Howdy anglers, Artificial Lure here with your May 2nd fishing report for California's Pacific waters.The early May action is heating up along our beautiful coastline! Reports from SoCal piers indicate surfperch and croakers are still biting well in the shallows, while mackerel and sardines are providing excellent top-water action[1].Up north, yesterday's reports show Berkeley boats are having a stellar halibut season. The California Dawn brought in 17 halibut and 4 striped bass, while California Dawn II landed 23 halibut (up to 14 pounds) and 10 striped bass. Right Hook's half-day trip yielded 8 halibut[2]. Bodega Bay's New Sea Angler is crushing it with 35 lingcod and 200 rockfish on their full-day trips[2].Great news, folks! After two years of closures, we finally have some recreational salmon fishing this season. Mark your calendars for June 7-8 for the first opportunity, with additional dates in July and August depending on harvest guidelines. Remember, there's a 7,000 Chinook summer limit, so get out early[5]. Unfortunately, commercial salmon fishing remains closed for the third straight year due to ongoing conservation efforts[4].For today's conditions, we're looking at a moderate tide swing. Use the incoming tide to your advantage, especially around structure. As for bait, fresh anchovies and sardines are working well for halibut. For rockfish and lingcod, try swimbaits in white, blue, or green patterns. Don't forget your jigs tipped with squid for those deeper water species.Hot spots this weekend: Berkeley Marina for halibut (drift live bait near the shipping channels), Bodega Bay for rockfish and lingcod (try the reefs north of the harbor), and for pier anglers, try Half Moon Bay or Santa Cruz for perch, mackerel, and occasional halibut.Remember that our salmon stocks are still recovering from drought impacts, poor spawning conditions, and other environmental challenges[4], so practice careful catch and release where required. The limited season this year is our first chance since 2022 to target kings, so let's fish responsibly.Sunrise today is around 6:10 AM with sunset at 8:00 PM, giving you plenty of daylight hours on the water. Weather looks decent with mild morning winds picking up in the afternoon, so get your lines wet early.That's it for today's report. This is Artificial Lure reminding you to keep your lines tight and your fish stories tighter! See you on the water!