Back to normal winter fishing

: Back to the normal (wintertime) method of operation

Inshore: Looks like it’s back to the normal M.O. for San Diego inshore fishing; Bottom fish until the bell at New Year’s and then scratch for what is there — it looks like picking your spot between fronts. Sculpin will be back on the menu when the groundfish season takes a break for a couple months, leaving whitefish, sheephead and lingcod off the angling target until March 1. Until then, if you have a passport in hand, several boats will still be running to the Coronado islands and points south. Outside of the local half-day trips, lobster hooping is also an option. Right now, it’s more about getting a break in the weather.

Outside: The story outside in U.S. waters is mainly unruly conditions. The further south one goes, the better for the long-range trips. From the Hurricane bank across and down toward the mainland of Mexico continues to produce big cow yellowfin tuna while the fishery from Loreto down to the East Cape off the Baja peninsula is providing the great inshore fishing it is known for, when one can get out between the wintertime winds. Cabrilla, sierra and yellowtail are biting in the north and still some jacks, dorado and school-size yellowfin nearshore down south. Up north, offshore trips will taper off at New Year’s in U.S waters until rockfish opens again in March or if something pops before the spring white seabass bite off San Clemente and Catalina Islands.

Dock Totals: 558 anglers aboard 30 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 6 yellowtail, 8 calico bass, 7 sand bass, 3 bonito, 1 finscale triggerfish, 2,099 rockfish, 76 sheephead, 170 sanddab, 4 bocaccio, 1 rubberlip seaperch, 204 whitefish, 12 lingcod and 23 spiny lobster

Freshwater: Trout season is kicking off with a bang in the San Diego area lakes. The average size trout is way larger than when I was a kid riding my bike to Lake Murray to toss Kastmasters and Super Dupers at half-pound stocker rainbows in the wintertime. It seems nowadays, an 8 or 9 pound Nebraska Tailwalker is not that uncommon on any given week at any puddle from Santee Lakes to Lake Poway or Lake Jennings to Cuyamaca; wherever they are planting trout, they are planting large ones. Along with that nice size trout has been an enthusiastic largemouth bass bite, especially at San Vicente Reservoir.