Stuart Prince of Santa Barbara took big fish honors for the week with a 25 pound albacore taken aboard the Princess. J. Messerschmidt of Bakersfield also bagged a 25 pound albacore on the Admiral. And Larry Orndoff of Cambria nailed a 22 pound longfin aboard the Princess.

"Long range" trips to the San Simeon area are yielding top-notch bottomfish action. The 28 passengers aboard the Admiral on Friday, August 9 nailed 35 lingcod, 40 red rockcod and 140 assorted rockfish, according to Davis.

The 590 daily rockfish passengers out of the landing over the past week nailed 238 lingcod, 434 red rockcod and 4,451 assorted rockfish. Big fish honors go to Eddie McKay of Visalia, who landed a 15 pound lingcod aboard the Pathfinder. Edward Irarte of Bakersfield and Ron Hughes of Dinuba also nailed 15 pound lingcod on the Pathfinder.

Monterey...
Now is the time to head to Monterey as anglers take a solid 2-3 fish per rod on overnight albacore tuna trips to the "Weenie."

"We finally hooked into a big school of albacore tuna, but it was a long haul thirty miles south of the harbor, just west of the Weenie," indicated Angelo Shake of Monterey Sportfishing. "We haven't put much pressure on any other species of fish, since we are averaging 3 fish per rod and the action is picking up."

Over the weekend of August 10-11, a total of 132 tuna were caught by 43 passengers. The biggest tuna was a 40 pounder. Anglers are using live anchovies and sardines to entice the albacore.

Nine anglers fishing aboard the Checkmate out of Chris' Fishing Trips also took part in the tuna action off Weenie. "It was a fantastic day on the water, with plenty of action to keep us busy through the day," said Todd Arcoleo. The 9 passengers boated 31 tuna, two bluefin tuna to 16.8 pounds and a 11 pound yellowtail to round out the day.

Rockfishing was great on the weekend of August 10-11. "Anglers took 25 to 30 pound limit sacks of blue, red and gopher rockfish off Point Sur and Carmel," said Dave Lemon of Sam's Fishing Fleet. "The albacore action was also good, with the boats averaging 30 to 50 fish."

"Several boats ran potluck trips over the weekend and experienced solid halibut and salmon action fishing between the harbor and Moss Landing," explained Crissy Chonacki from Randy's Fishing Trips.

Twelve anglers fishing aboard the Sur Randy pulled in a solid 15 halibut and 7 king salmon while fishing near Moss Landing. Anglers fishing aboard the Reelin also took part in the pot luck action when they landed 4 halibut and 15 salmon.

"Rockfish trips to Big Sur continue to produce limits of quality rockcod for boaters fishing squid," noted Crissy. "Anglers are also landing a few lingcod."

Santa Cruz...
Live bait drifters are reporting some outstanding halibut action from Capitola to Four Mile Beach north of Santa Cruz, while the white seabass bite is just starting.

"I caught three halibut weighing 27, 25 and 21 pounds on Monday, August 12," said Curtis Williams at Capitola Boat and Bait. "I fooled all three fish with live sardines in 60 feet of water off Capitola."

Dan Williams also bagged a 35 pound halibut while drifting squid off Davenport the same day. Kevin Robinson also tricked a 27 pound white seabass with a hair raiser in 35 feet of water off Capitola.

The albacore fishing off Santa Cruz has ranged from poor to excellent over the past two weeks, although water and bait conditions remain good.

The Wild Wave had its best day of the year on Sunday, August 4, when the 21 anglers nailed 93 albacore and one bluefin tuna. However a trip on the following Saturday yielded only 11 albacore.

"The tuna fishing has been tough, forcing us to cover a lot of area," said Captain Mike Baxter of Shamrock Charters in Santa Cruz. "Luckily, we have had really calm weather. Tomorrow we will head towards Big Sur where some boats had good scores today."

The rockfish and lingcod are still hitting off Davenport and New Year's Island. "The 26 people fishing on the Wild Wave on Thursday landed 40 lingcod and limits of rockfish," said Bill Rawson of Shamrock Charters.

The latest live bait trip by the Sea Stag III yielded limits of rockfish and 24 lingcod for 24 passengers. The lingcod ranged from 10 to 30 pounds. The anglers fished 12 miles north of Santa Cruz, reported Ken Stagnaro of Sea Stag Sportfishing.

"The albacore fishing was slow for most of the anglers, but a few had 13 fish yesterday," confirmed Todd Fraser of Bayside Marine. "The other boaters averaged 1-7 fish. The fish are jumping but they were not hot on the bite."

The salmon action has tapered off. "Some salmon are being caught near the Lighthouse in 85 feet of water and in the Soquel Hole," added Fraser. "The fish are still being caught near the bottom on the troll and mooch."

Half Moon Bay...
After several weeks of limit and near-limit action for king salmon outside of the Golden Gate, the fishing began to slow down over the weekend of August 9-11.

"The salmon numbers took a sharp drop off early last weekend," reported Peggy Beckett of Huck Finn Sportfishing. "Many boaters out trolling and mooching are struggling to catch less than half a fish per rod."

