When it comes to ocean fishing, you can take your pick, as many species are biting. Offshore waters have produced albacore, while along the canyon edges, salmon fishing remains strong. Inshore fishing for rockfish, lingcod and halibut has been very good. Striped bass continue to be caught along the beaches for shore-based anglers.
The breaking news came this week when sea conditions calmed long enough for sport and commercial boats to make the journey offshore to catch albacore. One commercial “jig boat” caught 40 fish the first day, before the bite started to taper down.
Sport fishing boats that made the 40- to 60-mile run toward the Davidson Seamount came home with five to 10 albacore, with a few bluefin tuna mixed in.
The blue water turned to 60 degrees. Fishermen who tried for albacore saw the good signs of birds, bait fish and a few fish jumping. But days later, the fish sounded and the catch rate went down.
Salmon fishing continues to produce fish for both sport and commercial fishermen. The west side of Soquel Hole has kicked out a few salmon for commercial fishermen fishing in 50 fathoms of water. The salmon are very deep. Sport boats are catching salmon from the Soquel Hole to the south side of Moss Landing.
Sea lions have started to take fish off the line from anglers as they rebuild their appetite for salmon. It had been a few years since we had a descent salmon season, and sea lions seemed to have forgotten their tricks, until now. They are stealing one out of three fish hooked for some salmon anglers.
“We caught 13 salmon today. The sea lions ripped 10 off our hooks, and we let 12 fish go that were too small,” reported Ken Stagnaro aboard the Velocity.
That equals a good day of salmon fishing with lots of action, even if a few fish went to feed sea lions.
Ken has also been taking people out for rockfish, with limits of 10 fish per person on most days. The half-day trips sometimes yield less than limits, with seven fish per person being a common score. The local reefs from Lighthouse Point to Four-Mile Beach are producing yellowtail, vermillion and blue rockfish. Lingcod and halibut are also taken with some skill and patience. I hope you get out before summer passes by.
Mike Baxter has fished in the Monterey Bay Area since he was a boy and has been a licensed charter boat captain for more than 15 years. Contact him at
ca************@ya***.com
. He also hosts a fishing show on radio station KSCO (1080) from 7:06 to 8 p.m. Thursdays, April through September.
