The two day charter produced 120 lingcod, 128 red rockcod and 650 assorted rockfish for the 32 passengers, reported June Davis at Virg's Landing. Ron Finley of West Covina landed the largest lingcod, a 22 pounder. The anglers used live bait, bars and a variety of jigs to entice the bottomfish in shallow water.

If you want to target halibut, Virg's is offering live bait trips on Wednesdays and Sundays from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The 426 daily rockcod passengers caught 272 lingcod, 491 red rockcod, 3,251 assorted rockfish and 1 halibut over the past week. Tyler Jones of Colfax topped the week's lunker list with a 19 pound lingcod taken aboard the Fiesta. Roy Barnett of Morro Bay and Steve Lenore of Palmdale each landed a 16 pound lingcod. Barnett took his fish aboard the Admiral, while Lenore took his ling on the Princess.

Monterey...
Anglers fishing off Monterey continue to catch 1 to 2 salmon per rod on mooching trips. However, the big news is the arrival of albacore tuna 20-25 miles from the harbor.

"We went out to check the numbers of tuna holding off shore and found a good bite fishing west of the point, just above Big Sur," indicated Angelo Shake of Monterey Sportfishing. "Our boat, Deep Adventures, ended up with 28 albacore. The fish averaged 10 to 15 pounds, with the largest weighing 18 pounds. Anglers used live bait to entice the tuna."

Salmon anglers mooching bait off Cypress Point are averaging 1 to 2 salmon per rod, stated Shake. Most of the chinooks are big fish in the 20 to 25 pound class.

The shallow water rockfish action - in water 120 feet and less - is also productive. "Anglers fishing out of the Monterey harbor are landing their limits of assorted blue, yellowtail and red rockfish," said George Uweda of Chris' Fishing Trips. "Fishermen are using Super Flies and bars to entice the rockcod. The best rockcod areas are Carmel Bay and Point Sur."

Santa Cruz...
Private boaters are landing lots of albacore on the days when the seas are calm enough to reach the tuna grounds, about 35 to 40 miles from the harbor. Meanwhile, rockfish and lingcod action is very good in shallow water.

On July 13, albacore anglers found calm conditions in the morning, though there was some afternoon wind on the way home. "Anglers caught 3-13 fish today with the average being 6 albacore," stated Todd Fraser at Bayside Marine. The tuna hit Jerry Garcias, Dark Cedar Plugs and bait.

On the next day, the albacore boats turned back because of rough seas. "The halibut fishing was good with a few anglers catching 1-4 fish in the 12-30 pound range," said Fraser. "The halibut were caught above the Lighthouse and near Capitola in 30-45 feet of water. A few small seabass were caught off Capitola today."

If you want to go lingcod fishing off the Santa Cruz coast, now's the time to do it. A recent live bait trip by the Sea Stag III produced 15 limits of lingcod and assorted rockcod. The lingcod ranged from 10 to 15 pounds. The anglers fished off Davenport in 80 feet of water.

Ken Stagnaro of Sea Stag Sportfishing emphasized that fishing for rockfish and lingcod remains open in water 120 feet and less.

The Wild Wave had a great rockcod trip to New Year's Island on Saturday, July 13. "We used dead bait, mostly squid," reported Captain Mike Baxter of Shamrock Charters. "The Wild Wave regulars used whole squid and did very well with rockcod limits and lingcod limits. The rest of the passengers used rental poles and shrimp flies to bag limits of rockfish."

The salmon fishing remains spotty. The 18 anglers on the Wild Wave landed 9 salmon while mooching anchovies in Monterey Bay on Sunday, July 14, according to Bob Schmidt. However, the kings were all big fish up to 34 pounds.

Glen Larson, Mike Alves and Mike Alves Jr. experienced an incredible day of salmon fishing off Capitola when they bagged limits of big chinooks on July 13. Their six fish weighed 32, 28.5, 24, 20, 14 and 10 pounds. "They fly lined frozen anchovies in 65 feet of water off the Cement Ship," explained Frank Ealy at Capitola Boat and Bait.

Big halibut honors go to Joseph Carvalho and Ashley Beauregard, who caught a 24 pound, 6 ounce halibut drifting squid off the Artificial Reef. Bill Sherman also successfully battled a 24 pound, 7 ounce halibut the same day.

Half Moon Bay...
The red hot salmon bite off the San Mateo Coast tapered off during the weekend of July 13-14, when boat scores dropped from full limits to a one fish per rod average with a change in sea conditions. Hopefully, the top-notch salmon bite will resume with the return of calm weather.

"Most of the boats were unable to get out over the weekend, but the boats that went out Saturday managed to catch just over one fish per rod," reported Bill Beckett of Huck Finn Sportfishing. "Anglers took the salmon while trolling above N. Buoy."

Recent trips aboard the Ankeney Street yielded 25 salmon for 19 anglers, while the 21 boaters aboard Queen of Hearts pulled in 28 fish. The New Captain Pete also produced 37 kings to 25 pounds for 23 passengers.

