We have yet another powerful south swell rolling up along the entire California Coast right now, but there has been little effect on ocean fishing locally. Halibut have moved out to the 60-80 foot depths, and surfcasting is a bit more challenging with strong waves and swift currents.

Great fishing for rock cod both nearshore and from the deep reefs continues unabated all around the Bay. J&M Sportfishing from Monterey continues to post full limits of rockfish with an occasional lingcod for all their boats. The Kahuna, New Horizon and Chubasco reported tallies up to 240 rockfish per trip this week. The big charter boat in Santa Cruz, Stagnaro Sportfishing’s Velocity, is enjoying similar bounty from the reefs outside and north of town. Six-pack boats from Santa Cruz continue to report full limits as well.

Tom Joseph from Fish On Sportfishing contacted us saying, “Salmon season re-opens in the San Francisco Management Area this coming Saturday August 1. We have room. I’ll be fishing out of Half Moon Bay Harbor and Santa Cruz. Give me a call or text me 408-348-4866. Albacore we will be moving up to Fort Bragg when the weather settles back down if there is enough interest. I will be running albacore and bluefin tuna trips out of Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay when they show up. I’m keeping the tuna gear on the boat during the rest of the salmon season just in case.” Joseph is a long time dedicated captain in our area, well respected for his salmon and tuna fishing skills. His boat, Sara Bella is a very fast Steiger craft, perfect for four anglers max.

Ralph Reyes, co-owner of Mekini Baitz along with his wife Karla, forwarded some outstanding reports from the North Coast Santa Cruz beaches on up to Half Moon Bay and Pacifica. Mekeni Baitz makes grubs and softail lures tailored to our area’s perch and striper surfcasting. The striper bite up there is hot, and the fish are big. Reyes got to the beach last week a little behind Karla. she had already landed one of her personal best stripers before their arrival. Reyes lamented, “The Perch Queen does what she does. We were late to the party. You snooze, you lose. As a brand we test and test to make sure you guys get our very best quality. Once again we have to thank the local retailers for their support, including Coyote Bait and Tackle, Bayside Marine, Capitola Boat and Bait and Santa Cruz Boat Rentals on the Municipal Wharf.

The Monterey Bay Salmon & Trout Project will be holding its 50th anniversary dinner on Saturday August 1 at Crosetti Hall at the Watsonville Fairgrounds. The Project was founded in 1976 with a mission to recover the native salmon and steelhead  populations in the Monterey Bay region.  In addition to a gourmet banquet-style dinner there will be door prizes and auctioning of guided fishing trips, anglers gear, restaurant/winery gift cards, and much more. Don't miss this great event celebrating the past and future of this great resource conservation organization. For more information and tickets visit: mbstp.org.