ARCHIVE - 2013
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IN THIS REPORT:
Past Scores
PAST SCORES:
Click here to go to our 2012 Archive
WHOPPERS (20 lbs. and over in bold):
Click here to go to our 2012 Archive Monday, November 25 - I've been late before with my updates at times, but not this bad! I thought life might slow down a little but then it turned crazier than ever! Been running nonstop in more ways than one. Thankfully folks still know to call for updates and have been able to see our scores online on our shop website (www.hmbfishing.com), so the boat has still been running pretty full-tilt boogie. This has been one of the best rockfishing seasons on record with limits coming in just about every day for everyone onboard day in and day out with only a rare exception here and there. And the weather in Half Moon Bay has been absolutely stunning with crisp, clear blue skies and relatively flat seas more often than not. It is that time of year it will definitely kick up its heels, but it is also some of the best weather of the season. We will be running rockfishing trips, weather and interest permitting, through Sunday, December 22, and then it's time to spend time with our families for the holidays and turn our attention to our annual wintertime maintenance to keep the Queen in tip-top shape. If you'd like to join us on one of our trips, either give our shop a call before 4:00 p.m. or you can make your reservation online any time day or night and/or see how many spots we have left by going on our ONLINE RESERVATION SYSTEM. A deposit of 50% will be charged as well as a $2.00 per fare non-refundable booking fee, and the balance of the fare will be collected when you check in. Please be sure to read the Terms and Conditions when making your reservation. Wednesday, September 4 - Absolutely love this time of the year. September and October is when we get some of the best weather on the ocean in our area more often than not and can really have fun in the shallows. Today was one of those days where Capt. Bob was able to concentrate most of his efforts in areas only about 50 feet deep, and they were rewarded with limits of rockcod along with 3 lingcod to 9 pounds and 2 cabezon, one a huge 9-1/2 pounder jackpot winner. As Bob is still recuperating from his battle with pneumonia a few weeks ago, we're going to give him the day off tomorrow on Thursday so he can be ready for action on Friday. Still plenty of room available at this point for Friday and even a few spots still open for Saturday at this point, but I don't expect them to be open much longer as Saturday is free fishing license day. Tuesday, September 3 - Just when I think life might slow down, all hell breaks loose and I was busier than ever last month. On top of all the usual day in and day out activities, August started out with our annual long range trip on the Royal Polaris, Bob coming home with pneumonia and spending three days in the hospital, and ended with me leaving my job of 21 years so I can keep my sanity and devote all my time to the shop and boat. So it's been a little crazy for me this past month to say the least. Getting back up to speed slowly but surely now, and finally have enough time to give a quick update. The rockfish continue to be on a terror, just about jumping in the boat a lot of days. There's also a sprinkling of lingcod along the coast, and we had one day with a group of experienced anglers where we ended up with 22 lingcod on top of limits of nice brownies and other assorted rockfish. There are still a few salmon scattered up and down the coastline from Mussel Rock in the north down to below the Ritz, but we've pretty much thrown in the towel on the salmon front unless a big school moves through. The albacore have also shown up offshore from 25 to 40 miles from the harbor. We just don't have enough energy and time in our schedule to run for them until at least mid-September, so we'll see how the bite is later in the month to figure out if we'll put a trip or two or three together. The summertime weekday crowds are gone, so lots of room on weekday trips now, even though we still have several weekend private charters grabbing most of our weekends this month. There is plenty of space available for tomorrow on Wednesday, September 4, so you're welcome to just come on down in the morning and check in at the shop by around 6:15 a.m. Sunday, August 4 - So, you just about gave up on me updating my reports, huh? I'm sorry. Hopefully life will slow down a little and I'll be able to get back in the groove with more timely updates soon. The only reason I found a few minutes right now is I'm sitting onboard the Royal Polaris (which now has wifi) somewhere offshore out and south of San Diego, and we have the troll lines in the water trying to hunt down some hungry bluefin. Yep, if you haven't guessed it, Bob and I are on our 19th annual long range fishing trip on the RP. Today is day number one on the fishing grounds and so far it's been pretty spotty. Bob is one of the highliners (surprise, surprise) with two bluefin under his belt, one a nice 50 lb. plus fish, and we probably have about a dozen onboard so far. But there's a lot of trip left as we're on a seven day trip returning next Saturday. While we're away, the Queen of Hearts is still running SWLT rockfishing trips daily with a salmon trip thrown in here and there for good measure, and the shop is open as usual from either 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. As far as our trips go, you can't go wrong with rockfishing this season, as the rockcod trips continue to crank out limits day in and day out with a sprinking of lingcod and cabezon. We're scratching a few real nice fish here and there on the salmon trips but there have been more days than we wanted with just a handful of fish going home, but that's salmon fishing. There are waves of fish swimming along the coastline and it's just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Tuesday, July 16 - Limits of rockcod again today, 189 rockfish plus one cabezon for 19 anglers, along with 6 lingcod to 8 pounds. Good news is that the