Allen Bushnell, Fish Rap: 2009 was a good year for fishing in the Monterey Bay

Happy New Year! Many anglers will be making the resolution to catch more and bigger fish in 2010. Some of us are content to just get out there as often as possible, enjoying the outdoors and good company of family and friends. As they say, the best fisherman is the one having the most fun.

With any luck, this year will be at least as productive as last. The 2009 fishing season in Santa Cruz had its ups and downs.

Surfcasting for barred surf perch along the beaches kept many of us going through the winter months, and some notable catches of black, rainbow, rubberlip and walleye perch were reported from the piers and rocky coastlines of our area. Wintertime flows remained low in the San Lorenzo and other local streams and creeks, and steelhead fishing was fairly quiet as a result last year.

Once springtime hit, we saw a lot more action. Rockfish season started off well, with plenty of bolina rockfish in the area near the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor and the Mile Buoy, as well as limits of larger black, blue, olive and vermilion rockfish from the reefs along the North Coast. Rockfish stayed steady through the season this year. According to Skipper Jim Rubin on the Becky Ann, decent limits were the rule for rockfish through mid-November, when the season ended. Rubin was particularly impressed with the schools of big black rockfish and "jumbo olives" towards the end of the season. A smattering of large lingcod was caught throughout the season, but generally the fishing for lings was slower this year.

Along with rockfish, halibut were a mainstay this season for local anglers. Starting in mid-March, boaters found halibut in the 10- to 30-pound range on the flat sandy areas from Capitola to Natural Bridges, in 30-70 feet of water. Surfcasters working the calm, protected beaches hooked quite a few halibut, including the occasional keeper. Pier anglers also reported a good number of flatties coming over the rail at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf and especially the Capitola Wharf.

It has been quite a while since we had a year with favorable offshore albacore conditions like this past season. The warm water currents shaped up in mid-summer and lasted until late fall. The temperature breaks were much closer than in the past few years, which make it more accessible for our local boats. Sadly, a succession of big swells and almost constant high winds offshore kept most boats from making the 35- to 50-mile journey to the tuna grounds. Those who did make it out often returned with anywhere from two to 50 fish. As Rubin says, "the water was there, and the fish were there, but the weather held us back."

Last year also featured a rare white sea bass bite in the fall. We received reports midsummer of sea bass being caught near our local kelp beds, likely the year-round resident "ghost fish," that are notoriously shy. In fall, however, a big school of transient white sea bass flowed into Monterey Bay, following the spawning squid. For a week or so it was wide-open fishing for 20- to 50-pound sea bass on the south side of the bay. Unlike the home guard, these visiting sea bass were voracious, and anglers using live squid were almost guaranteed succcess.

For now, the locals will have to be content with the usual wintertime fare: surfcasting perch, pots full of crab, buckets of sanddabs and the occasional monster squid. Remember, though, to get prepared. Another full year of fishing is on its way.