Fisherman’s Landing

Captain Jason Coz with a jackpot-winning 7-pound sand bass caught by John Ho (R) aboard the Dolphin while fishing off Imperial Beach.

Dock Totals 2/20 – 2/26: 771 anglers aboard 36 half-day to 1.5-day trips out of San Diego landings this past week caught 15 bocaccio, 132 calico bass (109 released), 96 halfmoon, 3 halibut, 64 lingcod, 43 perch, 1,010 rockfish, 388 sand bass, 2 sanddab, 2 sand sole, 501 sculpin, and 94 whitefish.

Saltwater: It’s all about that bass. Sand bass, that is. While rockfish continued to bite well south of the border where not restricted, sand bass have been the main target for the local fleet fishing in U.S. waters. With the cool wintertime nearshore water effecting a somewhat slow calico bass bite off the kelp, many half-day runs concentrated on the good sand bass bite on the flats, especially near structure, such as the ‘Pipe’ off south Imperial Beach.

The pipe referred to is the outfall for the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, built in 1999 to help stem the flow of raw sewage from Tijuana into the Tijuana River, and into the ocean. It is an 11-foot diameter pipe that is bolstered along the sides by rocks and extends a couple miles offshore. The bottom is mostly flat sand in the area between the International Border and the Strand in Coronado, except for a few rockpiles, sunken barges and other human-related structures, such as abandoned dump sites. When we hear of high bacteria levels in that area, especially after rains as was the case this past week, we often assume that any fish caught in the area will be toxic or not good to eat. But this is usually not the case.

With sand bass, halibut, and other finfish species, pollution-caused toxicities are very low, even in those caught in the bays. Part of the reason for that is the constant movement of tides and currents that clears contamination relatively quickly. In the case of heavy metals, those tend to sink into the silts and become trapped in the lower benthic layer beneath the sea floor. So, the fish that disturb the bottom to feed, such as guitarfish and stingrays, toxicity levers will be higher, but, eaten in moderation, are still in the safe zone for human consumption.

Sand bass can be voracious feeders and will eat almost any bait or lure in their lower zone of the water column. Plastics tipped with a strip of squid, yoyo-type irons, or live bait are good choices when fishing for them. A swivel added between the main line and leader can help; sand bass, especially the larger models, tend to twist in a circle when fighting, and can kink up your line after a few fish. Sand bass are good table fare and can be prepared as would any other flakey white-meat fish, though battered and fried in finger-sized pieces for finger food or tacos works for me.

Speaking of the bays, spotted bay bass have been biting well inside along the channel cuts and clumps of eelgrass throughout San Diego Bay, and halibut have biting very good on the edges of the channels and around the flats near the mouth. Same for Mission Bay, though the ‘big bay’, as usual, is producing better. Generally, halibut bite better in the spring months from April through June, but they can be caught year-round. As they are batch-spawners that spawn in two-week cycles but not all at the same time, a good bite can break out just about any month of the year.

The Dolphin held their annual halibut tournament Wednesdays January through February, and though I haven’t received the official results, they had pretty good fishing, especially from a large sportboat in the shallow water inside the bay. Kayakers and private boaters have also done well by staying inside and targeting sand bass, spotted bay bass, and halibut. When halibut spawn, they will slide into the shallows to lay their eggs on the substrate, where males then fertilize them.

This is true in the bays or the surf. Those fish not in ‘spawn mode’ will be a little deeper in 15 to 50 foot of depth, with many coming from the channel edges in 30 feet of water or so. Halibut seem to prefer cuts and sloped edges as locations from which to ambush prey. When using bait for halibut, a slowly drifted mackerel or sardine with enough weight to stay in the strike zone at the bottom is best. For lures, Lucky Craft or other crankbaits are best fished in 15 feet of water or less, while plastics (I prefer a pearl white 6” Berkley Gulp Saltwater Jerk Shad on a leadhead or Carolina rig) are a favorite go-to at any depth.

The rockfish closure is now over in US waters, and boats will start filling up after many stayed in the slip or were in dry dock overhauling, cleaning, repairing, and doing other boatwork projects that is usual this time of year. Many will be offering rockfish deals and with the lack of pressure the past few months, it should be good bottom fishing for those who go. However you get there, get out and get ‘em!

Fish Plants: March 5 - Lake Wohlford, trout (1,500), March 7 – Lake Jennings, trout (1,500), March 10 – Lake Poway, trout (1,500) March 11 – Santee Lakes, trout (1,500)