Fish in the Bay – April 2025, Traditional Baby Fish Month.

Spring is here – technically it arrived on March 20th.  Returning warmth is slowly awakening the marshes … just in...

Fish in the Bay – March 2025. Baby Fishes & Interesting Oddballs

The Shaduary Shad population explosion ended by early March.  Only a small remnant of stragglers remained in the area.  Unfortunately,...

Fish in the Bay – Special Report: Lower South Bay Broodstock Trawls, Jan 2025 – Return to Oz.

Longfin Smelt Broodstock trawls continued over numerous days through January, February, and even into the first weeks of March.  I...

Fish in the Bay – February 2025, Part 2. Bottom Fishes & Bugs in the Valley of the Heart’s Delight.

This is the rest of the February report – Fishes, bugs, plus a few other items that didn’t fit into...

Fish in the Bay – February 2025. Shaduary Continues.

Good news? Or Bad News?  Shad population explosion has spilled over into February.  January counts broke previous records: 533 American...

Fish in the Bay – January 2025 Part 2. Other Bugs & Fishes.

This second part covers additional fishes and bugs that were not included in the January report.   1. Colorful Clupeiforms.  Wintertime...

Fish in the Bay – January 2025. Crappie Shaduary!

January 2025 was a very disappointing month for Longfin Smelt.  Longfin spawning season started well enough.  November and December numbers...

Fish in the Bay – Merry Fishmas, 2024!

Merry Fishmas everyone!  I fell horribly behind in my fish reporting, so I am combining Fishmas with the November blog. ...

Fish in the Bay – October 2024, Hot October – Invasions Continue.

October was a hot weekend.  Air temperature was beastly.  Water temperatures in October were close to 2 degrees C warmer...

September 2024 Part 2: Goby Faces, Halibut Eyes, Clupeiform Colors, etc.

September report continued … 1. Gobies & Sculpin. Something odd is happening in Goby World.  All numbers were down compared...

Fish in the Bay – September 2024. Upstream Invasions.

A belated September report … The overall raw fish count increased, but this was not good news.  Almost 50% of...

Fish in the Bay – Summer 2024. Clupeiform Color Special – Riddle of the Guanine Crystal.

This is a special report to consolidate recent observations and discoveries regarding light refracting-properties we see so often in Clupeiform...

Fish in the Bay – July 2024, Part 2. Anchovy Colors & Spawning Behavior.

This second part of the July report covers some additional random items. Spawning Anchovy sex ratio Water Color Update for...

Fish in the Bay – July 2024, El Nino Summer Doldrums.

I suppose we could call this the “slow summer” or maybe the “warm summer.”  Fish counts remain low compared to...

Fish in the Bay – June 2024, El Nino Watch.

El Nino officially ended in May, but effects on fishes linger.    Overall fish totals remain low – with one...

Fish in the Bay – May 2024, El Nino?

Relatively few fish overall.  May totals were generally not the lowest ever, but these numbers were reminiscent of low fish...

Fish in the Bay – April 2024, Part 2, Every Fish has a Season.

This is part two of the April report.  Part one covered “Baby Fish Month” which mainly pertains to the April...

Fish in the Bay – April 2024, Traditional Baby Fish Month.

Once again, it is that time of year: Baby Fish Month!  Hundreds to thousands of tiny baby “unidentified” gobies traditionally...

Fish in the Bay – February 2024, Part2. Freshwater Flush, continued.

This is part two of the February blog.  The February flush and the resulting salinity drop scattered most of our...

Fish in the Bay – January 2024, Part 2 – A January food chain.

Part 2 of the January 2024 report: 1. Green water & some reddish fish in Artesian Slough. Clear green water...

Fish in the Bay – December 2023 – Merry Fishmas!

This is a pelagic fish holiday special. Longfin Smelt and Pacific Herring have arrived in preparation for mid-winter spawning.  Young...

Fish in the Bay – November 2023, Cool season.

Winter fishes arrive as weather cools.  This creates a complicated picture in November.  Many summertime fishes linger as Longfins, Herring,...

Fish in the Bay – August 2023, Starry, Starry Summer!

The big story for August is that another 464 baby Starries were caught.  When added to all the Starries caught...

Fish in the Bay – August 2023 Highlights: Shimos, Anchovies, & Blackbirds in the Bulrush marsh.

In August, the fish populations finally transitioned to a more typical summertime assemblage of Anchovies and Gobies.    However, a...

Fish in the Bay – July 2023, Record Starry Year

Record Starry Year!  As reported earlier, the year-to-date Starry count had already exceeded the previous record year as of June,...

Fish in the Bay – June 2023, Is Summer here yet?

More baby fishes showed up in June!  This included 60 baby Longfin Smelt and 178 baby Starry Flounder which is...

Fish in the Bay – May 2023, Extra Baby Fish Month.

More baby fish showed up in May.  For want of a better term, this was an “Extra Baby Fish Month.”...

Fish in the Bay – March 2023, Freshwater Flushing & Spawning Fishes!

Atmospheric rivers and rainwater flushing continued through March.  This extended rainy season is a very welcome change after at least...

Fish in the Bay – February 2023, Freshwater Flushing Continues.

Cold rain continued to fall as Atmospheric Rivers blew in from the ocean throughout January and February, and even through...

Fish in the Bay – January 2023, Part 2 – The Rest of the Fishes.

Part 2 of the January report covers all the other interesting fishes and bugs.  Seven atmospheric river storms that swept...

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