Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Big bluefin tuna still the main offshore draw

This week's fishing report

Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) - Image by LUNAMARINA
Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

Inshore: The inshore fishing for rockfish has been very good for those getting out to the near-shore bumps on out to the 9 Mile Bank. Lots of sheephead, starrys, vermillions and even an occasional decent lingcod are being reported. For those still fishing the upper water column, a few schools of bonito and barracuda are just off the kelp edge, though most of the barracuda is smallish, under the 28” length limit. Calico bass are biting well for the anglers targeting the kelp with plastics on the slacker tides and the kelp is up when "pot-holing" is possible. There are some squid and white seabass around, so don’t overlook those fuzzy scratches just off the bottom in 80 to 120 feet of water — there might be some calamari there holding some of those big tanker white seabass La Jolla is becoming known for (again) since the efforts of late last century in restoring that fishery.

Outside: The overnight to 3 day trips are still heading up and out to the Tanner-Cortez banks in search of the mighty bluefin tuna in the area. Boats from Oceanside as well as from landings on up to the Los Angeles area are making their way out to the banks some 50 miles past San Clemente Island. Always known as the hardest fighting of the tunas on rod and reel, these fish are pinning anglers to the rail and most are well over 60 pounds - with some going well over 100 pounds. About half the fish hooked are landed on a good trip, so take the heavier gear and listen to the crews if you go. The tuna are eating the glow in the dark flat-falls very well and heavier line isn’t spooking them, so no excuses. The Outer Limits ran across a few straggling yellowfin tuna on an overnight, but most of that warmer-water stuff has gone back south. Yellowtail are showing sporadically outside and down the northern Baja coast on the high spots. These fish are responding well to yoyo irons when metered.

Sponsored
Sponsored

11/13 – 11/19 Dock Totals: 954 anglers aboard 46 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 231 bluefin tuna, 9 yellowfin tuna, 170 yellowtail, 55 calico bass, 8 sand bass, 1,525 rockfish, 15 lingcod, 45 bonito, 44 sheephead, 67 whitefish, 40 sanddab, 75 mackerel, 1 white seabass, 2 bocaccio, 4 sculpin, 1 halibut and 10 California spiny lobster.

Fish Plants: 11/28 Jennings, trout (1500) 11/30 Lake Poway, Trout (3000, for their trout opener Dec 1)

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Victorian Christmas Tours, Jingle Bell Cruises

Events December 22-December 25, 2024
Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) - Image by LUNAMARINA
Bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

Inshore: The inshore fishing for rockfish has been very good for those getting out to the near-shore bumps on out to the 9 Mile Bank. Lots of sheephead, starrys, vermillions and even an occasional decent lingcod are being reported. For those still fishing the upper water column, a few schools of bonito and barracuda are just off the kelp edge, though most of the barracuda is smallish, under the 28” length limit. Calico bass are biting well for the anglers targeting the kelp with plastics on the slacker tides and the kelp is up when "pot-holing" is possible. There are some squid and white seabass around, so don’t overlook those fuzzy scratches just off the bottom in 80 to 120 feet of water — there might be some calamari there holding some of those big tanker white seabass La Jolla is becoming known for (again) since the efforts of late last century in restoring that fishery.

Outside: The overnight to 3 day trips are still heading up and out to the Tanner-Cortez banks in search of the mighty bluefin tuna in the area. Boats from Oceanside as well as from landings on up to the Los Angeles area are making their way out to the banks some 50 miles past San Clemente Island. Always known as the hardest fighting of the tunas on rod and reel, these fish are pinning anglers to the rail and most are well over 60 pounds - with some going well over 100 pounds. About half the fish hooked are landed on a good trip, so take the heavier gear and listen to the crews if you go. The tuna are eating the glow in the dark flat-falls very well and heavier line isn’t spooking them, so no excuses. The Outer Limits ran across a few straggling yellowfin tuna on an overnight, but most of that warmer-water stuff has gone back south. Yellowtail are showing sporadically outside and down the northern Baja coast on the high spots. These fish are responding well to yoyo irons when metered.

Sponsored
Sponsored

11/13 – 11/19 Dock Totals: 954 anglers aboard 46 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 231 bluefin tuna, 9 yellowfin tuna, 170 yellowtail, 55 calico bass, 8 sand bass, 1,525 rockfish, 15 lingcod, 45 bonito, 44 sheephead, 67 whitefish, 40 sanddab, 75 mackerel, 1 white seabass, 2 bocaccio, 4 sculpin, 1 halibut and 10 California spiny lobster.

Fish Plants: 11/28 Jennings, trout (1500) 11/30 Lake Poway, Trout (3000, for their trout opener Dec 1)

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

East San Diego County has only one bike lane

So you can get out of town – from Santee to Tierrasanta
Next Article

Big kited bluefin on the Red Rooster III

Lake fishing heating up as the weather cools
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader