Bluefin stubborn

Dock Totals Apr 29 – May 5: 1,592 anglers aboard 60 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 64 bluefin tuna, 955 yellowtail, 13 calico bass, 34 sand bass, 2,149 rockfish, 519 whitefish, 15 lingcod, 495 bonito, 217 sculpin, 247 sanddab, 10 sheephead, 37 bocaccio, 2 halibut, and 1 Spanish jack.

Saltwater: After a string of cool, wet and windy days, the first weekend of May brought sunny skies, light breezes, and calmer water, making it easier for the boats working outside. Bluefin tuna have been biting sporadically when found; some taking a jig or a bait, some ignoring the angler’s efforts. Even when the fish are up and boiling on the surface, they will remain tight-lipped.

Yellowtail, on the other hand, have been more dependable biters when found, and are showing up along the coast and offshore in decent numbers and size. And yellowtail generally participate when they are around the boat. The kelp has been the ticket; for the kayakers and private boaters outside of the kelp beds along the coast, and for the boats offshore finding free-floating kelp paddies with fish under them.

This, from the Old Glory’s Facebook post on Saturday kinda sums it up for late April/early May:

“Just returning from our first one day trip of the year. We spent most of the morning looking at bluefin that didn’t want to cooperate. We had one school come up and boil around but were unable to get them to bite. In the afternoon we went searching and found some kelps holding a little bit of yellowtail. We were able to scratch away at them until we found the one we were looking for. It was wide open with free swimming yellowtail all around the boat. You pick the way you want to catch them they were biting. Young Cody and Kurt were having a blast on the surface irons in the bow while the stern was full speed bait fishing. We drove away from them with limits for everyone involved.”

Fish Plants: May 11, Santee Lakes, catfish (1,000), Skinner, catfish (TBD)