunday to attend a wedding, but it's actually looking like the wind might back off to let the boats out on Sunday. I believe the other boats out of my shop still have space available. If you'd like to join one of them for Sunday, give our shop a call after 8am at 650-728-3377. The Queen of Hearts is scheduled to go out salmon fishing on Monday and Tuesday, and then rockfishing on Wednesday. If the darn wind gives us a break, that is. It continues to be a day by day call right now. The wind can come down as fast as it goes up, so we've just gotta be patient and wait for it to blow itself out. Hopefully sooner than later....

Tuesday, May 22 - It took a while to get located but when we did we had plenty of action, with around 27 salmon hooked within a few hours. Unfortunately 6 of them won their way to freedom, and of course what appeared to be the biggest fish of the day, well over 20 pounds, was one of those. There were another 15 fish released that did not make the 24 inch minimum size limit, and we ended up with 6 keepers in the box with two tying for first place at a hefty 19 pounds. The wind started up in the afternoon just like they had forecast and it is supposed to blow hard, 20 to 30 knots, tomorrow on Wednesday. We've cancelled Wednesday's trip and will watch the forecast closely. Wednesday afternoon update: Still too much wind forecast; rockfishing trip on Thursday is now cancelled. Will make decision about Friday's salmon trip when we receive Thursday afternoon's weather forecast update around 3pm.

Monday, May 21 - We had what crews refer to as a "sweetheart charter" today. A group of 12 guests from the Ritz Carlton jumped onboard around 10:30, giving our crew a few extra hours to sleep in this morning, and headed out to enjoy a little down time on the Pacific and see if they could find a salmon or two. The ocean was extremely nice today for a change...weather was great, we hooked 12 salmon for 12 anglers, taking two keepers and shaking the rest, and topped off the day with a visit by a couple of humpback whales on the way back to the dock. Real enjoyable day. The weather on the ocean is calling for calm seas tomorrow morning on Tuesday but the wind is forecast to pick back up by Wednesday. If you'd like to join us tomorrow, we have plenty of room. Just simply come on down and check in at our shop, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing (look for the BIG yellow TICKET OFFICE sign) by 5:15 a.m. If you have your own gear, we are trolling. Anyone needing rod rentals, license and tackle can grab whatever they need when they arrive.

Wednesday, May 16 - Not a bad way to kick off this year's rockfishing season with a couple of noteworthy catches: Cedric Wilcox took home his limit of two lingcod which weighed a total of 35 pounds! One lingcod was 14 pounds and the other was 21 pounds! Baja Bev joined in on the lingcod action and took home her lingcod limit after picking the two she wanted from the FIVE she landed. Then there was Jack who landed three rockcod on two hooks. How? He hooked one rockcod on one hook, the second rockcod on the second hook, and a third rockcod swallowed Jack's sinker which then slipped out through the fish's gillplate "hooking" the third fish. The water temperature below Pigeon was a frigid 49 degrees which tends to make the rockfish pretty lethargic, so we ended up with around half limits on the rockcod, but there were some nice vermillion, brownies, gophers, blacks, china cod and a couple of cabezon up to 9 pounds making up part of the day's catch. Next rockcod trip will be next Thursday, May 24th. The ocean forecast has kicked the expected wind for tomorrow and Friday to 20 to 30 knots and frequent gusts to 35 knots, so we've thrown in the towel and cancelled Thursday and Friday's trips. The swell is not very big, so as soon as the winds back off we'll be able to get back out. We're still scheduled to run as of Saturday at this point as long as the weather permits.

Tuesday, May 15 - To catch up on the last four days: today on Tuesday there was a pretty stiff wind chop first thing in the morning but it flattened out real nice as the day went on. First lines down were bit just about as fast as they hit the water and started the day off with a bang. Decent action in the morning when the weather was bouncy but as the weather got better, the fishing slowed. Overall it was a good day of salmon fishing with 15 fish going home, top honors taken by another sluggo 21 pounder, 10 more salmon won their battle for freedom, and 13 released that didn't make the 24 inch minimum size mark. Monday's trip with our retired Fishing Fools gang had a sprinkling of fish that took a while before they starting biting. By trips end there had been enough fish hooked that we should have gone home with one better than a fish per rod if all that were hooked had made it onboard. Saturday's trip had real good action, enough to have caught limits and then some. We returned with 15 salmon to 21 pounds for our 11 man charter; thanks, Andrew, for all your efforts and organization putting the trip together. And, finally, tomorrow we're going rockfishing! The ocean is finally going to let us make the trek down below Pigeon Point to give us a shot at catching some rockfish for the first time in just shy of five months. Hard to believe it's been that long since we wound up last year's rockfishing season way back on December 22nd. If you'd like to join us tomorrow, still plenty of space available to just show up in the morning and grab a spot or two or three. I'll have the doors open at 6am; check in no later than 6:15.

