Easy limits for Half Moon Bay salmon and rockfish, but slower for Capitola/Santa Cruz 8/2 and 8/3 for my son and me (posted here yesterday, but the post disappeared). Easy limits of salmon using Deep Sixes and salmon rotary killers in 40 to 60 feet of water between the first green can and to, and a little past, the red can. just outside the Pillar Point (Princeton, Half Moon Bay harbor). Also plenty of blue rockfish, sublegal lings, and a 5.5 lb cabezon in the kelp there, all on swimbaits, in just a few hours..

Skiff fishing off Capitola and Santa Cruz was tougher. There no fish took a swimbait bait all day. The rockfish there wanted only drifted frozen herring or the bucktail dressed 6" motor oil grub on the dropper loop above the ignored swimbait.

Wade, we used 6 ounce leadheads as usual off Half Moon Bay, and 4 oz leadheads off Capitola/SC to be able to feel the bottom in the wind and current, but I recall that you use much lighter leadheads off Capitola. Do you have any suggestions about why we catch rockfish and lings with swimbaits on 6 oz leadheads off HMB but nothing with 4 oz leadheads off Capitola/SC? We only use jigging, which works great off HMB. Would it be better off Capitola?SC to use the technique of casting upcurrent and then a bottom bouncing retrieve? We just could not feel the bottom by straight jigging the swimbaits with 1 or 2 oz leadheads? Any advice will be appreciated.

Bob

Bob

I know you know what your doing, so lets see what I can suggest. Because I'm usually in my Kick I probably stay a lot shallower than you were. I'm typically in under 50'. I usually get my best luck casting a long up-current cast and making 3-6' hops back to me. Straight up and down Jigging rarely gets squat. I always try to cast to or past something, wether it's a kelp point, a bouy and it's cable, or just a darker patch on the bottom (could be bait or rocks). Capitola has a lot of sandy areas that won't produce much but if you get on a good piece of structure it can be great.
I haven't fished HMB much but from what Ive seen I think the reason your doing better at HMB is the currents up there are usually a lot faster than in the more protected areas around Capitola. The current probably will almost work the tail of the swimbaits in HMB even if you just let it dangle. This would make straight jigging more effective I'd think. Also, HMB has a lot less sand and a lot more rock making almost anywhere ok to fish with fewer spots that will concentrate them.
Did you notice a color preference in either location? It seems that Capitola has slightly murkier water usually.
Tight lines,
Wade