Yours truly, taking second place in what was an excellent surf fishing event in San Quintin.

Dock Totals 10/22 – 10/28: 2198 anglers aboard 106 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 822 bluefin tuna (up to 210 pounds), 24 bonito, 1 cabezon, 57 calico bass, 1149 dorado, 3 lingcod, 59 lobster (61 released), 37 perch, 160 rock crab, 3065 rockfish, 2 rock sole, 62 sand bass, 99 sanddab, 126 sculpin, 55 sheephead, 72 skipjack tuna, 460 whitefish, 2136 yellowfin tuna, and 92 yellowtail.

Saltwater: A breezy beginning to the week kept much of the fleet closer to home and a few trips cancelled Monday and Tuesday, but as conditions improved the boats were out on the grounds in force by midweek. Bluefin numbers eased off a bit while yellowfin, more so found closer to Point Loma, climbed markedly. Dorado continue to bite well where found along with the yellowfin and skipjack, or off floating debris and kelp paddies. Yellowtail continue to be sluggish, though are biting better along the coast of Baja and the lower numbers might also be at least partially due to many boats heading more west than south in search of bluefin.

Inshore, calico bass continue to bite well for the local runs heading to the kelp edges off La Jolla and Point Loma, while sand bass are being caught mostly off the Imperial beach sand flats. Sheephead and sculpin are rounding out the meat of the catch in the shallows, while rockfish are either being caught off Mexican high spots at all depths, or beyond the fifty-fathom line in U.S. waters. Surf fishing has been fait to good during the full moon phase, with more yellowfin croaker showing up while barred surf perch and corbina fishing slows a bit as the water cools.

I was fortunate to attend and compete in a surf fishing tournament in San Quintin this past Sunday. A local fishing club, Pioleros de Valle de San Quintin, held their fourth annual ‘scales and skin’ tournament on Playa Pabellón, with one division, scales, being all species such as surf perch, corbina, croaker, and halibut, and the ‘skin’ division including all sharks and rays from guitaras (shovelnose sand shark) to mantarayas (bat ray). The three largest fish in each category earned a cash prize of 2,500 pesos for first, 1,500 for second, and 1,000 for third. The men’s category had 99 entrants, and another 40 or so women and children entered in the ‘feminina’ and ‘infantile’ categories. 

Great food including fish tacos and seafood soup, raffle prizes, and all-around camaraderie highlighted the event. Entry fee was just 200 pesos, which included food and raffle entries. Another 20 pesos entry for a side pot awarded to the person who most closely estimated the weight of the winning fish of the skin division, a large bat ray. Conditions were not great, with moderate surf and wind, but as the morning eased toward noon, the bite improved. Sticking with sand crabs and clams for bait, I had a few bites early, then was blanked for a couple hours until around 11am, when I caught a nice 3-pound corbina. The deadline to the weigh-in was 1pm, but already tired and feeling the need for tacos, I headed to the scales with my one fish, thinking I had a chance given the slow fishing. As I left my spot, I handed a neighboring angler my leftover bait. 

Back at the weigh-in two hours early, I was in a solid first place with no other fish yet weighed. As folks began trickling in around noon, my fish held its spot in the scales division, but was topped by an even fatter 4-pound corbina just as the weigh-in deadline approached. My fishing neighbor, Chandy, took first place with that fish, he said caught on a clam I’d given him earlier. I think he was just being kind, having bested my nice fish by a half-kilo. Either way, so many warm and friendly folks made it an excellent day, and even my hairy canine wingman Flash Gordon was appreciated by all.

By the day’s end, I had taken second place in the scales division and guessed the weight of the bat ray, which weighed in at 28 kilos, 750 grams, or 63.38-pounds, for a total winnings of 3,000 pesos for the only ‘gringo’ at the event. My luck can be blamed on a tough fishing day and a lone fortuitous bite, as the level of angling experience among the competitors was excellent. The Pieleros club holds events throughout the year from Tijuana to El Rosario, with the focus being fishing from shore for most, and their events are meant to include all in a family-oriented, fun, and enjoyable experience. And, to top it off, I was able to take my winnings and replace some salt-worn parts on my rusty old Jeep that spends most of its days on the beach. 

Marson Karafa with his pending state record 520-pound swordfish.

In other news, on Friday the 27th, Marson Karafa, fishing with Dillon Houston and Ezekiel Cruz of Brothers Sportfishing in local waters, caught a pending California state record swordfish at 520-pounds. That is an amazing fish and one long battle on rod and reel! 

Freshwater: Tis the season for trout plants and season openers to begin in our lower elevation lakes. On November 4 and 5, Santee Lakes is doing just that, with a plant of 3,000-pounds of Mt. Lassen trout, including 500-pounds of lightning trout. All fish are graded between .75-pounds and 2-5-pounds, with 40 random fish tagged for prizes from Phenix Rods. Lakes 2, 3, and4 will be closed from stocking on the 2nd until opening day on Saturday the 4th. Check details/permits at the Santee Lakes General Store. They’re out there, so go get ‘em!