Pacific Queen Sportfishing

A nice quality early-season bluefin tuna caught during the night bite aboard the Pacific Queen.

Dock Totals 4/2– 4/15: 2560 anglers aboard 106 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past two weeks caught 230 bluefin tuna, 4 bonito, 4 calico bass, 1 halibut, 28 lingcod, 8622 rockfish, 59 sand bass, 487 sanddab, 368 sculpin, 66 sheephead, 574 whitefish, and 29 yellowtail.

Saltwater: The local fleet managed to take out over a thousand anglers per week over the first two weeks of April, a sign that the off-season is winding down as fishing warms up. With fishing and trade shows mostly behind us and more boats coming online after winter maintenance, anglers have been chomping at the bit to get out after an unusually wet and wild San Diego winter. Local offshore action is all about rockfish right now, especially as depths beyond 300-feet are now open to recreational fishing.

Yellowtail have been showing off the Coronado Islands, but that bite is still a hit and miss gamble. The San Diego did manage 15 quality fish after a full day of hard yo-yo iron work, and though there were good signs on the meter, it was tough work to get them to go. Soon, as water temps edge up and bait moves in, the yellowtail at the islands and banks just south of the border should turn on.

Bluefin tuna in the 25-50-pound range have been showing off the banks outside of Ensenada, and as well in the “Bluefin Triangle,” the area from San Clemente Island and out to Cortez and Tanner Banks. There are some larger units around at well over 100 pounds — the Pacific Queen got into some at the end of March that went to 120 pounds — but so far this early in the season, the fish have been mostly in that solid school-size at around 30 pounds. As the weather lays down and seas calm through the spring, we will surely know if this will be another great year for bluefin tuna out of San Diego. So far, all signs are good.

The Pegasus, Legend, and Pacific Queen have been finding the bluefin willing, but if you’re planning to go out and get them during this early-season bite, it’s best to factor in a night of fishing in the proposed trip. Even though the fish are within full-day range, a 1.5-day or longer trip will greatly increase the odds of success. Most of the fish caught have been between sunset and sunrise, as the day bite has been, so far, non-existent. Basic sinker rigs in the 12-16 ounce range and knife or butterfly jigs in the 250-300 gram sizes have been working best.

Quality rockfish have been showing up at the dock, with anglers looking in areas beyond the 300-foot line that have been off-limits since 2012. As cow cod tend to be more prevalent in the deeper water, be sure to have your fish ID chart and a descender rig when targeting rockfish. The 2012 closure of the seaward side of 300-feet was to protect the dwindling cow cod populations. Now that those waters are open again, anglers need be aware that cow cod are still protected from the take.

When a rockfish is brought up from deep water, the swim bladder will often protrude out of the fish’s mouth like a balloon, making release nearly impossible. You can pierce the protruding bladder to release the air so that the fish will be able to swim back down, but the survival rate associated with this method is unknown. A descender rig will allow the angler to release the fish back into the depths through a simple release mechanism and weight to get the fish back to the bottom where the swim bladder will self-deflate in the deeper atmosphere.

Surf fishing has been very good on most beaches, with barred surf perch being the main catch. If sand crabs are around, they will work fine, but much of the fish caught has been on grubs or plastics on a simple Carolina rig. Gulp! sand worms are a favorite, but really, any grub or curly-tailed worm with action will work. I’ve been going through old freshwater bits used more for largemouth bass and using the tail half with some success. Obviously, the scented baits work better in most cases, but I have found that some plastics made more for freshwater panfish trigger the perch.

One such lure a friend showed me is the Z-Man CrusteaZ™, a small sand-crab looking bait made with that amazing Z-Man stretchy plastic that is so tough their formula is a patented secret. At nearly $5 per half-dozen, they seem a bit on the pricey side for a small plastic, but give them a try and I am sure you will be impressed. I presented it on a Carolina rig with a #4 bait hook on an 18” leader. I was using a slow-twitchy retrieve through the inner break and the perch would not leave it alone.

If rock or dock-pounding the bays, spotted bay bass and halibut are still the main targets. No word yet of any shortfin corvina in San Diego bay, though I do expect we should see them start showing up by May or June. Fishing in the surf or channel edges for halibut has been productive, especially for anglers targeting them during periods with grunion runs. Spotted bay bass are biting well on the eelgrass edges and around any structure, 3-inch to 4-inch plastics seem to be working best.

As I am sitting here buttoning up this report, calls are coming in of bluefin biting well and yellowtail on the meter... so, all in all, it’s shaping up to be just another great fishing year in San Diego!

They’re out there, so go get ‘em!

Hot Trips:

4/2 – The Daily Double morning half-day run returned to the docks with 1 lingcod and 140 rockfish for the 15 anglers aboard.

4/12 – The Polaris Supreme called in with limits of 88 bluefin tuna for 22 anglers aboard their 2-day run.

4/13 – 7 anglers aboard the San Diego full-day trip caught a nice mix of 6 yellowtail, 1 lingcod, 1 sheephead, 35 whitefish, and 10 rockfish.

4/14 – 22 anglers aboard the Pacific Queen 3-day run returned to the dock with limits of 132 bluefin tuna.

Fish Plants: 4/20, Lake Poway, trout (1500), 4/21 - Santee Lakes, catfish (2500)