Practice CPR on your bass

Inshore: As summer begins with a heat wave, the inshore yellowtail fishing has cooled slightly. The jacks are still there, of course, and the slow bite might just be moon phase and/or the plethora of Pacific ‘greenback’ mackerel just off the coast. Rockfish numbers also dropped, though the number of ½ and ¾ day trips went up by a dozen or so and the angler count for the week topped 3,000 for the first time in 2016. That said, Calico bass, lingcod, sheephead and bonito numbers jumped quite a bit and a few big bluefin tuna are still being caught within range of the locally operating boats.

Outside: The numbers are still down for yellowfin and bluefin tuna, albeit, bluefin up to 225 pounds within a day of San Diego is an extraordinarily rare thing on the heels of two extraordinary seasons. The boats focusing on the tuna have been reporting limited success on bluefin and a few more yellowfin in the counts. As the season progresses those big bluefin might move up the line, as they like it a little cooler. Conversely, the yellowfin tuna fishing should start blowing up, dorado and marlin will return to the area and maybe even some more wahoo in US waters. The conditions are setting up nicely outside and down the line for another epic summer and fall as the last of El Niño wanes into predicted La Niña conditions for 2017.

6/12 to 6/18 Dock Totals: 3108 anglers aboard 137 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 1 mako shark, 3 white seabass, 88 bluefin tuna, 33 yellowfin tuna, 707 yellowtail, 580 calico bass, 13 sand bass, 4,942 rockfish, 65 lingcod, 128 sculpin, 241 bonito, 18 barracuda, 72 sheephead, 50 whitefish, 7 halibut, 60 sanddab, 8 bocaccio, 1 cabezon, 2 halfmoon, 1 spanish jack and 362 mackerel.

Notable: As the calico bass fishing heats up with the weather, I had a few thoughts on targeting them. First, they are a sensitive species, and though their population is healthy, it is mostly due to anglers observing size and bag limits as well as only taking what will be eaten. Also, many anglers that fish calicos regularly practice CPR: Catch, Photograph and Release. As the local counts reflect about one legal sized fish out of every five caught, it is also important to use techniques that ensure a clean hook-set and thus a clean release of those fish not 14” in length, or, as many support, the large breeders. For this reason, I do not fish treble hooks, live or dead bait, or deep-seated J hooks when targeting Calicos. Circle-type hooks with small or no barb, larger plastics that can’t be "inhaled" and, especially, paying attention will ensure more healthy releases.

Scheduled fish plants (lbs): No scheduled plants this week. Last plant: 6/20 Jennings, catfish (1000) 6/21 Cuyamaca, trout (1000)