Friday, May 11 - The wind finally backed off, the seas are settling down and it's turning absolutely fantastic out on the water. Should be an incredibly nice couple of days on the ocean this weekend. Now we have to find some cooperative fish. The reports are that the salmon were hitting in flurries with long stretches of nothing in between. Each flurry resulted in from three to six fish, with an hour or two of absolutely nothing in between. Boats with three or four flurries had 15 or more fish for the day. We only had one of those flurries and ended up with three fish in the box for our efforts. Only bright side was the jackpot was a 22 pound whopper. I always tell everyone that salmon fishing is like turning on and off a light switch. What happened yesterday has no bearing on what is going to happen today, and today's fishing means nothing about what's going to happen tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow will be our day we'll be the heros instead of the bums. We'll find out after we put our lines in the water in the morning and see what the day brings.

Thursday, May 10 - Finally looks like the winds are going to calm down for a few days and we have a great looking weekend coming our way if the weatherman is telling us the truth. We are going fishing tomorrow on Friday; if you have a reservation, check in at our shop when we open at 5am to no later than 5:30. As it stands right now, I have one spot on the Queen of Hearts available and 1 spot on one of the other boats that works through our shop. If you'd like to grab one of those spots, be sure to be there when we open our doors in the morning.

Wednesday, May 9 - Sorry for the lack of updates the last couple of days. One of those too much to do and not enough time and energy to do it all couple of days. Don't have the exacts in front of me to update the info about yesterday and Monday but will try to put it together in the next day or so. The ocean has really kicked up its heals with way too much wind and a big swell, knocking us off the water again today and causing us to cancel our trip tomorrow on Thursday. We've got our fingers crossed it will calm down for Friday's trip but it looks like we're in good shape after that for the weekend and the beginning of next week.

Sun., May 6 - We had good travelling weather on the way out, but the swell and wind built again as the day went on. There was a sprinkling of fish landed here and there in the morning as the fish had definitely been spread out after yesterday's blow, and finally towards the end of the day we found a good school of biters. Unfortunately by that time probably half of our troopers had given in to seasickness, but the guys left standing made quick work of putting some fish in the box and losing several others. We ended the day with 17 keepers to 18 pounds and easily had another 10 that should have been going home but got away. Tomorrow's weather on Monday is the best forecast we've had for a while so we've got our fingers crossed.

Sat., May 5 - We had been watching the forecast go up and down all week for today's trip, and the final verdict was lots of wind and swell offshore but we might just be able to sneak down the coastline for an attempt to get to the rockcod grounds below Pigeon Point. We gave everyone the rundown when they arrived that it was an iffy kind of day, that they were welcome to go to Plan B for the day or, if they were game, we'd give it a try. A few went home but the vast majority wanted to give it a try, so we loaded up the boat and headed south. We made it as far as San Gregorio and called it quits after giving the folks onboard their E Ticket ride for the day. They now know what we mean when we try to explain how different the weather on the ocean can be from the weather on land.

Thurs., May 3 - The forecast held true, and even though it was a bouncy one, we were able to get back out and get another shot at the fish. And, yep, they were waiting. In no time flat we had landed two keepers and lost another, and then it really took off, with multiple hookups and lots and lots of action. Unfortunately a little too much at times, where more fish were lost in the heat of the battle than landed. Over the course of the day we probably lost two or three fish for every one landed. We ended the day with 24 salmon for 24 anglers to 17 pounds, but we had our chances to bring home a lot more than that if we could have just hung on to some of those that got away. We're going on the salmon chase again tomorrow on Friday and have a few spots left at this point. If you'd like to join us, check in at our shop, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing (look for the BIG yellow TICKET OFFICE sign), when we open the doors at 5:00 a.m. If you have your own gear, we are trolling, so bring your rod and reel with fresh 20 to 25 lb. test, a sinker release, 6 foot leader and a few 2-1/2 lb. sinkers. If you need gear, no worries; we have all the gear and licenses available to pick up when you check in.

