Women Defeat Men In Another Resounding Victory On California Dawn Couples Challenge   By: Dan Bacher June 21, 2007 More Articles by Dan

The women overwhelmingly defeated the men again in the second annual Fish Sniffer “Couples Challenge” aboard the California Dawn on May 24. Although a man caught the largest halibut, a 5 lb. 14 oz. fish, the women topped the biggest striped bass, most striped bass and most halibut divisions.

Wally Carpenter took big fish honors in the men’s division with his 5 lb. 14 oz. halibut caught in the Berkeley Flats.

Sheila Smith of Sacramento, while fishing with George Covert of Sacramento, landed the largest halibut in the women’s division, a 4 lb. 12 oz. halibut. She also caught the most legal sized halibut of anybody on the boat, two fish.

Nate Kelsch captured the largest (and only) striped bass caught by the men, as well as a 20 lb. leopard shark that gave him the jackpot.

Danielle Kelsch took the largest striped bass, a 4 lb. 3 oz. fish, in the women’s division. Not only was this her first-ever striper, but the first fish she had ever caught.

Sheila Smith of Sacramento, while fishing with George Covert of Sacramento, landed the largest halibut in the women’s division, a 4 lb. 12 oz. halibut. She also caught the most legal sized halibut of anybody on the boat, two fish.

Mary de Costa caught the most legal-sized stripers of any body on the boat, landing her limit of schoolie bass and releasing an undersized striper.

Although the trip didn’t produce the larger stripers and halibut that came aboard the California Dawn last year, everybody caught plenty of fish, even if most of them were shaker halibut. Captain James Smith estimated that we released well over 100 shaker halibut. This bodes well for the future fishery, although we had to measure many fish that day.

We began the day fishing just outside the Berkeley Marina in very shallow water (7feet) during the outgoing tide. “When we’re fishing the shallow water, you want to let out a lot of line with two to four ounces of weight,” coached Smith.

It was here that Nate Kelsch landed the first halibut of the day, followed by a shaker halibut caught by myself. Sheila Smith landed the second halibut of the day. Then anglers began to catch shaker after shaker.

I ended up releasing three more shakers until James shouted at me to grab the rod of second captain Mike Gaddis as the tip went down. I managed to battle the fish, the largest halibut of the day, quickly up to the surface. It weighed 17 pounds, 10 ounces, but wasn’t eligible for the competition.

Smith decided to make a move over to the Alameda Rockwall and we continued to catch more shaker halibut, with an occasional keeper halibut and striped bass thrown in. We fished there from the end of the outgoing through the beginning of the incoming tide in 18 to 23 feet of water.

Sheila Smith bagged her second halibut of the day here, while Danny Kelsch landed a 23 inch halibut. Wally Carpenter and Klemen Ulaga also bagged keeper halibut.

Besides the sheer number of shaker halibut that we landed, the most impressive thing about the trip was the excellent food that Tawny Houston, the resident chef on the boat, provided. When we boarded the boat in the morning, she set out a delicious spread of sausage, bacon, cheese eggs, confetti 0potatoes and French toast, along with mimosas.

As if that wasn’t enough, at around 10:30 she brought out appetizers, including caviar on crackers, fresh shrimp and popcorn chicken. I was stuffed with the morning’s fare and never ate lunch, but she provided chicken sandwiches, hamburgers and other items to order for lunch.

The total count for the day was 8 legal sized halibut and 6 stripers for the 22 anglers.

Of course, the fishing turned on the following day when California Dawn crew James Smith and Mike Gaddis changed locations, fishing for halibut on the central bay at Treasure Island and the north bay for stripers.

“The 31 anglers landed 14 halibut to 17 pounds and 62 bass to 15 pounds,” said Smith after getting back in the harbor on Friday. “We landed only 7 shaker halibut all day.”

The men and women who caught the biggest halibut each won a Fish Sniffer subscription, a 8’ 6” Shakespeare Agility ACA 6086 2H rod, an Eagle Claw saltwater hook pack, a Pro-Troll in line E-chip, a bottle of Nitro saltwater gravy and a spool of 20 lb. test P-Line. Everybody on the boat took home a Fish Sniffer hat.

Anglers who participated in the challenge include Danny Kelsch, Minnie Kelsch, Nate Bronner, Linsey Moore, T.G., Sharon Werbe, George Covert, Sheila Smith, Duane Makemson, Maria Makemson, Mike “Boss Hog,” Mary de Costa, Nate Kelsch, Danielle Kelsch, Tom Transue, Vicki Transue, Klemen Ulaga, Susan Ulaga, Walter Carpenter, Hope Carpenter, Liz Steele and Hope Steele.

Captain Smith reflected on the trip. “Every year when I give seminars at the sports shows I talk about how the women almost always out fish the guys when live bait fishing for halibut and stripers. This year’s Couple’s Challenge was no exception. The problem is that the guys pull back on the halibut too soon when they bite, while the women are more patient and let the fish eat the bait.”

For more information about live bait fishing aboard the California Dawn, call 510-417-5557 or 510-773-5511. For information about other boats booking live bait trips on San Francisco Bay and outside of the Golden Gate, review the San Francisco Bay section of this magazine.

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