Wintertime on the Monterey Bay is often viewed as "the slow season," with most game fish either out of season, or out of sight. Anglers can still find good exercise and action however, and big rewards of smaller fish.

Local charter boat skippers may as well copy and paste fishing reports these days. Everyone is fishing sand dabs, or 'dabs and Dungeness crab. Captain Jimmy Sportfishing's Saturday report reads- "5 anglers nabbed 275 sand dabs and 30 Dungeness crabs. Great weather all day long." Stagnaro's Sportfishing on the flagship Velocity says of a recent trip "Sand dab fishing has been excellent. Last trip averaged over 30 fish per person. Next dab trip is Saturday the 9th." And, Chris Sportfishing out of Monterey boasts cookie-cutter reports for three days of fishing last week. All tell the same tale, "Lots of sand dabs & boat limits (84) Dungeness crab for 14 anglers on the Check Mate!"

Surfcasters are also on the prowl, looking for deep spots along the sand, or rip currents that hold feeding perch. Depending on the day and tide, a few anglers have done pretty well on perch fishing from the Santa Cruz Harbor jetties, using bait, or artificial sandworms or grubs. High tide and days with larger surf seem to favor this spot, but also make it more dangerous to fish there. Be careful of slippery rocks and sneaker sets!

The long stretches of beach below Aptos continue to be productive, though perch always seem to be on the move. Trying a few different locations is always a good bet to avoid coming home empty-handed. Reports are still coming in of the occasional striped bass being caught by the surfcasters, especial near the Pajaro and Salinas rivers.

After a very wet December, we've hit a long dry stretch. Without more rain, fishing for steelhead in our local streams will remain very slow. The water is low and clear, and most fish have moved through at this point. Better results for winter steelhead can be had with a little travel.

Famed fishing guide JD Richey chimed in on Thursday after a good day on the American River. "We just got off the water and did pretty well today. We caught five adults in the 30-inch range, mostly by side drifting eggs." Richey adds that the Main Stem of the Eel River is fishing well right now, though the Klamath, Smith and Chetco Rivers have slowed considerably. Those northern rivers may get some rain this weekend, which could improve conditions for steelhead. But, our local forecast does not include any significant rain for the next week or so.