Monterey Bay: 42-inch beach striper and a 54-pound white seabass off Santa Cruz

Allen Bushnell’s Sept. 18 Monterey Bay report on NorCal Fish Reports called it a tale of two fishies. Nearshore fishing has been very good around Santa Cruz; big bluefin remain a weather-dependent offshore possibility when the ocean lays down.

Local beach angler Malakai Armenta landed a 42-inch, 21-pound striped bass from a Santa Cruz beach — his biggest striper yet. He followed birds, bait, and boilers, then burned an SP Minnow with pops every five to 10 seconds on 15-pound leader. The fight ran about 10 minutes and bent the lure’s trebles.

Erik Andreassen’s two-to-four-person charter The Big Anchovy, out of Santa Cruz Harbor, scored a tanker white seabass while drifting live Pacific mackerel mid-water in about 120 feet toward Capitola. The bait sat near 70 feet; a mark around 60 feet streaked down, dogged on the bottom, then made strong runs before the gaff. Ezio Vermiglio, visiting from North Carolina, was on the rod; John Boveri of Pacifica was also aboard. The fish weighed 54 pounds.

Photo: Allen Bushnell / NorCal Fish Reports / The Big Anchovy (the 54-pound white seabass).

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: NorCal Fish Reports — A Tale of Two Fishies (Monterey Bay, Sept. 18, 2026).