It's starting to look like we just might have a real winter this year. A series of rainstorms are sweeping through the area, bringing a desperately needed relief to the aquifer. Rivers, streams, reservoirs and groundwater reserves are getting a recharge. With any luck, the pattern will remain consistent through this season, and hopefully stack up some big snow depths in the mountains as well.

This kind of weather can making fishing a bit difficult however, as the rain is usually accompanied by high winds and, in the ocean, big swells. Dedicated anglers need to be ready to jump on any window of opportunity to get out for some fishing.

Chris 'Fishing Trips in Monterey took advantage of a brief respite between storms last weekend. On Saturday the Check Mate recorded 210 rockfish (limits), seven lingcod and 84 Dungeness crab, while the sister ship Star of Monterey caught limits of rockfish (150), 1`2 lings and 36 Dungies. Chris' also sent out the Caroline for nearly identical scores. - 160 rockfish, 16 lingcod and 36 crab for the boat. Sunday was much the same for Chris', with full limits of rockfish for the Check Mate and Caroline- nearly 60 lings, and 192 Dungeness collectively for the two boats.

Otherwise, perch fishing from the beaches is always recommended during this tumultuous season. The big waves sculpt sand bottom beaches, creating troughs and channels favored by feeding surfperch. It doesn't matter what the weather may be, the perch actually seem to bite better with lots of frothy action in the surfline. Beaches from Santa Cruz all the way to Del Monte Beach in Monterey have been lighting up with good perch reports. The most consistent action seems to be towards the middle portion of Monterey Bay, from Manresa Beach down to Sand City, with Pajaro, Zmudowski, and Seaside beaches kicking out limits of barred surfperch and the occasional dinner-plate behemoth BSP.

One can always travel in this season as well. We will save the northern California steelhead numbers for our next report, but don't forget the foothill and higher-elevation lakes. Water temps have dropped and the trout may be slower moving right now, but good fishing is available to those willing to brave inclement elements in hopes of a prize. Tops on the list is Lake Almanor. Known for its land-locked salmon and big Eagle Lake-variety rainbows, Almanor's brown trout bite really comes on this time of year.

Chris Mayes from Chester California lives right next to the lake. Mayes is an expert on that fishery and capitalized on conditions last week for a "big brown" hunt. Mayes reports "Some days, you just know it's gonna be good. You can feel it in your bones. Driving across the causeway, I observed dark clouds enveloping my destination. Made me smile, because brown trout like the dark." Using a combination of Gulp minnows on a ??-inch jig head, and live crayfish on his mooching rod, Mayes ended the day with 21 brown trout caught and released. "I was hammering the browns on jigs, but the crayfish wasn't getting much love. He'd get pecked at every now and then, but it seemed as if the trout didn't know what to do with a crayfish. After the bite slowed down in the shallows, I moved out to about 20 feet in a stump field. I immediately had a bite on the crayfish out here...but instead of little nibbles, the rod simply loaded up and it was fish on! I already knew what was on the other end of the line. Soon enough, up came a chunky 17+ inch smallmouth bass. Winter bass are not an everyday thing up here...I aim to change that this season with the help of my new crayfish friends."

Send your photos, comments or questions to scruzfishing@yahoo.com