The water conditions have changed off Half Moon Bay and fishing has been much slower the past couple of days. On Monday 5-10 Dennis Baxter reports they started off scouting around the Deep Reef only to find clear green water and no feed. Working back to the inside he found some scattered bait and posted one of the top scores with 10 fish for 8 anglers. Several party boats from here and out the Gate went scouting but most ended back where Dennis spent the entire day at .28 / .37. Dennis says they do have brown water along the beach but the jelly is thick. Offshore most of the commercial boats have either run north to Ft Ross while day boats headed back to port to wait for better conditions.

The San Mateo coast remains the center of the Bay Area salmon activity, and boats from Emeryville, Berkeley, and Sausalito continue to make the long run south of Pillar Point to join the Half Moon Bay fleet. Captain Dennis Baxter of the New Captain Pete out of Bait and Switch Sport Fishing said, “It is a typical shrimp bite with boats landing on the fish finding great action while others in the same area are struggling.” He worked hard for 14 salmon for a full load of fishermen on Sunday, May 13^th, and he said, “There is dark water, krill, and humpbacks everywhere in the area we have been working at 27/38, around 8 miles southwest of the harbor.” The krill fish are hard to handle, and many boats experienced more than a few fish coming unbuttoned".
The weather has turned foggy and calm and the forecast calls for nice spring weather through at least next Wednesday. On Friday 5-11 party boats reported solid counts fishing at the Deep Reef with the center of activity being around .20 / 40. Most boats reported limits or near limits of salmon ranging from 8 to 10 and up to 20 pounds. On Saturday 5-12 the bite was very sporadic, a few private boats ran into a couple of flurries for early limits while others struggled to hang onto the gangs of fish coming 2, 3, even 5 at a time. An example is Chris on the Ankeny street who reported 20 salmon for 13 anglers on Friday and despite his best efforts landed just two fish on Saturday. Overall party boat scores on Saturday ranged from 2 fish to 20+ limits.

The weather has been breezy but conditions are starting to moderate here on Thursday 5-10 afternoon. the only party boat out of Half Moon Bay today was Dennis on the New Captain Pete. Dennis reports the morning weather was rough and after getting to the outside they were really only able to tack down hill. After a very slow morning and just three fish in the box Dennis said the winds had dropped from 20 to 15 knots and the fish started to bite. The managed to deck 10 in the last couple of hours for a final count of 13 for 11 with a solid 10 + pound average. Big fish for this early in the season. His best action was at .19 / .39 or 45 to 50 fathoms outside the Deep Reef. With much better weather in the forecast and more boats on the water scores should improve the next few days.

On Tuesday 5-8 Captain Dennis Baxter on the New Captain Pete reported fast action in the morning at 24/40 but the bite slowed after a morning flurry. They ended up with 14 fish for 19 anglers with only a few lost opportunities. He said, “The fishing wasn’t spectacular, and it took awhile to locate the fish with everyone searching around,” adding, “It actually looked much better at 24/40 with nice brown water, mats of krill at depths of 40 to 50 feet, and humpbacks all around than it did where we put in the bulk of our fish at 18/38.” He said, “The water didn’t look right where we found the fish as it was green with an absence of krill, but the fish climbed on.” Captain Guy Anthony on the New Gravy had already called his trip for Wednesday due to the high winds offshore, and with the building breeze, Baxter was waiting until late afternoon until making the call.

Both the New Captain Pete and New Gravy will be running weather permitting for the remainder of the week, and Baxter is has a charter on Friday and full on Saturday. The crowd for Mother’s Day is light at the present time.
 The Bait and Switch shop books for four boats the New Captain Pete, Connie O and Tigerfish. They also run whale watching trips and salmon charters on the Salty Lady. They do have room this weekend and this is literally some of the best fishing in 6 plus years. You will want to get out while the fishing is hot! To book trips call 650 726-7133.