Rockfish closed, sculpin open as yellowtail and tuna still on the chew

Dock Totals Dec 31 – Jan 6: 1,554 anglers aboard 66 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 160 bluefin tuna, 943 yellowtail, 84 calico bass, 220 sand bass, 1,639 rockfish, 10 lingcod, 39 bonito, 11 whitefish, 36 sheephead, 25 sanddab, 8 halibut, 22 bocaccio, 4 finescale triggerfish, 6 halfmoon, 471 sculpin, 3 red rock crab, and 30 spiny lobster.

Saltwater: San Diego anglers are enjoying fair weather and decent fishing in our near and offshore waters. The change from rockfish to sculpin was smoothed out a bit by the great yellowtail action and a decent halibut and bass bite. Groundfish, including rockfish, sheephead, whitefish and lingcod are now closed as of January 1st and will re-open to boat-based anglers on the first day of March. Anglers can catch them from shore, but that is a longshot considering the fishery and depth in which these species hold to in our area. Groundfish can still be caught in Mexican waters, so the shortest ride to go get some freezer-filling rockfish would be a three-quarter day trip to the Coronado Islands or the lower 9 Mile Bank.

Sculpin, aka California scorpionfish, opened on the first day of the year and will remain open until August 31. They are biting well; the average fish is just under a pound. As table fare, sculpin are similar to rockfish with a flaky yet firm flesh when cooked. Sculpin tend to be most prevalent near rocky reefs in 40 to 300 feet of water. Their diet consists of mostly small crabs and other crustaceans, though they will bite just about any common bait found on sportboats or tackle shops, including cut mackerel, squid, sardines and anchovies.

Though they can live to over 20 years, sculpin do not get large — their maximum length is about 18 inches and the average fish is about 8 to 10 inches in length. Once they are four years of age or so, females grow faster than males and will represent the majority of sculpin caught over 12 inches in length. They should be handled carefully as their dorsal, pelvic and anal fins have poisonous spines; the best way is to firmly grip them by the bottom lip. If stuck by one of the spines, the treatment is the same as for a stingray wound. This, from the Department of Fish and Wildlife on a sculpin injury: “A wound, although painful, is seldom fatal, and bathing the wound in hot water can reduce the pain. The heat alters the toxin’s structure making it harmless. One should be careful not to make the water so hot as to damage tissue”

Saltwater:

Top boats of the week:

Dec 31 – 14 anglers aboard the Chief overnight trip caught their limit of bluefin tuna with 28 brought to gaff along with 8 yellowtail.

Jan 1 – The Dolphin called in with 112 yellowtail for 35 anglers on their first half day trip of the year. The Sea Watch ½ day run also did well on the jacks, with 51 yellowtail for 19 anglers for the morning.

Jan 2 – 24 anglers aboard the Chief overnight run caught limits of 48 bluefin tuna along with 16 yellowtail.

Jan 4 – A good trip for the hoopnetters aboard the Jig Strike. 8 anglers aboard the half-day lobster trip ‘netted’ 18 keeper lobsters out of 53 that were raised.

Jan 5 – 16 anglers rode the Mustang 1.5 day trip offshore for limits of 160 yellowtail.

Jan 6 – Decent fishing for the 24 anglers aboard the Premier as their AM ½ day run produced 25 yellowtail and 2 halibut for the morning.

Fish Plants: 1/13 - Santee Lakes, trout (TBD), 1/15 – Jennings, trout (1,500)