Pursuing the art and sport of fishing is often like solving a riddle. There are so many variables beyond those of time and attention spent on the water. Every year is different, and we are just getting some of this year’s puzzle pieces now.

Typically, anglers in Monterey Bay enjoy limit-style salmon fishing when the season opens in April, and it tapers off as summer progresses. This year salmon fishing has been hit and miss since the opener, and sadly remains so. Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine in Santa Cruz was happy to report some success for salmon anglers who worked their gear deep this week. “There were some scores of one to two fish a boat in 180-220 for the few anglers that tried the shallow water before the Soquel Hole,” Fraser reported.

The best “local” salmon action is to the north near the Golden Gate and Stinson Beach areas. Tom Joseph, owner of Fish On Sportfishing and skipper of the Sara Bella has been launching his four-pack charter from Half Moon Bay to target these salmon schools. “We’re doing real good working the area near Stinson. These fish have hung out for three or four weeks now,” Joseph said.

Halibut usually starts out in April as well, and remains productive through September. This year the halibut have just now begun to show up, and local anglers are grateful. We are seeing an increasing number of halibut reported caught on the flat sandy areas from 40 to 60 feet of water. One lucky fisherman pulled in a legal flatty on the Capitola Wharf this week, which is a pretty good indicator these fish are finally coming in shallow. Whole squid or frozen anchovies work well for the big flatfish, and getting a halibut to hit on a swimbait is always a blast. Live bait is always a sure thing for halibut and the bay is choked with mackerel, easy to jig up with a sabiki rig.

Carol Jones from Kahuna Sportfishing in Moss Landing predicts that halibut will come “flooding into the bay” over the next few weeks, and has scheduled a halibut charter for this coming Monday. “We are starting to see some squid in the bay now. The seiners have been catching squid all week,” Jones said. Halibut love to eat squid. Another piece of the puzzle clicks into place.

Kahuna Sportfishing and the big Monterey charter boats at Randy’s and Chris’ Fishing Trips have posted nothing but limits for their rock cod trips during the past week. Working the Point Pinos to Carmel stretch has been productive. Even better, the Kahuna and some of the other boats will travel to the Point Sur area for quick and easy limits of larger grade cod.

Meanwhile, another curious factor, which draws no complaint from local anglers, is the sustained striped bass bite from the mid-bay beaches. Working the surfline at dawn and dusk, preferably on a higher tide, can result in a once in a lifetime striper hookup. You may have to go ten times or more before getting that fish, but most surfcasters would agree it is well worth it. Joseph Baxter solved the riddle recently while casting a Mike Fixter “Pencil Popper” plug on an incoming tide near La Selva Beach. Baxter hauled in a 27-pound striper from a surfline feeding frenzy. Baxter said “You could see ‘em just outside the surf busting the bait,” Well done Joe!