Last weekend's south swell brought expected results for inshore fishing; things got very slow. This week's weather is improving and looks to be comfortable for the next few days. Fishing should improve with a falling swell and light winds forecast. Fishing should improve along with the conditions.

Area anglers had a frustrating weekend due to the aforementioned weather and seas. Those who did make it out for rockfish or halibut had a tough time finding any fish willing to bite. When a strong swell moves through, the halibut tend to move to deeper waters and the rockfish hunker down on the reefs. Both species get lockjaw, so scores were low over the weekend. As this week progresses, we saw the bite for both varieties improve. Local reefs such as Adam's Reef near Capitola and South Rock off Lighthouse Point both produced rockfish including a few limits. An increasing number of lingcod are in the mix as well, and we should see more lings caught over the next couple months as they come inshore to spawn.

Mike Schell from Bayside Marine was happy to report a few nice halibut weighed in at the shop on Thursday. Most were caught in the usual halibut grounds in front of the Harbor, near Pleasure Point and outside of Natural Bridges on the flat sandy areas. Weekend weather conditions were particularly harsh offshore. A 5-foot south swell mixed with nine-foot northwest seas, and layered with winds up to 25 knots made albacore fishing all but impossible last weekend. Most sane anglers kept their boats at the dock. Those who ventured forth turned around and beat it back to safe harbor before halfway to the tuna grounds. The weekend looks promising for albacore; though the south swell had the effect of pushing the warm water breaks to the northwest, and further from our harbor. According to Schell, the tuna water is now located near the Pioneer Seamount, some 70 miles from Santa Cruz, and reports indicate the albacore fishing is "spotty" as of Thursday this week.

On the bright side of things, our local waters are still chock-full of bait. The bait balls are thick from five to 50 feet of water. We are still seeing jumbo sardines mostly, with a good mix of small mackerel and jacksmelt. Boccie Boy Bait has managed to locate some small anchovies as well, and is holding full receivers at his spot at the end of "S" Dock at the harbor. The one species that seemed unaffected by the weekend swell is striped bass. The striper bite has been steadily improving over the past few weeks, and they continue to bite well along the beaches south of Capitola. Successful anglers are using KastMaster lures, or flylining live sardines for the stripers. Ed Burrell at Capitola Boat and Bait weighed in a good number of stripers this week, including one 28.5- pound lunker caught from the Capitola Wharf on Thursday.