Tues., May 1 - Still waiting for the winds to back enough for us to get back on the water. At this point it looks like the winds are supposed to calm down Wednesday evening and we'll be able to go fishing on this Thursday, May 3rd. The forecast is calling for the possibility of scattered showers, but the it's the ocean we're worried about, not the sky. A little water falling from the sky does not cancel our trips. Thursday's trip is currently full, but we're in the process of confirming reservations to make sure no one is afraid of melting. If you'd like to be put on a standby list in case we get any spots come open, just let us know. Unfortunately after Thursday the forecast is calling for the winds to return, so we'll be back to making a day by day call. It will calm down at some point, but it sure is tough to have patience while we're waiting.

Fri., April 27 - With the excellent fishing we had yesterday, we had to give it a shot this morning to see if we could make it out to the salmon grounds, but there was just too much wind and too much swell, so we had no choice but to turn tail back to the dock. It's supposed to be as bad or worse on the ocean tomorrow on Saturday, so we've already cancelled Saturday's trip. We'll be closely watching and waiting the ocean forecast to see when the ocean is going to calm down enough to let us get back out. Usually we make the final call based on the 3pm-ish forecast we receive the afternoon before the next day's trip. Hopefully we'll be able to start back up right where we left off.

Thu., April 26 - WOW!! AS FAST AND FURIOUS AS IT CAN GET!! 26 LIMITS, 52 SALMON TO 20 LBS., BY 11:30 A.M.!! Capt. Bob checks in with me by cell phone when he can while he's out on the water to give me updates on how the day is going. It's been a long time since I've heard him as out of breath as he was today when he checked in around 9:30 in the morning. He said they were hooking 7, 8 fish at a time. The crew was running around the deck like mad-men, double-scooping, fish flopping, scales flying. They threw the last fish in the box for a full boatload of limits right around 11:30 in the morning, with the biggest fish a nice 20 pounder. Weather was absolutely fine today except for a passing rain squall here and there, but there were some whitecaps by the end of the day. With fishing this fantastic, we are going to show up tomorrow morning on Friday and see if the winds and swell will hold off long enough in the morning to let us get another shot at these fish, even though the forecast does not look favorable. This will not be a trip for the meek. This is potentially good old, hard core, old fashioned, wide open fishing with possibly some tough weather thrown in. If you are up for it, give us a call, grab a confirmed spot and keep your fingers crossed. This is what we live for....

Wed., April 25 - We dropped right on top of the fish and started hooking up right off the bat, but unfortunately a pair of sealions heard the news and decided it was time for breakfast. Plenty of action to have ended up with limits, but we ended the day with 18 salmon for 11 anglers to 19 pounds with several more fish that won their battle for freedom and just shy of a dozen donated to the sealions. The weatherman is calling for scattered showers tonight into tomorrow morning but the ocean forecast is absolutely fine for Thursday. The fish don't care if it rains...they're already wet. If you'd like to join us on Thursday, we currently (as of 5pm Wednesday) have one spot left.

Tue., April 24 - There's been a bit of a south wind today and yesterday, and that always changes things out on the ocean, as it did today. The bait and fish had moved, oodles of jellyfish moved in (why's that bad? because we can't fish where's there's too much jellyfish), and we had to go on the hunt. It took a while, but just around lunchtime they found a school of biters. Wide open biters. Cause complete insanity biters. Trying to explain: Have you ever been on a slow tuna trip and finally found a kelp patty on that last chance stop that held hundreds of fish that causes people's adrenaline to take over and their brain to stop functioning? That's the kind of action we're talking about. It's not a bad thing. It's just that it's absolutely, completely pure craziness where more fish are lost, busted off, broke off, sawed off, every which way they can be popped off than are landed. Well, that's the kind of bite we had. So when you see that we landed 15 salmon for 20 anglers, it's far from the whole story. For every one in the boat, there's another one or more out there still swimming around with a very sore mouth. If you get in one of those wide open bites, take the advice of a dear fisherman who is sorely missed by all, Rollo from the Royal Polaris: "breath through your nose." Believe it or not, it actually does help. Breath in with your nose and exhale through your mouth. It helps flush some of that adrenaline out of the nervous sytem and let the brain cells recuperate. So, to sum up today, off the hook fishing for a few hours, just not off the hook catching. People who knew how did, and people who didn't know how hopefully learned a lot for the next time and had an experience they could never believe without seeing it. If you've been there, you know what I mean. And it's not a bad thing, just crazy. A few years ago it felt like this would never happen again. Glad it is.