plastics are starting to work again so we can play a little more with some of the fun stuff. Not the big mogombo plastics, but the five inch fishtrap and scampi type gear. As far as color, white or something with white in it is a good bet as the squid have arrived enmasse south of the harbor again this year. Quite a spectacle to see semi after semi after semi lined up along the dock all night long taking away truckload after truckload of squid off the boats. If you'd like to join us rockfishing tomorrow, we have plenty of room. Just come on down and check in at the shop around 6:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 10 - Well, that was rather sucky. We had such high hopes for today, but the salmon that were there just three days ago took a hike, and despite several charterboats and a bunch of private boats combing the area, no one was able to track them down. Maybe they'll pop back up or another wave of fish will move in, but it looks like the school that was there didn't stick around. We're back to rockfishing for the next three days, so we should find out where to head by the next time we give salmon a shot on Sunday...and it's back to trolling until further notice. Tuesday, July 9 - It took a little bit before the rockfish started biting today, but when they did they bit like gangbusters, and it took no time at all to put limits in the sacks for everyone onboard including two cabezon and four lingcod, the biggest a hefty 18 pounder. Monday, July 8 - Mooching in Half Moon Bay?! - Yes!! Conditions are finally right and the first mooching trip in years on the Queen of Hearts is scheduled for this Wednesday, July 10. More on that in a bit, but since it's been about a week and a half since I've been able to post an update, grab a cup of coffee and I'll see what I can do to fill you in on what's been happening. Let's start off with the easy part: rockfishing has been a sure thing ever since the June 1st above Pigeon Point opener. It's been limits every day, a few lingcod here and there, a cabezon or two as well as the first halibut of the SWLT season. As much as we like to use the bars and plastics, it's starting out just like last year so far: flies, flies and more flies. Shrimp flies and a strip of squid is what's working the best day in and day out. Capt. Bob does have a couple of ideas he's thrown at me on some other gear to try so I can let you in on his suggestions when you check in at the shop if you're interested. Now, down to the more complex stuff: What's going on with salmon fishing? Returning from a rockcod trip last Thursday, the 4th of July, Capt. Bob passed by a spot south of the harbor on the ride back up the coast that had all the right signs to give it a try salmon fishing, so he made up his mind right there and then where he would be heading on his next trip for salmon. So on Friday, July 5th, we gave it a shot and tried to head down to the area, but the Weather Gods decided otherwise, again, with too sharp of a swell and too much wind for us to be able to put the lines in the water. By the time we were able to get back to the spot for our next salmon trolling trip on Saturday, Bob's suspicions had been confirmed and the salmon were right where he thought, and good numbers of them, too. Highlight was a huge 28 pounder caught by Sajjad Lateef of Santa Clara, and we ended the day with 24 salmon for 23 anglers to 28 pounds, with another 15 or so that got away and about a half dozen shakers. Better news, though, was that it was apparent conditions were right to give mooching a try, and several boats ended up with limits mooching on Sunday (we had limits on Sunday, too, but we were rockfishing). News of limits at this spot is especially good for a couple of reasons. First of all, the week prior we were running more than 40 miles north to catch a few salmon, and before that we had some pretty rotten weather we had to contend with offshore to get to the salmon grounds, so it's great to have them in our backyard south of the harbor again. Secondly, it's been years since we had conditions that allowed us to give mooching a try. With the outrageous price of lead today, it will be wonderful to be able to use ounces of weight instead of pounds. The fish are pretty darn close to the coast, too, so we won't have to deal with the terrible offshore weather we've had to endure the past month and a half. We're not going to go crazy and jump all in on this mooching idea yet, so we'll see how Wednesday goes and take it from there. If you'd like to give it a try with us on Wednesday, dust off your mooching gear and grab a spot or two or three. Still plenty of room right now, but the news is just getting out, so don't wait too long to make up your mind. So, did you finish your cup of coffee I told you to grab?? Friday, June 28 - Back on the hunt for salmon, and rockfishing still a sure bet with every trip returning with limits. This weekend is full, but we do have room a majority of the days next week and even next weekend. Monday, June 24 - Rockfishing is going strong with two more days of limits on Saturday and Sunday with some quality bottomfish biting on Sunday's trip along with a couple of handfuls of lingcod. The weatherman scared away folks from one of the calmest days we've had, or could have had, along our coastline in weeks today on Monday with the threat of RAIN. There was only a 2 foot swell and hardly a breath of wind. RAIN is still in the forecast, but the ocean forecast is still calling for as low as 2 foot swell tomorrow on Tuesday with a bit more wind and WE ARE GOING FISHING! If you'd like to join us, plenty of room to just show up in the morning. Check in at our shop around 6:00 a.m.; we leave at 7:00. Or, if you'd like to know you're in and make a reservation for tomorrow or any other date currently on our online schedule, you can make a reservation any time day or night and/or see how many spots we have left by going on our online system: ONLINE RESERVATIONS. Friday, June 21 - The rockcod along the coastline are on a terror making for another day of easy and early limits for all onboard, 250 rockfish for 25 anglers