Two boats from here caught halibut yesterday, one fish apiece, on live jacksmelt, at Hog Island. The marine forecast is bad for the next few days but hopefully the bay will stay fishable.

The low tides for clamming are almost over for the year, but if you haven't clammed before, check out this blog: http://georgiapellegrini.com/2010/06/21/blog/clamming-for-horsenecks-part-1/ . There are a lot of pictures and information.

I heard that a nice halibut was caught by Hog Island this weekend and luckily Mike Riker was kind enough to send a picture of his 25 pounder, caught on live jacksmelt. Jacksmelt aren't sold here but can be caught in most tide rips, especially if you use some chum. There were a few others caught (none as big, that I'm aware of) as far North as across from the Landing. There were stories of a few salmon caught out front by moochers but no firsthand report. The rockfishing was OK, no limits but about 7 or 8 fish apiece. The dungeness are still being caught for a couple more days. Surfperch still aren't biting.

Joseph Rodriguez, age 13, caught this halibut, his first, by Hog Island on Friday. Joseph was using live jacksmelt for bait. A sixteen pound salmon and a couple of trolled rockfish were caught on McLure's Beach in 60 feet of water. The salmon liked the blue hoochy. Three lingcod landed off of Tomales Point as well. Better weather today so hopefully more fish to report later.

I've been waiting for something to report and it has finally happened. A 37 pound salmon was landed on the bar at the turn of the tide yesterday. No other bites, but it only takes one like that to make your day. On Wednesday a boat landed a limit of halibut by Hog Island, all on live jacksmelt and all between 10 and 20 pounds. The dungeness are still coming in from the pier and I heard of a couple leopard sharks from Pelican Point. Many angel sharks back by Marshall.

River Edw - Hergest Beat

Saturday saw yet another small stream ramble on the River Edw - W&UF beat R13. I have a bit of a soft spot for this river due to the exceptionally pretty location and the abundance of plenty of small fiesty wild trout.

With low, clear water every moment again had to be delivered with stealth but that in itself is part of the enjoyment of the day when the reward is a hard fighting fish.

This well marked trout was as big as they got.

The larger fish this little river holds were definately not showing themselves and will wait for a little rain to bring more colour & water before having the confidence to feed during the day.

Female - Calopteryx virgo - Beautiful Demoiselle

Kristen Hutson sent these pictures of two of the Memorial Day salmon and the men that caught them. If you have pictures of fish and fishermen you'd like to see here, send them to lawsonslanding@gmail.com and I'll try to get them posted.

Great weather on the beach last weekend but the fishing wasn't as good. No keeper salmon landed here and only a couple halibut from the bay. The rockfish bite was slow on Sunday except for one boat who went to Fort Ross and did well. The crabbing was pretty good when the current was slow. More wind predicted for this week so there probably won't be any fish reports.

Small Stream Overload

Last weekends excursions were based solely around fishing small streams. First up was an early morning start on the river Clun in Shropshire, one of my favourite little rivers due to the fact that it holds a good head of both wild brown trout & grayling allowing for all year round fishing.

The river was holding a little colour after the recent rain which gave the fish that little more confidence to feed freely in the open water. With fish rising from the off the dry fly or duo approach is always a safe as was the case for much of the time, with only a couple of quite moments before I had to retire for a midday fishing meeting at a local hotel.

After the meeting (and a spot of lunch washed down with a cool cider) I headed off with fellow club member Steve to fish another stretch of the same river plenty of rising fish again generating a decent amount of sport right up 'til dusk. The long day ended with a drive to Mid-Wales ready for my next 'small stream' encounter.

River Clettwr

This was one I'd planned on doing for a while now after walking part of the stretch previously I finally got round to setting a day aside to tackle this wild and rugged small stream.

This is a Wye & Usk Foundation beat that is described in the passport booklet as the following: "This is real mountain stream fishing and a challenge to the most hardy. It can be, however, extremely rewarding to those willing to try! Pure escapism, you won’t know the joys of this stream until you have fished it. Go with a small brook rod and be prepared for a climb". Well I would say that sums up this beat quite well although I would also add that if you intend to fish the whole beat allow yourself a full day, it really is a challenge to get to the end of this beat (and also to find your way back!).

The majority of the stretch runs through a deep valley gorge and is constantly cascading down steep inclines which create dramatic waterfalls and deep pools stuffed full of wild brown trout.

The water is crystal clear and the fish are ultra wary so stealth is key to connecting with these fish. It can't be stressed enough how important this is, most of the false casting is kept to a minimum and normally performed knelt down or squat on a boulder to keep a low profile. If you spook these fish then you might as well carry on to the next pool.

The day was an adventure from start to finish and I eventually returned to the car feeling totally drained but with a sense of achievement that I was able to conquer the fishing and terrain of this beautiful bit of water.

River Towy - Abercothi Estate

Last weekend I had my first ever attempt at Sea Trout fishing and although I ended the session fishless I must say that the whole experience has left me with a desire to add this fish to my catch list sometime soon.

To be honest I don't think I could have fished a better venue with 400+ Sewin caught on this beat last year the Abercothi beat on the River Towy is prime Sea trout fishing. It was described ‘Best in Britain’ by the Salmon and Trout Magazine (1990).

Head ghillie Cyril Fox has an amazing knowledge of this venue with countless years experience on the beat and just before dark talked me through the pools I was to fish...where was safe to wade, places to cast, best lies etc.

Although there were no fish caught they were undoubtedly in the river with many splashes heard through the early hours but with the desperately low water the odds were agaist us.

Outside the fishing lodge at Abercothi


I look forward to a return here soon and hope my luck changes for the better.

A few salmon yesterday in 180 to 240 feet of water, 0 to 4 fish per boat, and best numbers north (Salmon Creek/Carmet area) and deep (240 feet of water, 100 feet down). Biggest salmon landed by Ron Johnson at 21 pounds. One halibut caught and two lost by fishermen jigging at Hog Island yesterday. The best numbers of dungeness crab are coming from right around the pier now. On Friday a boater soaked four pots for five hours in the outer bay for five crab, then soaked four pots for a half hour just off the pier for ten crab. Some people are limiting out on the pier during the week. One gentleman even landed a 15# bat ray that bit his crab snare. 24 more days until dungeness crab closes and a week until rockfish opens.

Late In The Day

I have been spending the last few weekends trying to get my head around some very hard to catch rising fish on a very low and clear section of the upper River Wye.



Daytime fishing in these conditions can leave you going home with very limited success, but if you leave your fishing until the sun is disappearing below the horizon then great rewards can be had.

I am convinced that the larger trout spend most of the day hidden away under bankside crevices or sheltered in the deeper parts of the riverbed when the river becomes low and clear and only venture out when they feel safe to do so.





At this time of year this part of the river has a superb hatch of Yellow Mays (Heptagenia sulphurea) and these flies are emerging well into the evening along with many sedges and a mass of midges which can instantly transform the surface water into life with hungry fish.



As the sun sets the fish are without doubt much more confident to feed and with a little perseverance trying different methods and flies you can eventually hit on something that brings immediate results.

A normally hard to catch chub falling to a GRHE nymph


I would add that there is no sure fire method that will catch fish all year round but I'm confident that what I have learned the last few weeks will definitely work under similar conditions in the future.