Rockfish bonanza — yellowtail return

Dock Totals Mar 24 – Mar 31: 2,477 anglers aboard 94 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 479 yellowtail, 12 calico bass, 26 sand bass, 6,795 rockfish, 1,877 whitefish, 16 lingcod, 63 bonito, 315 sculpin, 501 sanddab, 27 sheephead, 80 bocaccio, and 7 halibut.

Saltwater: It’s been all about the rockfish this past week. Decent weather and seas brought the angler count back up over two thousand for the first time in a while and they filled sacks and holds with the flaky, white-meat fish.

All of the normal methods are working, from simple baited dropper loops to flat-falls, butterfly jigs, and heavy lead-headed plastics that the lingcod seem to love. A few 1.5 day boats got out and caught yellowtail near the Coronado Islands and off kelps outside. Still not much sign of the bluefin tuna that had been sticking around for months until a month or so ago.

Fish Plants: None this week.