Last week's weather was capricious, mostly overcast with a few windy days that kept smaller boats at the dock. Those who chose the right day to go out found good fall season fishing for rockcod, lings and the occasional halibut.

Jim Rubin from Captain Jimmy Charters has been concentrating on the area north of Natural Bridges lately. "We fished Four-Mile on Sunday, and got good limits for the boat. Our clients caught a mix of bottom fish including a good number of reds in the four to five-pound range." Rubin added that there are plenty of lingcod in the mix, though many are too small to keep. "We saw up to four legal lings caught by one of the boats in the area, but we kept pulling up shorts. We must have released 15 short lingcod on Sunday." As is typical in fall, the rockfish are holding on the deeper reefs. Rubin was fishing from 100-120 feet of water, and using white shrimp fly jigs baited with squid strips.

Bayside Marine owner Todd Fraser also has been receiving good lingcod reports lately. "Anglers are finding consistent action near Natural Bridges and Three Mile Beach in 100 feet of water. There have been some halibut caught in the same area." Boccie Boy Bait on the end of "S" Dock at the Santa Cruz Harbor has live sardines in the receivers, which are excellent bait for both lingcod and halibut. Use a regular halibut rig for the sardines, or simply pin the live bait onto your shrimp fly jigs for good results.

The white sea bass bite in Monterey seems to be slowing down, after three weeks of mayhem in the "Hotel" area of DelMonte Beach. Anglers who put in their time are still picking up a few of the giant croakers, but efforts have best been described as "hit and miss" lately. High winds offshore kept boats away from the albacore grounds, though at least one boat last week picked up six fish in the 20-25-pound range, about 30 miles from the harbor, according to Fraser.

Fishing the beaches for perch remains productive. Surfcaster Ron Martin reports his good scores of barred surfperch and walleye perch lately. He has been working the beaches below the Cement Ship, casting grubs and "camo" sandworms for the best results.