Winter storms are here and that can limit the number of fishing days. When the boats do get out on Monterey Bay, they are doing well with deep water rockfish, sand dabs and Dungeness crab. Lingcod are moving in and the counts are going up for those toothy predators.  Anglers are finding willing biters from 30 to 80 feet of water, using a variety of baits or lures. There are plenty of sand dabs out beyond the 120-foot depths, and these make the best live bait for lings. The sand dab grounds also hold the possibility of larger sand or rock sole. Fishing for sand dabs and sole is a productive diversion while the hoop nets are soaking in 180-220 feet of water. A few halibut are still being caught between 80 and 120 feet of water. Boats from Moss are heading straight out to deploy hoop nets for Dungeness crab, and they are doing quite well, according to reports. The canyon edges are holding the best concentrations of crab. 

Santa Cruz anglers have a number of good choices right now. Some are hoop netting for crab off the North Coast beaches. Most of the Dungeness crab limits reported have come from deeper water, 200 to 220 feet. The flats rimming Soquel Hole are still producing limits. Most anglers are concentrating on rockfish from the deep water reefs. A good mix of green-spotted, canary, vermilion and chilipepper rockfish are being bagged daily. Flatfish such as sand dabs and sole are biting from the sand flats around 200 feet.

Weather and sea conditions have been somewhat tumultuous for surfcasters, but there are plenty of fishable days on the beaches from San Francisco down to the San Mateo County line. Perch are getting bigger and the occasional striper will bite on perch gear or larger striper lures. 

Perch limits are easy once you fiddle the right spot, though most are on the small side. One exception is a reported 16-inch barred surf perch taken this week from Manresa Beach in Santa Cruz County. Striped bass are getting harder to find, but the dedicated bass masters know where and when to go. We should see an uptick in the striper numbers as coastal rivers and streams break through the dunes and flow out to sea. 

Throwing crab snares from land is going very well from the Pacifica Pier and the jetties at Princeton Harbor. Snaring Dungeness from the beach is starting to produce as well, from Ocean Beach in San  Francisco, down to the San Gregorio area below Half Moon Bay.