The weather held off this week until Wednesday, when a low pressure moved in bringing rain and some gusty winds and prompting a small craft advisory. Gusts were forecast up to 30 knots over a three to four-foot swell. It looks like things will settle down over the weekend, with decent fishable conditions perhaps by Saturday, but definitely on Sunday.

 

It’s still “anglers choice” on the Monterey Bay. Nearshore rockfishing is closed out to 300 feet of water, but there’s still halibut to be had while fishing the flat sandy areas from 40 to 120 feet. Just make sure you don’t have any rockfish aboard, and release any unintended bycatch immediately. This is a good time to look for those bigger halibut outside the bull kelp between the rocky points of Carmel Highlands and North Coast Santa Cruz. Live bait is always the best for big flatties, though dead squid, or trolling a hoochie/dodger combo can bring success. Remember, those kelp beds might be harboring a big white sea bass this time of year. Make sure your knots are good.

 

Big game remains firmly on the menu in the form of bluefin tuna. We still have a big number of bluefin stretching along our coast, some 10-40 miles offshore. Only a few were reported caught this week, mostly by boats out of Half Moon Bay or San Francisco. But, they are out there and chances improve to bring home a big one the more often you try.

 

Surfcasters are limbering up their rods as winter season approaches. We need a few more northwest swells to roll through and create structure along the wide expanse of Monterey Bay beaches, but fishing is already improving noticeably on both sides of the bay. Catch and release of 30-40 barred surf perch in just a couple hours were not unusual this week for anglers who have their spots dialed in. Most these perch are still on the small side, but the average size is ramping up. Quite a few jacksmelt are lurking just past the shorebreak. Striped bass are fewer and farther between though we did get reports of legal bass caught from the mid-bay beaches by anglers throwing hard lures. Expect perch fishing to improve dramatically as soon as we get some big waves, and striper fishing to accelerate once we get some big rains.