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Big kited bluefin on the Red Rooster III
Lake fishing heating up as the weather cools
(left): Angler Sharon Hendrix Kramer with her 200-pound bluefin caught while kite-fishing aboard the Red Rooster III
(right): Archan Phandanouvong pulling his soon to be released 49.5-pound catfish to the scale at Lake Wohlford
(right): Archan Phandanouvong pulling his soon to be released 49.5-pound catfish to the scale at Lake Wohlford
Dock Totals 12/8 – 12/14: 542 anglers aboard 29 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 6 bluefin tuna, 45 bonito, 2 calico bass, 8 rock crab, 2289 rockfish, 92 sand bass, 220 sculpin, 40 sheephead, 23 spiny lobster (36 released), 461 whitefish, 87 yellowfin tuna, and 2 yellowtail.
Saltwater: Half as many anglers got out to the rockfish grounds as the week previous, fishing improved, and the catch was doubled for those dropping deep. Whitefish and sheep head number were also up, indicating better conditions triggering a much better bite. Sea surface temperatures have been dropping as usual along the California current, pushing pelagic species further south, but yellowfin tuna are still being caught in extended three-day range, and bluefin tuna are still in the area.
Yellowfin are much more temperature sensitive than bluefin, and will move out of range of all but the long range fleet as winter approaches, while bluefin are always out there off our coast somewhere. Conditions and whether they can be found is the trick with bluefin this time of year. As bluefin will often feed lower in the water column, plane spotters often do not see schools that can only be found by metering, and even if seen on the surface, bluefin can move several dozen miles in a day.
Knowing where they are most commonly found, off the Baja Coast and the outer banks 100 miles west of Point Loma, can shorten the search for the often elusive bluefin. So far this year, bluefin have been near the same areas off Baja where boats have been targeting the larger than normal yellowfin within a few days travel from Point Loma. In past seasons, as the cool water pushes south in the late fall and winter months, bluefin have become more prevalent at the Cortez and Tanner banks southwest of San Clemente Island.
This year, though, has been one of the best years for the better grade of yellowfin and bluefin tuna combined. We have been getting the larger bluefin in good numbers for a decade or so, but to have yellowfin in the 50 to 100-pound class within three to five-day range is not so common. Even where the big yellowfin are usually caught down along the Ridge and banks of the southern end of Baja, they seem to be larger than normal, with a potential all-tackle world record fish caught this past month aboard the Excel.
The Red Rooster III reported awesome fishing from start to finish during their Ocean Tackle Research 10-day trip. Beginning with 25- to 50-pound tuna a day or so south, they then moved onto solid 70- to 100-pound yellowfin further south. By the time they got off Bahia Magdalena they were catch and release marlin fishing. They rounded out the trip with fair action on big bluefin with a nice kited 200-pounder, catch and release yellowfin, yellowtail, and some solid rockfish and lingcod fishing. Gotta love long range season with the excellent operators working out of San Diego!
Freshwater: Trout and catfish have been the two main catches in San Diego County lakes, with a few nice largemouth bass in the mix. The larger bass seem to get triggered into activity by the trout plants and are usually targeted in deeper water than during late spring and summer. That said, trout, catfish, bass, and panfish have all been biting well for anglers at the Santee Lakes which are shallow compared to our other reservoirs in the county.
Miramar, Jennings, and San Vicente have all been producing a decent bass bite off the deeper drop-offs as the bass are moving into deeper water. A-rigs, dropshots, swimbaits (especially trout colored), and robo worms have been the best lures to use for bass, while catfish have been biting on the usual assortment of bait, including chicken liver and cut mackerel. For trout, Powerbait and minijigs, including small tube baits in the 16th to 32nd of an ounce size, have been the hot ticket.
Larger catfish seem to get inspired by the trout fishing activity, with some of the better catches coming more so around Christmas than during the summer season when most lakes are stocking them. This was true again this past week at Lake Wohlford for angler Archan Phandanouvong, who caught a nice cat just a half pound shy of the fifty-pound mark. Archan was soaking a chunk of mackerel off Bass Point when the big fish bit. He toted the fish to the scale and after being weighed, the big cat was successfully released. Whether the beach, bay, lake, or offshore, they’re out there so go out and get ‘em!
Here's something you might be interested in.
