How rude for the fish not to show up! Huge salmon rush fills Noyo Harbor, hotel, restaurant coffers

Dawn Brewer, went out salmon fishing at dawn with half a dozen others. By 10 am, they had a limit of 10 fish, two for each fisher. 

Dawn, of course, was NOT fishing out of Noyo Harbor. There was mostly hard luck here on the first day of ocean Chinook salmon fishing in two years for recreational fishers.  With roots on the Mendo Coast and friends here, she now fishes out of Bodega Bay.  There were lots of great fish catches, getting better as one went further south. 

But the incredible rush to get lines in the water made for a fun, frenetic, testosterone-laden environment, where boats sped about recklessly at times, where there were cheers for those who did get lucky

People lined up in the dark to take turns launching their boats using both boat ramps in Noyo Harbor. The atmosphere was festive at times and crazy at other times. There was a lot of passing, a no-no for boats going out and in the jetty. This reporter watched a boat cut in line by going north of the buoys, two of them off Noyo Beach. Fortunately for that overzealous and foolish boat, the tides were well in the positive all day.  The ocean was flat.  Perfect day for fishing, with sunny skies until fog rolled in about 4 p.m, when most were back at their hotels or campgrounds.  The restaurants, campgrounds and hotels caught a lot more fish than any lures. Fishing was tougher than in the old days, with treble hooks banned.  Quite a few silver  (Coho) salmon were caught while lines were being brought up from the deeps, where the kings (Chinook) lurk. It’s illegal to boat silvers.  The salmon that were caught were beautiful. And they are likely to be fresher and tastier now than later in the year.  The guys we talked to here with two fish, more than some party boats got in salmon on some trips. We stopped in and visited several party boats in Noyo Harbor. 

We went down on the deck of the Royal Sea Hawk and the crowd were all do or die for salmon, no rockfish, when I asked. Deckhand Josh, a great guy who helped my group bring a limit of crabs for all and more rockfish than we could eat during a past fishing trip joined in the cheer. Unknown if the mood changed or if they caught a bunch of salmon or if everybody mutinied and they went for rockfish.

See photos.

How many fish were caught down south?  That will determine how long the season will go. It closes Sunday an hour after sundown.

I got a lot of people sending me photos at sea. I love it. I had to go to work at 3. Linda and I and Caesar and Brutus had a blast. We went to the Noyo Center open house as well and viewed a ton of interesting information presented on potential sea rise.

My previous article has the full seasons that may be coming up and more info.

And don’t say it was all men. Women are making inroads!  The crowd was only 98 percent men this year. 

For all you fishermen eating a hamburger tonight, here is some poetry:

“It’s not the fish you catch, it’s the peace of mind you take home at the end of the day.” Earl Dibbles Jr

“Every time I cast my line. I connect with the soul of nature.” 

Linda Greenlaw 

“

You might also catch a silver or Coho salmon out there too. LOTS being hooked. This is the big story. But those are still protected because of the devastating impact legacy logging had on streams. And if you catch a silver salmon and keep it, its a crime.  If you use the explanatory videos and other Google search results on how to tell the difference, you will probably end up arrested. Most are wrong.

Coho salmon do not have a more pronounced hook in their nose.  That is a feature of all salmon once in rivers, but you won’t see it in the sea.

When you are on a boat the experienced anglers will show you.

The most reliable method for identifying coho is through examination of the lower mouth and gums. The gums at the base of the bottom teeth on a coho salmon are gray, whereas Chinook gums are all black. Another way to distinguish a coho from a Chinook is to rub a finger along the fin rays of the caudal (tail) fin. The fin rays on a coho will feel rough like the edge of a dime, whereas the fin rays on a Chinook are smooth. Fishing deeper and using bigger lures helps  you avoid the Coho.