The Monterey Bay area continues to experience a weird mix of conditions as we move from spring to summer seasons. It feels almost like we are moving from winter directly to summer, skipping spring altogether. We’ve seen a continuation of northwest swells over the past few months. Those swells, plus stiff northwest winds promote upwelling of cold water from the deep submarine canyons. The chilly water is nutrient-rich, which is not a bad thing. But, summertime species prefer warmer water, which might be the reason inshore fishing has been slower than usual.

This week, things are finally changing up. Interspersed with the north swells, we’re getting an increasing push from the south, both waves and wind. Water temps near Santa Cruz are hovering around 61 degrees this week. Two weeks ago, water temperature measured around 54. Warmer water puts inshore fish on the bite. It also brings in the bait, such as anchovies and sardines. Hopefully that will be good news for all the starving pelicans we’ve seen lately. Outside the Monterey Harbor, water temperatures are lower, around 57 degrees. That’s OK, though. Market squid seem to like the cooler water just fine. Chris’ Fishing Trips caught their typical rockfish limits on all trips this week, plus one trip that garnered over 300 of the tasty market squid. Chris’ outings also netted as many as six lingcod for their clients aboard the Check Mate on Sunday.

Stagnaro’s Sportfishing from Santa Cruz counted limits of rockfish, five lingcod and one cabezon for their six-hour trip on Saturday. Santa Cruz Coastal Charters fished further up the coast on Sunday, hooking 12 lingcod, of which seven were keepers in addition to their rockfish limits. Skipper JT Thomas from Go Fish Santa Cruz Charters traveled north on Saturday as well. He reported, “We fished locally today with Jim and his team . Niki from the Harbor office fished with us. They caught early limits of quality rock fish including big vermillion, some blues and blacks and landed some nice ling cod."

Bayside Marine’s Todd Fraser summed things up on Wednesday with a positive look on things. Fraser noted, “The inshore rock fishing was great up the coast near Davenport. The halibut bite was good near Capitola today. The wind was down until noon and the swell is small. Striped bass are still being caught near Marina. There have been a few striped bass caught near the San Lorenzo river mouth. The halibut are biting near New Brighton for shore anglers.”