Conditions continue to improve for Santa Cruz area fishing. Weather and wind is limiting the range for some boats, but even the local reefs and sandy areas are beginning to produce well.

This season, many local boats have been traveling to the south side of the Bay to fish the deeper reefs off Point Pinos and Point Joe. Gerry Brookes from Reel Sportfishing targeted that area last weekend for fantastic results. Brookes came home with limits of quality rockfish on the Doble, mostly Olives, Reds, Blues and Whitebellies. Stagnaro's Sportfishing sent both boats, the Velocity and the Princess to the area for similar results including some fine Copper rockfish. As the water in the Bay warms with the season, the fishing is improving on this side of the Bay as well.

On Saturday, Ken Stagnaro fished closer to town, finding limits of rockfish for his passengers between Natural Bridges and Davenport. "We caught some nice Blacks and Reds, a few Blues along with Bolinas and yellowtail rockfish," Stagnaro said. On the way home, the Velocity made one more stop near the Mile Buoy that produced an 18-pound Halibut from 60 feet of water.

Salmon fishing remains steady, according to Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine. Over the weekend, most boats were catching salmon from the Soquel Hole area, but hordes of jellyfish made fishing difficult by Sunday. Boats that tried the North Coast area early in the week found salmon near Three Trees and Davenport, fishing the 250-300 foot depths. Most boats averaged about a fish per rod, and some of the fish are big. Captain Jim Rubin aboard the Becky Ann caught salmon weighing up to 32 pounds in that area on Tuesday. The bite was pretty good, Rubin says, adding they lost three additional fish at the boat.

For pure action, though, Capitola might be the spot this week. Ed Burrell from Capitola Boat and Bait reports the anchovy schools are back in the shallows and big fish are following. A few White Sea Bass were caught from the pier this week, though none reached the 26-inch minimum "keeper" length. Burrell himself caught a 21-pound Striped Bass from the wharf on Wednesday, and one from the beach earlier in the week. A number of Halibut were caught from the wharf, including a few keeper-sized flatties. Local surfcasters are targeting the warm shallow coves like Cowell's Beach and New Brighton fro Halibut. Using a white swimbait, angler Brendan McVey brought in a 24-pound Halibut to the beach on Saturday, assisted by fellow surfcaster Mike Burkett. Bayside's Todd Fraser has measured Halibut every day this week, including one doormat that tipped the scales at 30 pounds.