Entries Tagged 'San Pablo Bay' ↓
November 16th, 2008 — Alioto's, Angel Island, Berkley Marina, Day Cruise, Delta, Fishing, My Boat, Sam's, San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, Sturgeon, Tiburon
This is a followup guest post by Balz (part 1 can be found here: President’s Day on the Bay.)
When I checked my messages on Saturday morning, the last thing I expected to hear was an invitation from my friend Unit to go boating in the Bay.
“Isn’t this February?!” I thought to myself. “Is The Unit crazy?”
Yes, yes he is. Crazy like a fox.
Sunday morning found me scouring the Berkeley Marina looking for signs of life. While I was initially disappointed to learn that there is no deli there, the lack of a bait and tackle shop was downright shocking. (According to the folks who work at the information desk, however, both will be coming soon.)
Undaunted in my quest, I picked up a couple of sandwiches at Safeway before venturing to the Berkeley Bait & Tackle Shop at 2221 San Pablo Ave. This store couldn’t be any more authentic if it had been locked in a time capsule 50 years ago. Don’t go there if you’re looking for the latest in equipment and gear. Do go there if you’re looking for some friendly advice and live grass shrimp. ¼ lb of grass shrimp, complete with a block of ice to keep them fresh, cost me only $3.50.
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By 10:30, I was parked near the pier in the Berkeley Marina wondering where The Unit intended to pick me up. As I saw him approach in his 22’ boat, my mission become uncomfortably clear: I was going to have to navigate from the parking lot to the shore, making my way down moss-covered boulders, catch the boat before it clipped any rocks, and then jump aboard while I pushed it clear, all without dropping any of the food or bait.No problem.Upon further investigation from the bay, we would later discover a public boat launch (not marked by any signs from the road approaching the Marina ) located not more than 200 yards nautically from where I jumped on the boat.
(Editor's Note: I tried to explain the boat ramp location over the phone prior to disembarking from the jetty rocks.) Due to the Marina ’s design, however, walking to the same dock from where I had parked would have meant approximately 1.5 miles, and I had already done my cardio for the weekend. This laziness would come back to haunt me when I returned ashore via the same route in the afternoon and took an unscheduled swim with my ill-fated PDA/Phone.Sturgeon were the morning’s objective, and we ventured out to San Pablo Bay in anticipation of favorable tides and optimal depth. We found both of those things along with a collection of other fishing vessels just off the shore of China Camp . By now, the thin fog and 50-degree starting temperature had given way to sunshine and 70’s. Knowing that our grass shrimp wouldn’t last long under those conditions, we conspired to impale them on sturgeon hooks that seemed much too big for their tiny bodies.
Whether it was the fault of the rigs, the bait, the conditions, or the fishermen, I cannot say, but no sturgeon were inconvenienced in any way due to our actions on Sunday. After approximately 3 hours of sincere but vain attempts, The Unit and I agreed to cease all sturgeon-catching efforts and focus our attention on getting as much enjoyment out of the afternoon as the beautiful weather would permit.
We picked up some friends at Sam’s in Tiburon before venturing to Angel Island , where we discovered a beautiful secluded beach. The views of both Marin County and the Golden Gate were simply outstanding from this vantage point. Were it not for the litter (which was observable, though not overwhelming), this beach and its inherently exclusive access would make an excellent spot for a romantic picnic.
But I digress. We returned to Tiburon for a brief bite before heading home.
The notoriety of Sam’s, with its fantastic menu and extensive bar, worked against us in this instance. Faced with a 2-hour wait, Unit and I opted to wander down the boardwalk for sustenance. We happened upon a gem in Alioto’s, which served up bruschetta and old-world-style pizza that was delicious and timely as well as reasonably-priced.
Our bellies filled, we headed back to the Berkeley Marina with choppy water in front of us and a gorgeous pink and orange sky at our backs. As indicated earlier, my return to shore could be called many things: humorous, uninspired, tragic… anything but heroic.
But my clothes will dry, my bruises will heal, and my insurance will cover my phone.
And we’ll all be back on the bay sooner than you think.
