There are times you've gotta do what you've gotta do to catch fish, and this is one of those seasons. We always prefer to fish as shallow as possible onboard the Queen of Hearts. It allows us to use real light tackle and have a lot of fun catching fish. This year has been a tough year for catching salmon, and the rockfish are not making it real easy on us so far either, causing us to change our tactics a bit. Captain Bob has over 20 years experience taking folks fishing out of Half Moon Bay and no one knows the area off the San Mateo coast better than him whether we fish the shallows or the deeper water. The fish in the shallows have been real reluctant, but we have been finding excellent quality and pretty much limits of fish to be had in the 150 to 170 foot range with some bomber vermillions, coppers and brownies (bolinas) filling the sacks. So, until the shallows start cranking out fish on a more consistant basis, if you have your own gear be sure to bring out gear that you can have fun using in the shallows and also bring out the heavier stuff to hit the big fish in the deeper end of the spectrum. What size gear? Two to four ounces of weight with 10 to 12 pound test line for the shallows, and 8 to 12 ounces with 20 to 25 pound test for the deeper stuff. We ended up sticking it out in the deeper water all day today, capitalizing on the quality bottomfish and ending the day with 31 limits, the biggest vermillion tipping the scale at nine pounds beating out the one lingcod caught. We have plenty of room available on tomorrow's trip, so, if you'd like to join us, come on down and check in at our shop, Half Moon Bay Sportfishing...look for the BIG yellow "TICKET OFFICE" sign...we'll have the doors open at 5:00; check in no later than 6:15.