Fishing is getting more consistent on Monterey Bay for most of our varied species. With luck, the uptick this week will continue.

Inshore water temps are still unusually cool, remaining in the mid-50’s. That is very low for this time of year. Typically, the water warms in spring to the high 50’s and even low 60’s, which encourages rockfish to feed and also brings halibut closer to the beach. Despite the cold water we are seeing better fishing for both these species.

Anglers trolling hoochies or squid in 60-80 feet of water are starting to hook up halibut. We received reports of big flatties caught from Capitola, in front of the Santa Cruz Harbor and even off the pocket beaches along the north coast this week. Drifting live or dead bait for halibut in those 60-70 foot depths over a sandy bottom would also be a recipe for success in the coming weeks. We would also expect to see the flatties moving into to increasingly shallow water as the next few weeks progress. There is plenty of bait available all around the bay, mostly Spanish mackerel and sardines. Both work very well for catching halibut, rockfish or lingcod.

Salmon fishing has picked up considerably this week. Sunday was a good day for most anglers that fished near the Soquel Hole and Moss Landing canyons. A good bite also developed just off Natural Bridges in 200 feet of water. The salmon are feeding on krill, sardines and the occasional anchovy. Further reports indicate salmon were caught between Four-Mile Beach and Davenport by anglers trolling deep. The fish were mostly near the bottom this week. Hopefully this big scattered school will stick around and continue to provide salmon actin for the anglers of Monterey Bay.

Surfcasters are still having a field day with the striped bass bite. Beaches all around the bay are producing good-sized stripers as well as the smaller schoolie bass. Central bay beaches remain the most consistent for stripers, but they can pop up anywhere. This week’s reports included good numbers caught in Sand City a well as from the Capitola Wharf area. Many anglers are fishing for stripers at night. Best bet seems to be timing the bass fishing for an incoming high tide. Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine advises HairRaisers and KastMasters as the best lures for stripers, but topwater poppers, Krokodiles and the Daiwa SP Minnow are working to fool the big bass as well.