Meet the Wolf Eel
Emeryville Sportfishing’s fishing reports are a reflection of catches happening in San Francisco Bay and outside the Golden Gate in the Pacific. On Sunday, June 5, 2016, three boats went out from Emeryville with 50 anglers. The catch? 310 Rockfish, 58 lingcod, 14 Striped Bass, 13 California Halibut, 5 Chinook (King) Salmon and 1 Wolf Eel, which is not an eel at all, but part of the family of Wolffishes (Anarhichadidae)! The Wolf Eel really has a face only a mother would love. Take a look for yourself.
Note that only 5 Chinook Salmon were caught by a boat that went out all day on the Bay. California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and federal fishery scientists made an announcement a few weeks ago suggesting the forecasts for Salmon harvesting for 2016 in California is significantly lower than in recent years. 299,600 adult Sacramento River fall Chinook salmon in the ocean this year along with 142,200 adults from the Klamath River fall Chinook run.
These forecasts, in addition to information on endangered Sacramento River winter Chinook salmon, will be used over the next few months by fishery managers to set sport and commercial fishing season dates, commercial quotas and size and bag limits.
Chinook salmon that will be harvested in ocean fisheries in 2016 hatched two to four years ago, and may have been impacted by poor river conditions driven by California’s ongoing drought. Once in the ocean, the fish experienced El Niño conditions, which are not favorable for salmon or its prey.
The weather is warmer now for those 5:30am expeditions out to sea, so gather your group and make a reservation. Emeryville Sportfishing is located in the Emeryville Marina at 3310 Powell Street in Emeryville, CA off Highway 80. For printable driving directions from your location to Emeryville Sportfishing follow this link. You can reserve a boat now at 510-654-6040.
