After a week or so of decent weather, local anglers are disappointed with the upcoming forecast. It looks like rain and wind as we go into the weekend, which doesn't make fishing any easier. Ideally, the conditions will improve by Sunday as predicted. The past week did provide some action for those who put in their time, both on the salt as well as on our local steelhead streams.

Captain Jimmy's Sportfishing had similar results as the week prior to last. It's becoming a routine for skipper Jim Rubin: Collect limits of big Dungeness crab from the pots, then motor out to the submarine canyon for giant squid. The Becky Ann boated 30 "big" Dungies on his trip last weekend, and followed up with 20 Humboldt squid weighing up to 45 pounds each.

Ed Burrell from Capitola Boat and Bait and Larry Roland tried for white sea bass again on Monday in Monterey. They fished hard all day but the results were nil. Burrell is always a good sport however, and was happy to report that Capitola local Jeff McKee took his skiff out in the same area on Wednesday to meet with success. Using a halibut-type rig baited with frozen anchovy, McKee hooked and boated a 37-pounder, his first white sea bass. Once again the bite, such as it was, centered in the 140-150 depth, off DelMonte Beach in Monterey.

Perch fishing is getting better from the wharf, according to Burrell. He cites good catches of black perch from the middle portion of Capitola Wharf, and "a few" barred surfperch closer to the surfline. This week also featured the season's first striped bass from the wharf. Undersized, it was released successfully. Burrell has been fielding reports of legal "schoolie-sized" stripers biting for surfcasters who have been working the beaches south of Seacliff recently. Hopefully, we will see a few larger specimens soon.

As usual it has been a fickle season for steelhead fishing. Either not enough water in the river or else it's too much. And, the fish move upriver fast. Experienced steelheaders know when and where to strike, and we have received a number of reports from dedicated anglers of success in the past week. Most reports indicate one to three fish hooked per outing, though a few skunks were reported as well. All steelhead fishing in our area is strictly catch and release, and only barbless hooks may be used.