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Chunky yellowtail from Alijos Rocks
Imperial Beach Pier thresher shark
An oddly thick yellowtail caught off Alijos Rocks by Arturo Pino while fishing aboard the Searcher.
Dock Totals 11/17 – 11/23: 458 anglers aboard 27 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 2 bonito, 3 lingcod, 9 rock crab, 2167 rockfish, 9 sand bass, 8 sculpin, 22 sheephead, 29 spiny lobster (70 released), 273 whitefish, and 3 yellowtail.
Saltwater: The reason I total the fish caught by the half day to 3-day fleet is that most longer running boats do not report their counts. That said, some of the boats that run anything from 1.5-day to long range trips of a week or longer also don’t report their counts on the shorter trips. So, I total the fish caught from the same set of boats every week over the past ten years to give a sampling of the catch that is consistent. This is why there are no tuna in the count this week, and also so few yellowtail. But yes, some boats got into yellowfin, bluefin, and yellowtail within 3-day range.
Most of the pelagic action was far south, from the Bahia Asuncion area south to the Ridge and banks outside of Bahia Magdalena off the Pacific side of the lower half of the Baja Peninsula. Yellowfin tuna, some pushing 300-pounds and one pending world record 442.5-pounder reported last week, and bluefin tuna to 200-pounds are still being found off southern Baja, while there are still sightings of tuna outside off northern Baja and even out west at the Cortez and Tanner banks. Varying winter conditions often keep the boats working south along the coast rather than further offshore, so that can also skew the counts.
While most of the long-range fleet has been concentrating along the Baja Pacific coast south of Isla Cedros, the Searcher went out west to Alijos Rocks and found steady action on yellowfin tuna, some wahoo, and yellowtail. Alijos Rocks are a series of tiny, steep, uninhabited, and barren volcanic islets about 190 miles west of the southern Baja coast. The total land area is a couple acres, and is mostly pinnacle rock. The edges of the drop-offs around the high spot are steep, which provides upwelled nutrients where baitfish and their predators gather, making it a choice, if not distant, destination for long-range boats.
On that Searcher trip, a yellowtail caught by angler Arturo Pino off the edge at Alijos Rocks was about the thickest yellowtail I have ever seen. I have seen some fat ones, but most are built torpedo-like, long and narrow. Their cousin amberjacks will have more ‘shoulders’ on them, with a taller profile, but this was not an amberjack. We should get an official weight on the fish when the Searcher returns mid-week, but, given an estimated length and girth, Arturo’s fish may be around 60-pounds. In looking at the photo, I figure about 50 inches long by at least a 30-inch girth. Given the common formula of length times girth squared then divided by 800, the fish would weigh just over 56-pounds. And that is a very conservative estimate of the girth. It would be nowhere near the world record, but it does have some folks wondering if the fish is somehow a hybrid yellowtail/amberjack or just a bit deformed.
Locally, lobster hooping was tough and a bit hit-and-miss, while rockfish continue to be the main target and are biting well in 300 to 600-feet of water. On the beaches, surf perch have slowed to a pick, as have corbina and croaker. Pier anglers are getting mostly mackerel, but in turn, rebaiting a mackerel and sending it out on a heavier setup might just get one a decent thresher shark, as they are cruising within reach in 60-feet and shallower while preying on mackerel. I have seen a few recent reports of the long-tailed sharks being caught from Orange County to Imperial Beach, where one nice specimen was hauled up and over the rail this week.
This good-sized thresher shark caught from Imperial Beach Pier had to be hauled up by a pier gaff.
Imperial Beach Pier is going through some repairs and upgrades, where 2 million dollars has been allocated to add enhancements and replace a couple pilings. The southernmost pier in California has been closed for times when public safety could be endangered, such as during the piling replacements being done by helicopter but has opened a day or two between phases. The current phase of the project should be completed and the pier fully reopened by Thanksgiving Day. Future deck board replacement work and utility piping work may require partial pier closures or short full pier closures. The project is anticipated to be complete in summer 2025, so until then, check the Port of San Diego Imperial Beach Pier Enhancement page for updates.
Imperial Beach Pier used to be the landing and launching point for sportboats, like the Bright and Morningstar, that used the pier as a convenient departure to fish the Coronado Islands. I rode that boat from the pier a few times, and can see why, with rising insurance costs, that they had to quit running those trips. There was a ramp that one had to walk down to board the boat, and with the waves causing the boat to buck and rock, it made getting aboard a challenge at times. Anglers’ rods and tackle boxes were loaded by a davit (a small crane) mounted to the pier. My last trip out on that boat was on a Monday, seniors’ day, and it took a while to get underway, given a strong yellowtail bite had lured some 50 seniors who took advantage of the half price discount and excellent fishing. My partner Susan and I were the only passengers that day under 55 years old, and she had an unlimited supply of cold beer from the galley and off-color jokes offered by winking geezers. In spite of the crowded load, we got limits of yellowtail and gifted beer, so it was actually quite the fun day on the water!
Most anglers fishing from piers are those targeting smaller fish such as mackerel, croaker, and the occasional piling perch. But there are a few folks who traipse out to the ends and set up for big game; usually sharks and bat rays. When targeting larger fish from a platform far above the water, a pier gaff is necessary to raise the fish too heavy to be brought up by rod and reel. These gaffs are basically a weighted large treble hook on a rope, and often requires a second person to gaff the fish while the angler keeps the fish flat on the surface. Some piers with bait shops will have a loaner pier gaff, though there is usually one or more anglers out there targeting larger game who has one if the need arises. 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.
