The white sea bass bite in Monterey that reached epic proportions over the past two months has been slow for a week now. Anglers who fished the Lover's Point area over the weekend reported an occasional catch, but we have received few reports of sea bass from the south bay since then. Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine has hopes the bite will resume with the coming full moon, but only time will tell. If it is indeed done for this year, we can sit back with satisfaction, having participated in the best run of white sea bass in our area in at least 20 years. In the meantime, Fraser reports at least one "nice" white sea bass caught by an angler using squid off Davenport on Wednesday. Buoyed by that report, Fraser and companions headed to Davenport on Thursday. They found no white sea bass, but according to Fraser, "we had no problem loading up on quality halibut in record time." Fishing in 60 feet of water, they caught two fish using squid and a third on live anchovy from Boccie Boy Bait on S Dock at the Santa Cruz Harbor. "Jason Hammond won the jackpot with his 25-pound flatty, " Fraser enthused. He also mentioned that rock fishing was 'wide open" in the area, though they released all rock fish caught while targeting sea bass out at the 100-foot depth.

Stagnaro's Sportfishing found similar conditions for rockfish off Davenport on Saturday. Skipper Ken Stagnaro reports full sacks for all 28 anglers aboard the Stagnaro flagship Velocity. "Quality copper, brown and starry rock fish were the majority of the catch. Many fish were in the five-six-pound class." That's big for local rockfish. For the coming weekend, if the weather cooperates, it would be worthwhile to explore the North Coast near Davenport, or even further towards Ano Nuevo or Franklin Point. Rock fishing is strong along that whole stretch, and the bigger lings should be making an appearance soon. And, as Fraser and company demonstrated, quality halibut is still on the menu from that area. Staying more local can also be productive. Good reports of schoolie rockfish came in from skiff anglers working the West Cliff area, and South Rock just off Lighthouse Point. Even the Mile Buoy reefs are still providing decent rockfishing as well as the occasional halibut.

Bushnell can also be heard on The Let's Go Fishing Radio Show, Thursdays at 7pm on KSCO Radio 1080AM. Send your photos, comments or questions to scruzfishing@yahoo.com