So far, so good. Finally, the waiting game is over. Excellent predictions of abundant salmon in our area had anglers breathless with anticipation, waiting for the April 7 opener. All their patience and preparation was rewarded this week with a good opening day last Saturday, and steady salmon fishing since.

Weather has been a factor over the last couple days. A series of fronts are moving through and making conditions unpredictable. When anglers make it out, though, they are more than likely to return with fresh king salmon in the box.

While some boats are reporting limits, and a few reporting skunks, most are managing a fish per rod or slightly better. We have plenty of bait in the bay, and most of the classic deepwater spots are holding fish. Chris Arcaleo from Chris' Fishing Trips in Monterey almost made a boat limit on Wednesday when skipper Nick Lemon on The Star brought home 30 fish for the 16 anglers aboard. They have been fishing near the Pajaro Hole, and Arcaleo notes the abundance of bait in that area. "There's lots of krill-LOTS." They have been mooching, or drift fishing for the salmon, and Arcaleo also mentioned numerous baitballs of anchovies "on the surface." Thursday's trip on the Checkmate, with Tinker Neece at the helm was lucky enough to hook 25 fish in one drift. Of these, they managed to net 15, and the bite shut off, likely due to the incoming weather front.

Still. this is good salmon fishing and bodes well fro the upcoming weeks and hopefully for a good full season. Other charters reported similar results for this first week of the season. Captain Jimmy Charters have been trolling to cover maximum area in their search for kings. "We had great action, a number of fish missed, but still boxed eight fish for six clients on opening day," Skipper Jim Rubin reports. The fish were small to medium-sized according to Rubin, averaging around 10 pounds each.

Gerry Brookes from Reel Sportfishing had a similar report. They hooked nine fish and caught four, up to 15 pounds. Ultimate Sportfishing's Tim Obert reported limits for their opening day trip, with fish in the 9-16-pound range. Stagnaro's Sportfishing mooched on Saturday, catching 18 legal salmon and five shakers that were returned to the sea. "We had a lot more 'missed opportunities'," says Ken Stagnaro, who will be running regular salmon trips on the flagship Velocity this season.

So far, the bait and the salmon has been high in the water column. Most fish this week were caught from 25 feet to 100 feet down. Trolling Kajikis, bronze spoons, Krippled Anchovies or straight bait all seem to be working well. The baitballs are small and scattered, but moochers who find a good bait are also doing very well. There's plenty of salmon in the bay, let's hope they stick around and make it a season to remember.