Churning out the catfish

Weekly Fish Report

½ Day - ¾ Day: The inshore fishing has been as good as ever, if not better. Schools of large bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna just off the beach are adding to the normal calico bass and yellowtail we usually see get very active when the water hits 70 degrees. A few white seabass are showing along with barracuda and bonito. There have been quite a few larger calico bass caught this past week off the kelp beds in 40 to 80 feet of water on plastics and live bait.

1 Day to 2.5 Day: The boats running to the banks and down the coast are getting into the large schools of yellowfin tuna working north with the warm water. There are lots of dorado under the kelp paddies along with some good-sized yellowtail. Down the coast south of Ensenada to San Martin Island and Santa Maria Bay some larger variety white seabass are showing along with yellowtail and a few tuna. A lot of these fish caught are full of anchovy.

Dock total July 12 – 18: 6,252 anglers aboard 233 boats out of San Diego landings caught 6,074 yellowfin tuna, 1,163 bluefin tuna, 94 skipjack tuna, 3,175 yellowtail, 275 dorado, 3,077 rockfish, 199 bonito, 38 sheephead, 1,032 sand bass, 746 calico bass, 17 barracuda, 450 mackerel, 8 sculpin, 5 halibut, 1 whitefish, 2 white seabass, 12 lingcod, 2 cabezon, 3 rubberlip seaperch and 1 opah.

Freshwater: Jennings is churning out the catfish. 6000 pounds have been stocked so far this year and they are biting everything. The bass have slowed quite a bit at Barrett due to heavy pressure and an extremely low water level. The next night fishing at Santee lakes is July 30. Most San Diego County lake temperatures are in the mid to high 70’s and the bass and bluegill are actively feeding. Top-water lures are best in general, especially in the late afternoon.

Whale Report: There a lot of big blue whales off the San Diego coast this season. Folks heading out can expect to see quite a few spouts, backs out of the water and possibly an up-close encounter or two. There are large pods of common dolphin offshore and occasional small pods of bottlenose dolphin just outside the surf. With the warm water and schools of tuna around there is the possibility of seeing a foaming boil of fish or even an occasional leaping mako shark.

Catfish Plants: 7/24/15 Santee Lakes (1000) 7/27/15 Jennings (1000)