For surfperch, anglers should fish plastic grubs, blood worms and sandcrabs off Atascadero State Beach and Cayucos.

Virg's Landing will hold their free Salmon Fishing Seminar on Friday, March 22, at the Morro Bay Vets Hall from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. There will be many topics of discussion, plus raffle tickets sold at the door for salmon tackle, dinners, fishing trips and more. All proceeds will go to the Central Coast Salmon Enhancement Program. For more information, call Virg's Landing, 805-772-1222.

Monterey
Anglers fishing Monterey Bay continue to haul in lots of sanddabs as they gear up for the March 29 salmon season opener from Pigeon Point down south to the Mexican border.

"We already have trips booked for the opener, but there is still some room available, so you need to call and book a trip before everything is taken," reported Pete Bruno from Randy's Fishing Trips. "Until then, we will continue to offer flatfish trips aboard the Sur Randy."

On a recent two day trip aboard the Sur Randy, a total of 31 anglers fished near the buoy outside Point Joe to catch an average 60-70 sanddabs each. They nailed the fish while dropping down squid strips on shrimp fly rigs at 100 to 200 feet deep.

If you want to catch barred surfperch, now's the time to hit the Monterey Bay beaches from Moss Landing to Monterey. Fish motor oil or root beer grubs for the 1 to 3 pound perch.

Santa Cruz
Surf fishing for perch offers you the best chance of catching fish in Monterey Bay until the salmon season opens on Saturday, March 29.

"The perch fishing along the Monterey Bay beaches is consistent," said Bill Rawson at Shamrock Charters. "The fish can be taken throughout the bay, but Manresa, Sunset, Rio Del Mar and Sand Dollar beaches are yielding the best action."

Anglers are fooling the fish with 2 inch root beer plastic grubs on sliding sinker rigs. Many of the perch are in the 1-1/2 to 3 pound range. Barred perch are the main fish being caught, along with some opaleye and rubberlipped perch.

"The sanddab fishing is good for the private boaters going out," said Rawson. "Our charter boat, the Wild Wave, is out of the water for maintenance in preparation for the salmon opener, so we haven't been out fishing lately."

"The beaches south of the Cement Ship, including Manresa and Sunset, are yielding the best perch action now," revealed Al Lydon at Reed's Sports Shop in San Jose. "Most of the fish are barred perch weighing 1 to 2 pounds. Use 2 inch motor oil grubs with green, red or silver flake for the best success."

Although perch fishing is going strong on the bay beaches, fishing for perch and other species has been "dead" off the Capitola and Santa Cruz wharves, according to Frank Ealy at Capitola Boat and Bait. Local anglers are now getting ready for the long-awaited opening day of salmon fishing.

You will have to wait until next season to fish for steelhead in the San Lorenzo River, Soquel Creek and other streams of Monterey Bay, since the season closed on February 28.

Half Moon Bay
Interest for light tackle flatfish trips along the San Mateo Coast remains low, but those who are going out are being rewarded with 50-60 California long-fin sanddabs per trip including the occasional petrale sole and shark.

"We finally gathered up enough people to run a flatfish trip today and we started fishing inside the Deep Reef in Half Moon Bay," indicated Sherry Ingles of Queen of Hearts Sportfishing. There were a total of 6 passengers on the boat and they successfully landed a total of about 200 sanddabs and a few sole.

The boaters also caught and released several spiny-dog-fish shark with lengths up to 2-1/2 feet. The fish were caught while dropping down a small hook baited with squid and a pyramid weight up to 8 ounces.

"As of March 29 we will begin to offer salmon trips aboard Queen of Hearts, but you may want to call ahead to book a prime date as days fill up fast," added Ingles.

San Francisco
A flurry of halibut showed up around Crissy Field and Oyster Point Flats over the past two weeks, providing anglers with the first halibut action of the year.

"Quite a few halibut have been caught off Crissy Field by anglers casting white swim baits and trolling Hair Raisers," stated Hippo Lau at Hi's Tackle Box. "All of the fish were over the minimum length of 22 inches. They hit best from the top of the tide to the start of the outgoing tide."

