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sportsmanlio
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For Spring Break, I went down to Sacramento and San Francisco for a few days with one of my best friends. We caught a Warriors game, hit up the casino, and just toured the city on foot eating tons of great food. The highlight of the trip; however, was fishing the San Pablo Bay!
Captain Don Franklin of Soleman Sportfishing guided me on one of my best trips ever. I've now taken eight charter trips all over Oregon and California, and this was definitely the best one yet!
Though the website says you need five people for a trip, he took out just the two of us. His stepson was his deckhand, and this was his first day. The kid was about 16, and he clearly loved doing it, though we were telling him how to do half of what needed to be done. It was really a change of pace to see a father/son-type operation like this, and we absolutely loved the experience.
I ended up catching 5 species (Brown Smoothhound Shark, Spiny Dogfish, Leopard Shark, Bat Ray, Striped Bass). I landed two Bat Rays over 50 pounds (my heaviest fish to date), two small Brown Smoothhound Sharks, a small Spiny Dogfish, a Leopard Shark that was 1" short of being a keeper (35" and about 6 pounds), and a huge striper.
My striper went 33.5" and weighed 12 lbs 10 oz--my largest game fish to date! The captain said it was actually the largest one he'd boated this year. When he netted it, he started hooting and hollering, jumping up and down, and it really added to the experience.
The weather was nice, the views were gorgeous, and he was an exceptional captain. Every other charter combined (dozens of people) caught less fish than my buddy and I did that day, and it was because he knew exactly what he was doing.
I highly recommend Don Franklin of Soleman Sportfishing if you're ever wanting to fish the San Francisco or San Pablo Bay!
Captain Don Franklin of Soleman Sportfishing guided me on one of my best trips ever. I've now taken eight charter trips all over Oregon and California, and this was definitely the best one yet!
Though the website says you need five people for a trip, he took out just the two of us. His stepson was his deckhand, and this was his first day. The kid was about 16, and he clearly loved doing it, though we were telling him how to do half of what needed to be done. It was really a change of pace to see a father/son-type operation like this, and we absolutely loved the experience.
I ended up catching 5 species (Brown Smoothhound Shark, Spiny Dogfish, Leopard Shark, Bat Ray, Striped Bass). I landed two Bat Rays over 50 pounds (my heaviest fish to date), two small Brown Smoothhound Sharks, a small Spiny Dogfish, a Leopard Shark that was 1" short of being a keeper (35" and about 6 pounds), and a huge striper.
My striper went 33.5" and weighed 12 lbs 10 oz--my largest game fish to date! The captain said it was actually the largest one he'd boated this year. When he netted it, he started hooting and hollering, jumping up and down, and it really added to the experience.
The weather was nice, the views were gorgeous, and he was an exceptional captain. Every other charter combined (dozens of people) caught less fish than my buddy and I did that day, and it was because he knew exactly what he was doing.
I highly recommend Don Franklin of Soleman Sportfishing if you're ever wanting to fish the San Francisco or San Pablo Bay!