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June 18th, 2008 — Delta, Sacramento, Salmon, San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay
In an unprecedented step in an attempt to revive the wild California King Salmon population the nonprofit Fishery Foundation of California trucked all all hatchery raised King Salmon to the top of the San Pablo Bay. The effort took 2.5 months an involved some 20 million fish.
The step was taken due to the severe decline of wild salmon returning to spawn in the American, Feather, and Mokelumne rivers. An all time low this year, which resulted in a complete closure of the west coast salmon fishery. Next year is predicted to be even worse.
The fish released this year will return as adults to spawn in 3 years time... 20% of the released fish where tagged to track to which rivers they return... According to the California State Fish and Game Department, fish released via truck delivery and net pens into San Pablo Bay are 200% to 400% more likely to survive to adulthood and return to spawn. The idea being that fish released directly from the hatcheries have a number of additional threats with which to deal: intake pumps, pollution, and other hazards. But the main reason seems to be the deteriorating condition of the Sacramento Delta and contention over water resources.
The operation was paid for by sport fishing license stamps for San Francisco and San Pablo Bays.
I sure hope this works...
Here are a few other articles on the Salmon delivery...
Do your part... help the worldwide fish stocks... Only eat sustainable harvested fish. One example is the Kona Kampachi
Photo Credits: 1, 2
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March 13th, 2008 — Alameda, Coyote Point, Delta, Duxbury, Farallon Islands, Fishing, Half Moon Bay, Oyster Point, Point Reyes, Richardson Bay, Rocky Point, Sacramento, Salmon, San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, Sausalito, Tiburon
From the Contra Costa Times (http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_8557645):
Unprecedented collapse in fish population forces cancellation among West Coast states
Early season salmon fishing off the coasts of California and most of Oregon was shut down Wednesday by federal regulators responding to an unprecedented collapse of salmon populations along the West Coast.
The actions affect commercial and recreational fishing seasons either underway or scheduled to open in the coming weeks. When they meet again next month, regulators are likely to close the bigger fishing seasons that come later in the year.
Specifically, a small recreational fishing season off Fort Bragg that opened in mid-February will close April 1. Other recreational fishing seasons from San Francisco to the Mexican border that were scheduled to open April 5 have been closed.
Commercial fishing that was scheduled to open off Fort Bragg on April 7 was also closed.
In Oregon, the start of recreational and commercial seasons that were set to open March 15 were delayed to April 15, but it appears likely that those seasons will be closed when the Pacific Fishery Management Council meets again in early April.
The actions were in response to major declines in salmon populations that were especially pronounced in California's Sacramento River fall run of chinook salmon, which produced more than 80 percent of the salmon caught off the California coast.
Last year's return of spawning adults was less than 90,000, the second lowest figure on record. Worse, the number of returning two-year-olds -- a key predictor of the 2008 return -- was a record low, meaning this year is likely to be much worse.
On Tuesday, scientists informed the council that even without any salmon fishing at all, the return of Sacramento River fall run was expected to be fewer than 60,000, or less than half of the minimum target set by regulations.
"There's not going to be any fisheries this year that have any impacts on the Central Valley run," said Duncan MacLean, a commercial salmon fisherman from Half Moon Bay and the industry's California representative to the council.
"I'm totally disgusted," he added. "I am sick and tired of putting myself and my family through this."
Agency scientists for the most part have blamed a shift in ocean conditions along the West Coast for the problems. But others, including the head of the fishery management council, contend that shift cannot account for the severity of the problem with Sacramento River salmon.
MacLean and many other anglers blame the problem instead on water management in the Delta and throughout the Central Valley.
"This is like going to debtors prison for your father's sins," MacLean said. "This is working it's way up the food chain. It started with the Delta smelt (which appears to be close to extinction), and it's working it's way up."
Mike Taugher covers natural resources. Reach him at 925-943-8257 or mtaugher@bayareanewsgroup.com.
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February 19th, 2008 — Alioto's, Angel Island, Berkley Marina, Coyote Point, Day Cruise, Delta, Fishing, Sam's, San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, Sturgeon, Tiburon
Last Sunday (ok the day before President's Day) a few friends and I arranged a day cruise/fishing trip on the bay. We didn't have a planned itinerary, but I think you will see the day turned out pretty nice.
