Anticipation is high among anglers in the Monterey Bay area. Next week will feature the start of not only salmon season, but an early opener for rockfishing as well. Salmon opener is scheduled for Saturday April 4, while fishing the RCG complex (Rockfishes, Cabezon and Greenlings) begins next Wednesday April 1, 2015.

Salmon regulations remain the same as last year, with a two-fish bag limit per day and minimum size of 24 inches. All species of salmon are legal to catch except coho, or silver salmon. In our area we see mostly king salmon, best identified by solid black gum line below the teeth. Silver salmon are somewhat rare these days, but anglers must be certain of fish identification before putting a fish in the box.

In the early season, most salmon anglers will likely be trolling, as the technique covers more area and targets scattered schools of fish. Once big bait balls have been located, another favorite method for salmon fishing is to mooch, or drift-fish the edges of bait balls. While salmon sometimes do come in to shallow water, this time of year we usually locate them close to the deep marine canyons offshore.

Rockfish, cabezon and lingcod can be located on reef areas, near kelpbeds and on the long stretches of mixed sand and rock close to shore. Some favorite productive spots include Pacific Grove and the Del Monte Beach area near Monterey Harbor, the reefs near Capitola Wharf and along Pleasure Point, and of course, the rocky areas off West Cliff in Santa Cruz. Intrepid anglers can usually find an abundance of bigger fish by motoring to more remote areas such as the Big Sur Coast or the North Coast of Santa Cruz. Note, the RCG season will not open until April 15 north of Pigeon Point.

Department of Fish and Wildlife RCG regulations have a few changes this year. Bag limit remains at 10 fish per day, but includes a sub-limit of only five black rockfish now. We are allowed three cabezon and three bocaccio within this ten-fish limit. Cabezon must be 15 inches minimum length and greenlings have to measure at least 12 inches to be keepers. The daily lingcod limit has been raised from two to three fish per day, and minimum size for lings is 22 inches.

Please remember to be safe as you head out for another year of fishing adventures on the Monterey Bay. Now is a very good time to check all electronics, batteries, drain plugs, fire extinguishers and lifejackets, and to make sure your fuel is good and motor tuned up. For assistance, the Santa Cruz Coast Guard Auxiliary will perform a safety inspection of your boat at no charge (and, with no penalties if deficiencies are found). Our local USCG Auxiliary Flotilla 67 can be contacted at http://a1130607.uscgaux.info.

Send your reports and fishing photos to Bushnell at scruzfishing@yahoo.com.