Port Santa Cruz

Tackle & technique

Chinook salmon

Chinook hold near bait off points, kelp edges and tide rips, usually suspended 20 to 120 feet down and deeper as the sun gets higher. Troll slowly, under 2 mph, with a flasher and herring, hoochie or spoon on a downrigger, or mooch a plug-cut herring at the depth where the sounder shows bait. Winter blackmouth and feeder kings sit within 10 feet of the bottom in 60 to 200 feet.

Lingcod

Lingcod ambush prey from rock outcrops, reef edges and kelp where current runs, most often in 30 to 300 feet, and males move shallow to guard nests in winter. Drift over the reef bouncing a lead-head swimbait or metal jig on the bottom, or fish herring or squid on a heavy leader, since their teeth cut light line. From jetties and rocky shore, work bait or jigs along the rocks on the incoming tide.

Pacific cod

Pacific cod school over mud, sand and gravel bottoms and shelf edges, moving shallower than 300 feet in summer and deeper to spawn in winter. Drop a heavy metal jig or a lead-head with a herring or squid strip to the bottom in 100 to 300 feet and work it a few feet up. They often come up on the same drifts as halibut, and a school can mean fast fishing once you find it.