One of the most enjoyable aspects for the dedicated angler is an acute awareness of seasons rolling by, year after year. Most years share a basic similarity in terms of where and when we go and what we are fishing for. But, each year is different enough so as to be unique. The 2010 year of recreational fishing in the Monterey Bay area featured some of the usual ups and downs, as well as an epic, even historical bite. I'm referring, of course, to the white sea bass that streamed into Monterey Bay to feast on huge schoals of calamari squid. We noted a decent bite for sea bass in mid-January this year. The bite lasted for a week or two, and as quickly as they appeared, they were gone. While they were here in January, a small fleet worked the area near Del Monte Beach and often caught limits of the big croakers weighing up to 60 pounds each. Over the next few months, an occasional bass was reported caught, but no big numbers were recorded. The squid spawn returned in August and persisted into October. Schools of white sea bass once again flooded into the southeast corner of the bay, but this time they stuck around for weeks on end. A huge fleet of sport boats, kayak anglers and commercial skiff fishermen bounced between the "Hotel" area off Del Monte Beach and Lover's Point in Pacific Grove. Again, these were southern California "transient" fish, according to tags collected by the California Department of Fish and Game, and again the quality of fish was impressive. Few fish were caught weighing less than 30 pounds, and a good number of 60 "plus"-pounders were recorded. As the weeks rolled on, the bite went from "good," to "great" to "unbelievable". A few sea bass were also caught along the Santa Cruz side of the bay, but the epic bite was in Monterey this year.

Following as a close second in significance for 2010 was the salmon season. No, it was not a great season at all, but at least we had one. After two years of no salmon fishing the DFG opened a month- long window for kings in April, and later extended the season into the summer. Not that we needed the extension, however. After a few weeks in April, salmon fishing was so slow that most anglers stopped looking for them. Those erstwhile salmon anglers kept busy with halibut along the inshore areas. Once again, we had a very good year for the big flatfish. Starting in March, the smaller flatties started to congregate in the shallow waters. By April, surfcasters were catching quite a few halibut from the beach, including the occasional keeper. By May, halibut season was in full swing, with fish up to 30 pounds being caught regularly at the usual spots along our coastline. The halibut bite continued through the summer and well into fall before they slipped away to deeper water for winter. Springtime also hosted a very decent striper bite, especially in Capitola and the beaches to the south. Anglers from shore and on boats worked the surfline, using some of the abundant live sardines to fool the energetic bass. Fly-anglers and other surfcasters throwing lures also did well for the stripers.

Rockfish scores held steady this year, though most skippers miss having the area from Scott's Creek to Ano Nuevo to target. This prime fishing area was removed from fishing access as part of the State Marine Protected Area campaign. The local reefs still produced well for us, and local charter companies spent quite a few days catching big fish at Franklin Point, just beyond Ano. Lingcod seemed a bit scarce this year. A number were reported caught, but not as often as previous years' reports. The year got off to a slow start for those who enjoy surfcasting for perch. By March, we recorded a number of nice fish caught from local beaches as well as the area towards Moss Landing. The perch bite tailed off over the summer and Fall, and is just now picking up as they enter their spawning mode. I look forward to getting out and casting for perch this week, searching for the halibut in a few short months and maybe catching a Santa Cruz salmon this year. Most of all, I'm hoping those squid will come back and bring the white sea bass with them. It was epic. Veteran flycaster Tom Baker got an early start on the barred surfperch this year, catching this beauty in early December Darin DeLuca from Capitola paddles in at Lover's Point with not one, but two big white sea bass on his kayak. JT Thomas starts 2010 off with "the other white meat," giant Humboldt squid on January 6th aboard the Becky Ann.