The big bluefin bite of 2021 has not gone bust yet, but things are slowing considerably. A number of bluefin jumpers were sighted off of Point Sur this week, with no reported catches. Windy conditions off the Big Sur coast prevented many boats from venturing offshore in that area. The Davenport finger canyons area is still providing some tuna action. Though the weather was fairly decent all week, fewer boats are making the long trip from Monterey Bay harbors to search for the big bluefin. Tuna fatigue may be settling in, or the schools may be scattering at this point. On Saturday, Todd Fraser from Bayside Marine reported, “There were two possible blue fin hooked and lost today. On angler was at 36'45/122'24 and the other was at 36'38/122'08. The anglers had the fish get into the down rigger and the other had it chew him off. That was all I heard on the blue fin grounds. The water has moved out of the Davenport Fingers to the 25 line and beyond. There is warm water near Monterey off shore near the Dog Bone. The wind came up in the afternoon so most anglers did not go far below Monterey.” On Sunday Fraser added, “There are anglers finding some bluefin jumpers out near Davenport and Monterey. There was one confirmed catch of an 80 pound bluefin around the 36'38/122'08 area.”

Fishing for rock cod, halibut and even white sea bass remains very productive in the bay. The shallow reef areas out to 60 feet of water are producing nice bags of schoolie rockfish and an increasing number of ling cod. Most charter boats head for the deeper reefs for more quality fish. Go Fish Santa Cruz has traveled up to Franklin Point all week to take advantage of the numerous big rockfish in that area. Beth Norton remarked on the latest trip to Franklin saying, “The bite was hot. They caught big vermilion, nice canaries, and yellow tail.” In Monterey, Chris’ Fishing Trips remains consistent, reporting limits of rockfish for all clients on all boats, for all trips. The Check Mate and Caroline tallied up to 220 rockfish and up to 18 lings on their trips this week.

Next to king salmon, the Dungeness crab fishery is the most exciting and eagerly anticipated opener every year for Monterey Bay anglers and visitors to our beautiful Bay. This year the season did not open with a bang. More like an anguished whimper. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife delayed the use of crab pots for our area, due for review on December 15. CDFW says, ” The recreational take of Dungeness crab using crab traps will be temporarily restricted in Fishing Zones 3 and 4, from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line (38° 46.125 N latitude) to Lopez Point (36° N latitude) due to potential of entanglement of humpback whales and leatherback sea turtles in trap gear. The deployment and use of crab traps in any recreational crab fishery (including rock crab) is temporarily restricted in those zones until lifted by the CDFW Director. Recreational take of Dungeness crab by other methods, including hoop nets and crab snares, is not affected by the temporary trap restriction in these zones and is allowed statewide beginning Nov. 6, 2021.”

The crab are out there crawling. Many anglers are resorting to using hoop nets, which can be very effective. Hoop net regulations are available on the DFW website, and all are advised to review those regulations before setting out to catch the tasty crustaceans using this method. Some basic rules include: Hoop nets must be checked every two hours. No long soaks like crab pots. Boaters using hoop nets are limited to five hoop nets each, with a maximum of ten hoop nets for any one vessel. Sport anglers are allowed to retain 10 Dungeness per day, and each must measure at least 5 ¾ inches across at the widest point of the carapace.