to be exact. We were originally scheduled to go salmon fishing tomorrow on Saturday but switched the trip to rockfishing yesterday to take advantage of the better sea and fishing conditions along the coastline. At this point we still have lots of space available. Reservations are always a darn good idea, but if you'd like to just simply show up in the morning and grab a spot or two or three, you're welcome to just come on down in the morning. Plan on checking in at our shop around 6:00 a.m.; we LEAVE at 7:00. Thursday, June 20 - Will fill in details later if I can, but in the meantime wanted to let you know we've been rockfishing along the coast all week where the fishing and the weather has been good. Pretty much limits daily with as many as 16 lingcod and a 14 pound halibut one day. Offshore about 10 miles there have been some rotten, mean, terrible winds out on the salmon grounds. After taking a licking on Father's Day and bucking into some rotten weather which resulted in only one keeper, we decided to throw in the towel and turn to rockfishing until the offshore winds let us get back out on the salmon grounds. We know where the salmon are; the weather off our coastline just won't let us get out to them right now, but it looks like we're finally back in salmon business as of next Wednesday. Thursday, June 6 - Our day started off right with a 17 and a 21 pounder landed right off the bat. But then there was a lot of hunting and hoping. Found a spot that produced three shakers, three silvers and one legal fish that got away, and that was it until a little after noon, when, finally, we made it to the hot spot. It was fast and furious action, with hooting and hollering going on as more and more fish were hooked, and we ended up close to the magic fish per rod mark with 23 salmon landed to 21 pounds for our 25 anglers. The fish were mixed in with acres of jellyfish making for tough fishing but with the quality of fish coming over the rail it was well worth the effort. NOW FOR MY BIG NEWS (well, at least to me it's big): I finally have my new telephone system up and running. Still a few kinks to work out, but, among others, it has two options that you can call AFTER HOURS to find out our availability for the next several days as well as our most recent fish report. Just call the Queen of Hearts number, 510-581-2628, and press 2 for our schedule or 3 for the fish report. And if call during business hours and our phone is ringing off the hook, instead of getting a busy signal or having to leave a message you'll be placed in a holding pattern until we can get to your call, or you'll still have the option if you'd rather not wait and like to leave us a message. I have another surprise coming soon, too, that will be even better. I can't wait!Wednesday, June 5 - I know, I know...I'm sorry, no reports for too many days in a row. I've just been swamped with phone calls, emails, too many long days and just not enough time to get everything done. Anyway...we got back on the salmon grounds today after being either blown off the water by the winds on the ocean or off due to the two-day closure to the salmon season on Mondays and Tuesdays that kicked into effect this month, and we also had a few rockfishing trips mixed in. It didn't take long to jump right back on top of the salmon; they were right where we left them last week, about 12 miles right outside the harbor on the upper end of the Deep Reef. Oh, my goodness, they had a lot of action in the morning, going through 25 trays of bait by just a little after noon. All of the fish were what Capt. Bob calls "fatties"...wide around the waist fish chocked full of shortbelly rockfish, krill, baby squid, a literal smorgabord of bait they're feeding on. We hooked at least 75 or more salmon, with 32 of them taking the boat ride back to shore, 26 shakers that didn't make the 24 inch minimum mark, plus our usual dozen to couple dozen fish that won their battle. No, not limits, but still a good day of fishing on the salmon grounds. We're full tomorrow on Thursday, but I might have a few spots left for our trip on Friday. Call, don't email, to grab a spot or two or three. Our weekend is full. Monday and Tuesday, June 3 and 4 - The salmon season is open Wednesdays through Sundays from June 1 through July 9, meaning there is a two day closure of salmon fishing and it is not allowed on Mondays and Tuesdays during those dates. Why you wonder? It was just part of the give and take that happened when the season was crafted to give us as much opportunity as possible without having to give up too much. That also means that, since we can't go salmon fishing on Mondays and Tuesdays, we will be scheduling rockfishing trips, weather and interest permitting, every Monday and Tuesday from June 1 through July 9. We had limits of rockfish both days this week, but there very few bottomfish in the mix primarily due to the rough seas that had hammered us the last several days. The season is still young and there will be better days ahead.... Tuesday, May 28 - Salmon fishing has EXPLODED!! Really??? Yes, REALLY! This is as-good-as-it-gets salmon fishing around these parts. The fish are only about 10 miles away from the harbor, give or take. They are big fish, with many in the 20 pound category. It is wide open with fast and furious, early limits for everyone. We were heading back to the dock with 14 limits, 28 salmon to 25 pounds, by 9am this morning. So, what else do you want, huh? I know there will still be those Doubting Thomas types, ready to throw out that infamous "Really?" statement that is used wayyyy too much these days. Again, yes, really. Just check out the two photos below if you don't believe me. Now that's the good news. Unfortunately the bad news is that we have a private charter tomorrow so we don't have any spots open on Wednesday, and the wind is forecast to start blowing again by the end of Wednesday. It's looking pretty iffy that we'll be able to make it out Thursday if the forecast holds true. We'll just keep our fingers and toes crossed, because with fishing this good, we REALLY want this to continue. REALLY!!
