Monterey Bay area anglers enjoyed the shot at king salmon last weekend. Limits were fairly common and the fish were of high quality, mostly in the teens with some fish over 20 pounds.

Saturday was called “wide open” by many, but the bite withered on Sunday. Luckily, rockfish is still going strong out to 120 feet of water. Charter boats were getting half to full limits of cod and one to 10 lingcod per outing last week, and the bite is improving as conditions improve.

Wednesday’s trip on the Kahuna from J&M Sportfishing in Monterey reported 111 cod for 12 angers aboard, a whisker away from full limits. On the north side of the bay, Santa Cruz Coastal Charters maximized the fun using light spinning gear to catch some big rockfish, including one gargantuan lingcod that weighed in at 33 pounds on Monday’s trip.Halibut fishing is hitting stride as the water warms. Water temperature in the bay is averaging around 3 degrees warmer than “normal” this season. Monterey anglers reported good halibut catches from Del Monte Beach up to Sand City. Many were in the 20 to 30-pound range. From Moss Landing, halibut hunters are heading north towards Pajaro and doing very well for big flatties in 40-60 feet of water. Halibut fishing is strong near the Santa Cruz Harbor and especially around Capitola and New Brighton Beach in 30-60 feet of water.

Wednesday’s trip on the beautiful Miss Beth was dedicated to halibut fishing. At an “unknown location,” Skipper JT Thomas hooked his clients up with limits of big halibut up to 25 pounds. We would like to visit that spot soon, if we can figure out where the heck it is.

After this latest south swell calmed down, surfcasting got better and continues to improve on a daily basis. From Pacifica down to Monterey, the chances of finding, and catching striped bass has greatly improved. Multiple catches and limits (two per day) have been reported along this entire stretch of coastline. Wind is still a factor, as most days saw strong winds by late morning that continued past sunset.

The night-fishers are doing particularly well on striped bass. Surf perch are getting bigger and more numerous. Finding a good steep beach with active sand crab colonies is almost a guarantee for catching limits of barred surf perch. We’ve also seen good incidents of walleye and calico schools on the beaches from Half Moon Bay down to Monterey.

The southern San Mateo Coast is a very good bet right now for perch and striped bass. One angler came home with a striper and a bonus starry flounder this week while fishing in that area.

Allen Bushnell also operates Santa Cruz Surf and Kayak Fishing Guide Service. Please send any reports, pictures or questions to scruzfishing@yahoo.com.