A giant swell that hit the west coast last week really changed things up. Chances are, any beach you looked at last week does not look the same this week. This is good news for the surfcasters. Waves are still big and the forecast is for eight-10 foot waves over the weekend. Because the giant waves over the past weekend gave a good “winter treatment” to our shores, we are left with tons of good structure all around the Monterey Bay.

Holes, trenches, horizontal troughs and newly exposed reef structures create ideal feeding areas for perch and striped bass. These deeper spots, along with increased currents are like conveyor belts of food items for big hungry fish. Savvy anglers around the bay are taking advantage.

Edward Tani from Hayward fished the Aptos beaches on Thursday morning. Casting to an outgoing tide, Tani enjoyed a number of hookups with powerful barred surfperch. He reports, “Santa Cruz is still good for bigger perch. From Rio Del Mar this morning (my big fish) s about 15-inches and just south of two and one pounds. Three others around one and a half pounds were released. Daybreak-8:30 AM. Legal stripers have shown up also.” A 15-inch perch weighing over two pounds is a very big fish, relatively speaking. That is the kind of perch that will have your drag screaming and test your light tackle.

With our last significant rainfall, the Salinas and Pajaro Rivers broke through the sandy beach berms holding their waters back in big lagoons. Each winter resident striped bass in those rivers gravitate towards the ocean just waiting to escape to the saltwater. Well, they are out now, as evidenced by the number of schoolie-sized stripers being caught by surfcasters from Moss landing up to the Santa Cruz Beaches. This yearly “first flush” often results in a flurry of striper hookups before they disperse. Some years, the striper bite remains hot for months. Let’s hope this year is one of those.

The stripers will bite on regular perch gear and bait. Two-inch grubs or GULP Camo Worms are favorites amongst Monterey Bay surfcasters. Those fishing primarily for striped bass will use bigger rods, and throw bigger lures. Pencil poppers, KastMasters or Krokodiles all work well for stripers in the surf. Another favorite lure is the SP Minnow in various colors. We can also downsize any of these lures and enjoy a good chance of hooking up with a bruiser surfperch.