There seems to be a hint of fall in the air. Mornings and evenings are a bit cooler, we’re seeing more swells from the west while dark clouds of shearwaters are massing just offshore. The shearwaters are joined by thousands of gulls, terns, pelicans, dolphins and humpback whales, all feeding on immense anchovy schools crowding in towards the beach. Autumn is coming and can be the best time of year for fishing the Monterey Bay.

Most boaters continue to take advantage of of the live bait, and we’re seeing more halibut hunters opt for drifting bait rather than trolling to snag their flatties. The halibut are present in their entire nearshore range right now. When the waves are calm for a few days in a row, they can be caught by surfcasting, using a dropper loop rig with a white fluke or a variety of stick bait, swim bait or iron lures. Paddleboarders are working the sand channels in nearby kelp beds, fishing swim baits in 10-20 feet of water. Outside of the kelp, Kayak anglers are finding the halibut in 30 to 70 feet of water, along with the motorized craft. The halibut fishing is consistent enough that six-pack charters like Go Fish Santa Cruz Will gladly target them specifically for their clients. Usually wrapping up their outings with limits of rockfish as a bonus.

We are still limited to a maximum of 120 feet deep for rockfishing, due to change in October. There are plentiful fish on the inside, thankfully. School rockfish are providing tons of action for boaters working local reefs in 30-70 feet of water. Bigger, grumpier bottomfish are on the bite as well, including gophers, browns and vermilion. Chris Arcoleo from Chris’ Fishing Trips in Monterey continues to post limits of rockfish for every trip aboard the Check Mate and Caroline. They are fishing towards the Carmel area. Arcoleo reported on Wednesday saying, “We’re catching a lot of olives and yellows and blues, plus a few cabezon and a few lingcod. there are tons of bait in the area, with feeding humpbacks. But, for some reason the halibut bite is very slow near the harbor and Del Monte beach right now.

The latest surfcasting info is quite positive. Afternoon winds make casting difficult, but mornings and evenings have been quite pleasant. The anchovy schools are bringing more stripers int the beach as well. Jeff Canderle of Santa Cruz checked in from the Eastside of Santa Cruz reporting, ”It’s been really nice. The boy and I pulled in a couple jumbos last night!” Our Santa Cruz Westside correspondent Norm Hayes tells us, "XXX Beach has been very productive yesterday and today."  Hayes caught multiple barred surf perches of the smaller variety early in the week. There are big ones out there biting though!

One entertaining aspect of surfcasting in our area is traveling to, and checking out different beaches for structure and conditions. Right now, the beaches south of Rio Del Mar have retained some awesome parallel troughs between the dry sand and the outer sandbar. . Surfcasters can find two or three distinct areas during their retrieve where a bite might be likely. It seems the biggest perch are lurking all the way inside, right in the final shorebreak. Try to keep your bait in that area for an extra minute or two when reeling in, you might get a big surprise.