New Captain Pete ventured out to the Marin Coast to pick up 5 kings for their 30 passengers. The 17 anglers fishing aboard Ankeney Street ended up with 6 salmon to 20 pounds while fishing off Pacifica.

"With the salmon numbers steadily dropping off, more boaters are now targeting rockfish and lingcod along the shallow reefs near Pescadero," said Beckett. "Anglers are enticing their rockcod limits using squid and shrimp flies."

A recent rockcod trip aboard Queen of Hearts produced limits of assorted shallow water rockcod for 16 passengers. The boaters also put 7 lingcod to 20 pounds in the fish box.

"This has been a tough week to be fishing for salmon," revealed Captain William Smith of Riptide Sportfishing. "Our last trip was one of the best this week, since we boated over one fish per rod."

Seventeen passengers jumped aboard the vessel Riptide to catch 19 salmon to 28 pounds. The fish fell for anchovies off Mussel Rock, he noted.

Emeryville...
Halibut catches skyrocketed out of Emeryville Sportfishing last week with several reports of near limit to full limit days on quality halibut up to 38 pounds.

"Halibut fishing has been excellent for the past few days and we're still averaging about a fish per rod on our salmon trips," reported Frank Salazar of Emeryville Sportfishing. "The boats are targeting halibut both inside the bay and along the Marin coast."

Just how good was the halibut fishing this week? On Friday, August 9, the Captain Hook nailed 42 halibut (limits) to 25 pounds for 14 anglers. They also had a pair of salmon. The New Huck Finn also took limits of halibut, 57 fish for 19 anglers, along with a 15 pound salmon. The New Seeker checked in with 15 halibut to 25 pounds and 2 salmon for 11 anglers and the Rapid Transit took 19 halibut to 30 pounds for 22 people.

The following day, the C-Gull II hammered the halibut with a total count of 65 fish for 25 anglers. They also had 3 striped bass to 9 pounds. The Captain Hook had another phenomenal day with 46 halibut to 34 pounds, 1 salmon and 1 striped bass for 18 anglers. The New Huck Finn bagged 54 halibut to 20 pounds and 6 stripers for 30 anglers. The Rapid Transit bagged 20 halibut to 25 pounds and 2 salmon for 14 people. The Dandy brought in 10 halibut to 38 pounds and 1 salmon for 6 anglers. Kristen Barnhart of Twain Hart nailed the 38 pounder.

Salmon scores were steady at about a fish per rod. The New Salmon Queen checked in with 23 salmon to 25 pounds for 23 anglers on Friday, August 9. The Dandy bagged 5 salmon to 25 pounds for 6 anglers and the C-Gull II nailed 17 salmon to 24 pounds for 29 anglers. On Saturday, the New Salmon Queen took 15 salmon to 42 pounds for 15 anglers and the New Seeker landed 12 salmon to 35 pounds for 30 anglers.

Berkeley...
Salmon action is holding steady for Berkeley anglers with most trips producing about a fish per rod on average. Halibut scores took a sharp jump over the weekend as the bite broke loose off Seal Rocks.

"We had an awesome halibut bite going off Seal Rocks for the last few days," reported Captain James Smith of Happy Hooker Sportfishing. "We were drifting live bait and taking better than two fish a rod on halibut running 12 to 30 pounds along with a few salmon, lingcod and rockfish."

On Friday, August 9, the Happy Hooker targeted salmon in the morning, then switched over to halibut during the afternoon for a total of 12 salmon to 25 pounds and 24 halibut for 22 anglers. The following day, things really heated up when the Baywatch brought in 48 halibut, 4 lingcod, 2 salmon and 60 rockfish for 25 anglers. The Happy Hooker nailed 25 halibut and 2 striped bass for 11 anglers. Things slowed down on Sunday with a count of 10 halibut, 9 lingcod and 150 rockfish for 35 anglers.

"The salmon bite has been steady along the Marin coast," reported Gil Sutherland of Berkeley Marina Sports Center. "We're averaging about a fish per rod, but there's a lot of 20 and 30 pound class fish being caught every day."

On Sunday, August 11, the Golden Eye landed a total of 13 halibut, 25 lingcod and 3/4 limits of rockfish for 25 anglers. The El Dorado checked in with 19 salmon to 34 pounds for 20 anglers. The Drifter bagged 11 salmon to 33 pounds for 17 people and the Taku bagged 10 salmon to 33 pounds along with 150 rockfish for 28 anglers. The New Easy Rider nailed 8 salmon to 34 pounds for 19 anglers. The New Golden Eye managed 27 halibut to 35 pounds, 1 salmon and 1 lingcod for 35 anglers.

Point San Pablo...
Point San Pablo anglers found the live bait bite a little tough this week with most trips producing about a fish per rod. Halibut made up the majority of catches as striper numbers were down considerably from the previous report.

"It's been pretty slow for us today, but we are just starting picking up a few stripers at the Brothers," reported Frank Miller of Fury Sportfishing. "Our last trip was last Sunday and we had a solid day out on Berkeley Flats with a total of 10 halibut for 5 anglers. On Saturday, we ended up with 2 halibut and 5 bass for 8 people."

