Rough start for salmon fishing opener in Monterey

Fishermen and anglers were hoping to reel in a big catch, but for many the salmon just weren’t taking the bait.

“There was maybe five years ago, it was just hot, you can catch them right out here on the edge,” said fishermen Octavio Gonzalez.”But unfortunately today, it wasn’t there.”

The Elkhorn Slough in Moss Landing was full of kayakers and some fishermen, but the salmon were no where to be found.

Fishermen we talked to say they caught, “Nothing, not even a cold,” said Travis who did not catch any salmon. “There’s absolutely nothing out here today. A bunch of bait fish rolled through, that’s it.”

Scientists said salmon might not be in Monterey Bay right now because they are a large schooling species, so they move around quite a bit. They could also be deeper or farther north, El Nino heating up the water could also be at play.

“The waters really warm its about 51 degrees, 52 degrees,” said Jayna Dasilva with the Department of fish and Wildlife. “So salmon tend not to like warm water.”

Department of fish and Wildlife were also at Moss Landing.

They conducted biological surveys on anglers as they came back from their fishing trips, taking samples of what they managed to catch.

“The data can be used for in season tracking, so how the fishery is doing for that season that it’s open,” said Dasilva. “We also use it for development of future regulations, future seasons.”

Fishermen tell KION even though they didn’t catch anything, the trip out to the Monterey Bay was not a waste.

“It’s a whole other world out there,” said Travis. “It’s definitely another peace and freedom that you just kind of get to enjoy whether we’re catching fish or not.”

Fishermen are also being asked to abide by the 5 miles per hour speed limit to prevent speeding boats from accidentally striking sea otters.

Decisions about the commercial salmon opener are happening later this month.