The weather prevented any salmon from being landed here this past week. Good low tides this weekend with the clammers and abalone rockpickers doing well. One of the pier regulars landed 7 legal dungeness crab by noon yesterday. Be aware, the MLPA closures actually go into effect tomorrow, May 1st. The closed and restricted waters near here are off of Bodega Head and Point Reyes. There are maps available here in the store, here online, and in the back of the saltwater fishing regulation booklet. If you fish, or may fish, off of those areas you had better get familiar with the new rules.

When the weather is right they're still getting some salmon off of the Russian River. No halibut seen since last Monday, but then again the ocean water is 8 degrees colder now. On the other hand, the bay water is starting to warm up a bit and the fresh water is thinning out, so leopard sharks should start biting. Crabbing is the usual, not red hot but good enough to be interesting.

One For The Future

Due to some 'domestic' duties I had to carry out in Abergavenny I found myself with a spare couple of hours on my hands so I had the ideal opportunity to take a stroll along some of the nearby Usk waters.

The Usk is on my 'must fish' list for this year so I was looking forward in getting a little closer to her. I was not dissapointed...greeted by swarms of Grannom and rising fish on a still morning I could already start to feel the beginnings of what could become more than just a casual affair.

Delving into the riverbed to investigate what invertebrate life there lurked beneath the rocks was a real eye opener, masses of shrimps, nymphs (hetagenid & stonefly mostly), bullheads..the river is positively alive with life, which probably account. for the couple of lumps I saw swimming around!

This mini-beast was a good inch long!

With the sun on my face and the lure of the river it was hard to leave but unfortunately I was required elsewhere, safe in the knowledge that a return is inevitable.

I also managed to fit in a couple of short outings on the River Wye on the club waters around Builth wells and although there were plenty of Grannom flies still coming off the water most of the surface activity seemed to be from the 'out of season' Grayling with plenty of unavoidable catches. The few trout caught all came to a small nymph.

Some salmon landed here over the weekend. Most of them came from up by the Russian River. There weren't many, and they weren't giants, but they looked pretty good to me. Strangely, more halibut were landed this weekend than salmon. McLure's Beach and Ten Mile Beach were spitting out good numbers of halibut to trollers. Decent crabbing down on the beach as well. Today one boat came back with two limits of halibut and another had two limits of crab and an octopus, all from Ten Mile. 53 degree and brackish looking water by Hog Island which could explain why I haven't seen any landings of leopard sharks yet.

A few salmon coming in for the last few days. Locally they are being caught straight out front in about 240' of water. It is by no means red hot, but it still salmon fishing. If you aren't afraid of a longer run, I've heard of some better numbers coming from above the Russian River. Some fair numbers of crabs coming in from the outer bay, although many of them are recently molted and a little light. Also, some halibut from the North end of Ten Mile Beach.

River Edw Revisited

I took another couple of visits to this cracking little stream that runs into the River Wye just below Builth Wells.

Fishing two beats on The Wye And Usk Foundation voucher scheme over the weekend I found this little gem still with the same magic as I remembered from fishing there last year.

These upland streams soon thin out after a few rainless days and I would certainly recommend a visit when the river is just starting to clear after a good rainfall.

The fishing was as I'd expected with trout having a go in the likely spots but really this river still needs a few weeks to get into top form.

The upper section (Hundred House) of the W&UF beats is very different from the lower beats with a much more gentle appearance and lots of slow meandering bends, it is definitely a place to target when the trout start feeding freely on the surface and fish are easier to target with a dry fly...its hard to get an ideal presentation whilst nymph fishing in slower water like this.

With a few vouchers still in my pocket I have a feeling I'm destined for another return in the near future.

Six boats went salmon fishing yesterday and had a total of four salmon landed. No trophies, but still the four largest salmon seen here in over two years. The best action was out in 300 feet of water with many bites being reported but not very many fish sticking to the hooks. I guess that means that there's more for the rest of us. On the crabbing front, most people trying for crabs had a few, but Randy from Reno went home today after catching "over 40" from the pier in the last week. The only surfperch seen was clutched in the talons of an osprey, so they're there, even if they aren't biting. I did hear a story about a few perch caught from the jetty at Miller Park.

There are still some dungeness coming in from the bay and the pier. Randy from Reno had an overnight limit on Tuesday morning. Nobody else is catching quite as well as Randy, but they are still catching. No salmon landed here yet but the story is that the New Sea Angler out of Bodega Bay caught 9 last Saturday by the weather buoy and limited out on Wednesday in 300 feet of water West of Bodega Head. This Saturday the forecast is for winds 5 to 10 knots and 7 to 9 foot swells, so maybe we will see some salmon this weekend.

This vessel was found washed up on Tom's Point. The hull was made of plexiglas. Apparently it didn't work. If you are planning on boating here on Tomales Bay, please bring a real boat.

Salmon opens tomorrow although the swell is forecast to be 11 to 13 feet high, so getting out of the bay may not be an option. The crabbing is still slow to OK, depending on your location and the speed of the tide. No perch on the beach and no sharks finning in the cove but schools of bait are moving into the bay. Sardines?