Fishing for king salmon takes top billing as usual. While not “on fire,” salmon fishing has at least been consistent across the bay, with fish scattered from Soldier’s Club near Monterey to the Davenport area north of Santa Cruz. Bayside Marine’s Todd Fraser notes salmon are following the bait saying, “Sardines and mackerel have moved into the shallow water. There are huge schools in 150 feet of water to the beach. There is a good chance of trolling up some salmon in the shallow water where the bait is.” Fraser also fielded an increasing number of reports this week of halibut caught near Lighthouse Point, the Mile Buoy and near the Pajaro Pipeline.

Rockfishing remains the best bet. Limits of rockfish are the rule for anglers fishing any of the reef areas along Monterey Bay. Capitola Boat and Bait reports full sacks of blacks, browns and gopher rockfish as well as lingcod from the nearby reefs. Stagnaro’s Sportfishing is getting their new boat Legacy into action these days. Ken Stagnaro reports, “Legacy will be running trips to Ano Nuevo on weekends this summer. Sunday’s full day cod trip on Legacy returned with 25 ling cod and limits of excellent quality rockfish for 19 people.” Chris’s Sportfishing reported limits of rockfish for all their trips last week with up to 34 lings per day. Randy’s posted similar reports of rockfish limits, with one ling per rod and a bonus halibut for the Sur Randy on Monday’s trip.

The Santa Cruz Harbor has important news this week. Our brand-new dredge will be arriving in a couple weeks. Construction of the dredge will take place at the harbor launch ramp, which will be closed for a two-week period as a result. The harbor is offering a sweet deal for end-tie berthing to those anglers who will not be able to launch while construction is underway.

Port District officials announced, “Construction of the Port District's new dredge (to be named Twin Lakes) has been completed by DSC Dredge Company of Reserve, Louisiana. The Port District anticipates the arrival of its new dredge commencing on June 13, 2016. Staging and assembly of the new dredge will take place in the launch ramp area. The launch ramp and adjoining parking areas will be closed for the duration of the build.

As a result of the launch ramp closure, the Port District will be offering a "Dredge Delivery" visitor berthing special to all trailerable vessels. For only $150, berth your vessel on an end-tie for the duration of the launch ramp closure, which is currently expected to last 10 days. If the closure is extended, your berthing is extended too for no additional cost! Launch fee and parking are included!” For additional information and berthing reservations, call 831-475-6161 or email scpd@santacruzharbor.org.