We are moving into the fall fishing pattern now, and are likely to see fewer windy days, making it easier to pursue schools of rockfish, north coast halibut and especially the offshore albacore tuna.

Ed Burrell at Capitola Boat and Bait checked in with reports of sustained action in that area this week. "The sardines are back in, it was pandemonium this afternoon with dolphins, sea lions, cormorants, seagulls and pelicans all working the bait and sardines flopping on the deck all over the place." Mixed in with the plentiful sardines were a good number of mackerel and jacksmelt, according to Burrell. Fishing from the Capitola Wharf is a good bet for the weekend, bring the kids and use squid-tipped sabiki rigs for non-stop fun.

Where the baitfish go, big fish often follow. As he does each year, Burrell found his lunker White Sea bass on Monday, fishing the area near Soquel Point. The 31-pound croaker put up a tough fight for 20 minutes before Burrell could get the gaff in it. We often see the big White Sea bass in our area during these Indian summer weeks, and this year is no exception. On Thursday Burrell weighed in a 40-pound sea bass caught by an intrepid kayak fisherman who paddled over a mile offshore to hook his beauty with a frozen squid. The kayak angler had another one hooked up that broke his line. The rockfish bite is steady in Capitola, with Bolinas, gophers, grass cod and the occasional ling brought in this week, as well as a few halibut in the 24-30-inch range caught near the edge of the kelp beds.

For larger halibut, the North Coast pocket beaches are still producing, according to Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine. He weighed in halibut up to 31 pounds this week, and recommends fishing 35-60 feet of water for the best results north of town. Fraser, as always, is more excited about the offshore tuna bite. The weather was not great for offshore fishing this week, but many boats managed decent scores. On Tuesday, the winds were most calm and Fraser recorded scores of 40-50 tuna for some boats. The remainder of the week was less hospitable, and scores were not nearly as high for anglers fishing 40-60 miles from the Santa Cruz Harbor. Fraser found the preferred lures this week were Yozuri Hydro Magnums, or the Zukini plugs, and a number of boats managed up to 20 fish on the bait stops, once the tuna came up to the boat.

Bushnell can also be heard on The Let's Go Fishing Radio Show, Thursdays at 7 p.m. on KSCO radio on 1080 AM. Send your photos, comments or questions to scruzfishing@yahoo.com