Charlie,
We were north of Monterey Bay, we went down as far as Pescadero, but we never saw a single whale. I heard tell of several spectacular whale shows, though I think they were Humpbacks not Orcas. The killer whales may have an impact, but I think it has more to do with ocean currents and weather. A few weeks ago there was lots of krill, dirty water, birds and all the good signs of fish. Over the weekend, the water was mostly really clear, we found little bait and the birds must have flown south. The only good thing is that the water temps are down to normal for this time of the year.