"We also saw a decline in rockcod numbers for anglers fishing shallow water 8 miles south of the harbor to Pigeon Point," noted Beckett. The latest trip aboard the Queen of Hearts yielded half-limits for 22 anglers. The day's catch consisted of big browns and bolina rockcod, along with 7 lingcod and 2 cabezon. Like the salmon fishing, the good rockfish action is expected to resume with the arrival of calm seas.

Berkeley...
Live bait trips produced excellent action on a mix of striped bass and halibut this week with stripers showing throughout most of the S.F. Bay rockpiles as well as several beaches along the Marin coast.

"We had a great weekend of bass and halibut fishing inside the bay and one of our trips during the week produced limits of huge stripers off Stinson Beach," reported Captain Jim Smith of Happy Hooker Sportfishing. "Most of our halibut were caught in the south bay off Alameda and the bass came off the rockpiles."

Over the weekend, the Happy Hooker scored a total of 10 halibut and 40 bass for 27 anglers on Saturday and 10 halibut and 38 bass for 35 anglers on Sunday. The red hot beach trip was on Thursday when they scored full limits of stripers up to 44 pounds. "Not a fish was under 15 pounds and we had three fish over 30 pounds," added Smith. "The big striper was caught by Terry from Walnut Grove."

"We had a solid weekend of fishing for halibut on the Berkeley Flats and striper fishing on Mel's Reef," reported James Smith of the Baywatch. "Most of the halibut are running 5 to 15 pounds and the stripers average 5 to 10 pounds with a few larger fish up to 20 pounds. On Sunday, we ended up with 34 stripers and 3 halibut for 20 anglers. Saturday's trip produced 12 bass and 12 halibut for 21 anglers."

"The salmon bite was excellent during the week and slowed own to about a fish per rod on Sunday," reported Chris Nelson of Berkeley Marina Sports Center. "The halibut are hitting inside the bay and off Seal Rocks and the stripers are showing on most of the rockpiles."

On Sunday, July 14, the New Golden Eye had a banner salmon day with a total of 58 salmon to 33 pounds for 42 anglers. The El Dorado landed 17 salmon to 24 pounds for 24 people. The Golden Eye checked in with 12 stripers, 10 lingcod, and 60 rockfish for 6 anglers. The New El Dorado III bagged 21 salmon to 32 pounds for 21 anglers. The New Easy Rider nailed 12 salmon to 28 pounds and 1 halibut for 18 anglers.

Emeryville...
Emeryville anglers had a fantastic weekend of fishing for salmon, halibut and striped bass both inside San Francisco Bay and along the Marin coast.

"The salmon bite has been red hot along the Marin Coast and we really saw a jump in the striped bass scores inside the bay this week," reported Craig Stone of Emeryville Sportfishing. "Our salmon trips were limiting out during the week and dropped to a fish per rod or better over the weekend."

On Friday, July 12, the C-Gull II brought in 34 salmon to 25 pounds for 17 anglers. The New Seeker managed 40 salmon for 20 anglers. The New Salmon Queen landed 42 salmon to 33 pounds for 25 people and the New Super Fish checked in with 38 salmon to 25 pounds for 19 anglers and the Rapid Transit nailed 36 salmon to 32 pounds for 18 anglers.

As for the live bait trips, the Dandy totaled 2 striped bass, 2 halibut, 6 rockfish and 5 lingcod for 6 anglers. The Captain Hook nailed 21 halibut and 20 stripers for 16 anglers. The New Huck Finn brought in 13 halibut, 1 lingcod and 15 striped bass for 21 people.

The following day, the New Seeker managed 22 salmon to 30 pounds for 26 anglers. The New Super Fish nailed 22 salmon to 34 pounds for 30 anglers. The Rapid Transit bagged 35 salmon to 30 pounds for 22 anglers. The New Salmon Queen checked in with 30 fish to 32 pounds for 22 anglers and the Dandy bagged full limits to 22 pounds for their 6 anglers.

On the live bait trips, the C-Gull II landed 20 striped bass, 9 halibut and 2 lingcod for 28 anglers. The Captain Hook checked in with 8 salmon, 12 rockfish, 1 halibut, 16 striped bass and a white seabass for 25 people. The New Huck Finn landed 26 striped bass, 176 rockfish and 9 lingcod for 22 people.

San Rafael...
If you want to catch a lot of striped bass, now's the time to drift live bait at the Brothers and Sisters.

"John Beuttler of the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Tom Glasser and a friend caught and released 25 bass yesterday while drifting the Brother and Sisters," said Keith Fraser at Loch Lomond Live Bait and Tackle. "They used shiners to catch bass up to 15 pounds."

Stripers are also showing at Red Rock and the Rockpile. "The Rockpile is good one day and slow the next," stated Fraser.

