46 • May 6 - 19, 2016 • The Log San Diego Report


Bluefi n, yellowtail, bonito and calico bass delight anglers


By Bob Vanian The early start to the 2016 Southern


California offshore fi shing season has proved not to be a fl ash in the pan. The tuna bite started back in late March and has held up through the fi rst part of May with opportunities to catch bluefi n continuing well ahead of what one would consider to be the tradi- tional start to the tuna fi shing season (which was some time in the June or July).


The bluefi n bite has held up pretty


well through some periods of stormy weather and currently looks to be on the upswing. The most recent bluefi n catch report was from May 1,when Old Glory out of H&M Landing ran an overnight trip and had 16 anglers catch 17 bluefi n tuna and six bonito. Most of the recent bluefi n catches have come from areas within 40 miles of Point Loma by boats fi shing areas such as the 500 fathom curve outside of the stretch between the Rockpile and the Finger Bank, the 425 Bank, the Upper Hidden Bank and the 475 Knuckle. Most of the bluefi n caught in this sector have been quality sized 50- to 60-pound fi sh and have come from stopping on spots of breaking fi sh or from stopping on meter marks or sonar marks that are often found near working birds. Surface iron, yo-yo iron, sardines and mackerel have all been working for the bluefi n tuna. A couple of the better fi sh counts recently are from the fi shing on April


30, when Chubasco II with Chubasco 2 Sportfi shing was out on a three-quarter day trip with 13 anglers catching limits of 65 yellowtail. San Diego out of Seaforth Sportfi shing had an out- standing day of yellowtail fi shing with 31 anglers on a three-quarter day trip posting a count of 111 yellowtail. The surface fi shing along the San


Diego County coast has been picking up in recent days and anglers fi shing hard bottom, structure and kelp bed areas are fi nding a mix of yellowtail, calico bass, sand bass, rockfi sh, sculpin and halibut biting.


The biggest change for the increase


in the surface fi shing action is that calico bass and yellowtail are becoming active at some of the coastal kelp bed areas. The Point Loma Kelp beds have started to produce better numbers of calico bass for boats fi shing the edges of the kelp beds at areas such as the Lighthouse, the Green Tank and Point Loma College. There was also a recent showing of yellowtail reported in the area outside of the kelp off Point Loma College. At La Jolla a few yellowtail have been biting in recent weeks but the bite has seen recent improvement for boats fi shing outside of the upper end of La Jolla in the 15 to 25 fathom depths. Look for spots of working tern birds, meter marks and sonar marks to locate the fi sh in this zone. Some yellowtail action has also been reported while sitting on the anchor and chumming the fi sh to the boat with live sardines or


anchovies. The La Jolla


yellowtail are mostly large fi sh that have been running up in the 20- to 35-pound range. Surface iron, yo-yo iron, live mack- erel and live sardines have been effective for the yellowtail with the live mackerel generally being the preferred bait. The fi shing on May 1 saw New


thelog.com


Anglers aboard Excel Sportfi shing (left) reeled in bluefi n tuna during a fi shing expedition on April 25, while King Salmon was biting for this angler (right) on Sum Fun out of Dana Wharf Sportfi shing on April 22.


Seaforth out of Seaforth Sportfi shing run two half-day trips where 67 anglers combined to catch 11 yellowtail, one sculpin, one lingcod, 11 reds and 133 rockfi sh. Chubasco II with Chubasco 2 Sportfi shing run a half-day trip with 17 anglers that caught three yellowtail, three calico bass, one lingcod, two sculpin and 23 rockfi sh. Capt. Joe Cacciola of Sea Star with


Sea Star Sportfi shing reported that the kelp beds at Leucadia and Solana Beach were very good for calico bass on May 1. He donated the May 1 trip to Lake Elsinore High School to raise funds for a $2,000 college scholarship program to honor of deceased U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Eric Seaman who was killed along with fi ve other Marines during a overseas rescue mission. Private boater Miguel


Martinez of Dos Gringos reported about fi shing aboard Get Knotty in the Southwestern Yacht Club’s 46th annual Bottom Fishing Tournament to ben- efi t the ElderHelp charity. Martinez reported catching 32 assorted bottom fi sh. The top fi ve rockfi sh were weighed in and totaled 22.9 pounds and placed fi rst for the top weight in the tournament. The 2016 fi shing season is off and


running in a big way and is currently getting better as the season progresses. Keep on fi shing and I hope to see you out on the water!


Bob Vanian is the voice, writer and


researcher of the San Diego-based internet fi sh report service called 976- Bite which can be found at 976bite. com. Vanian also provides anglers with a personal fi sh report service over the telephone at 619-226-8218. He always welcomes your fi sh reports at that same phone number or at bob976bite@aol. com.


White Sea Bass


The Hubbs-Sea World Reseach Institute delivered thou- sands of fi ngerling white sea bass to Balboa Angling Club in Newport Beach on April 28. Two truckloads of white sea bass pulled up in front of the club’s build- ing at Balboa Peninsula and nearly one dozen people helped unload the little fi sh from the storage tanks. Once out of the tanks the white sea bass were trans- ported in tubs of water to a pen about one mile away from the club, where HSWRI staff unloaded the tubs into the harbor. The fi ngerlings will be raised and then released later this year, growing to about 12 inches in size. Each fi ngerling has a microscopic tag planted in its head. Anglers can bring the fi shhead, with the tag still planted inside, to a HSWRI venue when- ever the grown sea bass is caught.


Yellowtail continue to be a popular bite during the 2016 fi shing season, as demon- strated by this catch aboard Stardust out of Santa Barbara on April 23. The yellowtail were certainly plentiful aboard Thunderbird out of Dana Wharf Sportfi shing. There are plenty of species biting this fi shing season, including bluefi n, bass, sheephead, sculpin, rockfi sh and others.


Photos courtesy of Stardust and Thunderbird


Parimal M. Rohit photos


Excel Sportfi shing


Dana Wharf Sportfi shing


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