Monday, May 27 - Absolutely fantastic salmon fishing on Sunday! - 23 limits, 46 salmon to 24 pounds, before noon! The wind finally calmed down on the ocean and let us get out to the salmon grounds. And, boy oh boy, were the fish waiting for us! They're back outside our harbor, acres and acres of fish, ready and willing to jump onboard. Even in spite of losing an ungodly number of big fish, we easily landed 46 salmon, limits for all 23 anglers, long before noon. And to add a cherry on top, the vast majority of the fish landed are BIG, I mean REAL BIG. We had fish up to 24 pounds and there was a mess of fish just a tad smaller, as well as many even larger fish that were hooked but that won their freedom. Today on Monday we are heading down below Pigeon Point to the rockcod grounds, but we'll be back hunting for salmon tomorrow on Tuesday. Capt. Bob reports that the ocean is absolutely flat right now and the forecast is great for tomorrow, but our good old buddy old friend the wind is slated to return sometime on Wednesday and blow again for another couple of days. So, if you want to take a crack at catching a few of the bomber salmon swimming off our coastline right now, tomorrow on Tuesday is the day. We still have plenty of space for Tuesday's trip as the word is still just getting out about this huge school of fish that have been shown up. If you'd like to join us, we're around the phone until 6pm tonight so give us a call if you'd like us to put you on the books. If you don't get a chance to get a hold of us, you can just come on down and check in at our shop at 5:00 a.m. when we open the doors and we'll get you onboard. Wednesday, May 22 - Extremely strong northwest winds are continuing to blow on the ocean and have kept us tied to the dock since Saturday afternoon, so we're trying to patiently wait for it to calm down until we can get back out on the water. We're taking it day by day, but right now it is looking like it will take a few more days before Mother Nature will give us another shot at the fish. We've cancelled our trip for Thursday; we'll make the decision regarding Friday's trip by midday on Thursday. Looking at a couple of weather sites I watch, we're in good shape by the beginning of next week but pretty iffy as it stands right now until then. Sunday, May 19 - No fishing today as the wind machine has cranked up on the ocean again cancelling our trip, and looks like it may be a while before we get back out. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, May 16, 17, 18 - The good, the bad and the ugly. Well, not quite chronologically, but here we go.... The good was Friday: We knew right where to go and easily over 60 fish were hooked by the 13 guys onboard. We ended up with 21 salmon in the box with another 20+ fish lost and another 20+ fish released. The bad was the day before on Thursday: It was the first day back out on the hunt to figure out where the salmon were at after being knocked off the water by the wind for a couple of days. Capt. Bob found some fish right off the bat but it was just one here, and then one there. We had 5 fish onboard when he heard about the hot bite that was 15 miles north of where he was and made the decision to pick up and run. By the time he reached the hot spot, the bite was over, and we landed only one fish at what was the hot spot, but at least we knew where to head for Friday's trip. Bad for Thursday's gang, but good for Friday's. Now the ugly: After the great day on Friday we were hoping we'd be able to squeek one more day in on Saturday, but the weather on the ocean was borderline, one of those days we couldn't win no matter what we did. Cancel and people would think we were nuts and get mad because we ruined their plans. Go and they'd think we were nuts to make them go out in stuff like that. A couple of folks took my advice when they arrived to check in and decided to join us on a different day, but the rest were troopers and said they were game so off they went. It was a rough, tough, ugly day, and even though the crew did what they could, there were only a handful of fish caught for their efforts. Monday, May 13 - Rockfishing below Pigeon Point was good on Friday with limits for all 26 anglers, 257 rockcod plus 3 cabezon along with four lingcod, and Saturday was just a tad shy of limits with 297 rockcod, 2 cabezon and 9 lingcod for 35 anglers. Even though everyone was doing things correctly on Mother's Day Sunday, we just couldn't find many cooperative salmon, ending the day with five in the box, but one of them was the biggest fish landed so far this year out of our shop, a 27 pound smoker. Our Fishing Fools group finally made it out today on Monday with some pretty snotty conditions and were rewarded with limits, 14 salmon for their group of 7 anglers. The wind is forecast to increase tomorrow pushing the swells closer together, so we've cancelled our trip for tomorrow on Tuesday. The forecast is a carbon copy for the next several days, but, like I always say, it can and does change so we'll just take it day by day, one day at a time. Wednesday afternoon update: The winds are supposed to back off for at least a day or two so we ARE fishing tomorrow, Thursday, May 16. If you'd like to join us, still plenty of room if you'd like to just come down and check in at our shop at 5:00 a.m. Looks like we're fishing Friday, too, as long as the forecast doesn't