Bluefin Tuna and Striped Marlin Highlighting Offshore Angling!

The late summer fishing season will soon be turning into the fall and there is currently good fishing being found on several fronts which gives anglers reason to have hope for a spectacular late summer and fall fishing season. The fall months can provide some of the best fishing of the year as the pelagic fish often will group up and go on feeding sprees as the water cools and they prepare to migrate elsewhere during our cold water months.

 

As has been the case all season, much of the offshore fishing continues to focus on bluefin tuna that have gone to 200+ pounds. The main area of bluefin activity continues to be out westerly of San Diego with productive areas being the Cortes Bank, the Tanner Bank, the area from northwest over to southwest of the West End of San Clemente Island, the Snail Bank and the Osborn Bank. A new development is that there have also been some bluefin biting at Los Coronado Islands.

 

Most of the bluefin being caught around the Cortes and Tanner Banks have been in the 20 to 60 pound range and those banks have also been producing some pretty good numbers of 15 to 25 pound yellowtail. The best chance at some of the bigger bluefin that have gone to 200-plus pounds has been in the , the area ranging from northwest over to southwest of the West End of San Clemente Island, the Snail Bank and the Osborn Bank. The bluefin biting around Los Coronado Islands have been in the 15 to 80 pound range.

 

Bluefin have been biting on a variety of baits and jigs with sardines, frozen flying fish, live flying fish, California Flyers, knife jigs, Colt Snipers, poppers and trolled Nomad Madmac jigs being among the favored baits and lures. Anglers have been encouraged to include within the tackle that they bring a 30 pound test outfit and a 40 pound test outfit for flylining live baits and a rail rod outfit spooled with at least 100 pound test line for fishing for the bigger bluefin with the sinker rigged sardines, the sinker rigged frozen flying fish, the kite fished baits and the knife jigs.

 

The fishing for kelp-paddy yellowtail, dorado and tuna at the more local offshore banks within 30 miles or so of the coast has been slow with an occasional yellowfin or dorado being caught. This more local offshore fishing could improve any time though as yellowfin tuna have been found with porpoise over a large area ranging from the Santa Monica Bay on down to the offshore banks below and outside of Los Coronado Islands. The yellowfin have not been biting very well but there have been enough fish around to provide some very good fishing should they change their habits and start biting better.

 

The few yellowfin that have been caught have been in the 15 to 80 pound range and have bit on trolled cedar plugs and Rapalas as well as on flylined sardines or small mackerel. Recent reports of yellowfin activity with porpoise have come from the 14 Mile Bank, the Avalon Bank, San Onofre, Oceanside, the 9 Mile Bank, the area to the west of North Island and the 425 Bank.

 

The fishing for striped marlin has been good to sometimes very good in the Catalina area with the best zones over the past weekend being the area around and below the lower end of the Steamer Lanes in the Catalina Channel and in the region of the 277 Spot. The Balboa Angling Club and the Catalina Island Yacht Club both had marlin Tournaments going on Friday and Saturday and both tournaments enjoyed some great fishing.  For example, in the Balboa Angling Club’s Master Angler Tournament they had 39 boats participating with 131 anglers from 5 teams. According to my unofficial totals they caught and released 46 striped marlin with one of those caught and released fish being disqualified from the tournament. In addition to the 46 caught and released marlin they also had an additional 35 hookups which were lost.

 

In the San Diego area there has been some pretty good marlin action that has been improving. The best zone has been 3 to 6 miles off the coast between Point Loma and La Jolla with the area off La Jolla extending out to about 15 miles off the coast. Some fish have been holding in rather close to the coast in this sector with a sleeper marlin recently being seen in 80 feet of water near the entrance to Point Loma. I am estimating that there were 6 marlin caught and released in the San Diego area over the past weekend.

 

      The surface fishing at Los Coronado Islands has been ranging from pretty good to sometimes very good with a mix of yellowtail, bluefin tuna and calico bass biting to go with the chance of a bonus halibut. In addition, the bottom fishing for a variety of rockfish species remains very good.