"I also spoke with a few sturgeon die-hards fishing the west side of the Marin shoreline in San Pablo Bay who reported getting 'pestered' by 4-6 lb. striped bass," said Lau. Anglers are picking up the stripers off the Hamilton Flats while using mud and ghost shrimp.

Surf fishing off Ocean Beach and "The Slot" is rewarding anglers with quality rainbow and rubberlipped perch to 2-1/2 pounds. The fish are falling for grubs, cut prawns or sand crabs fished on the bottom of the incoming tide.

"There are a lot of people coming in with questions about regulations, since the Department of Fish & Game has yet to send out the regulations for this year. If you don't have access to the web, I would just recommend following the regulations from last year to be safe and out of trouble," added Lau.

"It's just about time for us to start seeing schools of halibut move into the area," reported Michael Routson from Oyster Point Bait & Tackle. "A few scattered bites have already been reported in the south bay."

Routson suggested either trolling Hair Raisers or bait fishing with live shiners to subdue the halibut.

Light tackle anglers fishing off Oyster Point Pier are landing the occasional jack smelt and kingfish, along with a few brown smooth hound sharks. Soaking chunks of anchovies is the best way to catch the sharks.

Berkeley
Things have been pretty quiet at Berkeley Marina Sports Center for the past two weeks. The fleet has been busy getting ready for the upcoming live bait and salmon seasons.

"We haven't had any trips out for the last two weeks," reported Chris Nelson of Berkeley Marina Sports Center. "The live bait trips should get underway in early April and salmon season begins Saturday, April 12."

Locally, the perch and smelt are being caught off the Berkeley Pier. Pile worms and grass shrimp are the top getters for perch and smelt and occasional kingfish. No reports of halibut came in during the week, but there should be a few fish in the area. The top baits for halibut are anchovies and shiners.

Emeryville
The long wait is just about over for Emeryville anglers. In less than a month, live bait trips for halibut and striped bass will be underway and salmon season is set to open April 12.

"We're getting close to live bait and salmon seasons," reported Craig Stone of Emeryville Sportfishing. "Our live bait trips should begin the first week of April and salmon season will kick off a week later."

In the mean time, a few of the boats continue to offer sturgeon and striped bass trips in San Pablo Bay. The New Huck Finn was the only boat to run a trip during the past week. On Saturday, March 8, they managed two keeper sturgeon to 45 pounds along with two striped bass.

"They caught all of their fish on herring and pile worms near the Pumphouse," explained Stone. "Most days are also producing pretty good numbers of undersized sturgeon and stripers."

Point San Pablo
While sturgeon and striped bass action has been fair at best on San Pablo Bay, sevengill sharks are on an excellent bite in deep water off Yellow Bluff.

"We ran a sevengill trip on March 1 and landed 9 keepers to 90 pounds for all 9 passengers," reported Frank Miller of Fury Sportfishing. "In San Pablo Bay, we've been taking a few bass and sturgeon, but the bite is hit and miss."

According to Miller, the sevengills have been running from 25 to 90 pounds on recent trips. "We've been doing very well using squid in about 150 feet of water," he added. "Scott Schubarth from Vaughn, Montana was the lucky angler who nailed the 90 pounder."

Other successful anglers include Tony Michaeletti from Santa Clara who bagged a 55 pound sevengill. As if that wasn't enough, Miller decided to make a quick stop for sturgeon on the way in and Michaeletti nailed a 49 inch diamondback. Dennis Reeser, also from Santa Clara, landed a 45 pound sevengill.

Over the weekend of March 8 and 9, the Fury stayed inside the bay for sturgeon and stripers. "We fished a combination of grass shrimp and herring near the Pumphouse," said Miller. "Saturday produced a few striped bass and we got a keeper sturgeon on Sunday. Randy Stevens from Stockton landed a 56 incher."

Port Sonoma
Anglers fishing out of Port Sonoma continue to catch a fair number of sturgeon and striped bass, but the bite is far from wide open. Fish are scattered throughout San Pablo Bay and the Petaluma River, so you need to be in the right place at the right time to get in on the action.

