Whale watching and crabbing also will continue, weather permitting, from Fort Bragg. Incidentally, Don and Theresa Akin, owners of the party boat Rumblefish and North Coast Fishing Adventures, opened Noyo Fishing Center at the bottom of the hill in the harbor. The shop books fishing and whale-watching trips and sells ocean tackle. Two inches of rain through Sunday ruined fishing. Check with Shafer and others in Fort Bragg, because a special permit is needed to fish the Ten-Mile, Noyo and Big rivers.
Whale watching and crabbing also continue out of Bodega Bay during the rockfish closure.
The rains have improved the chances for the March Madness Sturgeon Derbies on San Francisco-San Pablo bays. Other weekend derbies could follow. Loch Lomond Bait in San Rafael is headquarters for the derbies. Register by 8 a.m. on Saturdays at Loch Lomond to fish toward the target length of sturgeon. A different target length will be announced at 7 a.m. each Saturday and apply to that Saturday's and Sunday's fishing and payoffs.