Mon., April 23 - Today we didn't see the phenominal fishing we have this past weekend, but it was still darn good fishing with 19 salmon landed for 23 anglers to 15 pounds and several more fish hooked that didn't make it onboard for one reason or another. It was easily better than a fish per rod fishing, just not a fish per rod catching. Congrats to Mark, Les and Sam...heard you guys got yours early and easily. The sealions and jellyfish moved into this past weekend's spot so we moved to the next best hot spot a few miles up; sure seems like there are lots of fish out there like the preseason reports were saying. On a different note, folks are getting nervous because the weatherman is calling for possible scattered showers midweek. Remember, the fish don't care if it rains a little...they're already wet. And that's why god created raingear and ponchos to keep us dry. It's not the sky that matters, it's the ocean. And the ocean forecast we watch is calling for a just little wind to contend with through Thursday at this point but an extremely small swell (how little?...2 to 3 foot on Wednesday) so we should be in good shape for the next several days. We may have some wind chop, but nothing even close to what we usually have to deal with out on our wonderful part of the Pacific Ocean. We have 5 spots left for our trip tomorrow on Tuesday. If you'd like to join us, be at our shop when we open the doors at dark-thirty aka 5am.

Sun., April 22 - More absolutely off the hook fishing today. Easily lost three for every one landed and ended the day with 32 salmon in the box for 25 anglers to 19 pounds. We're currently fishing about 20 miles away from the harbor down off the Pigeon Point area.

Sat., April 21 - ABSOLUTELY WIDE OPEN, IT-JUST-DON'T-GET-BETTER-THAN-THIS salmon fishing today. Last time we had fishing like this was back in 2004, one of the best salmon seasons on record. We landed LIMITS for 24 anglers today, 48 salmon, and, to top it off, biggest fish was a HUGE 34 pounder. Second place was no slacker tipping the scales at 21 pounds. Capt. Bob reported that there were LOTS of 15 to 18 pound fish landed and the average was simply "BIG". By 9:30 in the morning he called in and said one of our fish boxes was absolutely plugged by the first 20 fish that made it onboard. An ungodly number of fish were lost during the pure pandamonium that took place, with several of those easily over the 20 pound mark. So for those who were waiting for BIG fish and LOTS of fish, you missed a good one...today was the day. And that's just how salmon fishing goes. Every day is different. Will it happen again tomorrow? Or the day after? Or next week? My standard answer remains the same: you never know how the day is going to go until you put the lines in the water. You want to catch a salmon? Then quit wishing and go fishing. Tomorrow's trip on Sunday is full, but we have room every day right now next week except for Wednesday and Saturday.

Fri., April 20 - The ocean was kicking up its heels and did a number on the folks who joined us today. By the end of the day only two hearty anglers were left at the rail. Fish were caught today but not by our cast of seasick souls. The weather is supposed to chill out for the weekend so hopefully better days are ahead.

Thu., April 19 - Good old salmon fishing. Every day is different. The conditions we found yesterday changed today and Bob searched for THE hot spot but it just didn't happen for us today. We did make it into the double digits and returned to the dock with 13 salmon to 14 lbs. Nope, far from limits, but, I keep on saying it, compared to the way the fishing was the previous four years, at least folks have a darn good chance of bringing home a salmon or two this year. We have a dozen spots still open for our trip tomorrow. If you'd like to give it a shot, come on down and check in at our shop be no later than 5:30 a.m. Our trips for this weekend are full at this point. Oh, yeah, and by the way, I've been so engulfed in this salmon stuff that I completely forgot to mention that our rockfishing season will open in just a couple of weeks on Tuesday, May 1. We're now scheduled for rockfishing that opening week on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, May 1, 2 and 5. Still have space available on all three days, but the Saturday trip is filling pretty quick.

Wed., April 18 - It just keeps getting better. Today we ended up with better than a fish per rod onboard, 17 salmon for 14 anglers to 18 pounds, and hooked enough to have had limits. Maybe some of those fish from down south are finally moving up into our backyard. One group of five today spearheaded by longtime QH friends and faithfuls Jesse and Larry all went home with their two fish limit each. Sure is nice for the first time in almost five years to be excited about sending folks out salmon fishing. Hot lure yesterday was a dud today...didn't catch a single fish on the watermelon Apex. Folks always ask what was the secret weapon, but today is a prime example that it doesn't matter what was hot today because tomorrow is a new day on the salmon grounds. We'll be back at it again tomorrow; there's a couple of spots still available if you'd like to join us. Check in when we open the doors at 5am.

