We may be turning the corner into a fall weather pattern. Last week started out with strong winds blowing by noon, and ended with milder daytime conditions including evening fog and calm waters. Fall fishing can sometimes be the best with plenty of rockfish, hungry lingcod, white seabass, and often some exotics like bonito and albacore or bluefin tuna.

OK. So far we are right on target with the lingcod and seabass, and big halibut from the North Coast beaches. Bonito are on the bite about three miles off Moss Landing, and over the other canyon arms such as the Soquel Hole. Albacore are being caught from ports as far south as Eureka, but it’s a long-shot bet that we will see any off our local coastline. Bluefin tuna are still a possibility within the next eight weeks or so. We have plenty of time and plenty of fishing available before winter arrives.

Monterey anglers are seeing a welcome uptick in halibut landings. Austin Sprague from Santa Cruz has been kayak fishing the area off the Coast Guard Pier and towards the red buoy with great results. Sprague says,” I have had a ton of luck there recently. Two weeks in a row I've got 33 to 41-inch flatties (3 in total) as well as 32" and 36" lings. Bring a sabiki for sardines and pick up as many as you can before you start fishing. When I say get as many as you can I truly mean that. They were hard to come by. But as soon as they hit bottom, fish on... NO joke.”

The beaches off the North Coast are a good bet right now, according to Todd Fraser from Bayside Marine. Fraser reports, “The fishing was good today for Halibut, Rock fish, and Lingcod. The anglers fished from Davenport to Natural Bridges for halibut and lingcod. There were a few nice halibut caught near Capitola in 70 feet of water. The bait fish are in and the fishing is getting better.”

Near shore fishing in Santa Cruz remains productive. Last Saturday’s twilight trip on Stagnaro Sportfishing’s flagship Velocity is a case in point. Despite strong winds and bumpy conditions, skipper Mike Baxter kept the big boat hovering over productive reefs. They returned from the short trip with limits for all on the boat, mostly yellows and blues with a few china cod in the mix.

Thursday’s report from Go Fish Santa Cruz echoed this achievement. Beth Thomas relayed her client’s report from their day on the beautiful Miss Beth, saying “He reported they had crew limits of quality rockfish by 10:30 in the morning. After catching limits they cruised the bay in what he referred to as a perfect day in the water here in Santa Cruz. There were whales spouting and dolphins playing. He reported it was a GREAT day.