Anglers on the Monterey Bay continue to find an abundance of sanddabs though Dungeness crab fishing is starting to taper off. Most exciting is the thought of salmon season, just around the corner.

The 2013 ocean salmon season has not been finalized yet. That will occur after early April meetings between the alphabet agencies involved. We do have the go-ahead for interim salmon fishing however. As it stands, April 6, 2013 is the opener. Anglers can retain two salmon of any species except coho (silver salmon). For our area, that means kings or chinook salmon. Gear restrictions remain the same as last year, and minimum keeper size is 24 inches for our area. These rules remain in effect for the month of April.

The fall salmon runs on our major rivers were good, but winter runs were low. This may affect the final look of salmon season from May through the end of the season in October. Alternatives being discussed include raising the minimum size to 26 inches, or creating mid-season closures of various length. We will have answers after the first week of April.

Bottom line is, we will be fishing for salmon in just a few weeks. And, the fish are out there. Carl Azevedo from Boccie Boy Bait says he's heard from skippers in Monterey as well as from Half Moon Bay who are catching (and releasing) salmon while fishing for sanddabs. Other reports indicate good dark salmon water and big concentrations of krill along the canyons.

It's also time to start looking for halibut along the inshore areas. This time of year the flatfish begin to migrate closer to the beach in anticip[ation of spawning. Azevedo will be ready with live bait for fishing the spring halibut. "We're looking. Some sardines around, but not where we can get them. The boat and the skiff are in the water and when we find them we'll have it in the receiver at the harbor, and we'll post up on the website."

In the meantime, while waiting for the flatties to come in and for salmon season to start, consider getting out on one of the local whale-watching tours. Stagnaro's Sportfishing reports fantastic whale and dolphin action this week. Skipper Ken Stagnaro reports "Sunday we got to see three types of whales on one trip!! First we followed a family of seven killer whales (Orca) for about 20 minutes. Then we saw several gray whales on their northern migration through Monterey Bay. Then, if that wasn't enough, we found a single humpback whale. All animals were spotted in the North Bay a few miles off Santa Cruz. Great weather, Great Day!" On Wednesday, Stagnaro reported sighting over 1000 dolphins of four different species. The Bay is alive, get out and enjoy!