It’s hard to believe that February is almost over. Along comes March and hunting for halibut. In the meantime there is still plenty of fishing action to be had on the Monterey Bay.

Boaters are reporting full limits of big, firm Dungeness crab on overnight soaks. Even the party boats are getting 10-crab limits for all their customers, every day. When the crabbing is done for the day, both Randy’s Sportfishing and Chris’ Fishing Trips are loading up the burlap bags with sand dabs. These small sole usually range from 10-12-inches, but we’re seeing some big ones this week, up to 15 inches. Big enough to fillet!

The Santa Cruz Harbor is gaining the upper hand on our channel entrance dredging project. The latest soundings show a decent central channel opening up. We have seen an increasing number of boats entering and exiting the harbor mouth this week, including some of the bigger boats like Stagnaro’s Velocity. Winter storms deposited an unceasing pile of sand in the harbor which boater and harbor officials alike.

Those same storms have also created great perch-fishing structure on beaches around the bay. Just in time for the annual Sand Crab Classic perch Derby, scheduled for march 12. The entry list is now closed for the derby, but anticipation is building as surfcasters roam the sand in search of deep water and big perch.

The English poet Geoffrey Chaucer famously quoted “Time and tide wait for no man.” Old Geoff may have ben a perch fisherman himself, for these are key elements in the perch hunt. Perch seem to bite best at the twilight of sunrise and sunset, and common wisdom suggests high tide as the most productive to fish. Deeper water equals more feeding fish.

Conversely, many anglers do just fine fishing mid-day and on low tides as well. It is sometimes easier to locate holes, troughs and rip currents when the tide is low. We noticed local fisherman Don Jarman standing on a sandbar in mid-town Santa Cruz next to a deep tumultuous rip. He was about 50 yards off the beach and actually casting back towards the shoreline, hooking fish after fish of multiple perch species. Jarman released all the perch he caught that afternoon, because he had already caught his dinner earlier that morning from a nearby beach - a 14-inch barred surf perch and a fat 14.5-inch pile perch.

While feisty perch can be found from the “town” beaches in Santa Cruz as well as the City of Monterey, it’s more than worth it to investigate the long broad swaths of sand that ring the central bay. Rio Del Mar, Manresa, Salinas River State Beach, Zmudowski State Beach, Marina and Seaside beaches are all capable of holding a champion-sized surf perch for Derby goers this year.