Chunky yellowtail from Alijos Rocks
Imperial Beach Pier thresher shark
Chunky yellowtail from Alijos Rocks
Imperial Beach Pier thresher shark
An oddly thick yellowtail caught off Alijos Rocks by Arturo Pino while fishing aboard the Searcher.
Dock Totals 11/17 – 11/23: 458 anglers aboard 27 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 2 bonito, 3 lingcod, 9 rock crab, 2167 rockfish, 9 sand bass, 8 sculpin, 22 sheephead, 29 spiny lobster (70 released), 273 whitefish, and 3 yellowtail.
Saltwater: The reason I total the fish caught by the half day to 3-day fleet is that most longer running boats do not report their counts. That said, some of the boats that run anything from 1.5-day to long range trips of a week or longer also don’t report their counts on the shorter trips. So, I total the fish caught from the same set of boats every week over the past ten years to give a sampling of the catch that is consistent. This is why there are no tuna in the count this week, and also so few yellowtail. But yes, some boats got into yellowfin, bluefin, and yellowtail within 3-day range.
Most of the pelagic action was far south, from the Bahia Asuncion area south to the Ridge and banks outside of Bahia Magdalena off the Pacific side of the lower half of the Baja Peninsula. Yellowfin tuna, some pushing 300-pounds and one pending world record 442.5-pounder reported last week, and bluefin tuna to 200-pounds are still being found off southern Baja, while there are still sightings of tuna outside off northern Baja and even out west at the Cortez and Tanner banks. Varying winter conditions often keep the boats working south along the coast rather than further offshore, so that can also skew the counts.
While most of the long-range fleet has been concentrating along the Baja Pacific coast south of Isla Cedros, the Searcher went out west to Alijos Rocks and found steady action on yellowfin tuna, some wahoo, and yellowtail. Alijos Rocks are a series of tiny, steep, uninhabited, and barren volcanic islets about 190 miles west of the southern Baja coast. The total land area is a couple acres, and is mostly pinnacle rock. The edges of the drop-offs around the high spot are steep, which provides upwelled nutrients where baitfish and their predators gather, making it a choice, if not distant, destination for long-range boats.
On that Searcher trip, a yellowtail caught by angler Arturo Pino off the edge at Alijos Rocks was about the thickest yellowtail I have ever seen. I have seen some fat ones, but most are built torpedo-like, long and narrow. Their cousin amberjacks will have more ‘shoulders’ on them, with a taller profile, but this was not an amberjack. We should get an official weight on the fish when the Searcher returns mid-week, but, given an estimated length and girth, Arturo’s fish may be around 60-pounds. In looking at the photo, I figure about 50 inches long by at least a 30-inch girth. Given the common formula of length times girth squared then divided by 800, the fish would weigh just over 56-pounds. And that is a very conservative estimate of the girth. It would be nowhere near the world record, but it does have some folks wondering if the fish is somehow a hybrid yellowtail/amberjack or just a bit deformed.
Locally, lobster hooping was tough and a bit hit-and-miss, while rockfish continue to be the main target and are biting well in 300 to 600-feet of water. On the beaches, surf perch have slowed to a pick, as have corbina and croaker. Pier anglers are getting mostly mackerel, but in turn, rebaiting a mackerel and sending it out on a heavier setup might just get one a decent thresher shark, as they are cruising within reach in 60-feet and shallower while preying on mackerel. I have seen a few recent reports of the long-tailed sharks being caught from Orange County to Imperial Beach, where one nice specimen was hauled up and over the rail this week.
This good-sized thresher shark caught from Imperial Beach Pier had to be hauled up by a pier gaff.
Imperial Beach Pier is going through some repairs and upgrades, where 2 million dollars has been allocated to add enhancements and replace a couple pilings. The southernmost pier in California has been closed for times when public safety could be endangered, such as during the piling replacements being done by helicopter but has opened a day or two between phases. The current phase of the project should be completed and the pier fully reopened by Thanksgiving Day. Future deck board replacement work and utility piping work may require partial pier closures or short full pier closures. The project is anticipated to be complete in summer 2025, so until then, check the Port of San Diego Imperial Beach Pier Enhancement page for updates.
Imperial Beach Pier used to be the landing and launching point for sportboats, like the Bright and Morningstar, that used the pier as a convenient departure to fish the Coronado Islands. I rode that boat from the pier a few times, and can see why, with rising insurance costs, that they had to quit running those trips. There was a ramp that one had to walk down to board the boat, and with the waves causing the boat to buck and rock, it made getting aboard a challenge at times. Anglers’ rods and tackle boxes were loaded by a davit (a small crane) mounted to the pier. My last trip out on that boat was on a Monday, seniors’ day, and it took a while to get underway, given a strong yellowtail bite had lured some 50 seniors who took advantage of the half price discount and excellent fishing. My partner Susan and I were the only passengers that day under 55 years old, and she had an unlimited supply of cold beer from the galley and off-color jokes offered by winking geezers. In spite of the crowded load, we got limits of yellowtail and gifted beer, so it was actually quite the fun day on the water!
Most anglers fishing from piers are those targeting smaller fish such as mackerel, croaker, and the occasional piling perch. But there are a few folks who traipse out to the ends and set up for big game; usually sharks and bat rays. When targeting larger fish from a platform far above the water, a pier gaff is necessary to raise the fish too heavy to be brought up by rod and reel. These gaffs are basically a weighted large treble hook on a rope, and often requires a second person to gaff the fish while the angler keeps the fish flat on the surface. Some piers with bait shops will have a loaner pier gaff, though there is usually one or more anglers out there targeting larger game who has one if the need arises. Whether the beach, bay, lake, or offshore, they’re out there so go out and get ‘em!
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