Weather and sea conditions were kind of pleasant this week. Windy afternoons had whitecaps showing, but most mornings and a few evenings were calm for anglers on Monterey Bay.

Chris’ Fishing Trips operating from Monterey continues to post good scores for their “Crab ‘N Dab” combo trips. Thursday the Checkmate recorded 49 crab for seven anglers aboard, while Wednesday’s trip yielded 85 Dungeness for 12 anglers. Both days, the sand dabs were so numerous they were not counted individually.

Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine had some good news on the halibut front. “There have been a few halibut caught up the coast near Four-Mile on whole squid,” Fraser reported. 2018 may turn out to be a very good halibut year. We have seen halibut caught by the “ones and twos” all winter in 60-80 feet of water. This is somewhat unusual as the big flatfish usually migrate to deep water for the wintertime. Halibut season is getting a quick start in San Francisco Bay near Oyster Point. That area is often a good indicator of how our Monterey Bay halibut season might shape up.

Jonah Li from Hi’s Tackle Box in South San Francisco reported a good number of small halibut being caught by anglers trolling herring in 10 to 20 feet of water on the flats nearby. Li explains, “The water temperature is 54-55 degrees now, and moving up.” He added that the halibut can be found “anywhere from Coyote Point to Candlestick Point,” at this time.

Locally a few halibut were reported caught from the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf in the past two weeks, and the slow steady reportage of halibut caught from deeper water persisted all winter. There is a lot of bait in the bay, including full-size anchovies. The plentiful bait bodes well for both halibut fishing and for the upcoming salmon season. Salmon season is expected to open April 7 this year, while rockfish season opens April 1.

Over 300 anglers will gather on Saturday for the 14th Annual Sand Crab Classic Perch Derby. Many look forward to this event for the prizes, trophies, BBQ and camaraderie. All efforts are to support the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project in their vital work of protecting and enhancing our native anadromous fish populations.

Waves will be building over the weekend. Wave action and increased near-shore currents can be good for perch fishing. Overcast skies are predicted, with a chance of rain or showers. Again, this is good perch fishing weather. Anglers will be fishing from San Francisco down to Big Sur, though yearly winners have come in from as close as the Capitola Wharf, and from Cowell’s Beach in Santa Cruz. The rocky shores of Carmel usually serve up some trophy-winning fish as well. We will publish the Sandcrab Classic results in next week’s column. For all participating- Good Luck!