Fishing remains consistently good for the usual variety of species in Monterey Bay. The big story however, is bluefin tuna just off the coast.

As mentioned in recent columns, abundant rockfish are still on the chew. The cod may be a little more difficult to locate, as they are moving towards deeper water at this time of year. There are plenty of 80-120 foot reefs from Capitola on up to Half Moon Bay and the same can be said for Point Pinos on down to Big Sur. Watch the weather and make the run, it will be well worth it. Chris’ Fishing trips in Monterey reported limits of rockfish and averaged around two lingcod for every client this week.

Stagnaro’s Sportfishing in Santa Cruz usually heads towards Long’s Marine Lab and works the reefs in that area. Skipper Ken Stagnaro is running short economical trips as well as full day excursions. “We are fishing mainly half day trips on our local reefs. The blue cod have been the main fish the last few weeks. They have really been on the bite. We are getting limits for everyone on almost all of our trips. A few lings and reds are being boated on most trips as well. We have several full day cod trips on Velocity scheduled coming up in October as well,” Stagnaro said.

Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine continues to field reports from the private boaters of halibut up to 30 pounds near Four-Mile Beach. Live mackerel is the usual bait, but squid is always a sure bet for the big flatfish. Swimbaits bounced of the sandy bottom also work well.

The Monterey Bay tuna bite is not unprecedented, but it’s been many years since bluefin have come so close to our coast, and in such numbers. They are not easy to catch. “I saw at least a thousand jumpers,” local angler Mike Baxter said of a recent trip, “but we only got one bait bitten and one ‘drive-by’ that didn’t bite.” Most anglers agree these fish are very finicky and “boat shy.” Though bluefin catches have been reported recently on poppers, Rapalas, and X-Rap lures, the most successful technique so far has been trolling live mackerel at a slow speed, and putting the baits way back behind the boat.

The fish have been caught from eight to 12 miles out, where the water gets a degree or two warmer. The Fingers area near Davenport was the spot last week, but the tuna seem to have moved a bit south since then. The area outside Carmel Bay near the Pinnacles State Marine Reserve has also produced a few fish this week. While Pacific Bluefin can weigh in the hundreds of pounds, the schools feeding here are smaller fish, averaging from 30-65 pounds. Still way bigger than what we are used to in Monterey Bay. They are notoriously hard-fighting fish, so be sure to bring the correct big-game tackle and gear if you make a try for one of these rare and delectable denizens.