Striped Bass and Halibut Fishing

A few weeks ago, I went fishing in the San Francisco Bay. It was the first time I had done anything hunting or fishing related in over 5 months. Which is way too long for me. I went with my father and a small group of guys I have been fishing with for a number of years. I was really looking forward to the trip. Not only because I had been away from my passion for a long time but because I had been having a rough few months in my personal life and I needed something to lift my spirit. Hunting and fishing has always been able to do just that.

I arrived at the marina just after 5 am. I live in Fairfield California and the marina is over 40 miles away in Emeryville. It usually takes 45 minutes to get there without traffic but since it was so early in the morning, and no one was on the freeway, it got there in only 30 minutes. Usually I always beat my father to the marina, despite him living only 10 minutes away. But this time he beat me to the marina. I was quite surprised to see that "I'm here" text come across the screen of my truck.

After meeting up with my father in the parking lot, we grabbed our bags and walked down the ramp leading to the boat. One of our guys, who I call Storytime Satterfield because of his ability to embellish the truth, was already on the boat when we arrived. The rest of our crew arrived a bit later. Once everyone was on the boat, the captain started the boat and we left the marina around 6 am.

Our first stop was a fish processing plant not far from the marina. It was here that we picked up our bait for the day, live anchovies. They were caught the day before so they were very fresh and lively. After filling the livewell with bait, we made our way to the fishing grounds. Our target species for this trip were Striped Bass and California Halibut. Both of which are some of my favorite fish to eat. We would be staying inside the bay to pursue them, mostly because the wind was blowing quite hard and the waters outside the bay were very rough. So much so that most of the other captains that who planned to go after other species outside the bay cancelled their trips. The water was just to rough and dangerous. Inside the bay, we were protected from most of the wind and the water was much calmer.

We got to our first spot just before 7 am. We found a large school of baitfish and decided to drop our baits into the school. About 15 minutes after we dropped down, we started getting bit. My father was the first to hook up, catching a small Striped Bass, or Striper as we typically call them. It was too small to keep so we released it. In California the minimum size for Striper is 18 inches. This one was only about 15 or so. One of the other guys hooked up soon after, this time catching a legal sized one. And not long after releasing his first fish, my father caught his first keeper sized Striper. I caught a good sized one in the midst of everyone else getting hooked up.

It didn't take long to catch our limit of Stripers. The California limit is 2 fish per person, though it can vary depending on where you're fishing. Striper can be found in both freshwater and saltwater environments. And there are certain lakes where the Striped Bass are so overpopulated that the limit is much higher than just 2 fish. Too many Stripers can be detrimental to a body of water since they are voracious predators and will eat just about any kind of fish they can find. And since they can grown well over 50lbs, there is very few animals that can threaten them, especially in freshwater environments. Here in the ocean they don't cause that kind of damage. In total I caught 5 keeper sized Stripers. But since the limit is only 2 per person, I gave my remaining 3 to some the other guys who hadn't had any legal sized fish.

By 9:45 am, we had caught enough Striped Bass for everyone onboard to take a limit home. So we switched gears and turned our attention to catching Halibut. It would take us another hour to get to the spot the captain wanted to go to. At this point in the year, most of the nearby hotspots for Halibut had been fished very heavily, which would make finding quality sized fish difficult. So we traveled to the southern end of the bay to an area that hadn't been fished much. However this is where the wind I had mentioned before was much stronger, since the south bay is mostly flat land and offers little protection from the wind. The northern parts of the bay where we had been fishing before was surrounded by hills on all sides, so the effects of the wind were significantly reduced.

Once we arrived at the new spot, we quickly baited up our rods and started fishing again. The waves rocked the boat and it was difficult to stay balanced while fishing. Most of us decided to sit down and just wait for a bite. Fishing for Halibut was a much slower pace than it was for Stripers. Mostly because Halibut, like many flatfish species, are mostly sedentary. Only moving with the shifting of the tides, which can take hours. Stripers on the other hand are very nomadic and constantly on the move. Never straying far from there food source. In fact the hardest part of catching Stripers isn't finding them, it's keeping up with them and staying on top of the school.

It took a while for us to find the Halibut but we did manage to find a few patches of them. We had to switch up our technique and start trolling. A method that involves moving the boat at slow speeds while keeping the bait in the water. This allows us to cover a lot of water without wasting time in areas that aren't producing. I caught 3 Halibut that day. The first one I caught was a keeper but last 2 were too small. The size limit on California Halibut is 22 inches and you can only keep 2 per person. A few years ago you were allowed to keep 3 per person but the state changed the regulations to reduce the amount you could keep. Why they did this is a complete mystery to me and a lot of other anglers as they are very common and plentiful. But then again California has always made very questionable decisions when it comes to their hunting and fishing laws. I think it's also worth mentioning that California Halibut should not be confused with Pacific Halibut. Most of the Halibut sold in stores is Pacific Halibut. They have much more meat and a higher fat content than California Halibut, which is why you almost never find them sold in stores. Also Pacific Halibut are significantly bigger than California Halibut, reaching weights of over 300lbs. While the biggest California Halibut on record was just over 70lbs. Both species can be caught in this state but the California Halibut is more common and easier to catch.

Unlike with the Stripers, I didn't manage to catch a limit of Halibut. But the one I did end up keeping was a good size, though nowhere near my personal best of 18lbs. We called it quits around 1:30 pm. It was a long but productive day of fishing and I was happy with the results. Especially considering that I hadn't caught or eaten Striped Bass in almost 3 years. So I am saving them for a special occasion but I don't have one in mind just yet.

This was a much needed trip for me. As I mentioned before, I had been having a pretty rough year so far and had been feeling really down. Being outdoors and taking part in the natural cycle has always been my number one passion and there's nothing in the world that gives me the same level of joy and satisfaction than that. I know that many people wouldn't understand this, but the older I get, the more I realize that people don't have to understand. God gave me the heart of a hunter and I truly believe that my skills and passion for the hunt will serve a unique purpose one day. But until that day comes, I will continue to live my life and cultivate my skills, one hunt at a time.

Thank you for reading my story. If you enjoy hunting and fishing content, check out my short stories that I have published on my profile. I also have a novel, Tale Of The Gamekeepers Book 1, available on Amazon Kindle. Follow my Instagram @stonecreekthehunter for photos of this trip, updates on upcoming projects and other content.