We all had a big scare on Tuesday night. After an 8.7 earthquake off the coast of Russia, a tsunami warning went out for almost the entire Pacific Ocean. The tsunami surge that eventually hit our area was only about one foot, but still packed a powerful tidal punch. The Santa Cruz Harbor suffered minimal damage, one piling was broken and one dredge pipe section broke. Tsunami effects spread from Russia to Japan, Chile and French Polynesia as well as the entire US West Coast.

With the exception of the tsunami, conditions were fairly calm. The ocean was flat all week,  though some days were windy enough to keep anglers on the inside. The Monterey/Carmel/Big Sur areas continue to produce steady catches of quality rockfish, halibut and lingcod. A good number of vermilion and canaries are in the mix along with big blacks, yellows and gophers. Halibut limits are not unusual, and fish were weighed in up to 30 pounds this week. Anglers from Moss continue to enjoy a heyday on halibut, finding big flatties south towards Soldier’s Club and North towards the Pajaro Pipeline. Early limits on the flatties are the rule for the experienced anglers out of Moss. Tom Burns from Long Island N.Y. got out fishing with Captain Eric Andreassen on his four-pack charter, The Big Anchovy. Fish and wildlife life measured and weighed Burns' big halibut at the dock at 46 inches and 36 pounds. "My fish of a lifetime!" Burns' big hali hit a fresh dead squid on the bounce ball "up the coast," according to Andreassen.

Rockfish and halibut are abundant  in waters from 30 to 80 feet from Capitola up past West Cliff drive. Most private boaters report limits. North Coast anglers are getting bigger fish, halibut up to 40 pounds and big black rockfish in the five-pound class, plus lingcod up to 25. Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine reports, “A few bluefin tuna were caught near Monterey and Davenport and there were some jumpers spotted near the Soquel Hole. The biggest bluefin I saw was caught on a Mad Mack and weighed 220 pounds. The big bluefin was caught near the Pioneer (Seamount). There is a good amount of life from the Soquel Hole to Davenport. The bluefin are in the area so don't stop trying!”

 Perch fishing is taking off as the fish get bigger through the summer season. Look for the clean water beaches hosting big sandcrab beds. Some red tide and kelp conditions means you need to select your spot carefully. There are a massive number of perch on the bite now for anglers who find clean water beaches. Many of the fish are small, but they are biting nearly every cast from steep beaches especially on the incoming high tide. Sandcrabs work like a charm and have the benefit of attracting the occasional striper bite. 

It’s turning out to be a good year for striper fishing with reports of the bass coming in up to 25 pounds from Pacifica down to the southern San Mateo Beaches near San Gregorio and Pompano Beach. Bass anglers are also finding success from Santa Cruz on down the coast past Big Sur while using stickbaits, bucktails, iron or poppers. Early mornings and late evenings/full dark are most productive for striper fishing right now. Anchovy bait balls are moving in very close to shore this week, followed by feeding humpback whales. Look for the whales and birds and you’ll likely find some stripers.