Halibut counts have been good both inside and outside the Golden Gate. The bait receivers were very low to empty on bait on Monday but Tuesday night bait was found and the receivers filled. Party and private boats should not have a problem getting their needs filled and with the ideal tides can expect lots of halibut and good striper counts in the coming days. On Thursday 7-2 James on the Cal Dawn spent the bulk of their day working the deep water honey holes from Alcatraz to TI and Angel Island. They caught a collective 51 halibut to 26 pounds adding one bass. James in nearly full for the weekend but does have room next week. Tides remain halibut friendly through next Monday and we should see some good bass action along the beaches.

On Wednesday 7-1 out of Emeryville, the New Salmon Queen and New Huck Finn stayed inside the bay for a total of 41 halibut to 21-pounds and 10 bass to 13-pounds. Predictably, the halibut counts are rising inside the bay with the striper counts backing off with the slower tides through the week. The C Gull II put in 21 halibut to 20-pounds to go with 8 bass to a whopping 25-pounds for 18 anglers today with the New Huck Finn taking out 20 fishermen for 25 halibut to 17-pounds and 6 stripers to 10-pounds.
James Smith on the Cal Dawn out of Berkeley had another great day with their 20 anglers putting 33 halibut to 26 pounds and 3 stripers in the boxes. James fished at Seal Rocks and came back in the bay to Angel Island and TI  where they found the bulk of their action.
Captain Kevin Yost had four youngsters on the boat today, and they had a first on the Lucky Strike for a bay trip – releasing legal fish throughout the day. He said they had a steady bite all day long with a combined total of 16 legal halibut and bass with the largest halibut estimated at 18-pounds and the bass at 11-pounds. They stayed in the central bay near Treasure and Angel Islands.
Bay Tackle in El Cerrito said stripers have been biting cut sardines or pile worms from the shore line with a few anglers fly lining live anchovies from the Berkeley Pier for hit or miss action. The halibut bite outside the Golden Gate is starting to pick up with some large fish taken off of the North Bar. Stripers are still happening along the beaches with fish to 22-pounds landed at Thornton Beach.
Sturgeon continue to be taken from the banks at Port Costa with pile worms. They have received a shipment of large pile worms averaging from 12 to 16-inches. The tides are expected to be veryproductive for halibut in the next couple of days, and the wind is expected to lay down.
Keith Fraser at Loch Lomond Bait in San Rafael said, "It is blowing a gale out here today." In fact, it has blown the past three days, much to the dismay of Fraser. He was working on getting an adequate supply of Loch Lomond shiners for the holiday weekend, as he expects the weather to be excellent and things to be busy around the harbor. He also touts the excellent halibut tides through the weekend.

We are coming into a series of very small tides and party boats are starting to venture out in search of halibut and rockfish along the bars and beaches of the Marin Coast. Captain James on the Cal Dawn had a light load of 11 anglers who will be forever spoiled. On Monday 6-29 fishing from the north bar to Seal Rocks to the reefs of the central Marin coast to the Central Bay they ended the day just 2 halibut shy of limits with 31 halibut to 29 pounds and 7 stripers to 15. 11 of the halibut were over 20 pounds and the tides only get better in the coming days. If the weather holds offshore we expect party boats from both Berkeley and Emeryville to both be posting some VERY impressive scores in the next few days.

 The tides are just in the midpoint of being too much for the halibut and not enough for the stripers but that will change in a big way in the coming days. The stripers at Mel's Reef hit on both tides during the week, but the bite has been slowing down each day, and it has been limited to the incoming tide. Jim Smith of the Happy Hooker has been poking his nose outside the Golden Gate to search for some beach bass, and his clients were rewarded with 6 nice bass just outside the Gate yesterday morning, Saturday's 6-27 trip put in 38 stripers to 15-pounds to go with 6 halibut to a whopping 30-pounds landed by Chuck Carleton of Vacaville. Jim had the advantage of having regulars: Larry Nelson, Chuck, Danny the Cook, and Pale Ale on board yesterday, and they accounted for an improved boat total on the bass.
Jim went outside the Gate today, Sunday 6-28  to spend some time waiting for the incoming tide today, and also to allow an 8-year old boy and some other clients to pick up some rockfish from the nearby reefs. After everyone getting a chance to tug on a fish or two, including a bonus 8-pound ling; Jim went looking for the bass on the beach again. Finding no one home, he brought the boat back into the reefs near Alcatraz for 32 stripers to 13-pounds and 5 halibut to 12-pounds for 30 anglers.
The California Dawn had a charter today that was just interested in catching fish, so second captain Bryan Chan ran up the Marin coast for 3/4 to full limits of rockfish to go with 3 bass and 7 halibut back inside the bay.
Emeryville Sport Fishing had 5 boats out today in the bay with 81 anglers for a total of 79 halibut to 20-pounds to go with 41 stripers to 14-pounds.
Kevin Yost of Lucky Strike Fishing had Gian Marcucci of the Deaf Sturgeon Angler's Challenge on board today, and they boated 3 halibut and a pair of bass with the Lucky Strike Too picking up a couple of limits of bass.
John Akina at Oyster Point Bait, Tackle and Deli reported excellent fishing in the south bay today with a mixed bag of halibut and stripers taken from the Bird Cage and Candlestick Point. A couple of boats reported limits of halibut at the Alameda Rockwall. Live shiners have been tops, but trolling frozen anchovies is also workings.
Keith Fraser of Loch Lomond Bait in San Rafael said most of his skiffs in the harbor had from 1 to four fish per boat today despite heavy boat pressure and high afternoon winds. It was tough, but they managed to make it through the weekend with only a slight abbreviation in shiner supplies on Saturday. The top areas were Paradise, Southhampton Shoals and Red Rock.

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