We’re in the full swing of summer now, and most representative species are on the bite. From Big Sur up to Franklin Point, local anglers and visitors are pursuing rockfish, lingcod, halibut, sole and the occasional white sea bass. Much of this bounty can be credited to abundant bait in the bay. Squid spawns have started back up again in spots, mostly near Monterey. Big anchovy schools can be found in the deeper, more central areas of the bay. The year started out with a good showing of sardines, but we’ve received few reports of the speedy little baitfish recently.

Local Monterey angler Pat Kuhl reports “the halibut bite is still going strong from Lover’s Point and up to Sand City. Anglers are fooling the big flatfish by drifting live baits, or bounce-ball trolling bait or lures. Kohl added “The good news is, squid are back. The big net boats are switching from anchovies to market squid this week, with giant blooms near the red can buoy off of Pacific Grove.”

Rockfishing is steady for boats in the Monterey area. As usual, the bigger fish are located farther from the harbor, usually around the corner towards Carmel with even better fishing down the coast to Big Sur. Rockfish remains the staple for anglers in Santa Cruz as well. Private boaters and the charter operations are having no problem puling limits of fish from the reefs inside of the 120-foot boundary. Halibut are on the bite as well near Santa Cruz. Though we’ve received reports of halibut from the West Cliff area and the near the Mile Buoy, the best bite is further into the bay, from New Brighton down towards Manresa. JT Thomas from Go Fish Santa Cruz had an outstanding trip on Wednesday, catching limits of rockfish with his clients then heading closer to shore for limits of halibut for all aboard the beautiful Miss Beth.

Surfcasting is getting better and better. We’ll go into more detail about the how, what, when, where and whys of local beach fishing in next week’s report. Suffice it to say for now, get to a beach and catch some fish. They are there, where are you?