Massive yellowfin tuna caught off Loreto

Dock Totals Jan 7 – Jan 13: 1,168 anglers aboard 66 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 127 bluefin tuna, 1,584 yellowtail, 82 calico bass, 303 sand bass, 568 rockfish, 1 lingcod, 221 bonito, 15 whitefish, 25 sanddab, 4 halibut, 15 bocaccio, 1 finescale triggerfish, 1 halfmoon, 183 sculpin, 2 rubberlip seaperch, and 25 spiny lobster.

Saltwater: Some rough weather midweek kept the boats at their slips for a couple days, but the fishing leading up to the blow was excellent. Then it was kind of slow for a day and is already heating back up. The yellowtail just off of Point Loma were biting for the ½ day boats with lots of limits caught. That the fish are on the small side probably accounts for a lot of five fish limits instead of ten. If confused, here’s the skinny on yellowtail from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife: “The fishery for yellowtail (Seriola lalandi) remains open year-round. The daily bag and possession limit is ten fish. The minimum size limit is 24 inches fork length, except that up to five fish less than 24 inches fork length may be taken or possessed.”

Further down the coast, from the Coronado Islands through Camalú and down towards Punta Baja by El Rosario, whitefish (some very large), rockfish, lingcod, and sheephead are biting on the bottom, while yellowtail are throughout the water column and eating flat-fall jigs and yoyo irons deep, while surface irons and trolled Rapalas are working on the surface.

This past week out of Loreto, Baja California Sur, angler Jorge Lazo of Tijuana boated three massive yellowfin tuna three days in a row. On January 6th, he landed a 267-pound tuna and two amberjacks over 70 pounds each. On the 7th, he landed a 319-pound yellowfin tuna on 60-pound test after a two-and-a-half-hour battle. On the 8th, Jorge came three pounds shy of the all-tackle world record with a 424.6-pound yellowfin tuna, caught on 50-pound test in one hour and forty-five minutes after the fish took a fly-lined mackerel. Lazo was fishing with his father-in-law, Robert Ross, aboard Ross’ 37-foot Boston whaler Rampage. Last year in May, Robert Ross caught a yellowfin tuna estimated at 450 pounds. The fish weighed 430 pounds on a cattle scale after being gutted.

Top boats of the week:

Jan 7 – The New Lo-An reported limits of 54 bluefin tuna for the 27 anglers aboard their 1.5 day trip.

Jan 8 – 17 anglers aboard the Premier ½ day run caught limits of 170 rockfish, while the Daily Double reported limits of 65 yellowtail for the 13 anglers aboard their ½ day run.

Jan 9 – Just ahead of the weather, the New Lo-An reported limits of bluefin tuna, with 44 of the brutes for the 22 anglers aboard a 1.5 day trip.

Jan 11 – 21 anglers aboard the Dolphin ½ day run caught 3 sculpin, 25 sand bass, and 3 calico bass.

Jan 12 – 10 hoop-netters managed 7 spiny lobsters kept out of 60 raised aboard the Jig Strike evening ½ day run.

Jan 13 – Warming up a bit after the funky weather, 14 anglers aboard the Mission Belle ¾ day run south caught a nice mix of 23 yellowtail, 5 calico bass, 15 whitefish, 1 halibut, 70 rockfish, 15 bocaccio, and 1 lingcod while fishing near the Coronado Islands.

Fish Plants: 1/15, Jennings, Trout (1,500), 1/24, Poway, Trout (1,500)