Tag: santa cruz

Salmon Fishing Report for Santa Cruz

The 2nd Week of April, 2010:

salmon dodger
A salmon dodger used for trolling for salmon

Well, the salmon fishing has been decent for most people fishing near and around the Soquel Hole.  But, weather has started to take the fish counts down.  As the weekend went on, there wind and the waves and the rain made fishing conditions not worth it for many of the anglers, and the launch ramp at Santa Cruz harbor became a ghost town.  A big difference from opening weekend a week ago.

The overwhelming majority of salmon being caught from private fisherman is happening with trolling gear.  Most of these fish are being hooked at depths ranging from 120-200 feet down.  There was even a report of a kid fishing for halibut near the Soquel Hole bouncing a anchovy off the bottom who landed a keeper salmon (not confirmed though)

It’s too difficult to say what is working best, there is the usual mix of hoochie and dodgers/flashers and dead bait being dragged off the downriggers for the trollers.  And the few fisherman who are mooching are doing the typical sardine/anchovy rig with anywhere from 2-8 ounces of weight depending on the conditions.  If you asked me, mooching with anything over 6 ounces is not too much fun, especially if you are down deep.

So here’s the deal, we are all going to hope for some good weather these next few days off of the coast of California, and if that works out, there just might be some reports of some 30 plus lb. salmon next week.  If anyone has any reliable mile buoy reports for salmon fishing from either Monterey or Santa Cruz of even Half Moon Bay, please submit them via comments below.  There are quite a few smaller craft fisherman who are dying to know if they can just creep out of the channel and have some decent luck at catching their first salmon of the season.

Salmon Season Opening

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Been a long time coming, but the Salmon Season is arriving this weekend on April 3rd, 2010!

Going to be going out on a 17 foot Boston Whaler out of Santa Cruz, California early on Saturday morning in hopes of hooking up with a few of the red meat fish.  It has been a few years for so many people to have the chance to go and do this once again, hopefully the weather will cooperate.

The latest reports from local friends along the Monterey Bay and Half Moon Bay parts of California is that the salmon are out there, so you bet my crew will already have the bait and gas ready when it comes time to go to bed on Friday night.  Our current plan is to head down to water a few miles off Moss Beach and to do some mooching with dead anchovies.  Mooching is fishing with the engine turned off with bait on a hook, and some weight to get the bait down to the desired depth.  This method is my favorite for salmon in the ocean as it allows you to feel the bite and set the hook on your own.  Also, it allows you to catch some sleep if you like with the hope of getting woken up by the sound of a fish pulling line against the drag.  Some people like using sardines for bait, and yet a very select few will use dead squid for bait when hunting for salmon.  I personally have never used the squid, but a few fishing buddies swear by it.

As for the fishing regulations, right now the rules for most of California are 2 salmon per person per day, and the minimum size is 20 inches.  Coho need to be thrown back to get those growing in numbers once again.

My hope is to be able to bring you all kinds of reports of how the action is and how things go down on the fishing side of things, if you have any great news to report on your end, feel free to comment it below.

Good Luck Fishing,

Fishing Feeds

Santa Cruz, CA Fishing Report

Here is a Report From BaySide Marine from Santa Cruz
Feb. 17
The swells have started to drop here and things are looking much better at the Harbor mouth. The few reports that we have had this month include Seabass, Squid, Halibut, and Perch. There was a nice Halibut caught near the Mile Reef in Capitola. The Seabass and Halibut are still hit and miss in Monterey but there were a few good days last week. The Perch fishing has been good near Manresa and the Cement Ship. The best bet is to use Motor Oil Grubs and Coon Striped Shrimp. There is a Perch tournament on March 20 and once again I will have all the live shrimp and worms you need. Stop by the shop to get the entry you must sign up by Feb. 21.
JAN. 19
The fishing for Seabass has been good for the anglers who were in Monterey before the storm. The Squid is still the bait of choice. The swells and winds have become huge so there has been no action today. The Humbolt Squid are still wide open in the edge of the Monterey Canyon in 800-1200 feet of water. Fishing for crab has been decent on the north coast in 240 feet of water The Surf perch have been biting well on Coon striped shrimp.

Jan. 2 2010 Happy New Year!
The Squid fishing, crabbing, and Sand dabs are keeping anglers busy during these nice calm winter days. There has been a few swells but the winds have been generally light after the rain. There are big Squid in the Soquel Canyon and near Davenport. There was a good bite on Squid near 36’46/121’51. The Squid are in 800-1200 feet of water and the big Glow Ahi Jigs are working best. The crab fishing is still doing well up the coast in 200 feet of water. I still have crab pots rigged from Mc Kay’s with 300 feet of leaded rope for only $205.

Dec. 19
The crab fishing is still doing well for the anglers fishing up the coast. There have been a few good reports of Humbolt Squid being caught in the Canyons in 800-1200 feet of water. The swells have been up and down with the storms that have passed through. We have the 2010 Sport fishing License in stock along with Gift Certificates for stocking stuffers. We also have a great deal on McKay Crab Pots and Ace Line Hauler. I hope to see you soon. Happy Holidays!
Nov. 18
The crab fishing is still going well for the anglers up the coast in 180-220 feet of water. There were some Humbolt Squid caught in 1200 feet of water 8 miles from Santa Cruz in the Soquel Canyon.
Nov. 14
The fishing was great today near Franklin Point and there were some good scores near 4 Mile Beach. The best bet on crab seems to be up the coast in 200 feet of water. There was no wind in the morning but there was a breeze in the afternoon. The winds are reported to be calmer Sunday so come finish off the Rock fishing season in calm weather. The sun has been out with a little morning fog.
Nov. 13
The fishing was good today for the anglers who went looking for crabs. I spoke to one boat who had 30 crabs for 6 pots in 200 feet of water up the coast. The Rock fishing was decent for the anglers who worked the local reefs. There was some wind today in the afternoon which did not help. The winds and swells are expected to decrease all day Saturday and Sunday making this a great time to go fishing before the Rock fishing closes.
Nov. 11
The wind was down all morning and the fishing for crab has been great. I heard of good reports on the Becky Ann with Capt. Jimmy. The winds are going to remain light for the weekend so come crabbing and finish off the Rock fishing season.
Nov. 10
The crab season is open and there have been some good scores near Natural bridges and straight out of the Santa Cruz Harbor. The Crab are ranging from keeper to 6 + inches. The Humbolt Squid are showing in the deep canyons near the Soquel Hole and Davenport. There were a few boats up near Franklin Point in calm seas today and the action was good. The winds are down for the next few days and Rock fishing closes Sunday so come fishing.
PV Report
I was down for a few days fishing with my girl Regina in P.V. for a few days. I went fishing with Danny ” LuLu” on his father in laws boat “Balta” the first day and caught a nice tuna in the upper 180’s. We caught a few more Dorado and came home with the sun on our backs. I had Ryan “Salty” who works on Maximo as my deck hand for 3 days. Ryan was able to sneak out and pull on some fish for the first time this year. I can not say enough about how much this kid has become a seasoned Salty angler / deck hand. We had a great day one and my freezer was filled. The second day we went to the bank with Danny Osuna and Regina made her first appearance on the boat. We caught Tuna from 60-90 pounds on bullet Tunas on the troll. Regina did a great job on her first Tuna and had a great time on the water and in P.V. The last day things went slow at the Bank but we did end up with some nice Dorado. All in all it was a great trip and great weather. Thanks again to all my good friends in P.V. and in La Cruz! Until Next Time!