(left) A fat Coronado Island yellowtail caught from the Mission Belle on a full-day run.
(right) Like this chunky fish, bluefin tuna caught during the dark hours have been bigger for boats working within 80-miles south of Point Loma.

Dock Totals 3/10 – 3/16: 903 anglers aboard 40 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 24 bluefin tuna, 13 calico bass, 6 halibut, 24 lingcod, 11 lobster (39 released), 42 rock crab, 337 rockfish, 625 sand bass, 610 sculpin, 107 sheephead, 3 triggerfish, 1069 whitefish, and 6 yellowtail.

Saltwater: Checking in on the 1.5-Day to 3-Day fleet this morning, it looks like the bluefin bite has turned on for the few boats running trips south to the grounds. The fish are spread out in several large schools from near the Corner of to off of San Quintin. Last week, the fish were too far out for pangeros, but as of March 16, Jaime’s Pangas running out of the Old Mill reported the first pangero-caught bluefin tuna this year from outside the 240 Bank, about 20 miles offshore from San Quintin. 

Though no bluefin made it into the official landing counts yet (as the boats are still out), San Diego boats working the area were calling in with limits. The Tribute, Polaris Supreme, and Pacific Dawn each had limits of two fish per angler per day from 30- to 150-pounds and were wrapping up their trips in the search of yellowtail and rockfish. Next week’s report should have at least 100 bluefin in the counts, and the word is out, so book your trip now. The Polaris Supreme is booked full through mid-April, but there are spots available on both the Tribute and the Pacific Dawn. 

The Tribute is running 1.5-Day trips departing on Fridays and the Pacific Dawn is running trips departing on Friday and Sunday. Both boats will be adding trips in April, or sooner if the demand calls for it. The Old Glory is running two-day trips beginning Friday departing at 10 in the morning so they can take full advantage of the nighttime bite that has been producing the larger tuna. During the daytime, schools tend to run 30- to 60-pounds, while the night bite is resulting in most of the 100-pound plus units. 

As with the other mid-range boats targeting bluefin, the Old Glory will be adding trips in April. As they have been having good luck on bluefin since the beginning of March, their trips are ‘bluefin or bust’ and run directly to the grounds offshore. The Old Glory trips will fish outside of Mexican waters, so no passports are required for those runs. Always check with the landings for any changes on that, as a shutdown in the offshore bite may result in coastal yellowtail fishing, which would require a passport and Mexican license. More 1.5- to 3-Day mid-range boats will be coming online in late March and early April and will be most likely targeting bluefin, including the Legend, Relentless, Vendetta, and Horizon. 

While the bluefin are heating up offshore, yellowtail have been showing a little closer to home. Along with a couple caught on local half day boats, The Mission Belle reported a handful caught at the Coronado Islands. That and a continued bite off San Quintin and Colonet are good signs of more to come for extended trips along the northern Baja Pacific coast. 

While the long range boats are still doing very well on big yellowfin tuna and wahoo down south off the high spots along the Baja coast near Bahia Magdelena, winter trips of 8 to 22 days will be winding down this month as the boats turn their attention to shorter runs of 2 to 5 days targeting bluefin and yellowtail for the Spring season. Many of those trips aboard the larger vessels are already booked, but one can get on the waiting list in case any anglers drop out. Beginning in April through June, the Intrepid, Red Rooster, Royal Polaris, and Shogun have plenty of trips scheduled to get folks out there and on ‘em, so there will be more options going forward. With the fish thus far cooperating nicely, it looks to be an excellent fishing year ahead for anglers heading out of our world-class landings. 

After a slow, wet, and lumpy winter, angler counts are beginning to shoot up from a few hundred per week to nearly a thousand. It won’t be long before the landings will be abuzz with activity as thousands of anglers per week take advantage of the excellent fishing indicated by the early the season. With rockfish opening on April 1 in all depths, it will be a very busy April for the ½-Day to 3-Day fleet. 

Surf fishing has been heating up for anglers working the beaches, with a lot of spawning perch, a smattering of halibut, and California corbina in the mix. Sand crabs, plastics on a Carolina rig, or jerk baits have been the go-to methods for those doing well on the sand. Spotted bay bass and halibut are on the chew in both bays for folks working the docks and eelgrass in float tubes, kayaks, and private or rental boats. Swim baits and grubs seem to be doing the trick best in the bays. Spring has officially sprung, and it is drying out, warming up, and getting fishy out there — so go get ‘em!