Monterey Bay anglers were plagued with high winds this week. The usual wind pattern for our area includes calm mornings with increasing winds through the afternoon that often diminish before sundown. This week, winds blew all night, which made for bumpy seas and difficult fishing conditions. On a positive note, sustained northwest winds are very good for creating ocean upwelling, which brings cool nutrient-rich water to the surface and can serve to keep the salmon schools nearby.

The salmon catch rate has remained steady, though scattered over a wide area. The concentrated of fish near Mulligan’s Hill has scattered. Trollers are picking up fish in the one’s and two’s with an occasional boat limit. Locations are as diverse as, the Pajaro and Soquel Holes, straight out of Santa Cruz, Three Trees, Davenport and near Pigeon Point. Todd Fraser from Bayside Marine reports, “There are salmon being caught in front of the Santa Cruz Harbor in 130-200 feet of water. The majority of the Salmon are being caught near the bottom on Krippled Anchovies and Blue Kajikis.”

Rockfish and lingcod are on the bite, especially near Monterey. Chris’ Fishing Trips reported full limits of lingcod and near-limits of rockfish on all their trips this week aboard the Caroline and the Check Mate. Chris’ usually sends these boats south of Point Pinos, an area covered with rocky reefs. Private boaters have reported decent rockfishing, even some limits in the broad area outside the kelp line from DelMonte Beach as well. A bonus for fishing this area is the increasing influx of halibut both outside and inside the kelp line.

Surfcasters below Moss Landing are reporting good schools of striped bass willing to bite. Many of these fish are undersized still. As the season progresses, a higher percentage of keepers are being brought in. Any of the broad beaches from DelMonte in Monterey up through Sand City, Fort Ord and near the Salinas Rivermouth can be hosting schools of stripers right now. Best bet is to look for birds working the surfline. The stripers will follow bait schools from beach to beach. And, they can move fast. A few bass were reported this week from the Santa Cruz side of the Bay, but the best reports seem to be from Moss landing and below.

If you don’t mind driving a little for some “sure-thing” fishing, San Francisco Bay should be on your agenda. Jay Yokomizo on the New Huck Finn reports very good fishing for stripers and halibut in the Bay right now. Mid-day Thursday Yokomizo had 22 bass, 10 halibut on the boat on board already. An unusual bonus this year are the significant number of white sea bass hitting in San Francisco Bay. “Thirty feet of water off of Treasure Island,” Yokomizo says. When the bite is on, we’re hooking four or five per drift. That makes for some fast action,” he added.