It started for me at 8:30am leaving my house, picking up the boat from storage, gassing the boat, and launching at Coyote Point. The morning was incredible. Completely glass on the water with a thin fog... it was in the upper 40's at the time. I was on the water by 9:45am.
Next stop, the Berkley Marnia. My friend was unable to find the boat launch and decided he could walk down the rocks beside the fishing pier. Needless to say I did not think it was a good idea, but relented. He proceeded to slip (thankfully not hurting himself), but eventually made it into the boat... Later you will see his haste will come back to haunt him. He had stopped by the bait shop and picked up a 1/4 pound of grass shrimp so we decided to head to San Pablo Bay and try our hand at sturgeon fishing. Neither of us has an experience.
On the way to San Pablo Bay the wind picked up a little (maybe 5-7 mph). The thing about the grass shrimp that we had is that they are tiny and the hooks on the sturgeon rigs are huge. Not entirely sure we hooked the shrimp up correctly, but here is a photo of our handy work...
We positioned ourselves into a lineup of boats near China Camp in about 10 ft of water (we figured they all looked like they knew what they were doing), but we didn't get any bites (from what we could tell of the boats around us neither did they). It was however an incredible day out on the water and we were enjoying ourselves.
At 1:30pm we decided we had had enough fishing and decided to pick a few other friends that were having lunch at Sam's in Tiburon. We picked them up and did a quick tour around Alcatraz Island. At this point it was a little rough as the wind had picked up to about 10-12mph. On the way back to Tiburon we noticed a beach on Angle Island that look inviting and decided to beach the boat for a couple of minutes. Where we got some nice photos.
As incredible as the views on and around Angel Island were I was astounded at the amount of trash. Here is just one example...
After almost getting stuck by the outgoing tide we headed back to Tiburon to drop of my friends. While there we docked at Sam's and were contemplating eating there. However it was a 2 hour wait. So we went next door to Alioto's and had a very nice meal. Outstanding bruschetta and pizza.
Heading back to drop of my other friend at the Berkley marina rocks the weather was still a little rough. But it was an incredible day.
Unfortunately for my friend when he departed the boat onto the rocks he slipped and fell into the water. Cell phone ruined, but pride intact we parted ways. I headed back to Coyote Point and while I don't have any pictures the sunset over and then into the fog it was spectacular in oranges and pinks.
The nice thing about Coyote point is the boat wash... I was able to flush my engine of the salt water and clean my boat of the salt spray. I returned the boat to storage and tired, but content I headed for home.
President’s Day on The Bay (Part 2)
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January 20th, 2008 — San Francisco Bay, San Pablo Bay, Striped Bass, Sturgeon
In the San Francisco Chronicle today was an outdoors article about a Cal grad student that needed to catch a sturgeon as research for an article she was writing... She got more than you could ever hope for with the help of Keith Fraser. Grad student will have a whopper of a fish story
It was a bright, sunny blue sky day, and with no wind, the bay was flat and glassy calm. "Perfect," Fraser said. The crew boarded at 2:40 p.m., Fraser fired up the engine, and they cruised up San Pablo Bay to the northern apex of the Sturgeon Triangle, just east of the pumphouse. With the depth finder, Fraser found 11 feet of water, his magic spot, and dropped the anchor.
From the recent rains, the water was chocolate brown, and with the outgoing tide sweeping past the boat, conditions appeared perfect. "These are the kind of conditions that a sturgeon addict would dream about," Fraser said.
[...]
Suddenly, the sturgeon emerged on the surface: It was 7 feet long and weighed an estimated 150 to 160 pounds. Its belly was swollen, full of sturgeon eggs.
"Oh my God," Wollan said. She was otherwise speechless, in shock.
Many anglers fish a lifetime in hopes of hooking a 100-pound sturgeon, and here she had landed one on her first bite.
Fraser smiled, knowing he had just inducted a new member into the 100-Pound Club. He reached overboard, grabbed the hook with a pair of pliers, and dislodged it from the round, vacuum-cleaner-like mouth of the sturgeon. In the next second, the big fish swam away and disappeared into the darkness.
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