Tag Archives: Salmon fishing

A few weeks ago the salmon fishing was fantastic. Big salmon are still being caught but the pace has slowed down. Carolyn André was at the Point Arena Pier during the fishing bonanza. There are a lot of boats - big and small - fishing off Arena Cove.

You can see people fishing right off the pier. No license is required to fish here but people do have to abide by Fish and Wildlife rules. Boats have to be hoisted down from the pier and that created quite a wait during the salmon run.

 Below is a view of the cove to the south.

Today there is a big Seafood Festival at the pier. It's quite a fun event and, yes, there is fresh seafood cooked while you wait. I'll stand in line for their fish tacos!

Thanks to Carolyn for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

Salmon fishing hasn't been this good in well over thirty years. Salmon - big ones - seem to be there for the taking. Commercial fishers and recreational fishers are having the best luck lately. It's heartening to know these fish are back in such abundance.

Jack Likins went out from Point Arena with two friends. Here's what he had to say: 
"Ken Bailey, Pat Killen and I went out salmon fishing yesterday.  We arrived at the Point Arena Pier at 7 am and were 8th in line for launching our boat.  By the time we got our boat in the water at 8 am there were already people returning with their limits of salmon.  We had our limit (2 fish per person) by about noon.  It seemed like almost all the returning boats were limiting out with big fish."
Here's a photo of Pat holding a 22 pound Salmon. What a beauty!
 
Thanks to Jack for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

Before I show you some of the interiors of Fort Ross, I wanted to show you that Salmon are running off the Mendocino Coast. Rick and I live in Anchor Bay. When the clouds lifted a little while ago, I saw fishing boats off of Fish Rocks. Yesterday Ken Bailey and Richard Lewis went out in a Zodiak and look what they caught:

A fifteen pound King Salmon and a seventeen pound Ling Cod - gifts from the sea.

Thanks to Ken for allowing me to share his photo with you here and thanks to Wendy Bailey for sending the photo and sighting in.

The fishing fleet has been busy just north of the border of Sonoma County and Mendocino County. Rick and I can see many boats fishing for Salmon from our home in Anchor Bay. Yesterday Mel Smith purchased one for us from the pier at Point Arena Harbor. Yes, we had fresh salmon, caught in the pristine waters off the Coast, for dinner last night. The cost? $8.00 a pound. The fish Mel got for us was 13.5 pounds. Lots of salmon fillets are now in our freezer.

And today is the last day for Abalone diving. The season is closed for the month of July. The conditions today look ideal, as the Pacific Ocean is very calm. Recently Jack Likins and Ken Bailey went out. The result was this cache of big Abalones and a very nice Lingcod.

They shared these spoils at a birthday party for Ken's wife, Wendy Bailey. I can personally attest to the delicious fish tacos made with the Lingcod and the exquisite Abalone.

Thanks to Jack and Ken for allowing me to share this photo with you here.

Salmon fishing has been so good this past week that the commercial fishing fleet has been here. They anchor overnight in Point Arena and Anchor Bay. Their lights twinkle in the darkness, looking like a diamond necklace strung out over the Pacific Ocean. I rose before dawn to take this photo - the ocean was so calm some of the boats stayed out rather than anchor off-shore. You don't see that very often!