Chinooks continue to be taken in the bay off California City. "It's ocean fishing without the waves," said Fraser. "Armand Castagne of Imagine Sportfishing and a friend landed one 25 pounder and lost another fish at the boat on his latest trolling trip. They saw another angler next to them boat a salmon over 40 pounds."

Halibut anglers are taking 1 to 1-1/2 fish per rod while drifting live bait at Angel Island, Paradise Cay, Southampton Shoals, the Berkeley Flats and Crissy Field, according to Fraser.

Richmond...
Anglers fishing out of the Richmond Harbor are experiencing top-notch live bait fishing for halibut and stripers in the Berkeley Flats, as well as solid salmon trolling outside of the Golden Gate.

"What else can I say but wow!," exclaimed Captain John Paxson of Dreamcatcher Sportfishing. "The 4 passengers aboard my vessel landed limits of halibut to 12 pounds while trolling dodgers and anchovies on my last trip. As we fished the Berkeley Flats, we boated fish after fish. We also boated a 5 pound striped bass."

"On the following day, we trolled for salmon from Rocky Point to Stinson Beach," and put 5 chinooks to 21 pounds in the boat," said Paxson. "We picked up the fish trolling an assortment of lures, ranging from spoons to Apex lures."

Captain Barry Canevaro of The Fish Hookers Sportfishing had a great day of bass fishing at the Brothers and along Stinson Beach over the weekend of July 13-14. "My passengers landed their limits of stripers averaging 10-11 pounds, with the day's whopper weighing 31 pounds," said Canevaro. "We caught the fish while drifting live bait."

Canevaro also reported averaging a solid one fish per rod while targeting the Berkeley Flats for halibut averaging 9 pounds.

"Another hot bite my passengers experienced over the weekend was on our salmon trip near N. Buoy," said Canevaro. "We boated several fish in the 25-27 pound class, a few 18-20 pounders and a monster 42 pounder to finish the day with 10 fish in the box."

Del Strassburg from Rancho Cordova hauled in the jackpot 42 pounder.

"I've also fished Richardson Bay for leopard shark, but the fish have been slow to bite the midshipmen," stated Canevaro. His last trip out for shark yielded 4 leopards to 53 inches for 5 passengers.

Bodega Bay...
Bodega Bay anglers continue to enjoy red hot action on big king salmon and the shallow water rockfish action has also been very good.

"The salmon fishing has been excellent up north in the Fort Ross area this week," reported Sophie Powers of Bodega Bay Sportfishing. "We also ran a couple rockfish/ salmon combos that produced 3/4 to full limits of quality rockfish along with a few lingcod."

On Friday, July 12, the New Sea Angler bagged full limits of salmon to 35 pounds for 24 anglers. The Pro Fishn't nailed 23 salmon to 28 pounds for 12 anglers and the Sandy Ann managed 8 salmon for 6 anglers.

On Saturday, July 13, the New Sea Angler ran a rockfish/ salmon combo that produced 26 limits of rockfish, 32 salmon and 2 lingcod fro 24 anglers. The Predator brought in 21 salmon to 32 pounds for 18 anglers and the Sandy Ann totaled full limits of salmon for 6 anglers. The Pro Fish'nt nailed 28 salmon to 29 pounds for 29 anglers.

"We've been taking near limits to limits of salmon running 8 to 25 pounds with the average fish going 16 to 18 pounds," reported Rick Harrington of the New Aggressor. "This morning, we're fishing in 10 fathoms of Water just off Goat Rock near the mouth of the Russian River. We already have 30 fish in the box for 23 anglers and there's a couple fish hanging right now."

Over the weekend, the New Aggressor fished the same area and managed 43 fish for 27 anglers on Sunday and 49 fish for 28 anglers on Saturday. "Conditions are ideal today with light winds and a moderate swell," added Harrington.

Fort Bragg...
While Fort Bragg salmon season was under a two week closure, anglers were still able to run north to Point Arena where the season remained open. The action has been very good when the weather cooperates and rockfish trips have been producing limits of rockfish along with good numbers of lingcod to 20 pounds.

"The salmon season re-opens July 20, so we'll be running morning and afternoon trips every day," reported Valerie Thornton of Anchor Charters. "We ran rockfish trips this weekend and limited out on black and blue rockfish and averaged about a fish per rod on the lingcod."

Thornton added, "The Trek II had full limits on their last trip before the closure and two of their fish were over 40 pounds. We also had a couple reports of albacore taken way offshore last week, so that's a good sign of things to come."

"Our salmon trips had near-limits to limits of fish averaging 15 to 25 pounds off Point Arena this weekend," reported Josh Admire at the Noyo Fishing Center. "We also ran a couple rockfish trips on the Rumblefish and El Patron that came back with full limits of rockfish and quite a few lingcod.

Admire said the best rockfish action has been found to the north of Westport. "They're fishing shrimp flies and bars in 60 to 100 feet of water," he explained. "The rockfish are mostly blacks and blues and the lingcod are running 8 to 15 pounds."