Salmon fishing is the top attention-getter in the Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay area, will Halibut be next?
Salmon fishing remains the top attention-getter in our area, as private boats and charters are finding plenty of kings willing to bite.

The salmon are spread throughout the entire Monterey Bay, with a few distinct hot spots. The Lover's Point area in Monterey, Mulligan's Hill and Moss Landing, the Pajaro Hole and especially the Soquel Hole are all holding fish this week. The bite varies from day to day, but any given trip can produce limits.

Trolling remains the best bet, as the fish are somewhat scattered. Feeding on abundant krill and pockets of anchovies, most of the fish are near the surface. Trolling 35-65 feet down seems to be producing the best results, though reports of fish at 100 feet or deeper, and as shallow as 15 feet. Working the canyon edges with a flasher and hoochie combo is the most common method right now, but spoons, Apex lures or using anchovies as bait are working as well.

Jim Rubin on the Becky Ann calls the bite "wide open." It may not seem that way for everyone, but Rubin is allowed the claim when he returns at 11 am with limits for the boat, as he did on Wednesday. Tim Obert from Ultimate Charters also reported limits nearly every day this week. "The limits are averaging 11-19 lbs a fish and they are coming on hoochies and spoons. Mornings before 9 am seems to be the hot time to be out. The fish are very active and will not refuse a well-presented bait!!! Stagnaro's Velocity will be running regular salmon trips as well. On the big boat, Skipper Ken Stagnaro prefers to mooch, which doesn't cover as much territory as trolling, but may provide more excitement. Stagnaro's reported 18 salmon on Wednesday's trip, and 35 fish on Sunday.

Gerry Brookes from Reel Sportfishing also did real well on Sunday. "Fishing looks like the old days again. Today we put in limits for my five passengers by 9:00 A.M. Then, we put in limits for captain and crew by 10:00. The weather was perfect, with lots of bait and the fish were hungry. Fish ranged from 12 to 20 pounds."

Don't forget the halibut. Now that the big swells have dropped a bit and the water is warming inshore, we should start seeing good scores on the flatties from the usual areas near Mitchell's Cove, It's Beach, the Mile Buoy and the long flat stretches towards Capitola. Carl Azevedo, owner/operator of Boccie Boy Bait will be on the hunt next week for big anchovies to keep in his bait receiver at the Santa Cruz Harbor. Live bait is always best for halibut.

No matter where you fish this week, or what you fish for, remember to have safe and be fun.