change. Thursday, May 9 - Trying to find time to update the website between all the phone calls and emails and everything else that engulfs my day. The wind howled 50+ knots on Sunday and took until the end of the day on Monday to settle down. The fish were blown all over kingdom come on Tuesday and it took a while to figure out where to find them. But find them Bob did at the end of the day. It was already past return time but they hooked 13 fish fast and furiously for a solid 45 minutes. Three of those made it onboard, but after the 10th one was lost, Bob pulled the plug and said he couldn't take no more but he knew were he was heading on Wednesday. Wednesday it was all big fish, nothing smaller than 12 pounds with fish up to 19 pounds, and we ended up with 10 salmon out of the 20+ hooked. Today on Thursday the salmon were there but so was a bunch of kelp and grass that made it impossible to troll through. They moved up to the next hot spot and ended up with 20 fish for 18 guys to 16 pounds with another day of an excellent grade of fish. Tomorrow on Friday we'll be rockfishing below Pigeon Point. Still plenty of room if you'd just like to come down around 6:00 a.m. and check in. Our rockfishing trip on Saturday is currently full and we have one spot left for salmon fishing on this Sunday. Good chance I won't have another chance to update my report until after the weekend but I'll do my best. Monday, May 6 - Finally back at the computer and able to put together an update. Friday's salmon trip started out where Thursday had left off with us still on the hunt until thankfully, at exactly 11:05, we found the fish that had evaded us the day before. It was hot and heavy action for the next couple of hours, with well over 30 fish hooked and 16 of those making it onboard for our group of 21. We had a great beginning right off the bat on Saturday and it was another day where we should have easily gone home with limits if just a few more fish that were hooked could've made it onboard, ending the day with 32 salmon for our group of 18 from the Yerba Buena Angling Club. It was a close call for jackpot fish with two just ounces away from each other in the 19 pound class and several right behind them at 17 and 18 pounds. The wind picked up at the end of Saturday's trip and we had to cancel Sunday and today, but the forecast is calling for things to calm down and it looks downright nice for tomorrow's trip on Tuesday, but Tuesday's trip is now full. We do have space available for salmon fishing on Wednesday and Thursday...reservations a darn good idea. On the rockcod side of things, the Riptide who works with us from our shop was out on Saturday fishing below Pigeon Point. The water temperature had risen to a balmy 52 degrees, up from the frigid 47 degrees we had on Opening Day, which might not sound like much but is actually a huge difference in the rockcod world. Warmer water makes for much more active and hungry fish, and they ended up with 17 limits on Saturday including a cabezon and three lingcod. If you'd like to give rockfishing a try, we have rockfishing trips scheduled this Friday and Saturday. Thursday, May 2 - We made it down to the rockfishing grounds below Pigeon Point yesterday but unfortunately not a whole bunch of rockfish wanted to come out and play. Capt. Bob tried lots and lots of spots to see if he could find some hungry bottom dwellers, and our guys threw everything they could at them except the kitchen sink, to not much avail. Some folks went home with five or six fish, several went home with just a fish or two for their efforts, and we found one hungry lingcod that became someone's dinner. Today on Thursday it was back out to the salmon grounds. Or should I say back out to what was the salmon grounds. The little buggers wiggled their tails and took a hike, so we're back on the hunt to try to figure out where they swam off to. With the opening of the commercial salmon season yesterday, there are more boats on the water that can cover more territory in a short amount of time, so hopefully we'll get back on top of a good school tomorrow and turn that light switch back on. I have a crazy busy schedule the next couple of days, so if I don't get a chance to post an update in the next day or two feel free to give me a call if you just can't wait to find out what's happening. Tuesday, April 30 - Rockfishing season opens tomorrow on Wednesday, May 1 and we have space available. The rockfishing 2013 rockfishing season officially kicks off tomorrow on Wednesday, May 1 with the opening of the territory below Pigeon Point. Pigeon is about 18 miles south of our harbor, right around an hour and 15 minute boat ride on the Queen of Hearts, well within our range. The weather along the coastline looks absolutely fine for tomorrow and we still have space available. If you'd like to join us on tomorrow's trip, don't worry about calling or emailing...just come on down and check in at our shop in the morning. I'll have the doors open at 5:30 a.m.; plan on arriving by no later than around 6:00 a.m. to check in. Monday, April 29 - "Wow, that was unbelievable" is what I heard Saturday afternoon when the guys came through to pick up ice for their fish. Fishermen who have been with us for a long time were saying they hadn't seen fishing like this in years. Addrenaline pumping, heart racing, wide open fishing, stuff like the good old days. How long will it