You just guilted over impose. Lol

Working 11+ hour days for almost four months, along with a busted chicken wing, has kept me pretty far out of the fishing loop lately. Unfortunately, by the time this finally crossed my radar, it already feels like the damage has been done.

I'm pissed for a lot of reasons... at DFW, at the process, and honestly just at the situation in general. But one of the biggest frustrations is that this seems to be the result of people abusing loopholes and pushing things too far, which created the mess the rest of us are now stuck dealing with.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Over the last 55 years of my life, I've watched plenty of things get taken away because of a few bad seeds. But this one hits below the belt on a lot of levels.

It really does look like the perfect storm was brewing before this happened: bad actors, increased attention on white sharks, public safety concerns, and now sweeping gear restrictions that impact people who were legally and responsibly targeting other species.

I'm still going to try to get a letter written up that we can send to our representatives and to DFW. I realize it may feel like a moot point after the fact, but maybe there's still a chance to push for some common sense adjustments, especially gear allowances that would let shore anglers continue casting baits for soupies, leopards, and sevengills without being lumped in with people illegally targeting whites.

At the very least, we need to make our voices heard (even after the fact) and make it clear that responsible surf anglers shouldn't be punished for the actions of the few.

That was my rant of the year, so my apologies.  I've been in a terrible mood lately with constant shoulder pain, no fishing, no boating (or boat), super long hours of stressful work, and about 6 other things that are probably worth leaving off this list.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted.

California's New Surf Shark Fishing Rule: Why It Happened, Who Pushed It, and Why Anglers Are Angry

California surf shark fishing changed dramatically in June 2026 when the California Fish and Game Commission voted to adopt an emergency regulation restricting gear used by recreational anglers fishing from shore or near shore. The new rule targets gear associated with shark fishing, specifically wire or metallic leaders and hooks larger than 1.5 inches in maximum inside measurement, in ocean waters south of Pigeon Point in San Mateo County, including Southern California and San Diego-area beaches, where juvenile white sharks are known to aggregate.

The purpose of the regulation is not framed as a general ban on shark fishing, but as a measure to protect white sharks, which are already protected from take under state and federal fishing regulations. California's own marine species information says fishing for white sharks is prohibited year-round, and the Fish and Game Commission staff summary states that white sharks are an important apex predator and already protected from recreational take.

The immediate trigger appears to be a series of recent incidents in which juvenile white sharks were hooked by pier and shore anglers using heavy shark-fishing gear, including wire leaders and large hooks. According to the Commission staff summary, those interactions can injure sharks and had resulted in the deaths of at least three white sharks in 2026. The same staff document also cites a prior 2014 incident in which a swimmer was bitten by a white shark that had been hooked by an angler on a pier.

Another major reason given by state officials is environmental timing. The Commission staff summary says a strong El Niño event was expected to warm coastal waters and increase the presence of juvenile white sharks in California's nearshore areas, making them more likely to be hooked and increasing the chance of dangerous interactions involving hooked sharks and ocean users.

So who caused it? The clean answer is: the California Department of Fish and Wildlife requested it, and the California Fish and Game Commission approved it. The Commission staff summary specifically says the Department requested that the Commission amend recreational ocean fishing regulations through the emergency rulemaking process in order to protect white sharks, deter illegal take, improve survival of incidentally hooked sharks, and reduce risk to ocean users.

But the broader political pressure came from shark-conservation advocates, especially Shark Stewards, which publicly supported emergency shark fishing regulations. Shark Stewards says it documented anglers illegally targeting more than 30 white sharks in Southern California, and it argued that new gear restrictions were needed to improve public safety and prevent illegal targeting of white sharks near beaches and piers.

Shark Stewards also said some fishing groups, including Fish On, supported the gear changes, although the organization wanted the Commission to go further by banning chum, live bait used to attract sharks, and drones used to carry bait offshore. The Commission did not adopt all of Shark Stewards' requested restrictions, according to Shark Stewards' own statement.

The controversy comes from how broad the rule is. Surf-fishing writers and anglers argue that the regulation does not only affect people illegally targeting white sharks; it also affects anglers legally targeting other shark species such as leopard sharks, soupfin sharks, sevengill sharks, threshers, and makos. Surf Fishing In So Cal described the regulation as a practical ban on traditional shark-fishing setups because wire leaders and larger hooks are common tools for safely landing and releasing larger sharks.

That is the heart of the angler backlash: many surf shark fishermen believe they are being punished for the behavior of a smaller number of bad actors who intentionally target protected white sharks. Critics argue that banning wire leader could actually cause more break-offs, leaving sharks swimming with hooks and line attached, while supporters argue that restricting heavy gear makes it harder to target or land white sharks near swimmers.

For anglers in San Diego, the practical impact is significant. Because the rule applies south of Pigeon Point and within nearshore waters, it includes the Southern California coastline where surf shark fishing is popular. The emergency regulation limits the kind of terminal tackle traditionally used for larger sharks from the beach or pier, even if the intended target is a legal species rather than a white shark.

In short, the new rule happened because state officials saw a combination of illegal white shark targeting, accidental hookings, white shark deaths, warmer-water conditions, and public-safety concerns as an immediate problem. The main official actors were CDFW and the California Fish and Game Commission; the main outside advocacy pressure appears to have come from Shark Stewards and allied supporters; and the people most affected are shore, pier, and surf anglers who target legal shark species with heavier gear.

Someone needs to outfish me first in order to admit it.  You and Koga are similar. You both refused cheater sauce until you were down by 50 fish... Lol

Nice slaying Jeremy! Nice variety too!

