Salty anglers still have plenty to pursue on Monterey Bay. Dungeness crab, winter sand dabs, plentiful surfperch and the occasional exotic bonita can keep boaters busy on the Bay.

Chris' Fishing Trips in Monterey continues to welcome their boats back to port with limits of Dungeness crab and "buckets" of sand dabs. The reports from Chris' this week are nearly identical. Chris Arcaleo reported Monday "Lot's of Sanddabs & Limits (48) Dungeness crab for eight anglers on the Check Mate." Saturday and Sunday also featured limits or near-limits of crab, and all the 'dabs the anglers cared to keep.

Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine reports similar crabbing success on the Santa Cruz side of the Bay and adds, "The surfperch are on the bite here at the Harbor Beach and 26th Ave. The winds are down and there is a small swell." Local private angler reports indicate the beaches from Rio Del Mar down to Del Monte Beach in Monterey remain very consistent for barred surf perch and the occasional striped bass. It's a bit more hit or miss on Santa Cruz "town" beaches but on average, one out of three tries is successful, and they are big fish this year!

Stagnaro's Sportfishing has exciting news. Skipper Ken Stagnaro announced "From January 5th thru February 5th our main vessel Velocity will be in the shipyard undergoing a complete re-powering. She will soon be powered by engines that meet the latest EPA standards in clean burning, fuel saving marine motors. Meanwhile we will have our smaller six-pack charter vessel Sea Stag Six available for charter for January." The Velocity is a relatively new boat, and the complete re-powering will keep Stagnaro's beautiful flagship running sweetly.

While local rivers and streams are in desperate need of water, the northern coastal rivers have had some rain recently and are coming into good shape for steelhead fishing. If you like to catch these big ocean-going trout, it is really worth the time and expense to take the trip north.

We heard from River's Edge Fishing Guide Micah Woolworth this week, fresh from a successful trip on one of the rivers near Arcata. "The new steelhead season has had its ups and downs. The rivers were blown out for most of November to the New Year. Every day has been different. It would appear that the average day is anywhere from one to five opportunities or fish per boat. The good news is that all the fish coming to the boat are BIG! The average fish is weighing about 10-12 pounds up to the high teens. It's still early for the new season! With 1.5-2" of rain last Friday and Saturday, the rivers should start to fish around mid-week. I expect a fresh push of winter steelhead to come with the decreasing flows."

Locally, steelhead season lasts until March 7. With any luck, we'll get some rain in our area, and see some fish coming up our area streams and creeks soon. Also, remember to send in or report your steelhead and other individual species report cards to the Department of fish and Wildlife by January 31, 2015. This is not only a legal responsibility, but assists the DFW in maintaining an accurate assessment of fish populations and system health.

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