Salmon season is just around the corner (April 1)! Has anybody heard of anyone catching any incidental salmon recently in Santa Barbara or Ventura Counties? I haven't even seen any "released" salmon in the local fish counts. I'm not a salmon expert but do these fish sometimes just "show up" all at once?

I've heard of some incidentals around here (Santa Barbara). I heard some fish were caught at the gap and at the Channel Islands. Also Carp Reef had a couple incidentals.
-Brian

I hate to be a killjoy, but I talked with Jason Diamond who runs the Starust and he says it doesn't look like the salmon season is going to amount to much, at least early in the season. He says the water is too warm and too blue and all the bait out there is 'dines which doesn't bode well for them salmons. Not to say someone won't catch 'em somewhere on opening day down there, but my prediction is for a slow year.

Quick update-
Just got back from Harbor Tackle for the pre-salmon briefing :-) A lot of this could be rumors, so don't get too stuck on it, but Paul said he talked to one guy who reported his buddies catching 6 salmon off of Goleta Beach last week. I don't know about that, but that's what he said... (maybe he was bounce balling for "salmon"...) There was also a report of salmon being caught down south at Carp Reef and on Wed. the threshers went wide open at Carp Reef. There was lots of bait in the lighthouse area, which moved up to Goleta Beach and then got blown south this week. Apparently it's LOTS of bait. Unclear whether it's dines or choves. I know when I was on the Stardust last week we saw lots of BIG dines being busted by the birds. We'll see what happens, I'm gonna give it a shot tomorrow.
-Brian