Contributed by Gordon Hough, Captain, Morning Star
As we headed out Tuesday (May 31) with primo tides, primo anglers and “smallish” though usable bait we found ourselves engulfed in pea soup fog and and an ever increasing SW wind howling through the Gate. First stop Alcatraz for the last trickle of the incoming tide.
In a rare moment of understatement the t Deck Meteorologist noted “This weather is most unpleasant”. Yes indeed. Even though the tide was slack the drift was nearly too fast because of the wind.
TG (rumored to be the best striped bass fisher person on earth) proved he’s no One Trick Pony by being first to hook up a nice halibut. Another halibut soon followed to the right of Tom G, followed by a hook up and Alcatraz escapee to the left of Tom G.
Shortly thereafter TG (aka Bass Whisperer) was hooked up again, and this was no mamsy pamsy halibut! It took awhile, but he finally muscled the 32 pound jackpot winner into the waiting Deck Athlete’s monstrous net.
We lost as many halibut as we caught, and when the nasty cold weather drove us away we had only managed four halibut for the 13 anglers aboard.
Next stop; The tranquil waters of Raccoon Straits. There was a steady pick of bass (we caught 8), but this was a halibut trip! Off to Paradise Cove for the outgoing tide.
The weather was beautiful, but the fishing was…dreary. A couple shaker halibut and one beauty was all we could manage. Bottom Line; 5 halibut and 8 bass for 13 anglers.
On the following day, we headed out with bait in the tank, primo tides and an additional hour of incoming tide, we were looking to make halibut fishing history!
“This weather sucks!” observed the Deck Vulgarian. Potty mouth was right, the weather was even nastier than the day before. First stop; St. Francis Yacht Club for practice. Nary a nibble. Second Stop. Mel’s Reef. Three drifts yielded 2 bass and a halibut.
The tide backed off and it was Alcatraz Time! Sadly, this day Alcatraz time wasn’t meant to be. The weather was just too windy to keep the baits on the bottom. We headed out the Gate for some cod fishing.
First stop; Bonita Cove. The weather was nice and we caught some fish but they really weren’t biting.
Next stop; Pt.Diablo The weather was nice and we caught some fish but they really weren’t biting.
Next stop; Kirby Cove. The weather was nice and we caught some fish but they really weren’t biting.
The windy weather finally caught up with us and we headed back in the bay and the tranquil waters of Raccoon Straits. Thankfully, there was enough action to finish off the day with some nice size bass and another halibut before our windy, sloppy ride home.
Bottom line; 4 halibut, 15 bass and a smattering of rock cod.
On our next trip, we headed out on a warm, balmy Saturday morning (June 4) with many aboard dressed in shorts and t-shirts befitting the weather this past week. Always risky business when planning a day on the bay. After a brief stop at the bait dock for a tank of primo bait we headed for the flats.
These were huge minus tides this weekend, which limits us to shallow water fishing. When we arrived, the flats weren’t so flat, and many aboard were rethinking their wardrobe decisions immersed in the icy horizontal fog as the short steep waves splashed against the boat. There’s a lot of halibut in the flats now, most of which (on this day) were shakers. We caught a couple legal fish, but between the 6+ foot incoming tide and the 20+ knots of SW wind the drift was just too fast. Out the Gate for some cod!
The rock fishing was much better than it was our last outing, and though we didn’t fish on the rocks for long, most aboard were planning a fish taco dinner as we headed back to Raccoon Straits for the first of the outgoing tide.
Though anything but red hot, there was a steady bass pick for the remainder of the day.
Bottom line 15 bass, 2 halibut and a smattering of red, black and blue rock fish for 14 frozen anglers.
If you want to book a trip aboard the Morning Star with Captain Gordon Hough, call them at 707-745-1431 or visit www.morningstarfishing.info.