My shoulder is getting another PRP shot along with another MRI in a few weeks. The surgeon said he's sure I need surgery but I won't get it in a super El nino year! I might be relagated to soaking bait the next 3 weeks.

I had coffee with Homa before work yesterday and he said we'll wait for Sasquatch... Or just have a bunch of BBQ. Lol

I tried his "pumpkin dish" he made, but want my cup o squash.

I'm not s miracle worker ...

Lol

What would you guys like to see for the SNBF-XX this upcoming March?

Hats? Shirts? Posters? Pins?

I was thinking about doing a pre-order bag of goodies, but I want to hear what ideas you would like to see for the epic "Year 20" of the Bat Fight.

Well, I knew something would go awry... already got a text just now saying "I can't make it today".

This literally is mind boggling. 

Yep, I should know the drill right now...  I dropped it off in the morning and he said he would start at 2:00 when he finishes working on another job.  Unfortunately, he wouldn't let me park it in the "razor wired" yard but put me on the street at the end of crack alley where some homeless people were tented out. 

I was not liking this but decided it would probably be good overnight, but I wasn't going to risk anything longer.  He said it should take about 4 hours and overnight to dry and some sanding.  I get home from work and text him how the progress went and if my boat is safe there.  The reply was "I'm not sure how safe your boat is there and I decided I would work on it on Saturday instead"....  Well, after spending an hour in traffic to go only 16 miles home from work... I jumped in my truck during the 5:30pm traffic and drove back down to Morena Blvd to get my boat.  There is no way I'm leaving it there for a weekend on crack alley!

I get home almost 2 hours later and I'm fuming.  Pretty much the entire neighborhood knows that I'm about to explode when my older clueless neighbor walks over and says "How's the boat?  I'm so glad it's fixed....".  She just heard me yell numerous curses out loud and picked the wrong time to walk over.  To make it short, I now have a neighbor mad at me but I guess that's fine.  I wish more people knew how to read the room which would have avoided that mess.  If you see a growling and barking dog, would you go over to pet it?  Seems like an easy answer to me but I guess it isn't to everyone.

Well, I was back on the horn with some other people to fix it and found someone that was willing to do it.  I'm using a friend of a friend, but at least he's been a commercial boat owner for 50 years, so I feel comfortable with him.  Let's see if he comes through or if I have to go to number 7...  I am literally disheartened by all of this and just hope it gets fixed soon.  Work has been more stressful than any job I've had (11 hour days and being micro-managed) with no outlet has been taxing to say the least.

Sorry about the rant, but I needed to get it off my chest before I explode.

Fingers and toes are crossed this time....

I just hung out with him this morning (prior to having to go into work) and he is so excited to do a fishing, whiskey, and Kabob session.  If you are interested, let me know.  It'll most likely be at Santee Lakes for cats, but Homa will literally be manning the grill the entire time yelling at people to eat the kabobs while they are hot!  He doesn't mess around!

I found another guy, so we'll see....

Retired life must be exhausting! lol (I'm so jealous!)

Have a great trip Tim!  I'll be looking forward to seeing the incredible food, scenery and fish pics!  I really need to get up there... I can't believe I never have in the last 30+ years.

You basically showed up late because of socks, got smacked on the second cast, broke the curse, set a PB, and out‑fished Omar like he owed you money. Congrats on both of your PB's! lol

I'm glad the bay finally decided to stop hazing you and let you enjoy a good morning of catching.  I was starting to get suspicious after your last handful of bay reports.  hahaha

I've been not so much stoked to just cast for bass from the shore since my shoulder is getting worse, but I need to get my fix in.

Heading down to the flooding tide and opted to fish the rocks to see if I can find some vina cruising in with it.

Tide was low and the bites were not very aggressive.  I swung and missed on 3, farmed 2, but caught 2 little peepee bass.



I then get a bite which I totally knew was different and voila!  a tiny 12" corvina on the swimmy!  I tried to flip it up the rocks, but that went as well as you could have imagined and back in the drink it went.

It was a few hours of very few fish when I decided to change out my swimmy to a different color.  I already tried creature baits but needed to go with the old stand bye.  I reached into my backpack and ..... no tackle box!  WTF!!!!!

I had like 5 LC's, along with a STUFFED smaller box of goodies in it which would have cost well over $200 to replace.  I walked the entire strip twice when I caught the reflection of the plastic cover... WHEW!



I went back to where I stopped and all of a sudden, the bite turned on as we neared the high tide!  I swung and missed on a few but ended up with 9 of these smedium sized buggers!





Ran across a "Code Brown"...



But finishing strong after that slow start definitely lifted my spirits.





Then something really cool happened.  I saw some mullet jumping and was scanning the shoreline and saw what I thought was a school of 12-14 inch sized mullet.  I cast in front thinking I may snag one (to freeze for bait) and all of a sudden it charged the Swimmy and ate it!  WTF!?!?!

I got it in for a quick picture and saw all of the fish all hyped up and swimming all if front of me.



Next cast I'm on again, but sportmen's release at the shoreline.

Next cast and I get a really small one only about 13".

Next cast and I watch another one grab the swimmy, but it shakes the hook.

All in all, I caught 2 and farmed 3 before they spooked out of there.  Granted, they were small and not much of a fight, but the fire drill of it all kind of gave me a rush.

Well, that was it.  I think I caught my 9th bass just after and started to head back to the truck with a busted shoulder.  I gave Dave a call to fill him in but he was getting ready for the Padre's game to start on TV.

Either way, I'm glad I got out and ESPECIALLY GLAD I didn't lose my tackle box!

Thanks for reading and until next tide!