 

The most recent trip aboard Mission Belle out of Point Loma Sportfishing was a full day trip with 23 anglers who caught 10 yellowtail, 9 bluefin tuna, 12 calico bass and 25 rockfish. On the same day, San Diego out of Seaforth Sportfishing had a full day trip with 23 anglers catch 22 yellowtail and 9 bluefin tuna. The same day of fishing also saw Vendetta 2 out of H&M Landing have a full day trip with 25 anglers catch 4 bluefin tuna, 2 yellowtail, 2 halibut and 5 calico bass.

 

The best areas for surface fishing around Los Coronado Islands have been the South Kelp Ridge, the area inside of the north end of South Island and at the Middle Grounds. Also productive have been the Lighthouse at the south tip of South Island and the lee side of South Island. If you want to try for a halibut, a productive zone has been drifting the sandy bottom areas along the lee side of South Island.

 

For yellowtail, try surface iron, yo-yo iron and flylined, slow trolled or dropper loop fished sardines. For bluefin, try the friskiest sardine you can find and when spots of breaking fish are showing also try Colt Snipers and poppers. Anchovies have been great baits for the calico bass when available. Good choices for surface iron for yellowtail include Salas 7X lights and Tady 45’s in blue and white, sardine or mint colors.

 

The bottom fishing remains very good around Los Coronado Islands and the best areas for the mixed bag bottom fishing have been to the northwest, north and northeast of North Island in 25 to 60 fathoms. Also productive has been the rockfish fishing on the Mexico side of the border at the lower end of the 9 Mile Bank.

 

As an ongoing reminder, Southern California anglers need to take note that between July 1 and September 30 that the take of “Nearshore” rockfish species, “Shelf” rockfish species, “Slope” rockfish species and lingcod may not be taken seaward of the 50 Fathom Rockfish Conservation Area Boundary Line. The 50 Fathom Rockfish Conservation Area Boundary Line is a series of connected waypoints as defined in Federal regulations (50 CFR Part 660, Subpart C). You can view the specifics of the regulations regarding this seasonal closure in detail at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website at wildlife.ca.gov.

 

The fishing along the San Diego County coast has been good for a mix of calico bass, sand bass, bonito, rockfish, sculpin, barracuda, and sheephead along with an occasional bonus halibut, white seabass or yellowtail.

 

Imperial Beach is still producing some good flurries of sand bass action but the bite has been hit or miss with quite a few Captains out of San Diego Bay choosing to fish at the Point Loma Kelp Beds for calico bass instead of fishing for sand bass off Imperial Beach.

 

The Point Loma Kelp Beds have been good to very good for calico bass and bonito along with an occasional yellowtail, halibut or white seabass. Look for kelp bed areas where you find your warmest and cleanest water with a downhill current flow with some of the best fishing often being found at spots between the Lab and the Roundhouse at Sunset Cliffs.

 

La Jolla has been good to very good for calico bass, bonito and a chance at a yellowtail or white seabass. There has been some squid available to catch for bait at night off Pacific Beach and off the upper end of La Jolla and there have been a few white seabass biting at night on the live squid. There has also been a chance at yellowtail while fishing off the upper end of La Jolla and around the outskirts of the MLPA closure area at the lower end of La Jolla.

 

Productive baits for yellowtail have been sardines, mackerel and squid. In addition to the live baits, yellowtail have also been biting on surface iron with good choices for surface iron including Tady 45 and Salas 7X light jigs in blue and white, mint and sardine colors.

 

Going further up the San Diego County coast, Captain Joe Cacciola of Sea Star with Sea Star Sportfishing and the Oceanside Sea Center reports that there has been good mixed bag fishing for calico bass, sand bass, bonito, rockfish, sculpin, sheephead and whitefish along with a chance at a bonus halibut while fishing kelp bed and hard bottom areas off Del Mar, Solana Beach, Leucadia and South Carlsbad.

 

The summer fishing season will soon be turning into fall. I hope you can get out fishing and enjoy as much of these two seasons as is possible before the warm water fish start to migrate away to be in warmer waters during our cold water months. Enjoy the warm water fish while they are here! Keep on fishing and I hope to see you out on the water sometime soon!

 

    Bob Vanian is the voice, writer and researcher of the San Diego-based internet fish report service called 976-Bite which can be found at www.976bite.com. Vanian also provides anglers with a personal fish report service over the telephone at (619) 226-8218. He always welcomes your fish reports at that same phone number or at bob976bite@aol.com.