FISHING THE PACIFIC 



year over $ 1 80,000 worth of sardines had been sold to sports- 

 men as bait for stripers alone. Furthermore it was made man- 

 datory for salt-water fishermen to have a fishing license and 

 the catch was limited to five a day with a twelve-inch mini- 

 mum size. With these rules in force the stripers staged a quick 

 comeback and Heilner believes that 40- to 50-pounders are 

 now almost as common as they were in former years. 



Due to the war there was a notable decrease in the number 

 of persons who could enjoy California bass fishing and this 

 was particularly true along the beaches. In the bays the en- 

 thusiasts who could not hire power boats because of the gaso- 

 hne restriction went after them in rowboats or anything else 

 that would float. There is no question but what this fine fish 

 got a well-deserved rest and therefore now should be more 

 plentiful than ever. 



Baker's Beach in the very shadow of the Golden Gate 

 Bridge is one of the most popular places to fish. Other good 

 surf -fishing spots are Mussel Rock, Salada Beach, Rockaway 

 Beach and the Salinas River. The favorite bait of most of the 

 surf men is sardines. Unfortunately there is not much squid- 

 ding with metal jigs on the California coast and the bass do 

 not seem to hit them with any regularity. 



Sardines are also used still-fishing from boats and they are 

 the No. I bait. The trollers use spoons, feathers and some- 

 times plugs. Many stripers also have been taken by California 

 sportsmen on large salmon flies. 



The best months for surf fishing are from May to October 

 but excellent fishing is experienced from January until May 

 in San Francisco Bay off the Marin County shore. June and 

 July are two of the best months in the Carquinez Straits and 



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