Press Banner

Clouds of juveniles have been spotted for a few springs. This is proving true with abundant numbers of blue gill along the shoreline now.

"The bluegill spawn has been tremendous the past couple years, and they are providing great action to kids," reported Bruce Worden, facility attendant at Loch Lomond.

Bluegill are not the only quarry at the reservoir; trout and bass are bending rods as well. In the saltwater, white sea bass are topping the list for exotic species, while a few halibut and rockfish trickle into the landings, also.

This time of year, it can be tough to decide where to fish.

"Trout continue to come in with limits for the locals," Worden said.

Despite hot temperatures and a surface water temperature at the lake near 74 degrees, the trout are deep.

"Trout in the main body of the lake are as deep as 50 feet," Worden added, "while anglers head toward the back of the lake the trout are closer to the surface."

That is in part due to the cool, oxygen-rich water shedding from Newell Creek. The creek drains into the north end of the lake past Deer Flat. This has been a good spot for boaters — and shore anglers willing to take a hike.

Ocean fishing has been centered on the hope of halibut and a chance at a white sea bass. Rockfish are still tough to catch out of Santa Cruz, but die-hard anglers are catching a few fish. Each day, a few halibut are coming into the Santa Cruz Harbor and Capitola Wharf.

"I have been catching a few white sea bass lately," Todd Fraser reported. "In fact, we caught three today; all were just undersized and released. Yesterday, we caught two fish that were legal size."

Todd reported his success while he was fishing from his boat, drifting live bait.

Ed Burrell is no newcomer when it comes to white sea bass fishing. He reported, "We are seeing quite a few fish boiling as they chase anchovies around the wharf, and anglers are catching them on live bait and swim baits."

Anglers on Capitola Wharf have been catching halibut from the wharf. The counts have been as high as 15 fish some days, but most of the fish are undersized and had to be released. The rental boats from Capitola and the main Wharf in Santa Cruz are bringing in an occasional halibut and rockfish, through ling cod are hard to come by. We all hope fishing continues to get better in the ocean.