Bluefin Tuna Remain in the Offshore Picture Approaching Christmas!

The holiday season is here, and Southern California anglers still have bluefin tuna and a lot of other species to target should they want to head out fishing and take a quick break from their onshore holiday activities.

 

Not many boats have been fishing the bluefin tuna lately, but some private boaters have been trying to catch bluefin from spots of breaking fish that have been showing in areas within 25 miles or so of Point Loma. There have also been a few sportboats making multi-day trips to target bluefin outside of Punta Colnett and to the southwest of San Martin Island in an area that ranges from 120 to 145 miles from Point Loma.

 

The water temperature at the areas where bluefin have been found within 25 miles or so from Point Loma has been running from 61 to 62.5 degrees. Not much has been caught from this local sector but private boaters have been reporting seeing spots of breaking and foaming bluefin in the deep water inside of the 302 Spot, around the 178 Spot and in an area 7 to 10 miles off the coast between La Jolla and Encinitas.

 

The bluefin have been biting better when found in the warmer 66-to-67-degree water being found by sportboats that have been fishing off the Mexican coast in an area that is down between 120 and 145 miles from Point Loma. This has you fishing in an area ranging from the waters outside of off Punta Colnett on down to where you are fishing out to the southwest of San Martin Island. The best sportboat fish count that I know of was on Polaris Supreme out of Seaforth Sportfishing that had a 2 day trip with 23 anglers catch 90 bluefin tuna. Most of the bluefin tuna activity has been on fish ranging in size from 20 to 50 pounds but on the trip talked about above Polaris Supreme did have 3 of the larger bluefin that were up in the 80 to 150 pound range.

 

The deep drop fishing for swordfish has dropped off in the post Thanksgiving time period but there are still a few swordfish around with an occasional swordfish being caught by commercial boats fishing the region of the 182 Spot, 181 Spot and the Corner.

 

There have not been any boats that I know of trying for surface fishing species at Los Coronado Islands but the fishing for an assortment of bottom fish species has been very good. There has been very good fishing for a mix of reds, salmon grouper, whitefish, an occasional lingcod and an assortment of rockfish species. The best bottom fishing areas have been in the 25 to 60 fathom depths to the northwest, north and northeast of North Island.

 

An important reminder to anglers fishing in United States waters is that the fishing for rockfish in Nearshore waters and the fishing for Nearshore Rockfish species no matter where they are caught is currently closed. Please refer to the Department of Fish and Wildlife website for all the details about the closed areas and the closed species at www.wildlife.ca.gov.

 

Anglers also need to know that the current closure regulations are in effect through December 31, 2023, when the “regular” seasonal rockfish closure will come into effect and be in effect from January 1, 2024 through March 31, 2024.

 

An additional reminder to anglers is that the fishing for sheephead will be closed from January 1, 2024 through February 29, 2024.

 

The fishing for rockfish has been good in areas that are outside of the current closure zones at places such as the 9 Mile Bank, South Carlsbad, Del Mar, Box Canyon and the 14 Mile Bank.

 

The rest of the fishing along the San Diego County coast has been improving for a mix of calico bass, sand bass, sculpin, whitefish and sheephead and there has also been improved fishing for nice sized yellowtail along with a chance at a white seabass at La Jolla.

 

Productive areas for calico bass, sand bass, sculpin, whitefish and sheephead have been the Imperial Beach Pipeline, the hard bottom to the northwest of Buoy #3 at Point Loma, the Green Tank, La Jolla, Solana Beach, Leucadia, South Carlsbad, the Barn and San Onofre.

 

Captain Joe Cacciola of Sea Star with Sea Star Sportfishing and the Oceanside Sea Center reports that water temperatures between South Carlsbad and Solana Beach have stabilized between 61.8 and 62.5 degrees. Cacciola reports good fishing for a mix of calico bass, sand bass, sheephead, whitefish and sculpin and says that their best calico bass and sand bass fishing to be while chumming with sardine chunks and fishing with a 5 inch live sardine on the hook.

 

Most days are seeing a few nice sized yellowtail to 35 pounds being caught at La Jolla. Most hookups have been on yo-yo iron or surface iron while fishing areas of bait, meter marks and spots of working birds. There was also a 45 pound white seabass recently caught on a yo-yo iron that was dropped down to a bait ball that was found via locating a bait ball meter mark. The best zones to try for a yellowtail off La Jolla have been along the outskirts of the MLPA closure zone at the lower end of La Jolla as well as outside of the upper end of La Jolla in 20 to 27 fathoms.

 

Good choices for yo-yo iron include Salas 6X and Salas 6X Jr. jigs in scrambled egg color. Good choices for surface iron include Tady 45 and Salas 7X light jigs in blue and white, mint and sardine colors.

 

Halibut fishing along the San Diego County coast remains scratchy. A few of the areas that produce an occasional halibut have been off Imperial Beach, in San Diego Bay, at the sandy bottom next to the structure of the sunken NEL tower or the structure of the Yukon shipwreck off Mission Beach, the Buccaneer Pipeline and the artificial reefs outside of Oceanside.

 

It is the holiday season and I wish everyone Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!  I hope you take the time to savor and enjoy the holidays and hope you make the time to get out fishing and enjoy some of the fine December fishing that is going on. 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.