Fishing for rock cod and lings remains very productive for local anglers in the Monterey Bay. Weather conditions play a big part in every go-out, and this week featured a number of beautifully calm days, enabling anglers to travel further and stay out longer in their quest for fish.

Hot spots for cod include the Capitola area, where Ed Burrell reports limits and near-limits of brown, black and the occasional red rockfish; the South Rock area where anglers are pulling up blacks, blues and yellows; and of course the West Cliff reefs and up the coast towards Four-Mile.

North coast spots are producing a good count of lings right now as those fish move in for wintertime spawining. Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine reports "The inshore fishing is great with big lingcod and rock fish keeping anglers happy. There were scores of giant lingcod from Natural Bridges to Franklin Point. The water was flat calm all day long and there is no swell. The water is expected to be nice for the next few days." Fraser adds that Dungeness crab fishing is picking up a bit, after a slow start to commercial season last week. Dungeness continue to be found in highest concentrations from 160-210 feet of water.

Next week, December 1 will mark the opening of steelhead season for our local creeks and streams. Those waters are not really fishable as yet, dependent on some significant rain to get the flows going and allow steelhead to access up the river and creeks. Steelhead fishing requires an additional "report card" from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Your 2013 steelhead card remains valid for the month of December, and a new card must be purchased with your 2014 fishing license. As always, for our local waters, single barbless hooks only are allowed and anglers are urged to treat these fish very gently when releasing. Best practice is to leave the fish in the water for the release.

The Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project will continue their excellent efforts to maintain and preserve steelhead habitat and populations on our local creeks in 2014, starting with the "fish trap" at Felton Diversion Dam, where wild fish are captured for milt and eggs before release to their native waters. Volunteers for MBSTP projects are always needed. Interested parties can contact www.mbstp.org, or call (831) 458-3095.