Eel grass the refuge of spotted bay bass

Launching the kayak in San Diego Bay on a Saturday afternoon doesn’t feel natural to me. By noon, the wind is up and sailboats, power-boaters, and jet skis are out. But, given the full moon and tide swing, I thought it would be a good time to get a slack-tide halibut.

My fishing partner Joe and I launched at Tidelands Park on Coronado, at the base of the bridge. The clam beds and edges of the eel grass on either side of the bridge and along the shoreline are productive fishing grounds for spotted bay bass, and the holes hold some halibut. At slack tide, the bass bite slow, but the halibut seem to feed more, especially if you find some leaping bait near a deep edge or holes.

We fished our way along the front of the park, under the bridge and along the golf course to Glorietta Bay. Although there was a lot of bait in the water, no halibut. The super-low tide made for a good view of potential high-tide structure to fish, and the calm water and pastel sunset made for spectacular views of the bridge and downtown. We each caught 15 to 20 bass — not great for four hours in our hot spot.