Saltwater fishing remains steady in the Monterey Bay region, hampered only by some high winds and a big swell that hit the coast this week. Salmon, rockfish, lingcod, halibut and bonito were all on the menu for local anglers.

Getting out early in the mornings was a key to success for many this week, before the winds kicked up. We had a number of nights where the wind blew, leaving a good chop on the water for sunrise. Still, the fishing could be productive especially for the salmon anglers and those targeting deep reef rockfish offshore. The deeper waters are the place to find bonito as well. Reports indicate the bonito are biting like crazy in areas from 150-300 feet of depth, though they are caught on the surface or down less than 30 feet. Salmon anglers are finding fish much higher in the water column as well. Many of the salmon limits reported this week cam from boats trolling with their downriggers only 20 or 30 feet down. Mooching (drifting bait using lighter gear) might be a good alternative right now, especially if the salmon start grouping up closer to the surface. 

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife In-season Recreational Tracking charts only 3125 salmon caught in our area against the Harvest Guideline of 21,800 fish located through August 31. Looks like we’ll be salmon fishing for some time yet, which is good news indeed.

Rockfishing has been better from the deeper reefs. this may be because of the recent strong groundswells that have a tendency to roil nearshore waters. Same goes for halibut. Prior to last week many halibut were reported caught from the shallower waters of 30 to 40 feet. Surfcasters were beginning to pickup the occasional flatty from beaches as well, especially the protected coves and corners near Capitola. A good number of flatties were reported from local fishing piers also, both in Monterey at Fishermen’s Wharf #2 and also northern Monterey Bay at the Capitola and Santa Cruz Municipal Wharves. We’ll see those shallow water halibut back in a jiffy once this swell dies down, and the heavy wind action subsides.

Surfcasters within the Bay report a steady increase of striped bass taking a variety of lures and bait. The Bay’s river mouth areas have produced the most numerous reports, though and broad sandy beach with structure can can host feeding schools of stripers. Sunrise and sunset are good times to fish for the bass and nighttime has been the best as the stripers move in to feed in the darkness. Smaller stickbaits in the 110 to 115 sizes seem to be doing best with sardine pattern and white lures being most productive.