Happy New year and welcome to 2026. Good news to start the year includes the real possibility of a more normal king salmon season for sport and commercial anglers and the lifting of restrictions on long-soak crab pots, which begins January 2. Salmon population projections are way up for this year thanks to a couple wet winters in a row. Not to be overlooked are the diligent efforts of a number of non-profit orgs, most notably the Golden Gate Salmon Association, Coastside Fishing Club and the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project. All are worthy recipients of our support and contributions.

Supporting the non-governmental organizations can be fun as well as fulfilling. MBSTP announced this week the 21st Annual Sand Crab Classic Perch Derby will occur as planned, on March 14, 2026 at the Portuguese Hall in Santa Cruz. Entries are limited to the first 300 anglers signing up online, and tickets go quickly (like in an hour or so). Check the website mbstp.org for full details so you don’t miss the boat. All proceeds from the derby go to ongoing research and habitat restoration efforts of MBSTP, as well as their hatchery operations that put hundreds of thousands, if not millions of silver and king salmon and wild coastal steelhead trout back into our local waters.

Christmas week started off stormy with big waves and howling winds. There were even official NOAA tornado warnings, and some reports of waterspouts near shore on Monterey Bay. We had a few days respite after Christmas. Crabbers and rockfish anglers took full advantage of the mild conditions before the next set of storms were scheduled to come through the area. A few halibut were caught by skiff anglers launching from Santa Cruz Boat Rentals. Deepwater rockfishing remains strong.

Top story of the week came from Tony Molfino from Santa Cruz. He took his twelve year old son Maverick out for some deepwater rockfish jigging the day after Christmas. Maverick was eager to try the new slow-pitch rod he found under the tree. They caught a few nice rockfish, but what happened next was unexpected. Molfino tells it best, reporting, “After putting on a 250g  blue Ahi tuna jig and catching some cod, I was reeling in to reset after a strong drift. I got hit about 100 feet down by something that definitely wasn't a rock cod. After it made a couple runs I finally saw color and realized it was a bonito. Once I got it in, my son instantly put on the same kind of jig I had onto his rod and was on a mission. A few drops later, he too got hit on the retrieve about 100ft down and proceeded to battle with his new rod. He was determined to get a bonito on it and sure enough he brought it to color and we got it aboard. His fish was of course bigger than mine which he will never let me forget.” Bonito are tuna-like fish from the mackerel family, more common below Point Conception. They are known as fast and ferocious fighters, and are usually caught near the surface in our waters. Finding them deep, and in the wintertime is exciting, maybe a whole new alternative for winter fishing when our normal prey have migrated or their seasons are closed.