A moment of silence, please, for the absence of Dungeness crab on our Thanksgiving tables this year. High levels of domoic acid caused by large algal blooms forced the closure of both Dungeness and rock crabbing in all California waters. This week, both Oregon and Washington announced a postponement of their December 1st start of Dungeness season in those states.

Recent tests from San Francisco and Half Moon Bay indicate the toxin is now clearing from crab in that area, so with luck we will be enjoying steamed Dungeness soon. Sport anglers are deeply disappointed with the crab closure, but the commercial crab anglers may be looking at financial disaster if the closure remains in effect much further into the season.

On a brighter note, there is still plenty of seafood and fishing action to be had from the Monterey Bay area as we head into December. Rockfish and lingcod are firmly on the menu. Charter operations in Monterey and Santa Cruz continue to report limits or near-limits of rockfish and increasingly good catches of lingcod for their clients.

Chris’ Fishing Trips from Monterey caught limits of cod on Sunday along with 20 lings for the 20 anglers aboard the Check Mate. On Monday, anglers averaged ¾ limits of cod, but caught a whopping 75 lings for the 25 anglers aboard. Ken Stagnaro from Stagnaro’s Sportfishing in Santa Cruz reported full limits for clients aboard the Velocity on Sunday. “We got limits of blue, yellow and brown rockfish for everyone. We also had two lings boated,” Stagnaro reports.

Todd Fraser from Bayside Marine has been tracking the private boaters that worked the North Coast over the weekend. Fraser says “There were good scores in 30-80 feet of water. The anglers at Davenport caught some nice rockfish and lingcod but the bigger fish were caught at Franklin Point.” Fraser also reported a big halibut from the Franklin Point area, and Ed Burrell at Capitola Boat and Bait weighed in a 24-pound flatty caught in 70 feet of water off Capitola.

With increasing north swell activity, area beaches are starting to show improving structure for perch fishing. Depending on the tide and the day, surfcasters can find limit-style fishing for these feisty little gamefish. Using a Carolina rig (sliding egg sinker) with six to eight-pound leader and a #4 to #8-pound bait hook, the beach anglers are finding success with motor oil grubs, and the GULP Camo Sandworms to fool the perch.

Using bait such as shrimp bits, mussels or clams can also work very well on the same setup. Sandcrabs are top of the list for perching however. Anglers can dig them up by hand, or better yet, use a sandcrab catcher in the receding surf. Next week’s column will take an in-depth look at surfperch tips and techniques, including a “How-To” instruction for building a foolproof sandcrab catcher, courtesy of Mr. Owen Reed, a local Santa Cruz beachfront denizen.