Weekly fish report

½ Day - ¾ Day: Locally, the ½ day boats are still getting spots of yellowtail on the dropper loop deep, tempting some boats to spend their time metering in hopes of finding them. It has been slow on the kelp this past week, with rockfish and sculpin being the most common catches, so check the game plan and the counts to find the right boat to meet your strategy.

1 Day to 2.5 Day: Boats fishing off Ensenada to San Martin are getting steady action on yellowtail and lingcod. The warm water and bluefin tuna are still holding in the Cortez Bank area, though the slack conditions made it tough for the anglers to get the bite on this past week. Most of the boats are now focusing on the Baja coast.

Long-Range — Baja: The big yellowfin tuna are still on the chew at Hurricane Bank. Further up the line along the Ridge and at Alijos Rocks, the wahoo are on the chew. Southern Baja inshore fishing has been a winter/summer mix these past weeks, with Pargo, Cabrilla and Sierra and early season Dorado and Roosterfish being caught.

Freshwater: The trout bite seems to be mostly in the early am and late afternoon. Along with the warmer water, there are osprey, pelicans and hawks keeping them down in the midday sunshine. Worms, Power-bait, mini jigs, spoons and spinner-baits are all getting results. Largemouth bass seem to be moving up into the pre-spawn mode in the warmer lakes, such as Otay, Jennings and Murray.

Whale Report: The Gray Whale migration is in full-force. Along with daily sightings of the big grays, there are pods of Pacific Whiteside Dolphin and even some Risso’s Dolphin in the area. Another sign of an impending good year of local sea life activity has been spotted near the coast; the “Tuna Crab.” This small red lobster-looking animal is usually found in large shoals drifting on the offshore banks in the spring.

Trout Plants: 01/28/15 Dixon (1500), Wohlford (1500) 02/04/15 Poway (3000)