According to Miller, the striped bass action has slowed down, but halibut catches have been steady for the past month. "All of our halibut have been taken on the Berkeley Flats and we're drifting about 30 feet of water at the Brothers for the stripers," he added.

"We've been averaging about a fish a rod this week," reported Captain Chad Aho of New Keesa Sportfishing. "On Wednesday, we landed 11 halibut and a striper for 11 anglers. Friday produced 11 halibut to 18 pounds for 11 anglers and we had 7 halibut to 10-1/2 pounds for 12 people on Friday."

Aho said they've been taking most of their fish at the Berkeley Flats and Paradise Cove. "The stripers have been running 5 to 10 pounds and most of the halibut are averaging 7 to 10 pounds," he added.

San Rafael...
The salmon action off California City is improving as increasing numbers of chinooks move into the bay from the Marin County coast to get ready for their upstream spawning journey.

Evan Scott demonstrated his angling prowess by bagging a 38 pound chinook off California City. "He reported losing a considerably larger fish also," stated Keith Fraser at Loch Lomond Live Bait and Tackle. "The 18-year-old angler was leaving for U.C. Santa Barbara the next day."

"Almost of the salmon are being taken trolling," said Fraser. "It's not wide open now, but the fishing should bust loose with the arrival of better tides and more salmon."

Ed Janowicz also had a great day of fishing. The angler caught and released three stripers, averaging 8 to 10 pounds, while drifting live shiner perch at the Brothers. He then went to Angel Island to catch five halibut, keeping only one 25 pounder, according to Fraser. That halibut currently holds fifth place in the Loch Lomond Lord of the Sea Derby.

"The striper bite rebounded on Sunday and Monday," added Fraser. "Anglers are nailing fish averaging 7 to 20 pounds while live bait drifting at the Sisters, Whaling Station and Richmond-San Rafael Bridge."

Big striper honors go to Howie Miller, who landed a 30 pound striper while anchor fishing with a bullhead near the Pumphouse in San Pablo Bay.

Bodega Bay...
While the salmon bite dropped off for Bodega Bay anglers last week, rockfish and lingcod action was red hot for anglers targeting shallow water along the Sonoma coast.

"We've got a wide-open lingcod bite up here and we're also taking limits of big rockfish," reported Rick Powers of Bodega Bay Sportfishing. "On Friday, the New Sea Angler brought in 4 salmon to 24 pounds, 1 halibut, 36 lingcod to 27 pounds and 200 rockfish for 20 anglers."

According to Powers, the rockfish limits were made up of quality fish, including coppers, bolinas and vermilions. "On Saturday, we had a total of 82 lingcod to 25 pounds and 372 rockfish for 46 anglers," said Powers. "Sunday produced 2 salmon, 32 lingcod to 24 pounds and limits of rockfish. We're seeing lots of lingcod averaging 14 to 16 pounds with lots of 20 pounders."

"We've been running coastal potluck trips for the last few days," reported Rick Harrington of the New Aggressor. "We're out off Fort Ross today and we already have about 15 lingcod to 12 pounds and 1/2 limits of rockfish for 18 anglers. The salmon bite has slowed down quite a bit, but I had a few reports from trollers catching fish between Fort Ross and the Russian Gulch."

On Saturday, August 10, the New Aggressor managed 180 rockfish and 30 lingcod for 36 anglers. The following day, they scored 150 rockfish, 13 lingcod and 2 salmon for 40 anglers.

Fort Bragg...
While salmon action was hit and miss off the coast of Fort Bragg this week, rockfish trips found red hot action on shallow water blacks and blues along with a fish per rod or better on the lingcod.

"The salmon bite was a little inconsistent this week, but our rockfish trips have been excellent," reported Rick Thornton of Anchor Charters. "We're fishing up north off Juan Creek and taking easy limits of rockfish and good numbers of lingcod up to 27 pounds."

On Friday, August 9, the Trek II ran an afternoon trip that produced limits of rockfish and 16 lingcod for 13 anglers. "The following morning, we limited out again on rockfish and also landed over 20 lings to 27 pounds for 18 anglers," said Thornton. "We caught all of the fish on Super Flies and 6 ounce bars in 60 to 120 feet of water."

As for the salmon bite, Thornton said they had solid action for the two days prior to this report. "Our six pack boat Easy Diver landed 5 salmon to 40 pounds for 5 anglers on Friday. I ran 6 people on the Trek II Friday morning and we limited out on fish to 36 pounds and I had 25 salmon for 15 anglers on Thursday."

"Rockfishing has been red hot this week," confirmed Don Akin at the Noyo Fishing Center. "We also had our first albacore score when the Shawnee Star found fish only 12 miles offshore. They scored 21 fish to 35 pounds while trolling tuna clones and Zukers.

The Rumblefish scored full limits of rockfish, mostly blacks and blues along with 2 vermilions per angler on Saturday, August 10. "They also had 19 quality lingcod," said Akin. "The El Patron nailed limits of rockfish and 20 lingcod for their 21 passengers. All of the rockfish were taken on shrimp flies and Megabait bars fished in shallow water down south off Manchester."