New year's fishing report

January 2 dock totals

H&M Landing 49 Anglers, 3 Boats, 4 California Spiny Lobster, 8 Lingcod, 402 Rockfish, 13 Yellowtail, 6 Whitefish, 1 Sheephead, 141 California Spiny Lobster Released

Point Loma Sportfishing 36 Anglers, 2 Boats, 2 Whitefish, 25 Rockfish, 2 Lingcod, 5 Sand Bass, 150 Bonito, 4 Sculpin, 1 Calico Bass

Seaforth Sportfishing 94 Anglers, 4 Boats, 16 Yellowtail, 13 Bonito, 2 Calico Bass, 16 Sculpin, 136 Rockfish, 7 Lingcod, 1 Sand Bass, 22 Sheephead, 6 Halfmoon, 2 Calico Bass Released

Long Range/ offshore:

The Excel is finding a good grade of Yellowfin Tuna in the 100-180 pound class at the Hurricane Bank southwest of Cabo San Lucas. As of yesterday, they had a handful of “Cows” (Commonly, Tuna over 200 pounds) one going a chunky 274 pounds.

On December 31, the Red Rooster III with 28 Anglers aboard returned from their 5 day Baja Coast trip to San Martin Island with 318 Yellowtail between 15 and 25 pounds. Big fish of the trip was the only White Seabass caught, at 27 pounds.

The private boaters have been reporting good action from the Coronado Islands all the way up the coast to the Channel Islands. The kelps are producing decent Calico Bass action for this time of year, along with the Yellowtail that are still holding in a more summer-like mode. The Sand Bass are biting on the flats in 60’-80’ of water occasionally and some schools of big Bonito are showing for the local half-day boats. With lots of bait still around and water temps holding above 60, everything near-shore looks promising.

One report of several Bluefin Tuna caught yesterday at Tanner Bank and calm conditions will certainly have folks out there looking this weekend. I expect some interesting news. Citing the possibility of encountering pelagic species, some of the 1 to 2.5 day Winter Cod trips may be adjusting their sights a bit higher in the water column, so take along a 25 lb bait stick just for kicks if you are scheduled for a freezer-filler to any of the offshore banks.

On the whale-watch front, this year’s Gray Whale migration is kicking off with a bang, with several hundred sighted along the San Diego coastline already in December. As the normal migration of an estimated 20,000 leviathans usually begins in force a bit later, biologists theorize that the larger-than-normal amount of food in their summer hunting grounds in the North Pacific and Bering Sea has allowed them to fatten up for the trip a bit early.

Get out there and enjoy!