last? Absolutely no way to know. Just keep in mind that salmon fishing in California can be like turning on and off a light switch. What happened yesterday is past history and may not mean a darn thing for tomorrow...but, with fishing this good, we sure hope that light switch stays turned on like this for a long time to come! Even grumpy old Captain Bob is coming home saying how much fun it was. There are still a few pull-out-the-few-hairs-he-has-left moments where too many fish are lost for too many reasons that just don't have to happen if folks can just keep their wheels inside their heads turning, but thankfully the fish have been forgiving and have been on a terror. One of the best salmon seasons we've had was back in 2004, and the way fishing is right now it reminds us of that year. Hard to believe with how nice it is on land, but the winds out at the salmon grounds, which are around 15 miles offshore give or take, have kicked up again and knocked us off the water today and tomorrow on Tuesday. The forecast looks fine along the coastline for Wednesday's rockcod trip, so we will be rockfishing on Wednesday and back salmon fishing Thursday and Friday. Room all three days at this point, but reservations definitely a good idea. Friday, April 26 - It just doesn't get any better than it was today! What a difference a day makes! Everyone today was on the ball right from the start and within minutes of putting the lines in the water we already had 10 fish in the box. It was fast and furious action with nary a shaker in the mix. By 10:30 a.m. we put the last fish in the box to round out limits for all 25 onboard, and we headed home with 50 salmon, all a nice grade of fish, with the biggest a goregous 18 pounder. Guys were coming in the shop to buy ice with huge smiles on their faces and saying what a fantastic day it was. Now that's more like it! Our trips for this weekend are full, but we do have room next week as long as the weather on the ocean holds up. I'll be working at the shop all day Saturday and the first half of Sunday, so I may not have the time to update on this webpage. It won't have a darn thing to do with how the fishing is; it'll only be because I'm too busy and might not have the time. I'll update it if I can, but, if not, look for details about the weekends' trips on Monday. Thursday, April 25 - Sorry I didn't get a chance for an update yesterday. After working several 16 hour days in a row, I'm getting a tad bit tired, to say the least! Yesterday on Wednesday we had plenty of opportunities, with probably two to three fish lost or shook for every one landed, and we ended the day with 23 fish going home for our 20 folks onboard. Unfortunately today on Thursday it took a good majority of the morning to get everyone on the same page so we could start bringing in some fish, and wouldn't you know that the hot bite today was first thing in the morning. By the time we were situated, the bite was just about over, but we were able to scratch out 13 fish to 14 pounds until it died off completely. Bob and I have been going long range fishing for our vacation on the Royal Polaris out of San Diego for the past 17 years. I learned a long time ago to listen to any advice or suggestions the crew tells me because they're the ones that do this day in and day out, and anything they say is said with only one intention: to help me hook and land a fish. If you join us on one of our trips, remember that important lesson: if the crew tells you something, it's the way it works best on our boat and it's a darn good idea to take their advice. Especially when it comes to this salmon fishing stuff. Even though it seems like it's an individual sport, this is really a group effort. We all have to work together to make things work. The great weather we've been having is supposed to continue for another day or two or three, but after that it looks like there's a good chance we'll be blown off the water again unless the forecast improves. Tuesday, April 23 - 26 limits aka 52 salmon! - It just don't get any better than that! And with these fish all having to be over the 24 inch minimum, they are all nice fish! I always like it when I can hear the smile radiating through the phone when Capt. Bob calls in to report a good day like they had today. Not only are the fishing gods smiling upon us, but the weather gods are still smiling on us, too, with low swells and light winds through the current five day forecast period. This feels good, real good. There's a few spots still open for Wednesday and we're about half way there for Thursday and Friday at this point, but our weekend is full. With fishing and weather this good, it's more important than ever to call us while we're around the phone to make a reservation. We're here until at least 4pm daily. Monday, April 22 - Add another 38 fish today to the last two days and we're up to 110 salmon in the last three trips! - Without a doubt, this has been the best opening month of a salmon season we've seen in years. Capt. Bob said they already had about 30 fish in the box by 10 a.m. All we needed was two more fish for limits by 1:00 but, after losing fish after fish, Bob pulled the plug and ended the day with 38 salmon for 20 anglers to 13 pounds. Weather forecast looks great all week. Fishing has been great. I don't want to say anything to jinx us, so I won't. We'll just leave it at that. If you'd like to