The end of July and beginning of August might be considered the best time of Monterey Bay’s summer fishing season. The ocean waters are warmer, winds flow in a more predictable pattern and high temperatures inland promote heavy marine layers of overcast and fog overnight and into the morning hours. South swell events come and go, but in between the ocean is flat and calm, even glassy in the early mornings and towards sunset hours. A variety of baitfish bloom within the bay, including vast schools of anchovy, sardine, mackerel, jacksmelt and squid. The majority of normal prey species inhabit the inshore areas in good numbers, which makes for good fishing.

And that is what we have right now. Good fishing. Rockfish and lingcod are the most numerous category of catch locally. Limits are a regular occurrence for rockfish anglers and they make for good eating, as well as being tons of fun to catch. California halibut remain in the shallows for feeding and spawning. They are even more fun to catch, being very strong and often quite grumpy. Some years we see big schools of traveling big white seabass honing in on the squid spawns, and every year there are catches of those seabass that are resident to our area.

JT Thomas from Go Fish Santa Cruz is taking advantage of improved sea conditions to travel farther north in pursuit of more action and bigger rockfish. this week he took the Miss Beth up past Ann Nuevo to Franklin Point, where his clients caught quick limits of quality rockfish including blacks, vermilion and canaries as well as 10 lingcod for the boat. Monterey charter boats reported limits of rockfish every day this week, with a few lings in the mix as well. Fishing for halibut remains strong on both sides of the bay. The big flatfish are moving around a bit. the bite near Capitola is slowing somewhat, but still strong. Just ask Myron Larsen from Capitola Boat and Bait who caught his limits of flatties two days in a row this week. Other areas in Santa Cruz are improving as waters warm just outside the bay off West Cliff Drive and points north toward Four-Mile Beach.

Offshore, meaning ten miles and out, this point of summertime fishing can include big bluefin tuna that range from 50 to over 200 pounds each. Last week, we wondered if it was perhaps time for local tuna, and this week we received some reports that bluefin are around and not that far from shore. These reports are not verified as yet, but originate from boats out of Half Moon Bay, and whale watching outfits on Monterey Bay. Time to dust off the Mad Macs and respool your 100-pound leaders!