If you have ever had any desire whatsoever to go saltwater fishing in the Monterey Bay, now is a very good time to do so. Fishing has been wide open with most of our regular inshore species are on the bite at this time.

Rockfish scores are improving near Capitola, and the West Cliff area. Ed Burrell at Capitola Boat and Bait reports most rental skiffs are returning to the Capitola Wharf with nice stringers of brown, grass and gopher rockfish well as the occasional lingcod. A few boats are getting limits of fish, and no one is getting skunked. The skiffs are working the usual areas around the nearby kelp beds and reefs directly offshore from Capitola Wharf. Soquel Point and the Mile buoy are both producing rockies for the anglers making their way to those locations, according to Burrell.

As summer progresses, we usually see an influx of rockfish along West Cliff and at the South Rock area. This year is no exception. Though it is a bit early, the rockfishing has dramatically improved near the Mile Buoy, on South Rock near Lighthouse Point and along the stretch of reefs that parallel West Cliff Drive. Along West Cliff, fish can be found in 60-140 feet of water, though fishing shallow near the kelp can produce as well.

Halibut scores are on the upswing also, pretty much everywhere. Capitola, Soquel Point, the Mile Buoy, West Cliff, Natural Bridges and the other flat sandy areas off the North coast towards Davenport are all producing fine catches of halibut. Many boats are returning to port with limits of the flatfish for their efforts. Live sardines are probably the best bait to use for the flatties, though frozen anchovies, sardines and squid are working very well lately. If you are lucky enough to jig up fresh live squid and are in the right spot, you are nearly guaranteed to catch a halibut. Most of the flatties range fro 6-15 pounds lately, though a few large ones were weighed in the 25-30-pound range. 40-70 feet of water seems to be the most productive depth for fishing halibut lately.

Salmon fishing has been spotty, with a few fish still being caught near the Soquel Hole. Albacore fishing, which looked so promising last week, fizzled due to high winds offshore that kept most boats from the warm water fishing grounds.