CAPTION: A live sardine under a bobber was the ticket for Jose on Wednesday evening at the Capitola Wharf.

These winds are great for upwelling, but are a big nuisance when you are trying to get out fishing. Local anglers taking the long view, however, know that upwelling brings nutrients to power the food chain. While catch rates may vary week-to-week, this year is shaping up to be very productive, with a variety of species available from our local waters.

Salmon fishing is at the top of most anglers' list. Last weekend the Soquel Hole was the spot to be again. Gerry Brookes from Reel Sportfishing runs the six-pack boat Doble, and did pretty well on Sunday. "It was flat calm till noon. The fish are getting scattered, but we found a nice pocket of salmon to work." Brookes returned to port with six king salmon in the box weighing up to 17 pounds each. Later in the week, Brookes checked out the North Coast area and found it too windy to fish, but pulled his crab pots for near-limits of Dungeness crab. "It's going top be windy up there this weekend, so we'll probably fish the Hole, or by Moss Landing. We can always come inshore for halibut," Brookes said.

Captain Jim Rubin reported similar results from the Soquel Hole last weekend. Anglers aboard the Becky Ann averaged about a fish per rod of salmon up to 15 pounds on his last few trips. Rubin also made an exploratory trip north of town. "The conditions were nasty, but we managed to catch one decent salmon up there," Rubin said. "The salmon are beginning to move from the Soquel hole. The waters up north look perfect, with tons of krill and lots of feeding birds." When the winds die down, Three Trees to Pigeon Point may be the place to chase salmon. Rubin expects a fresh batch of kings in the Monterey Bay soon. Reports are filtering in of schools further south, with salmon being caught recently in Santa Barbara and Morro Bay.

Inshore fishing is picking up. Ed Burrell at Capitola Boat and Bait saw rental skiffs return to the wharf with limits of rockfish caught from the local kelp beds. "One boat came back with two limits aboard, and they released a number of fish as well. We also saw a few nice lingcod in the 13-pound range," Burrell happily reported. While we have received some reports of white sea bass in the kelp beds near Capitola, we have not heard of any keepers this week. Halibut fishing is definitely getting better, however.

Anglers working the deeper areas off Capitola and outside the Santa Cruz Harbor are finding decent-sized halibut up to 23 pounds, and at least one keeper was caught from the Capitola Wharf this week. With the bait moving in, halibut numbers will rise soon. Striped bass are the prowl as well, says Burrell. "The bite is mainly in the evening. Guys are doing best with live sardines below bobbers, fishing just outside the surfline from the wharf." Stripers have also been reported from a few surfcasters working the southerly beaches. Barred and walleye surfperch are also hitting in the surfline for anglers in the right spot at the right time.