28 • May 20 - June 2, 2016 • The Log San Diego Report


Bluefi n, yellowtail, white sea bass and more continue to bite


By Bob Vanian


Southern California anglers have had a lot to choose from this spring with bluefi n tuna biting offshore and yellow- tail, calico bass, barracuda, rockfi sh, sculpin, halibut and sand bass yanking lines at spots along the coast and at some of the local islands. The fi shing continues to improve in signifi cant ways with the latest upswing being for nice sized white sea bass biting in better numbers at Catalina Island. The already good springtime fi shing has got even better and the action should just continue to improve as the spring season transitions into summer. Bluefi n tuna counts have been up


and down but there are bites most every day. The current best bite area has been for boats fi shing within 45 miles or so of Point Loma in the region between the 390 Bank and the Butterfl y Bank.


When you fi nd a spot of cooperative


bluefi n there is a nice payoff, as most of the catches have been in the 50- to 80-pound class. Pacifi c Queen out of Fisherman’s Landing had a 1.5-day trip on May 14 with 33 anglers catch 15 bluefi n tuna. New Lo Ann out of Point Loma Sportfi shing also fi shed that same day and had 22 anglers catch eight bluefi n tuna. The yellowtail fi shing at Los


Coronado Islands has been very good some days and fair to pretty good action on others. The nice thing about the fi shing around Los Coronado Islands is when the yellows are off their


good bite mode there have been barra- cuda, bonito and rockfi sh biting to pick up the slack. 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, barracuda, rockfi sh, sculpin and halibut biting. What has been changing for the better with the fi shing along the coast is that calico bass, barracuda and yellowtail are becoming more active at some of the kelp bed areas. The better kelp bed areas for the


surface fi shing along the San Diego County coast have been the kelp at Point Loma, Sunset Cliffs, Mission Bay, La Jolla, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Leucadia and the Barn. The best place to try and scratch out a yellow- tail remains the upper end of La Jolla but there is also increasing yellowtail activity being reported from the kelp bed areas off Point Loma, Mission Bay, Del Mar and Leucadia. The best recent yellowtail report from the fi shing along the coast was from a private boat Skipper who reported fi nding an area of puddling yellowtail while fi shing the Jetty Kelp outside of Mission Bay. He reported catching seven quality-sized yellowtail from the spots of puddling fi sh. Capt. Joe Cacciola of Sea Star with


Sea Star Sportfi shing reported fi shing the kelp beds at Leucadia on May 14 and fi nding very good fi shing for calico bass and sand bass along with a couple


of nice sized sheephead. Cacciola said they also experienced some additional excitement when they hooked and lost a large yellowtail. Cacciola had a group of anglers


from out of state release all their fi sh. He said the bass were biting wide open on the perfectly sized 4- to 4.5-inch anchovies that made up the bulk of their bait supply. Berkley Gulp baits in the sardine color were also reported to be working very well for both sand bass and calico bass. The fi shing at San Clemente Island has been producing a nice mix of yel- lowtail, calico bass and bonito along with an occasional white seabass. Try the ridges outside of Pyramid Cove and China Point for the best chance at one of the large 15- to 25-pound yellows in the early morning hours. During the afternoon hours the best action has been fi shing for what have mostly been 5- to 10-pound yellowtail along with a mix of calico bass and bonito found along the front side of the Island between White Rock and Purse Seine Rock. Some of the action has come while anchored up and fi shing the structure of Purse Seine Rock and White Rock and some has come from open water while working around and between those two spots looking for schools of breaking fi sh, sonar marks or meter marks to drift on and work with live bait or iron.


Live squid has been the best bait for


yellowtail and seabass at San Clemente Island and a lot of the squid is being imported from Catalina. Also look for a


chance at fi nding some squid at night in Pyramid Cove. Catalina Island has seen a better volume of squid arrive in recent days and white sea bass have since become active and have been biting on the live squid. There has also been a chance at picking up a few yellowtail at Catalina as well. The best zone for the sea bass has been while fi shing the backside of the island at spots between Ben Weston and Sentinel Rock. If you get on the right spot at the right time limits of white sea bass have been a possibility. Squid boats have been offering live squid for sale to private boaters. In recent days the squid boat Long Beach Carnage has spent time anchored off Avalon offering squid for sale. Try to raise the squid boats on VHF channels 11 or 72 to see about the possibility of purchasing live squid at Catalina. The 2016 fi shing season keeps


emerging as we head toward the summer months. It is exciting to see the season continue to unfold and develop. 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.


Anglers aboard Excel Sportfi shing reeled in a 315-pound bluefi n in mid-May (far left). The super cow was caught a fl ylined sardine with a Mustad Demon 5/0 Circle Hook, according to Excel’s Facebook page. Meanwhile two young boys (2nd from left) show off the yellowtail they reeled in aboard Gail Force of Triton Sportfi shing out of San Pedro. Yellowtail were also plentiful aboard Thunderbird out of Davey’s Locker on May 13 (left). A recent fi shing expedition aboard Pacifi c Quest Sportfi shing (bottom) resulted in large quantities of white sea bass reeled in by anglers on May 14.


Images courtesy Excel Sportfi shing, Pacifi c Quest Sportfi shing, Triton Sportfi shing and Davey’s Locker


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