We were favored with decent weather and ocean conditions this week, making it easier to get out for rockfish and Dungeness crab on the Monterey Bay. The forecast weather gurus suggest these mild conditions will hold through next week, with only a possibility of intermittent light rain over the weekend.

Launching from the Monterey Harbor, Chris’ Fishing Trips sent out two boats on Wednesday. Anglers aboard the Check Mate caught ¾ limits of rockfish and 37 lingcod, while those who took the “combo” trip on the Caroline caught half-limits of cod, 23 lings plus 11 Dungeness crab as a bonus prize.

In Santa Cruz the story was much the same with steady fishing for inshore rockfish and plenty of lingcod on the bite. Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine reported, “Rockfish was a little slower due to the new swell. There were some nice fish at Natural Bridges. The crab fishing is getting better in 220 feet of water. Perch fishing has been good near Manresa.”

Ocean swells are still kicking up lots of old seaweed and seagrass, which hampers surfcasting efforts. Usually within a day or two, the weeds subside and the water cleans up. Perch fishing in general has been a little slower these past couple weeks, but we expect things to pick up as we move into the real “season” for perch, from January through April.

Steelhead hunters might do well to look northwards soon. The big rivers and coastal streams of Sonoma, Mendocino and Humboldt Counties will be coming into shape soon. Even closer, the American River can host some amazing steelhead action, especially with the increased water flows from Nimbus Dam releases. Famed fishing guide JD Richey commented on the January 1 steelhead season opener, ““Flows on the American went to 35,000 cfs (cubic feet per second) last week...and that should have brought some fish in!! Flows are dropping now and will be 6,000 cfs by New Year’s Day. The color is still off at the moment but we have a week for it to clear up. Could be a pretty cool opener!”

Don’t forget to renew your fishing license and send in any species report cards to the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Current licenses expire after December 31st. And, Jeff Goyert reminds us to add the Santa Cruz Flyfishers Annual Fund Raising Dinner to our calendars. Scheduled for January 21, this will be a “‪wild caught salmon dinner catered by Jozseph Schultz of "India Joze" fame, ” says Goyert.

He adds, “The fly fishing club, which was established in 1977, holds this yearly event to fund wildlife habitat conservation efforts, youth outdoor programs, and local school watershed education. The dinner is being held at the Peace United Church of Christ, 900 High Street in Santa Cruz. Tickets will be available at the door starting at 5 pm; $40 for adults, $25 for kids 12 and under.