In general, salmon fishing remains strong and steady in the Santa Cruz area. The same cannot be said for the remainder of the coast. High winds have plagued ports to the north, and boats from Half Moon Bay, San Francisco, Bodega and Fort Bragg have enjoyed far fewer days fishing for big king salmon during the past week. Here in the Monterey Bay, we are protected from the full force of these ocean winds. Even Monterey had slow salmon fishing last week. A few of their party boats made the trip across the bay to the Soquel Hole area looking for fish this week. Depending on the day, there are plenty of salmon to be had.

According to Todd Fraser from Bayside Marine most anglers are targeting the east or west sides of the Soquel Hole. The "flats" west of Soquel Hole in 200-300 feet of water have hosted big fleets in the past week as well. Salmon are biting shallow first thing in the morning, with most fish coming from 35-60 feet down. Later in the day, the fish are going deeper. Anglers report catching fish by trolling 120-200 feet down in the later morning and early afternoons. Average catch still remains from 0-4 fish per boat, and some days are better than others. It's still a "krill bite." We are waiting for hard bait like anchovies and sardine to show.

Ed Burrell on the Capitola Wharf has been launching private boats as well as the Boat and Bait skiffs this week. Most of the private boats in pursuit of salmon returned with the goods. About half had limits for their boat, and some of the fish were big, in the 25-pound range. Meanwhile skiffs are doing well in the area, catching lingcod from the kelp beds, and rockfish from nearby reefs. One pair of anglers even returned with a small, but legal halibut to top off their dozen rockfish. They were fishing just outside the Mile Reef area of Captiola.

With the current salmon fever going around, many forget that rockfish season is open. And, the fishing is pretty good so far, especially for this early in the season. It is likely that any of the "regular" rockfish spots will be producing at this time. Pleasure Point, the Mile Buoy and South Rock areas, West Cliff reefs and Natural Bridges area all provided good rockfish reports this week. We have had no reports from the North Coast area, but it's likely the fishing is just as good up there, and the rockfish are likely larger.

Photo: Terry Parker returns to Capitola with his limit of wild king salmon.