When a ‘normal’ week seems slow, you’ve been spoiled by El Niño fishing.

Dock Totals Feb 4 – Feb 10: 847 anglers aboard 44 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 27 bluefin tuna, 20 yellowtail, 91 calico bass, 645 sand bass, 493 rockfish, 3 whitefish, 11 lingcod, 21 bonito, 7 halibut, 1,020 sculpin, 185 sanddab, 43 lizardfish, 3 fineskin triggerfish, 6 sheephead, 2 gray smoothhound shark, 25 white croaker, 5 rubberlip seaperch, and 3 spiny lobster.

Saltwater: In our local waters, it’s all about that bass this past week. Though a scratch of bluefin tuna are still around outside toward San Clemente Island and in Mexican waters to the south as well, and some medium-sized yellowtail are being caught just off the Coronado Islands, most of the boats are targeting the good inshore fishing off the kelp and flats for sculpin, sand bass, halibut, and calico bass. Until rockfish reopens north of the border on the first of March, the only option for reds, lings, whitefish, sheephead and lingcod is to go south of the border.

I wonder why I feel, at times as I am totaling up the counts, that it seems oddly ‘slow’ on an occasionally ‘normal’ week like this week past, and the only thing I can come up with is that I am apparently spoiled by the fantastic fishing that has visited our area over the past few years.

Top boats of the week:

Feb 4 – The New Lo-An reported 120 rockfish, 8 lingcod, and 25 bluefin tuna caught by the 24 anglers aboard their 1.5 day run south.

Feb 5 – 36 anglers aboard the Dolphin PM ½ day run boated 88 sand bass, 1 halibut, and 32 sculpin.

Feb 6 – The newest boat in the fleet, the six-pack charter Black Diamond, reported 20 yellowtail for 4 anglers on an overnight run. The boat is available for local day trips up to 4 day offshore runs.

Feb 7 – The Dolphin’s Wednesday 1/2 day halibut derby jackpot is up to over $1,800 with three dates left before the final weigh-in on the 28th. They reported 28 halibut caught, with 4 keepers over 22 inches for the 41 anglers aboard. There is no extra buy-in for this derby, $10 of the regular $50 fare goes toward the jackpot.

Feb 9 – The Diawa Pacific had excellent ½ day rockfishing just south of the border with limits of reds and vermilions (75 each)for the 15 anglers aboard.

Feb 10 – 13 anglers aboard the Liberty ¾ day run south caught 6 sheephead, 122 rockfish, and 2 lingcod.

Fish Plants: 2/15 – Cuyamaca, trout (1,500), 2/19 – Jennings, trout (1,500), 2/21 – Poway, trout (1,500)