join us, we have 3 spots left for tomorrow's trip. I'll have the doors open at 5:00 a.m.; be there when I open the doors if you'd like to see if you'd like to give it a shot. If you have your gear, bring it (we're trolling); if not, we have everything available you'll need including licenses. With fishing and weather like this, even weekdays are booking up, so good idea to get a hold of us during the day to make a reservation. We're around the phone from at least 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. daily. Sunday, April 21 - 72 fish landed on last two trips! Definitely limit style fishing, with lots and lots of opportunities. Without a doubt, the fish have decided to congregate off our coastline, thank you very much. Most of the fishing is taking place anywhere from 9 to 12 to 16 miles from our harbor. It's like the good old days, with wide open bites where as many as 7 fish are hooked at once with mass pandemonium on the decks. I was concerned before the season started about having a 24 inch minimum size limit, and we are having to release plenty of fish that don't make the minimum size, but thankfully there are a lot more keepers than shakers. Biggest fish landed on Friday's trip was an 18 pounder, so there are a lot of real nice fish in the mix. Weather this past Friday was great along with the fishing, then the wind came back up offshore at the fishing grounds causing us to turn back without even putting the lines in the water on Saturday, but we were back in action today on an ocean that still wasn't very nice. The ocean forecast, however, is finally calling for good conditions for the next several days in a row, so we hope it holds true this time. Thursday, April 18 - Good old salmon fishing. With a better ocean weather forecast for today and more boats on the water we were hoping for another excellent day like yesterday. But this salmon fishing stuff reminds you real quick that you just can't judge what's going to happen one day to the next. We started off well with two fish on and both fish making it in the box, but we just couldn't get the spigit to open up and it was just a slow drip of fish all day, ending up with 11 keepers with the biggest a nice 17 pounder, and we had the usual few more that got away and a few we had to give back. There were boats with more and there were boats with less, and we were kinda somewhere in the middle. As Scarlett would say, tomorrow's another day, so we'll see what happens when we give it another try on Friday. Still been a darn good encouraging start to our season with 77 salmon landed in the four days the weather's allowed us to fish since the season opened. Wednesday, April 17 - Yeah, baby! The wind finally backed off on the ocean enough to let us back out on the water. Being the only boat out on an awfully big ocean for the first time in over a week, I had my fingers crossed we'd find where the fish were hiding. Capt. Bob told me no problem, he's used to that. Even all the commercial guys in our harbor know that if there's going to be a chance to get on the water, the Queen of Hearts will be there. Bob reported in around 8:30 that he had the lines in the water, the weather on his tail, it was rather snotty, and they were looking for their first fish. An hour later they had 6 keepers in the box, had released a couple of 22 inchers and lost a couple. Sounds like they had good action pretty much all day, definitely another day where limits were on the radar. They put in as much time as they could and ended up heading home just a handful shy of limits with 25 salmon to 12 pounds for our 15 anglers. The forecast for tomorrow is calling for the best day weather-wise since the season started, so we have high hopes. The wind is still in the forecast through the weekend but next week is looking real promising. Regulation update: I keep forgetting to report the results of the "Fishing Feds" decision last week regarding the remainder of the 2013 salmon season. Different parts of the coast have different regulations, but for our area: We can fish 7 days a week through November 10 EXCEPT for a closure Mondays and Tuesdays from June 1 through July 9 (which means we can fish for salmon Wednesdays through Sundays during those dates). The minimum size is 24 inches through the end of July and then goes down to 20 inches as of August 1. Thanks go out to all the folks who work so hard behind the scenes who made this happen. And if you're wondering the reasoning behind the closures and size limits, it's in an effort to protect one particular strain of salmon, namely the Sacramento winter run fish, that are typically smaller and tend to be in the ocean early in the season. Tuesday, April 16 - We may be able to make it out tomorrow on Wednesday. The ocean forecast is calling for lighter winds and lower swells tomorrow and Thursday, so we're going to give it a shot and see if we will be able to sneek in the day or two before the winds crank back up. Monday, April 15 - The wind is our biggest enemy on the ocean, and it's been howling offshore ever since opening weekend keeping us tied to the dock. It is extremely frustrating to have to cancel trip after trip after trip and try to explain the reason why, but the ocean dictates what we can and can't do. We watch the forecast extremely closely and, if there's a chance we think we can safety get out to the fishing grounds, we'll give it a