"We didn't get any keeper sturgeon Saturday, but we did manage four striped bass and 1 shaker sturgeon," reported Mike Harbarth of the Calico. "Sunday didn't produce any stripers for us, but we nailed a 51 inch sturgeon and a big starry flounder."

According to Harbarth, they were fishing the Round Mountain area on Saturday and caught all the striped bass on grass shrimp and herring fillets combinations. Tony Huff from Windsor was the lucky angler who landed the sturgeon. Tony caught the fish on a grass shrimp/herring combo in 4 feet of water just off the Petaluma River channel.

"We're seeing some nice striped bass in the 8 to 14 pound class," reported Terry White of Leonard's Bait and Tackle. "The sturgeon bite has been fair and the fish are scattered throughout the area."

The top spot for striped bass has been near the railroad bridge on the Petaluma River. For sturgeon, White suggested anglers fish the Hamilton Flats, from the Pumphouse to Buoy 5 or on the Petaluma River about 2 to 3 miles upriver from the bait shop. "Most of the stripers are falling for grass shrimp and sturgeon are hitting any of the shrimp baits and herring fillets," he added.

Martinez Marina
Boaters targeting Suisun Bay for sturgeon are experiencing great fishing while soaking eel, shrimp and pile worms.

Captain Jim Smith of Happy Hooker Sportfishing has reported between 7 and 10 keeper sturgeon per day on his latest trips. "When you include the shakers and over-sized fish that are being released at the boat, our fish counts rise to about 11 fish per run," said Captain James Smith. "We're catching fish on both the incoming and outgoing tides while using eel, shrimp and pile worms."

"I have also been catching good numbers of sturgeon aboard the Baywatch" stated James Smith. "In my last three trips out, my passengers boated 12 keepers, along with releasing an average of 4-5 shakers and some over-sized fish at the boat."

Smith noted that there is no particular tide for targeting the sturgeon. He has found the most consistent results in Suisun Bay. "We have been catching the occasional striper, but since the sturgeon bite has been so hot, we have not had much time to stray away from the diamondbacks," noted Smith.

Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay salmon season will get underway Saturday, April 12. In the mean time, a few of the boats are offering whale watching adventures and crabbing trips.

"We've been busy getting ready for the upcoming salmon season," reported Rick Powers out of Bodega Bay Sportfishing. "The New Sea Angler and the Pro Fish'nt both have fresh paint jobs and a new engines."

According to Powers, signs look very promising for the salmon opener. "We've been seeing a lot of sardines out there on our whale watching trips and for the first time yesterday, we noticed some large areas of krill about 6 to 7 miles west southwest of the Whistle Buoy," he explained. "If these conditions hold steady for the next month, we could be in for a great opener."

Dungeness crabs are still showing in good numbers, but very trips have been out during the last two weeks. "We still have our pots out and it's easy limits of crabs averaging about 1-1/2 pounds," said Thornton.

Fort Bragg
Salmon season got off to a slow start this year off the coast of Fort Bragg, but it looks like the fish have arrived judging from the latest reports over the weekend.

"The salmon just showed up three miles straight out of the harbor in about 350 feet of water," reported Tom Johnson at the Noyo Fishing Center in Fort Bragg. "The Rumblefish checked in with 16 fish to 20 pounds for 10 anglers yesterday and the El Patron already has 11 fish for 9 anglers this morning."

Rockfish action has also been red hot when they are able to make the long run to Punta Gorda. "The Double Vision made the run both days last weekend and had full limits of rockfish and lingcod for 6 anglers both days," said Johnson. "The fish are hitting small bars and swim baits in 40 to 200 feet of water."

"The Lady Irma II just called in and they're heading home with salmon limits," reported Rick Thornton of Anchor Charters. "A couple boats found the fish straight out of the harbor yesterday afternoon and the bite was excellent today. All of the fish today are big bright salmon averaging 18 to 20 pounds.

According to Thornton, the action is happening 20 to 60 feet deep out in 50 fathoms of water. "Bait is working best," he added. Just a simple anchovy and hootchie behind a big flasher."