(left): Jim Kelly buried in double limits of large California Spiny Lobsters he an Ramon Ulloa caught in just two sets.
(right): The fantastic wahoo fishing this past week outside Bahia Magdelena is exampled by this nice ‘skinny’ caught from the Royal Polaris.

Dock Totals 9/29 – 10/6: 2938 anglers aboard 137 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 2167 bluefin tuna (up to 140 pounds), 46 bocaccio, 42 bonito, 59 calico bass, 3 halibut, 25 lingcod, 1 mako shark, 3 perch, 2 petrale sole, 100 rock crab, 4106 rockfish, 2 rock sole, 68 sand bass, 4 sanddab, 1260 sculpin, 79 sheephead, 2 spider crab, 184 spiny lobster (323 released), 933 whitefish, 46 yellowfin tuna, and 274 yellowtail.

Saltwater: Bluefin tuna are still chewing away in US waters out about 50 miles due west of San Clemente Island, as well as just south of the border near the Coronado Islands. The difference in the two areas is mostly the size of the fish, with those out west being the larger units to well over 100-pounds, while the bite at the Coronados is producing more fish in the 25 to 60-pound range. 

Having bluefin within one day range at the Coronados is a huge plus for those on limited budgets or with little time to get out. Some of the full day boats have been extending their runs to 1.5-day to be able to get their anglers some solid time at the rail for the better nighttime bite. That said, boats departing in the early morning and returning that evening have been putting up good numbers as well.

The deep rockfish season has begun with a bang, with many boats posting up limit style fishing in the 300 to 600-foot zone now allowed until the season closes at the end of the year through March. Boats with early limits of bluefin have been reporting good catches of rockfish with a smattering of yellowtail rounding out the solid counts this past week. Half-day to full-day boats will put anglers on the good rockfish close to home off the 9-Mile Bank edges down to outside the Coronados. 

On the trips south of the border, a passport and Mexican license is required, but for those in US waters, just bring your gear for deep dropping bait or heavy jigs and your California fishing license with an Ocean Enhancement stamp. Anglers can purchase all at the landings, and if no gear, rental gear is available. The San Diego sportfishing operations are truly the finest live bait fleet in the world, with many boats and trip lengths offered from coastal half day runs to long range trips south to the great fishing off the southern half of the Baja Peninsula. 

Our diverse and healthy fisheries continue to produce outstanding catches, and if you haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying a trip out of any of San Diego’s big four landings or are a novice at saltwater fishing, the crews are there with help and instruction for the best possible outcome. Seaforth out of Mission Bay, along with H&M, Fisherman’s, and Point Loma out of San Diego Bay all offer top notch boats and crews for anglers, many of whom travel from all over the world to get in on the exceptional fishing found off Southern California and Baja.

Far to the south outside of Bahia Magdalena, long range boats including the Excel and Royal Polaris have been doing very well on middling yellowfin tuna to 80-pounds and wahoo off the banks outside, along with great yellowtail and grouper fishing along the coast between Punta Eugenia and La Bocana. This has been an off year for dorado, though, with better odds of catching big bulls near La Paz up to Loreto in the Sea of Cortes. This year has been a bit odd compared to the last several, with some stretches of cool water keeping the more tropical exotics far south. There have been some yellowfin caught within three day runs out of San Diego, but those have generally been few and far between at the time of year when we usually see numbers in the thousands. Dorado haven’t shown up at all, when over the past couple seasons, we were also logging thousands per week within 3-day range.

It is getting buggy out there early in lobster season, the one open party boat running hoop trips, the Alicia, has been posting solid numbers of good-sized bugs nightly. Private boaters and kayakers have been getting in on the action as well, friend Jim Kelly hooping with Ramon Ulloa hoisted their limits of solid lobster to 7.5-pounds in just two sets totaling 47-pounds for 14 caught. Spiny lobster spend daylight hours holed up in rocky reefs then march out to up to a half mile per night in search of food.

Unlike Maine lobsters, California spiny lobsters do not have a ‘home den’, they find an appropriate hiding spot as daylight breaks, often piling up in numbers. This can allow for great catches in the same spot throughout the season when hooping along likely hiding places along bay riprap and coastal reefs. The flat sandy areas adjacent to Zuniga Jetty and back inside San Diego Bay near and rocky stretches all the way into the back bay near J Street landing can be productive and accessible for smaller craft and kayaks.

Hooping from piers such as the one at Shelter Island can also produce, but the best pier or land-based hooping I have done was years ago from Ocean Beach Pier, which is sadly now closed. As of now, soil surveys are being done to determine the best foundation with which to replace the iconic structure as it has been determined that it is too far gone for rebuilding the existing structure. For all fishing activities, be sure to visit the CDFW website Southern Management Area page to ensure you are properly licensed and know the limits per species before heading out. Whether the beach, bay, lake, or offshore, they’re out there so go out and get ‘em!