The stormy weekend kept boats tied to the dock, while surfcasters retreated from the pounding waves along Monterey Bay beaches. As the weather settled during this week, fishing resumed despite a lingering swell.

Rockfish and lingcod fishing seems to have been unaffected by the early season storm. Reports indicate the schooling yellows, black and blue rockfish are still very willing to bite along local reefs outside Monterey and from Capitola to Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz. Forays to more remote locations near Big Sur or towards the San Mateo County line are sure to provide quicker limits of bigger fish.

Ling cod counts in particular should be rising as their spawning season approaches and more lings arrive in the shallows. For a great fishing day, start out fishing for sand dabs from 120-240 feet of water. Save the big ‘dabs for lunch and keep the small ones alive for lingcod bait. They are like candy for big lings.

The recent storm with its big northwest swell began our yearly restructuring of Monterey Bay beaches. The sand deposited during summer is scoured from the beaches in winter. This process began a bit early this year with the recent storm. The news is exciting for surfcasters as new structure takes shape on the long sandy stretches of beach that ring the bay. Pounding waves, heavy currents and outflowing rips create deep spots and trenches along the beaches, perfect habitat for hungry surf perch and striped bass. The bite for both beach species has been consistent all summer and into fall, which bodes well for surf fishing this winter.

Big fish honors go this week to local anglers Jim Salvino and Glen Wilson. The pair took a two-day trip aboard the Top Gun 80 out of San Diego late last week. Ed Burrell from Capitola Boat and Bait caught them in a pose before they processed their yellowfin tuna using the Wharf’s cleaning table. Salvino’s fish weighed in at 39 pounds and Wilson’s tipped the scales at 37. Burrell also notes local fishing is steady, with the most notable local catch being a hefty halibut caught by Bob Dice using a live mackerel near the SC3 Buoy on Wednesday.

Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine reminds us that Dungeness crab season is expected to open as scheduled on November 5, 2016. Fraser is still holding out hope for a possible bluefin tuna bite in our area this year. On Wednesday he reported, “There is some green mixed warm water out about 15 miles. There are schools of bait out there and some fish (bluefin) were seen slashing through the bait today. We hope to get more boats looking for bluefin soon.”