try. At this point, we might get the break we need this Wednesday and/or Thursday, but we have to take it day by day. As always, if you'd like to join us, reservations are definitely recommended not just to make sure you have a spot but to also make sure we have a way of letting you know if the ocean is not going to cooperate. Sunday, April 7 - Day two of the season and another good day on the water. Took a little longer to get located in the morning, but, when we did, there was a lot of fast and furious action. Another day of putting several fish in the box accompanied by a lot of salmon winning their battle for freedom. We ended the day with 21 salmon to 14 pounds for our 25 anglers, and Capt. Bob says we easily should have ended up with a score in the 40s or more based on the action we had. So the first weekend is in the books, and, without a doubt, it's a great start for us in Half Moon Bay as the fish are off our coastline north and south of the Deep Reef area. The winds are forecast to hit the coast with a vengence on Monday and will knock us off the water for at least the next few days. Hopefully they'll calm down soon so we can get back out on the water and back in action. Saturday, April 6 - Best Opening Day in Years! Just a little after 8am I got the call from Capt. Bob that the first two fish were in the box and another two were lost. First fish of the season on the QH went to Richard who just also happened to be first in line at the shop in the morning. Nice way to get the skunk off for the season right off the bat, Richard! Not to be outdone, Geno was right behind Richard landing fish number two. I don't have all the details of the day yet, but it sounds like the day was made up of lots of spurts of hooking multiple fish, landing some and losing some, with little lulls in between. We had lots of newcomers onboard who quickly found out that there's a little learning to do to get these fish onboard, and without a doubt unfortunately more fish were lost than landed on a day that had limits potential. Capt. Bob said we easily should have had a score in the 30s if not more. Just about every experienced angler hooked and landed fish. We ended up with the best score we've had in years for Opening Day with 20 fish in the box for our 24 anglers. The 24 inch minimum was not a factor at all with only one of those fish needing to be measured, and even that fish made the mark. All the fish were what we call "cookie cutter"...pretty much all the same grade with the biggest weighing in at 11 pounds. Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring! Weather was absolutely fine today and we should be in good shape for tomorrow. Unfortunately, though, tomorrow looks like it will be the last day on the water for at least a few days as the weather on the ocean is going to get downright, flat out nasty with high winds and huge combined seas. At least we'll be able to get this first weekend under our belt. We'll keep a close eye on the forecast as always and hope it will lay down as fast as it looks like it's going to kick up tomorrow night. Monday, March 25 - The 2013 salmon season will open on Saturday, April 6! The limit will be two fish with a 24 inch minimum for the months of April and May. The regulations may change as of June with possible closures to the season and/or reductions in the minimum size; here's another fishery management meeting in April where the particulars for the remainder of the season will be decided. So, as of Saturday, April 6, we're back to salmon fishing seven days a week for the month of April, weather and interest permitting, and then we'll bop back and forth between salmon trips and rockfishing trips once the rockfishing season opens on May 1. So the top question I get this time of year is: Are there any reports about the salmon? Sounds like there's fish out there as well as the conditions we look for, but we won't know for sure until we put the lines in the water. Monday, January 29 - The Queen of Hearts is high and dry in the boatyard undergoing her annual maintenance. Maintenance on the Queen is not just cleaning and painting; it's the constant replacement and upgrading Captain Bob does every year to keep her in tip top condition. Looks like we'll be in the boatyard until mid-February at this point, so we'll be holding off until March to run any whale watching trips. On the fishing front, good chance the salmon season will open off our coastline on Saturday, April 6, but it's far from a done deal until after several fishery management meetings take place between now and then. I'll definitely update this report if and when we hear any news. The rockfishing season, though, is already set: we can run rockfishing trips below Pigeon Point as of May 1 and above Pigeon Point as of June 1 through the end of the year. Our shop, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing, is still open 8am to 4pm on the weekends and a majority of the weekdays for the next month or two. Once we get closer to the fishing season, we'll be back open 7 days a week. If you have any questions about the upcoming season, fishing in Half Moon Bay, or scheduling a trip once the season opens, don't hesitate to call me during business hours on the weekdays or send off an email. Even though the boat and shop aren't running every day, I'm still here holding down the fort.
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