What to target in this early year season?

Now rock fish season is closed, what do you fish in Santa Cruz bay folks?
Looks like halibut and flat fish open. But I don't know where to go for them.
Any advice would be appreciated!

I haven’t targeted them down your way, but sand dabs are always open. Up here you usually need to get to at least 150 feet of water before the dab fishing is very good. Petrale sole as well, but I haven’t heard of kayakers having consistent success.

Hey Merongi, it ain't Santa Cruz, but if you need to get tugged, go shark fishing in the bay.  Recommend launching out of the Port of RWC and anchor up under the power towers, and soak squid on a jig head. 

Plentiful leopards that are nearly as dumb and EZ as RCGs.

Usually this time of year ncka targets itself...lots of bickering and complaining starts in a month or so as everyone gets cabin fever.

Errr uhhh...with all this rain and memories, we used to sit for hours waiting for that boink, boink boink.....  It's worth testing all your gear and knots on a sturgeon.  Also dungees, and we're all waiting for the herring spawn...

I'm going to give surf fishing a shot this year. If I can get myself to pull my kayak into the garage and dry it out, I might take it to a lake for trout.

Rock fishing is open year round from shore. Picked up a limit of blues from Salt Point a few years ago, but otherwise haven’t had much success. May give it a shot this year.

I haven’t targeted them down your way, but sand dabs are always open. Up here you usually need to get to at least 150 feet of water before the dab fishing is very good. Petrale sole as well, but I haven’t heard of kayakers having consistent success.

I have never had any issues catching all the sand dabs I want a timber cove. From October until spring any sandy bottom deeper than 80' seems to be loaded with them. Plenty that are good eating size too. Small hooks on the bottom tipped with squid.

Thanks for all the replies and idea.
I'm going out on (probably) Sunday anyway for "something". I may come empty handed but at least I'll enjoy the time on the water.
I may catch a couple of smelts and visit the last spot I hooked Halibut a month ago and head to sandy Aptos area.
Wish I know how to spot squids on Monterey bay area if they're available.

Thanks for all the replies and idea.
I'm going out on (probably) Sunday anyway for "something". I may come empty handed but at least I'll enjoy the time on the water.
I may catch a couple of smelts and visit the last spot I hooked Halibut a month ago and head to sandy Aptos area.
Wish I know how to spot squids on Monterey bay area if they're available.

there are for sure winter halibut deep in sc, a lot of big halibut get caught in the winter off the central coast. 100ft+ usually, but trolling, and a lot of effort and good weather to go and troll for them.

realistically there are a lot of things in the winter to do fishing wise, but most of them require more patience and more bad weather.

usually winter fishing for me is the lowest effort fishing and also the lowest expectations. finesse bass, stocked trout, crab snare, shark and ray. enough to hold me over and get me excited about early season halibut.

Usually this time of year ncka targets itself...lots of bickering and complaining starts in a month or so as everyone gets cabin fever.

This!

But seriously, if you go straight out of the SC harbor, staying east of the mile buoy, to about 110-120 fow (about 3.5-4 miles from the dock), you should find sanddabs. I'm sure other flatfish hang out there too, but once you find the sanddabs, nothing else will have a chance of finding your hooks. For some reason, I've never had much luck at that same depths but further west...