Tomales Bay education, need guidance.

[dmede]

Hi all,

I’m putting together a trip to Tomales Bay in two weeks for a little fishing and since I’ve never really fished this bay before I wanted to see what you might be able to tell me about it. Below are the trip details, how and where we will be fishing. Let me know if I have anything wrong:

The trip is 4 guys, two small open boats. We’ll be mostly targeting halibut (which I understand are in the bay this time of year). I am using an old salmon pole with PENN bait cast reel. Main line is 30lb braid. I’ll leader this with 15 or 20 lb mono to a halibut rig baited with either frozen anchovy or live bait from the bay (taken on sabiki rigs tipped with shrimp).

The plan is to boat into the channel north west of Hog Island and drift down with the incoming tide. Send rig to the bottom and pull up about a foot off the bottom while drifting.

While there I’d also lie to target what ever else might be of interest in the area. I understand there are Rock Cod and Ling Cod in the bay? I have a few small ling bars but have never used these before. I also have a few rubber shad jigs and some little lead head with feather tail jigs. If I want to target Rock an Ling cod around Hog, where would I go, what do I do?

Any other fish that might be fun to catch while there? Anything at all (besides sharks, that’s all I catch here in the south bay).

Thanks for the help, let me know if I left out any details.

dave

[CDK]

I never did well drifting. The channel can be either too slow or way too fast. Drifting outside the bar has been very productive. Getting through the bar can be very dangerous if you don;t know what your doing.
When I can go it's to HOG to catch Shiners at the edges of the weeds for bait then to the sand flats south of Hog. Or outside the bar. Wife caught a 29 pounder a while back north of the dock inside the bar. This is just me others will have something different for you.

[hewescraft]

If all else fails throw out some squid there are some monster rays and leopard sharks

[dmede]

If all else fails throw out some squid there are some monster rays and leopard sharks

I guess... but man I'm tired of catching shark. I want something I can take home to the wife and kids for dinner! :D

There's so little variety of game fish in the far s bay I'm excited to get someplace where there's something other than sharks and rays.

[fitz22]

The regulars are usually having coffee in and around the boat house starting at 6 am listen for info and dont be afraid to ask questions. You can ask Willie then, as well as check out the lawsons landing web page and regularly updated fishing blog. Fitz

[dmede]

The regulars are usually having coffee in and around the boat house starting at 6 am listen for info and dont be afraid to ask questions. You can ask Willie then, as well as check out the lawsons landing web page and regularly updated fishing blog. Fitz

You're talking about the boat house at Lawsons? I'll actually be going out from Nicks. Our boats are both very small and neither of us will be approaching any where near the bar. I'm in a 14' wooden skiff w/ 6hp and my buddy is in a slightly larger glassed dingy with 15hp. Neither are open water boats so we will be keeping to the channel around hog and up the cliff area a bit from there maybe as far as the green marker off Toms Pt.

I checked the blog, thats a great site. But I'm guessing most of those guys are going out the mouth of Tomales?

Boat on left is my skiff, boat on the right is my buddy's.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2710270059_f70fbacdc1_o.jpg

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/37327498@N00/sets/72157606422267083/)

[dmede]

My date with Tomales approaches, I think I have most of the info I need but would still like to hear any advice or even tall tales you might have about fishing inside Tomales. Feel free to share! :D

Hopefully come Monday I'll have some good pics to post from my trip.

[Fishbucket]

I hear... Great Whites like to breed in the bay...

[dmede]

I hear... Great Whites like to breed in the bay...

so I've heard... the mouth is part of the white (or is it red) triangle. We'll be far back from the bar so I don't expect to see any, but I'm not going for a swim or anything!