After another long winter, this one wet and windy, we have finally burst through to springtime. And, that means seasons are open and we can do some real fishing!

Last Saturday April 1st marked the simultaneous opening of both salmon and rockfish/lingcod seasons. Hopes were high but conditions less than ideal as boats headed out on the Monterey Bay in search of king salmon and cod. Wind waves from the east and a large swell coming from the northwest made for bumpy conditions.

General consensus is that opening day was rather slow for both salmon and cod at the usual springtime locations. Salmon anglers averaged zero to three fish per boat on Saturday. Sunday’s fishing was much the same. A few boats claimed limits as anglers zeroed in on the more productive areas. The salmon seem to be scattered across the bay, with catches reported near Marina, Moss, the Pajaro area and near the Soquel Hole.

Jim Russell from Watsonville joined friends on the vessel PortoBello launching from Monterey for the opener. They scored three fish up to 34 inches and enjoyed fresh caught wild king salmon for dinner on Saturday. They found success working the Soldier’s Club area using blue-dyed anchovies, trolling 100 feet down in 200 feet of water.

As the week progressed fishing got much better. Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday reports indicated fairly good salmon fishing, especially for those who made it out to the grounds early for first light. While the Soquel Hole produced a few reported catches, and at least one boater caught fish of the cost north of Santa Cruz, the best action was centered on the Pajaro Hole area and the shallower flats between Pajaro and Soquel Holes.

The salmon bite started picking up on Tuesday and got better as the week progressed. Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine gave us the salmon intel from Wednesday’s fishing, saying, “The salmon fishing was good again today in Santa Cruz and Moss Landing. There were early limits caught at the Slide in 160-220 feet of water.” On Thursday Fraser got more good news, reporting ”There were a few limits caught in the shallow water in front of Pajaro and Manresa in 130-160 feet of water. The majority of the bites were early in the morning and up high in the water column.”

Working the deeper water of the Pajaro area on Wednesday, Captain Mike Baxter, Doug Banks and myself on the Skookum found a good track holding fish and secured limits by 11:30. The salmon were all of a size, 10-14 pounds, and a couple were very hard fighters. The red flasher with anchovy rig got the most hits, followed by the Purple Haze Hoochie behind a flasher. Water ranged from 220 to 235 feet deep, and the fish were caught from 75 to 125 down on the wire.