Anglers are making the most of deepwater rockfishing before April ends. Good catches of chilipeppers, canary and vermilion are on the menu. Depending on the spot fished, Petrale sole can be found in the deep as well as lingcod, with reports of lings up to 25 pounds this week from Monterey.

Boats from Moss Landing Harbor are finding rockfish while working the slope edges of the main canyon. On the flats, petrale sole and an increasing number of halibut were reported this week. Water temperature is rising, and the halibut are moving in.

Most mornings, conditions were fairly decent for anglers launching from the Santa Cruz Harbor. Afternoons this week featured blustery winds over a medium sized swell. Winds persisted over nights, making the ocean bumpy even at dawn a few days this week.

The greatest number of boats are fishing for the deepwater species now, and hauling in limits of various rockfish. Vermilion, canaries, chilipeppers, bocaccio and green splotched rockfish are filling up the gunny sacks and iced fish holds. Many of these deepwater rockfish are high quality, especially those heavy reds. Plenty of Petrale sole are coming home with those deepwater anglers, as well as an occasional lingcod. Some boaters are working the inside for halibut that are slow working their way into the shallows. Halibut catches were reported from water as shallow as 40 feet, though the 50-70 foot depths seem the best bet for now.

It may be that two-degree difference in water temperature, but perch fishing is fairly good in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties down through the beaches in Big Sur. Sandcrab beds are becoming a more common sight. Surfcasters have also noticed a welcome increase in the number of fish on the bite and an increase in average size for the most common species, barred surf perch. Pockets of intense calico surfperch provided some hubcaps amongst catch and release limits.

The broad beaches ringing Monterey Bay retain incredible structure from our winter of endless big waves. Fishing the low tides can be productive with nearshore holes, troughs and sand points readily apparent. Best bite lately has been on the outgoing high tides, especially when they coincide with dawn and especially dusk. Mid-day winds can make things difficult when high tide occurs mid-day. Schoolie stripers are on the march, scattered and moving quickly.

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