Albacore fever is running high amongst area anglers. Everyone who can beg, borrow or steal a ride to the offshore waters is dropping everything to go. And it's no wonder why. A big push of warm water current has moved in from the south. For the fist time in years the currents are curving in towards Monterey Bay, and albacore tuna are available as close as 11 miles from the Harbor. Some old-timers predict the tuna will "be around for a while," but if you don't want to bet on the fickleness of Mother Nature, best to get out there now, or as soon as possible.

Party boat skippers are getting up earlier, and staying up later, cashing in on the tuna run. Captain Jimmy Charters ran out 20 miles on Wednesday and boated 23 tuna. Most were caught on the troll, but a few bit on dead bait with the boat drifting. These are big, strong, exciting fish. Even the small ones give your arms and back a workout, and Rubin said a good number were in the 30-pound class.

Gerry Brookes on the Doble was out on Wednesday as well and had good news to report. "The seas were flat calm all day and the albies were on the bite. We were fishing in T-shirts. Put in doubles and triples, with a couple on iron and FishTraps. We ended the day with 16 Albacore to 30 lbs and lost another half a dozen. If you get on the schools the counts are even higher. I heard count anywhere from 12 to 35 fish per boat."

There's always a chance of other exotics in the same deep blue tuna water, including bluefin or yellowfin tuna, and one report out of Monterey indicates a Yellowtail caught in the tuna waters earlier this week.

Meanwhile closer to shore fishing remains very very good. Rockfish along West Cliff and the North Coast is almost guaranteed limits. Ling cod are moving in and getting bigger, and the halibut bite continues from Capitola to Davenport. Now is the time for big flatties off the North Coast. A good bet is to work the sandy areas from Wilder's to Four-Mile Beach and Davenport for the big fall flatties.

In another sign of fall approaching, king salmon are moving closer to the beach as they stage for spawning. A number of boats have been successful trolling in 80-150 feet of water just outside the Mile Buoy in Santa Cruz. Capitola skiff anglers are catching salmon in water as shallow as 60 feet. Ed Burrell from Capitola Boat and Bait says, "There are some out there if you troll long and hard, are in the right place." Of course, he used that quote along with a picture of him holding a beautiful king salmon in his fish report.

Main Photo Above: Mark Davis from Capitola took advantage of the shallow-water salmon bite this week. His reward was a 20-pound King.