Trade squid for seabass

The Premier 1/2 Day AM run with 27 Anglers aboard reported 2 Lingcod, 18 Ocean Whitefish, 60 Sanddab, 1 California Scorpionfish and175 Rockfish

27 Anglers aboard the New Seaforth 1/2 Day AM run caught 31 California Yellowtail, 1 California Scorpionfish and 1 California Halibut. The 20 to 30 pound Yellowtail were deeper and mostly caught by jigs on the yo-yo and dropper-looped sardines. The boat ruised back to the same area for the PM run and found a few more using the same methods.

Just a hint to you weekend warriors planning on hitting the local kelp this coming weekend. Take fresh market squid along with your yo-yo and dropper-loop rigs. Still thinking about the 14 White Seabass in yesterday's report. Might even try a squid jig in 90-100 feet of water and get back to me if there's any of those critters down there. Yellows deep and White Seabass around are usually a good indication of squid.

Other than that, not much pressure being put on the fish, which still seem to be abundant according to what reports there are. A local 1/2, 3/4 or even 1.5 day run could be a productive outing this weekend. I know a few boats are scheduled to run out to Tanner or down to Colonet and there are spots available.

The Privateer has been having a great Whale Watch season so far. This from them yesterday:

"What a difference a day makes! After rain and fog yesterday, today was a clear and sunny day out on a glassy Pacific! Just one trip today, but we saw quite a bit of a variety — birds, sea lions, a harbor seal, 20 Pacific white-sided dolphins, and two adult southbound gray whales! This was a great group of Pacific white-sided dolphins, which can tend to be elusive, but today they came right over to surf in our wake and play near the bow. The whales were photogenic as well, showing off their tail flukes with nearly every breath! So glad to have that California sunshine back!"

Folks interested can follow their daily reports and photos at sdwhalewatch.com.