Mon., April 16 - We had a good feeling this morning about today, and the day started off well. First fish made it onboard around 9:30, and, after some solid hookups, we had 6 out of 9 salmon onboard with a real nice 18 pounder leading the pack well before noon. Then the light switch turned off for a few hours until the end of the day when one more keeper was put in the box and we headed home with 7 excellent grade salmon. Hot ticket today was a watermelon Apex, but that same lure could have also been why our "light switch" turned off for a while, too. Why? Well, one guys catches a fish with an Apex. So the next guy puts on an Apex and catches a fish. Now everyone who has one pulls out a lure and puts it on. At some point it gets to where the more "hardware" in the water means less and less bait in the water. And then folks who put on lures tend to check their "bait" less often, which can in turn can lead to trolling with more tangles longer and/or lines fouled with jellyfish or kelp that all turns off a bite...salmon see that stuff and they go elsewhere looking for their meal. Our suggestion as far as lures go is to hold off using them until you see if bait is working first, then experiment a little but be sure you keep on top of checking your line. And the number one thing to remember is if Capt. Bob gives you a suggestion, good idea to take it. He's out there day in and day out and knows what's been working and what hasn't, and anything he says is only said in an attempt to help you take home a fish or two. I absolutely guarantee that he's been on more fishing trips on the ocean than 99.9999 percent of us have been in our lifetime (my guestimate is he probably easily has more than 6,000 days on the ocean!). Still plenty of space available for tomorrow on Tuesday. If you'd like to join us and don't get a chance to check in with us before we leave for the day, feel free to just simply come on down and check in at our shop, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing, between 5am when we open to no later than 5:30 a.m.

Sun., April 15 - What a difference a day can make with the weather on the ocean. It was flat out nasty on Saturday, with 20+ knots of northwest wind howling on top of a good 10 to 12 foot swell (which is why we cancelled our trip on Saturday), but today the swells were subsiding and the winds have calmed back down to a reasonable spring breeze. Capt. Bob found the right stuff: loads of krill and at least 20 humpback whales feeding with mouths wide open; the only thing missing was the guests of honor...as in lots of salmon. We did end up with six salmon to 16 pounds for 19 anglers, which sounds like it was one of the top scores for our area, but with the perfect conditions, we hope more fish will come to the dinner table soon. Compared to the past four years, this first week has been real encouraging and a darn good start for this salmon season. By the way, a majority of the fish we've been hooking so far have been in the top of the water column, most in the 30 to 45 foot range and a few even higher, so don't worry about climbing over each other to grab a spot on the stern as you might find out you'll have a better chance of hooking a fish or two along the side rails right now.

Thu., Fri., and Sat., April 12, 13 and 14 - The northwest winds are blowing with a vengence right now. That's a good thing and a bad thing, too. Good because northwest winds are exactly what we need as it typically causes the upwelling that brings up the bait and in turn brings up salmon along with it, but bad because it knocks us off the water and makes for lots of disappointed folks who just don't understand why we're cancelling our trip when it's supposed to be such a beautiful day. I say it every year...remember, the weather on land and in the sky has absolutely NOTHING to do with the weather on the ocean. Our biggest enemy is the wind as that typically kicks up the swells along with it; rain, clouds, fog, overcast skies...they don't mean a thing. Thankfully it's supposed to calm down quickly Saturday night so it looks like we'll be back on the salmon hunt on Sunday.

Wed., April 11 - Sorry for the delay on the Opening Weekend report...just too many things to take care of and too tired to put a report together until now. Anyway, we hooked over 70 salmon on Saturday and Sunday and took home 24 of those. Without a doubt, it was the best opening of a salmon season we've had since before the season closures in 2008 and 2009. Keepers were all a good grade of fish; overall the salmon were either definite keepers or were definite shakers (fish too small to keep) with very few in betweeen. Weather on the weekend was drop dead gorgeous, as good as you get kinda weather, but the weather has changed and is now a day by day call. Today on Wednesday we landed right on top of a school of BIG fish that unfortunately took our anglers by surprise. They ended up losing 6 out of the first 8 fish hooked, and Capt. Bob says it looked like they were all nice lunkers, with the biggest of the first two fish landed a 16 pound beauty. We ended the day with 7 salmon in the box for 20 anglers on a day where we should've ended up with somewhere around 15 ore more, but that's salmon fishing. We've cancelled our trip for tomorrow on Thursday based on the ocean forecast, and are keeping a close watch on Friday and Saturday.

