Weather conditions this week made for some long days of fine inshore fishing for anglers around Monterey Bay. Offshore, winds were fairly stiff, preventing the tuna hunters from making a good effort for bluefin. Inshore was quite pleasant, especially in the mornings. And, the fishing has been good. Rockfish remain on the bite at all the usual spots around the bay, and especially along the rocky shores below Monterey and above Santa Cruz. Bayside Marine's Todd Fraser reported on Wednesday saying, "The boats have been catching a few halibut and rockfish up the coast. The lingcod are biting swim baits, diamond bars and squid on the inshore grounds. The halibut are still being caught in front of the harbor near the Mile buoy. The few anglers who went looking for tuna near the Davenport Fingers caught some bonito." In Monterey, J & M Sportfishing reported full limits for every trip this week. Weekday trips on the New Horizon and  the venerable Kahuna brought home full limits of up to 130 rockfish, and a high score of 10 lingcod.


Capitola Boat & Bait alerts us that, "We will not be launching boats from October 3 through October 11. We will resume boat rentals on October 12. The wharf will be closed on October 11 for the Monty foundation fireworks.  The shop will be open for limited hours during that week."  Speaking of Capitola, nobody knows the fishing areas and seasonal patterns of the Capitola area as well as Ed Burrell. Now semi-retired after a lifetime career at Capitola Boat and Bait, renting out fishing skiffs and assisting locals and visitors alike in their pursuit of the ocean's bounty, Ed is now enjoying quite a few more relaxed fishing days for himself. Launching solo in a skiff on Tuesday, Burrell put his knowledge to good use with a mixed bag of results- a few rockfish, a couple barracuda and another 40-pound class white sea bass to tack onto his record. 

Our weather pattern should hold as mild through next week. We remain in a warm-water situation, with all our regular species on the bite plus an increase of more "exotic" fish such as thresher shark, barracuda, bonito and white sea bass currently feeding in our area. The pattern is due to break soon, so get out there with the kids and catch some fish while conditions remain pleasant