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Plenty of elbow room with low angler turnout for the local fleet
Large bluefin caught off San Quintin
(left): Longtime angler Dane Barriault with his impressive 290-pound yellowfin tuna caught while fishing aboard the Independence off the southern Baja Peninsula.
(right): Jaime Garcia with his hefty 264-pound Bluefin tuna caught ten miles off the San Quintin coast in northern Baja.
(right): Jaime Garcia with his hefty 264-pound Bluefin tuna caught ten miles off the San Quintin coast in northern Baja.
Dock Totals 1/26 – 2/1: 315 anglers aboard 19 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 8 calico bass, 1 halibut, 113 sand bass, 65 sanddab, 318 sculpin, and 478 whitefish.
Saltwater: It was a very slow week for the local fleet, given low angler numbers for the trips concentrating on sculpin, sand bass, and whitefish. The catching per angler, however, was consistent for the few folks who got out and enjoyed the extra elbow room. We tend to hit a lull in angler numbers this time of year due to closures and lack of pelagic species to target, but it won’t take more than a good bluefin bite on the 9-Mile Bank or a couple yellows caught off La Jolla to get the numbers back up a bit. For what we can target in US waters until sheephead and rockfish open in March and April, respectively, fishing has been pretty good for the less glamorous sculpin, sand bass, and whitefish.
With the big tide swings this week, the halibut bite slowed in the bay, especially where the current is moving fast along the channel edges they haunt. Still, when we have the high tide phases, fishing while going into slack low or high until it starts flowing again can be productive. I always like some current when targeting halibut, but the flatter days have served me better. Hopping a thick grub along the bottom while slowly drifting a channel edge has produced most of my largest halibut caught.
Sand bass are a little less affected by current as are halibut. But when fishing sand bass in shallower water, lure presentation gets tougher when moving too fast, and as they like to school up in the winter in deeper water, it can be tough to stay with them on days when wind or current, or both, are pushing you out of the zone. Still, in winter mode, heavier leadhead with a larger grub like a Berkley Mogambo with a tempting squid strip pinned on it can go a long way toward putting a limit in the sack. Sand Bass tend to bite better with a little more current, but not when it is raging. I tend to focus on the downstream side of structure when fishing in current for sand bass and use plenty of weight, whether a dropper loop with bait or using plastics, to stay in the zone as long as possible.
There was a bit of bluefin action last week from off Ensenada to the 240 Bank outside of San Quintin. I was able to confirm a few caught out of Ensenada, and a couple out of San Quintin, including a 260-pounder caught by Jaime Garcia of Jaime’s Pangas. He, his son and nephew were out looking around the 240 Bank about 10 miles west of the coast after hearing about several break offs on larger fish. The day before, most boats were catching yellowtail, rockfish, whitefish, and such which is normal wintertime fishing for the area, but speculation about larger tuna was confirmed when, while dropping a yoyo iron through some meter marks, they hooked a fish that fought for over four hours. It took all three of them, each with a gaff, to get the fish into the boat. It weighed in at 120 kilos (264.5 pounds) on the scale back at Jaime’s place.
Further south, the Independence got into some good fishing between blows that had put a bit of stymie to the fishing for the boats working off the southern Baja Peninsula. Wahoo were biting well when it wasn’t howling, and some really nice yellowfin hit the deck. In the morning hours Saturday while still relatively calm, four large yellowfin were hooked by anglers aboard the Independence. Two impressive units made it to the deck at 290 and 255-pounds and the other two survived to fight another day.
Breakoffs and pulled hooks are common heartbreaks when targeting tuna pushing 300-pounds, even when using the best gear, heavy line, and all the right techniques. Pulled hooks, chewed lines, other lines tangling, mistakes due to fatigue…there are too many things that can go wrong when fighting a 250-pound beast with a stick and a glorified winch wound with string. Cutting edge gear will definitely improve the odds of landing a large tuna, but it has been done for ages on basics like Penn Senators and broomstick thick fiberglass rods. It is the challenge, and ultimately the food, that drives most anglers who tend to spend much more than they would at the fish market for a chance to battle a large tuna. We can always hit Tommy The Fishmonger Gomes’ Tunaville Market and Grocery at Shelter Island or the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market on the Embarcadero for excellent fresh off the boat fish, though the taste of sweet victory adds the special spice that keeps anglers coming back for more. 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.
