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Fish report: Bluefin not biting — yet
Yellowtail snagged by paddleboarder, surfperch are birthing, and bass bite as whiskerfish season opens
A nice Sante Lakes "whiskerfish," or channel catfish, caught this past weekend during the opener.
Dock Totals 4/6 – 4/12: 1143 anglers aboard 51 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 30 bluefin tuna, 12 bocaccio, 4 calico bass, 6 halibut (15 released), 2 lingcod, 3221 rockfish, 61 sand bass, 238 sanddab, 758 sculpin, 55 sheephead, and 360 whitefish.
Saltwater: Those bluefin that showed up for the Polaris Supreme last week are still there, but they're not biting yet. After one flurry of action where they boated 30 bluefin to 40 pounds, the boat returned to the grounds. Once there, they found fish holding at 250 to 350 feet, swimming in tight formations, and refusing to either rise to chum or take any deep-dropped bait or lures. But seiners working in the area were reporting fish in the 100 to 200-pound range, which points to great tuna fishing soon within 75 miles of Point Loma. Check the landings for 1.5- to 3-day trips to that area.
If the bluefin prove stubborn, the high spots from the 371 to the 60-mile Bank are holding great rockfish and lingcod action, so anglers can still fill up on meat. Still, there's nothing like being on the first trip of the season that gets into those 100-plus pound bluefin we have been fortunate enough to enjoy over the past decade or so.
The yellowtail bite at the Coronados also shut down this past week, though fishing for them further down the coast toward the mid-peninsula region has been decent. That said, the cool water trend along the Vizcaino usually brings with it a slowing of pelagic action about this time of year — their season runs a bit later than in San Diego. The best yellowtail fishing along that southern stretch below Cedros normally kicks off in August and dissipates by April.
Right now, the best yellowtail action will be found in the Sea of Cortez from Gonzaga Bay and south to La Paz, where it is going strong. Captain Juan Cook is working out of Gonzaga this month, and has been reporting good fishing for yellowtail, cabrilla, and grouper. He is available for booking and still has some openings.
Kevin Trieu was fishing the area in hopes of landing a yellow from a paddleboard — and succeeded, nabbing one smallish fish after a larger one rocked him and broke off. Smallish or not, a yellowtail from the paddleboard is quite the feat.
Kevin Trieu with his paddleboarded yellowtail from the Sea of Cortez near Bahia de San Luis Gonzaga.
Surf fishing has been picking up along San Diego beaches, while halibut, spotted bay bass, and a few shortfin corvina have been biting in the bays. Many of the barred surfperch caught have been holding fry — females have two vents, and are obviously fat when loaded with fry. These females should be released, but some may not make it after being hooked, especially if on bait and hooked deep. If the fish is mortally wounded, you can push a finger into the extended vent then remove it and the fry will come out, usually ready to swim.
I usually birth them into a bucket of clean seawater, then walk them out to a ways to release them. Most will not survive; even when born naturally, they often get eaten up. But those that do survive become future stocks, so giving it a try is always better than the alternative. Further, a dying fish tends to push out its fry, and those baby perch count as one each. If Fish and Game comes along and looks in your bucket, you could be cited for being over limit.
Looking north: boats working from the LA area and fishing outside to the islands have been getting some quality white seabass in the mix to 40 pounds or so. These fish have been starting to show along the outer edges of the kelp beds along the coast, and also out at Catalina and San Clemente islands. This is a little early for them — they really start showing by June — but I am sure they will still be there next week. It’s all about conditions and being able to find them as they tend to travel in small schools.
Father/daughter team with a solid largemouth bass caught out of Lake 4 on a nightcrawler. The fish was safely released.
Freshwater: As the season turns from trout to catfish in San Diego area lakes, largemouth bass have begun to bite well. There are still some trout left in the lakes that stock them, but most have switched over to stocking whiskerfish, except for Cuyamaca. The bass bite, all but dead a week ago in most lower elevation lakes, has come alive at lakes Jennings, Dixon, Wohlford, and even at Santee Lakes where a jumbo over 10-pounds was caught and released last Tuesday. (All bass are catch and release only at Santee Lakes.) 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.
