The incredible bluefin bite of 2021 continues as weather conditions cooperate and local anglers hone their skills chasing, hooking and landing true big game pelagic prey. On Friday afternoon, Todd Fraser from Bayside Maine posted “The anglers are still hooking bluefin in the wind as I type this at 2:40 pm. The anglers are getting tuna in the 60-150 pound range. The wind is blowing but the fish seem to be biting.” Huge schools of tuna are spread from Big Sur up to the Davenport area with hot spots off Point Sur and the Davenport finger Canyons.

Near Monterey the fish are getting incredibly close to shore. Chris Arcoleo at Chris’ Fishing Trips in Monterey related how deck hands on his rock cod boats are tossing or trolling jigs on their way home and hooking big tuna. They haven’t landed one. Yet. And this is only three miles from the shoreline! Otherwise, Arcoleo says “Everyone I know who is going out for bluefin is getting hookups. Lots of tuna being caught.” The bluefin retention rate is improving as anglers beef up their gear and employ better boat teamwork technique and get more practice in. Scott Werner from Santa Cruz has made multiple tuna trips over the past few weeks. He pulled in his biggest on Friday that weighed in at 124 pounds. Werner detailed his technique, saying, “We used a two- knot slow troll, live mackerel, put out at least 50 yards or more out and rubber banded an eight-ounce weight to the line to insure it doesn’t slide, then dropped it down 20-60 feet.” Other successful anglers have stressed the importance of trolling far back behind the boat, some as much as 200 yards. Most impressive was Anthony Martinez’ catch on Saturday. Launching from Monterey, Martinez managed to hook and land a monster bluefin in the 250-pound range. And, we have the pictures to prove it!

It seems the bluefin are spread in a broad swath from the Sur area up to Half Moon Bay at least. The next “hot-spot” up from Sur is the Finger Canyons off of Davenport. About ten miles offshore these skinny canyons point towards the shore and drop to depths of over 3000 feet. The canyon edges there have provided a steady catch of bluefin for the past few weeks. Slightly on the inside of the canyons a wide-open bonito bite has been reported as well.

It seems almost pedestrian in comparison to these exotic pelagics, but inshore fishing is going strong as well all along the Monterey Bay. Chris Arcoleo reports huge anchovy schools in the Monterey area, while Santa Cruz is hosting tons of mackerel and smelt, perfect for live bait fishing. Limits remain the rule for rock cod fishing, especially for those that travel north or south past the edges of Monterey Bay for bigger fish and quicker bags. Halibut are biting well near Capitola and the north Coast of Santa Cruz. Live bait works best, and the fish are a little deeper as they make their way out to wintertime environs. Try 60-90 feet of water for big fall flatties. White sea bass are on the menu as well, by Capitola and the Cement Ship. They are few and far between but diligence can create its own reward. Live bait, swimbaits or throwing jigs have all been successful for sea bass caught this week.

And finally, let us not forget the surfcasters amongst us. Casting for perch has been very good for the past couple months and remains so. Most fish caught and released are on the small side, but 20-30 fish days are not uncommon. And, there are some hogs in the mix as Mike O’Boy from Aptos discovered Saturday when he pulled in a 15.5-inch monster perch from Seabright Beach near the Santa Cruz Harbor.  O’Boy was on a guided trip with Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surfcasting Guide Service. The best bet is to find a clean beach without weeds and a few holes or rip currents. GULP! two-inch sandworms are the bait of choice and the sandcrab population is growing, for live baiters. No stripers are in the mix, which has been the story all season.