Plenty of elbow room with low angler turnout for the local fleet
Large bluefin caught off San Quintin
Plenty of elbow room with low angler turnout for the local fleet
Large bluefin caught off San Quintin
(left): Longtime angler Dane Barriault with his impressive 290-pound yellowfin tuna caught while fishing aboard the Independence off the southern Baja Peninsula.
(right): Jaime Garcia with his hefty 264-pound Bluefin tuna caught ten miles off the San Quintin coast in northern Baja.
(right): Jaime Garcia with his hefty 264-pound Bluefin tuna caught ten miles off the San Quintin coast in northern Baja.
Dock Totals 1/26 – 2/1: 315 anglers aboard 19 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 8 calico bass, 1 halibut, 113 sand bass, 65 sanddab, 318 sculpin, and 478 whitefish.
Saltwater: It was a very slow week for the local fleet, given low angler numbers for the trips concentrating on sculpin, sand bass, and whitefish. The catching per angler, however, was consistent for the few folks who got out and enjoyed the extra elbow room. We tend to hit a lull in angler numbers this time of year due to closures and lack of pelagic species to target, but it won’t take more than a good bluefin bite on the 9-Mile Bank or a couple yellows caught off La Jolla to get the numbers back up a bit. For what we can target in US waters until sheephead and rockfish open in March and April, respectively, fishing has been pretty good for the less glamorous sculpin, sand bass, and whitefish.
With the big tide swings this week, the halibut bite slowed in the bay, especially where the current is moving fast along the channel edges they haunt. Still, when we have the high tide phases, fishing while going into slack low or high until it starts flowing again can be productive. I always like some current when targeting halibut, but the flatter days have served me better. Hopping a thick grub along the bottom while slowly drifting a channel edge has produced most of my largest halibut caught.
Sand bass are a little less affected by current as are halibut. But when fishing sand bass in shallower water, lure presentation gets tougher when moving too fast, and as they like to school up in the winter in deeper water, it can be tough to stay with them on days when wind or current, or both, are pushing you out of the zone. Still, in winter mode, heavier leadhead with a larger grub like a Berkley Mogambo with a tempting squid strip pinned on it can go a long way toward putting a limit in the sack. Sand Bass tend to bite better with a little more current, but not when it is raging. I tend to focus on the downstream side of structure when fishing in current for sand bass and use plenty of weight, whether a dropper loop with bait or using plastics, to stay in the zone as long as possible.
There was a bit of bluefin action last week from off Ensenada to the 240 Bank outside of San Quintin. I was able to confirm a few caught out of Ensenada, and a couple out of San Quintin, including a 260-pounder caught by Jaime Garcia of Jaime’s Pangas. He, his son and nephew were out looking around the 240 Bank about 10 miles west of the coast after hearing about several break offs on larger fish. The day before, most boats were catching yellowtail, rockfish, whitefish, and such which is normal wintertime fishing for the area, but speculation about larger tuna was confirmed when, while dropping a yoyo iron through some meter marks, they hooked a fish that fought for over four hours. It took all three of them, each with a gaff, to get the fish into the boat. It weighed in at 120 kilos (264.5 pounds) on the scale back at Jaime’s place.
Further south, the Independence got into some good fishing between blows that had put a bit of stymie to the fishing for the boats working off the southern Baja Peninsula. Wahoo were biting well when it wasn’t howling, and some really nice yellowfin hit the deck. In the morning hours Saturday while still relatively calm, four large yellowfin were hooked by anglers aboard the Independence. Two impressive units made it to the deck at 290 and 255-pounds and the other two survived to fight another day.
Breakoffs and pulled hooks are common heartbreaks when targeting tuna pushing 300-pounds, even when using the best gear, heavy line, and all the right techniques. Pulled hooks, chewed lines, other lines tangling, mistakes due to fatigue…there are too many things that can go wrong when fighting a 250-pound beast with a stick and a glorified winch wound with string. Cutting edge gear will definitely improve the odds of landing a large tuna, but it has been done for ages on basics like Penn Senators and broomstick thick fiberglass rods. It is the challenge, and ultimately the food, that drives most anglers who tend to spend much more than they would at the fish market for a chance to battle a large tuna. We can always hit Tommy The Fishmonger Gomes’ Tunaville Market and Grocery at Shelter Island or the Tuna Harbor Dockside Market on the Embarcadero for excellent fresh off the boat fish, though the taste of sweet victory adds the special spice that keeps anglers coming back for more. Whether the beach, bay, lake, or offshore, they’re out there so go out and get ‘em!
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