Weather and general sea conditions are improving slowly, and there’s plenty to fish for in the Monterey Bay. Mornings have been generally calm, with winds picking up early and blowing hard in the afternoons and I to the evenings.

The biggest buzz on the bay is the surfcast striper bite. Beaches from New Brighton to Del Monte offer the possibility of striped bass in the surf, with the most consistent locations closer to Moss Landing. Surfcasters are hooking bass up to 13 pounds but most are in the 20-26-inch range. The classic red and white pencil popper seems to be the lure of choice, but any big popper or surface lure can do the trick. Rubber-tailed swimbaits or metal lures such as KastMasters and Krocodiles have also been successful, as long as the particular beach is clear of kelp and seaweed. While high tide is the preferred choice for surfcasting stripers, anglers are hooking up on all tides including dead low. Early morning and late evenings are the best times for the striper hunt, but the steady winds make sundown fishing difficult.

Anglers are still catching salmon in various spots around the bay, but the bite is slow and the fish are scattered. We are not seeing any significant concentrations of anchovies or sardines. Most bait balls on the near shore are comprised of small mackerel, with a few sardines mixed into the bunch.

The good news is, these big baitfish are perfect for attracting lingcod and larger variety rockfish. Fishing the reefs is proving to be very productive up and down the Bay. Carol Jones on the Kahuna from Moss Landing reported on last weekend’s trip, saying,” Another awesome rock fish/ling cod trip down the coast today with 13 anglers landing easy limits of rockfish and ling cod.” The Kahuna travels down past Point Pinos for their big bags of rockfish. Chris’ Fishing Trips reported limits of rockfish and limits of lingcod for four days out of five, fishing in that area this week.

Water temps remain cool in the shallows, around 54 degrees. This is the most likely reason we are not seeing many halibut so far this season. Veteran angler Mark Davis set the bar this week though, catching a 34-pound halibut near Capitola using live mackerel for bait.

Bushnell also operates Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing Guide Service. Please send your reports, pictures or questions to scruzfishing@yahoo.com.