Big kited bluefin on the Red Rooster III
Lake fishing heating up as the weather cools
Big kited bluefin on the Red Rooster III
Lake fishing heating up as the weather cools
(left): Angler Sharon Hendrix Kramer with her 200-pound bluefin caught while kite-fishing aboard the Red Rooster III
(right): Archan Phandanouvong pulling his soon to be released 49.5-pound catfish to the scale at Lake Wohlford
(right): Archan Phandanouvong pulling his soon to be released 49.5-pound catfish to the scale at Lake Wohlford
Dock Totals 12/8 – 12/14: 542 anglers aboard 29 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 6 bluefin tuna, 45 bonito, 2 calico bass, 8 rock crab, 2289 rockfish, 92 sand bass, 220 sculpin, 40 sheephead, 23 spiny lobster (36 released), 461 whitefish, 87 yellowfin tuna, and 2 yellowtail.
Saltwater: Half as many anglers got out to the rockfish grounds as the week previous, fishing improved, and the catch was doubled for those dropping deep. Whitefish and sheep head number were also up, indicating better conditions triggering a much better bite. Sea surface temperatures have been dropping as usual along the California current, pushing pelagic species further south, but yellowfin tuna are still being caught in extended three-day range, and bluefin tuna are still in the area.
Yellowfin are much more temperature sensitive than bluefin, and will move out of range of all but the long range fleet as winter approaches, while bluefin are always out there off our coast somewhere. Conditions and whether they can be found is the trick with bluefin this time of year. As bluefin will often feed lower in the water column, plane spotters often do not see schools that can only be found by metering, and even if seen on the surface, bluefin can move several dozen miles in a day.
Knowing where they are most commonly found, off the Baja Coast and the outer banks 100 miles west of Point Loma, can shorten the search for the often elusive bluefin. So far this year, bluefin have been near the same areas off Baja where boats have been targeting the larger than normal yellowfin within a few days travel from Point Loma. In past seasons, as the cool water pushes south in the late fall and winter months, bluefin have become more prevalent at the Cortez and Tanner banks southwest of San Clemente Island.
This year, though, has been one of the best years for the better grade of yellowfin and bluefin tuna combined. We have been getting the larger bluefin in good numbers for a decade or so, but to have yellowfin in the 50 to 100-pound class within three to five-day range is not so common. Even where the big yellowfin are usually caught down along the Ridge and banks of the southern end of Baja, they seem to be larger than normal, with a potential all-tackle world record fish caught this past month aboard the Excel.
The Red Rooster III reported awesome fishing from start to finish during their Ocean Tackle Research 10-day trip. Beginning with 25- to 50-pound tuna a day or so south, they then moved onto solid 70- to 100-pound yellowfin further south. By the time they got off Bahia Magdalena they were catch and release marlin fishing. They rounded out the trip with fair action on big bluefin with a nice kited 200-pounder, catch and release yellowfin, yellowtail, and some solid rockfish and lingcod fishing. Gotta love long range season with the excellent operators working out of San Diego!
Freshwater: Trout and catfish have been the two main catches in San Diego County lakes, with a few nice largemouth bass in the mix. The larger bass seem to get triggered into activity by the trout plants and are usually targeted in deeper water than during late spring and summer. That said, trout, catfish, bass, and panfish have all been biting well for anglers at the Santee Lakes which are shallow compared to our other reservoirs in the county.
Miramar, Jennings, and San Vicente have all been producing a decent bass bite off the deeper drop-offs as the bass are moving into deeper water. A-rigs, dropshots, swimbaits (especially trout colored), and robo worms have been the best lures to use for bass, while catfish have been biting on the usual assortment of bait, including chicken liver and cut mackerel. For trout, Powerbait and minijigs, including small tube baits in the 16th to 32nd of an ounce size, have been the hot ticket.
Larger catfish seem to get inspired by the trout fishing activity, with some of the better catches coming more so around Christmas than during the summer season when most lakes are stocking them. This was true again this past week at Lake Wohlford for angler Archan Phandanouvong, who caught a nice cat just a half pound shy of the fifty-pound mark. Archan was soaking a chunk of mackerel off Bass Point when the big fish bit. He toted the fish to the scale and after being weighed, the big cat was successfully released. Whether the beach, bay, lake, or offshore, they’re out there so go out and get ‘em!
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