Despite high hopes and very promising conditions in previous weeks, the salmon opener proved to be a disappointment for Bay Area anglers last weekend.

Nature always trumps. In this case, a low-pressure system moved into the area Friday night, bringing with it drizzle and dreaded southwest winds. The old adage "when the wind is from the South, fish shut their mouth" proved true for most of the hopeful anglers who made it out this weekend. Many if not most boats got skunked, with a few notable exceptions. Since then, a 10-12 foot northwest ground swell mixed with a smaller south well has made conditions even more difficult for anglers hoping to get out and try for the salmon.

The top boat reporting for opening day was the Atune, a six-pack charter from Tom's Sportfishing in Moss Landing. With Skipper Donnie Davi at the helm, the Atune located fish off Point Pinos near Monterey. They scored limits of king salmon to 35 pounds for the three anglers aboard. Tom's owner Carol Jones says the fish were caught by mooching as shallow as 30 feet from the surface. Jim Rubin from Captain Jimmy Sport Fishing tried the same area on Sunday and caught four fish trolling Apex lures and spoons. Rubin also notes the fish were shallow, from 60-80 feet on the downriggers.

A number of fish were caught closer to home as well. Todd Fraser from Bayside Marine received reports of private boaters catching salmon from the Soquel Hole and Pajaro areas. Most were caught by trolling green Kajikis, Krippled Anchovies or red crocodiles. Fraser himself managed to scare up one fish on Monday trolling a purple haze Kajiki. "You just have to keep working the bait balls to catch the salmon," Fraser says. Ed Burrell at Capitola Boat and Bait reports at least one skiff fisherman, Eric McGee, brought home a nice fish from the Soquel Hole area on Tuesday.

Allen P. Bushnell
Special Projects Coordinator
Crown and Merrill Colleges, UCSC
(831) 459-3780