Friday, April 6 - Tomorrow, Saturday, April 7 is Opening Day for the 2012 salmon season. The marine forecast is calling for only a two to four foot swell and just a little breeze out of the northwest...sounds like great salmon fishing weather! The boat's ready to go, the crews' all pumped up and ready to go...hopefully the salmon will be, too. We'll find out tomorrow. I'll be jumping onboard to help play deckhand on both Saturday and Sunday, so I won't have access to a computer to update this website until I get back to land. Depending on how tired I am, I can't promise I'll be able to update the website over the weekend but will do so as soon as I have the time and energy. Keep your fingers crossed!

Thursday, March 8 - The 2012 salmon season will open on April 7! The Pacific Fishery Management Council has announced their three season alternatives, and all three state that the salmon season this year will open on Saturday, April 7. If you'd like to check out their announcment for yourself, go to: http://www.pcouncil.org/2012/03/19668/salmon-season-alternatives-for-2012-released/. Click on the "Recreational Fishery Alternatives" after the first paragraph to view the actual alternatives, and go to the sixth page to look at "Point Arena to Pigeon Point" for information on our part of the coastline. The Reader's Digest version is that: (1) the salmon season will open on Saturday, April 7 and will remain open 7 days a week throughout the season; (2) the limit will be two salmon per person per day; (3) the minimum size will be 24 inches during April, May and June; (4) the minimum size will decrease to 20 inches sometime after June 30; and (5) the season will close on either October 14, 28 or November 11. So why a minimum size of 24 inches to start the season? The Sacramento winter-run salmon are still a concern, and a majority of them are caught early in the season. The hope is that by having a higher minimum size limit more of those salmon will not be harvested giving them a chance to return to the rivers to spawn. More than likely that means we will be doing a lot of releasing of fish early in the season, but remember those fish will determine our future seasons. So hope all the fish you hook early in the season are bigger than 24 inches, but, if not, then enjoy the fun of the battle, give them a kiss goodbye and release them as quickly and gently as possible so they hopefully will grow up, spawn and make lots and lots of new babies for the future. So we're back in the fishing business! We are now taking reservations for salmon trips 7 days a week once the season opens, weather and interest permitting, through the month of April, and based on how the salmon fishing is going, we'll start mixing it up and offering rockfishing trips below Pigeon Point as of May.

February 2012 - Have you heard about this one?! The President of the California Fish and Game Commission, Dan Richards, went hunting in Idaho recently and legally shot a cougar. Now extremists in California are pressuring to have Richards removed from office. Why? What Richards did was completely legal in Idaho where he was hunting, but the extremists are saying that because it is not legal to hunt cougar in California he should be removed from his position. The truth is that they feel Richards is a thorn in their sides so they want to get rid of him, and they think this is their chance. Don't let it happen! Richards has done an excellent job and deserves our support. In about the same time as it took to read this, all you have to do is to fill out a quick form on the "Keep America Fishing" website at: http://keepamericafishing.salsalabs.com/o/6394/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4066. Pass this along to as many people as you can. You can make a difference. Now, on a different note, the meetings start up this week where we'll find out the options for this year's salmon season. Hopefully we'll have a lot more info after the PFMC meetings that take begin on this Friday, March 2 in Sacramento. I'll do my best to pass on any info as soon as I get it, so stay tuned.

January 2012 - The rockfishing season and salmon season along the Bay Area coastline are both closed, so no fishing trips until they reopen. We know the rockfishing season will open below Pigeon Point on May 1, but we won't know the fate of the 2012 salmon season until the Powers That Be complete their meetings that take place in March and April. Until then, it's a little bit of whale watching for the next couple of months primarily on the weekends, weather and interest permitting, we're on hold for the surf contest that is slated to take place at Mavericks hopefully one day and only one day before the end of March if the weather gods approve, and otherwise there's a whole lot of sanding, painting and the like going on that takes place each winter to keep the Queen in tip top shape. We've scheduled our first whale watching trips beginning on Saturday and Sunday, January 28 and 29. The early reports on the whale grounds has been the best we've heard in years with good numbers of whales being spotted much closer to shore than the last several seasons. Our shop is still open daily selling fishing and hunting licenses, bait, tackle and the other assorted goodies seven days a week, so stop by if you're in the area or feel free to give a call to check in or if we can answer any questions.

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