Despite windy conditions and choppy seas, Monterey Bay anglers were able to find success with a number of different species this week. The salmon seekers are finding it particularly tough. There are still king salmon to be caught in the bay. Most boats are heading to the Soquel Hole area, though Pajaro Hole and Mulligan’s Hill areas also produced some fish. Most anglers are trolling with downriggers, right on the bottom or “in the mud.”

Charter operations have concentrated on rockfish for the most part this week. Fishing the rocky reef areas near Monterey and Pacific Grove or Capitola up to Ano Nuevo Island, most skippers report limits of fish when the weather allowed them to stay on the water. From Monterey, Chris’ Fishing Trips posted cookie-cutter reports all week. Limits, limits, limits, up to 170 fish for the Check Mate and its 17 anglers on Saturday. The Kahuna out of Moss Landing fielded similar reports, counting 180 rockies for 18 anglers on Saturday. Skipper Chris Victorino reported, “We’ve been fishing the usual spots out front near Monterey and brining home limits of fish. We’re looking forward to conditions improving so we can get back down to Big Sur. This week was just too windy.” Ken Stagnaro from Stagnaro’s Sportfishing in Santa Cruz gave his overview for the week saying, “Our seven-hour rockcod trips have been getting limits. For the North Coast trip on 6/20 we had 6 ling cod and 170 rockfish for 27 people. Twilight rockcod trips have been around 3/4 limits. Twilight 6/25 had 105 rockcod for 14 people. Half-day rockcod trips have been about 3/4 limits."

Ed Burrell at Capitola Boat and Bait says the halibut are still biting well in his area. The best spot is still out at 60 feet of water near the Mile Reef. Burrell notes an increase of finfish bait just offshore and added that pier anglers are getting some good catches lately. He said, “We saw our first Pacific mackerel off the pier on Tuesday. There was a nice little mackerel bite in the evening at the end of the pier. Also, two short halibut and one short white sea bass were hooked up in the shallow water near base of wharf. Anchovies schools are out in deeper water, and the big squid spawns have moved to the area north of Lighthouse Point."

Surfcasters are seeing more and more striped bass caught from New Brighton Beach down to Sand City, though most of the stripers caught in Monterey Bay are still of the smaller variety. One notable exception was 31- inch, 16-pound bass caught by Santa Cruz native Chrissann Furtado while fishing the Manresa area. No stranger to big fish from the beach, Furtado reported, “I was exhausted when I landed her!! She pulled drag the whole time!! The waves didn’t help much either. She was a fighter!! I try and fish as much as possible during striper season.” Furtado was using a white bucktail jig when the big striper bit. For more consistent large stripers, one might also take a quick trip north on Highway One to the cliffside beaches near Half Moon Bay. Rumor has it some there are some “large variety” stripers in that area right now.