Ocean fishing conditions this week allowed for great morning sessions, but most afternoons were very windy. Wednesday and Thursday the winds came up early, and boats that headed south were pounding their way back to harbor by 11 a.m.. Still, there are great returns to be had for those who venture out onto the big blue.

Chris’ Fishing Trips in Monterey continue to send their boats around the corner towards Carmel. Fishing with live squid, anglers on the Check Mate and the Caroline averaged two lingcod per person, with half-limits of rockfish to round out the bags. The Kahuna from Moss Landing headed even further south towards Point Sur on Sunday for big returns. Owner Carol Jones reported virtual limits of rockfish including 12 coppers and 22 vermilion along with 19 lings for the 16 anglers aboard the Kahuna.

Halibut are still in the mix from Capitola and on up the coast towards Davenport. Reports indicate the occasional flatty caught near the SC3 Buoy in Capitola, outside the Mile Buoy and near South Rock in Santa Cruz, as well as off the smaller pocket beaches near Wilder’s, Four-Mile Beach and Davenport Landing. As is typical for this time of year, the halibut are scattered and in deeper water, with 70-90 feet seeming to produce the best. Rockfish and lingcod remain very productive from all the deeper reefs from Capitola on up the coast. Of course, the further north you go the better the fishing gets. This is when weather and wind becomes the key element in fishing strategy for the day.

On calm days, heading up towards Ano Nuevo and Franklin Point produce the best results. Stagnaro’s Sporfishing took advantage of calm conditions on Saturday. Skipper Ken Stagnaro reports, “On Saturday Legacy fished the north coast. They fished the shallows out to about 100 feet deep. They used whole fresh sardines and dabs to land 43 Ling Cod up to 15 pounds. They also got five to six fish each of quality sized rockfish for 28 people.”

Go Fish Santa Cruz Charters made it up to that area on Tuesday for similar results. Beth Thomas was happy to report, “(Today) they went to Franklin Point. The water and weather was as nice as it gets. As was the fishing. They caught quality rockfish consisting of blues, blacks and vermillion. Captain Jimmy Rubin says the blues were huge. Big. Can’t remember if he’s ever seen them that big. The lingcod was at least 18 pounds. No reason to brag about the 30-35 pounder lost right at the boat. But they did. There were dolphins playing and whales spouting.”

On a final note, we keep hearing unsubstantiated reports of bluefin tuna in the Monterey Bay. A few boats have searched, but to no avail. It is still a possibility however, so don’t put those 50-pound rigs away for the winter just yet.