Fish report: Bluefin not biting — yet
Yellowtail snagged by paddleboarder, surfperch are birthing, and bass bite as whiskerfish season opens
Fish report: Bluefin not biting — yet
Yellowtail snagged by paddleboarder, surfperch are birthing, and bass bite as whiskerfish season opens
A nice Sante Lakes "whiskerfish," or channel catfish, caught this past weekend during the opener.
Dock Totals 4/6 – 4/12: 1143 anglers aboard 51 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 30 bluefin tuna, 12 bocaccio, 4 calico bass, 6 halibut (15 released), 2 lingcod, 3221 rockfish, 61 sand bass, 238 sanddab, 758 sculpin, 55 sheephead, and 360 whitefish.
Saltwater: Those bluefin that showed up for the Polaris Supreme last week are still there, but they're not biting yet. After one flurry of action where they boated 30 bluefin to 40 pounds, the boat returned to the grounds. Once there, they found fish holding at 250 to 350 feet, swimming in tight formations, and refusing to either rise to chum or take any deep-dropped bait or lures. But seiners working in the area were reporting fish in the 100 to 200-pound range, which points to great tuna fishing soon within 75 miles of Point Loma. Check the landings for 1.5- to 3-day trips to that area.
If the bluefin prove stubborn, the high spots from the 371 to the 60-mile Bank are holding great rockfish and lingcod action, so anglers can still fill up on meat. Still, there's nothing like being on the first trip of the season that gets into those 100-plus pound bluefin we have been fortunate enough to enjoy over the past decade or so.
The yellowtail bite at the Coronados also shut down this past week, though fishing for them further down the coast toward the mid-peninsula region has been decent. That said, the cool water trend along the Vizcaino usually brings with it a slowing of pelagic action about this time of year — their season runs a bit later than in San Diego. The best yellowtail fishing along that southern stretch below Cedros normally kicks off in August and dissipates by April.
Right now, the best yellowtail action will be found in the Sea of Cortez from Gonzaga Bay and south to La Paz, where it is going strong. Captain Juan Cook is working out of Gonzaga this month, and has been reporting good fishing for yellowtail, cabrilla, and grouper. He is available for booking and still has some openings.
Kevin Trieu was fishing the area in hopes of landing a yellow from a paddleboard — and succeeded, nabbing one smallish fish after a larger one rocked him and broke off. Smallish or not, a yellowtail from the paddleboard is quite the feat.
Kevin Trieu with his paddleboarded yellowtail from the Sea of Cortez near Bahia de San Luis Gonzaga.
Surf fishing has been picking up along San Diego beaches, while halibut, spotted bay bass, and a few shortfin corvina have been biting in the bays. Many of the barred surfperch caught have been holding fry — females have two vents, and are obviously fat when loaded with fry. These females should be released, but some may not make it after being hooked, especially if on bait and hooked deep. If the fish is mortally wounded, you can push a finger into the extended vent then remove it and the fry will come out, usually ready to swim.
I usually birth them into a bucket of clean seawater, then walk them out to a ways to release them. Most will not survive; even when born naturally, they often get eaten up. But those that do survive become future stocks, so giving it a try is always better than the alternative. Further, a dying fish tends to push out its fry, and those baby perch count as one each. If Fish and Game comes along and looks in your bucket, you could be cited for being over limit.
Looking north: boats working from the LA area and fishing outside to the islands have been getting some quality white seabass in the mix to 40 pounds or so. These fish have been starting to show along the outer edges of the kelp beds along the coast, and also out at Catalina and San Clemente islands. This is a little early for them — they really start showing by June — but I am sure they will still be there next week. It’s all about conditions and being able to find them as they tend to travel in small schools.
Father/daughter team with a solid largemouth bass caught out of Lake 4 on a nightcrawler. The fish was safely released.
Freshwater: As the season turns from trout to catfish in San Diego area lakes, largemouth bass have begun to bite well. There are still some trout left in the lakes that stock them, but most have switched over to stocking whiskerfish, except for Cuyamaca. The bass bite, all but dead a week ago in most lower elevation lakes, has come alive at lakes Jennings, Dixon, Wohlford, and even at Santee Lakes where a jumbo over 10-pounds was caught and released last Tuesday. (All bass are catch and release only at Santee Lakes.) Whether the beach, bay, lake, or offshore, they’re out there so go out and get ‘em!
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