Joshua Witherwax with his 110-pound striped marlin caught within 8 miles of Oceanside Harbor. “My buddy hooked one and started getting spooled, I hooked one, his hook straightened almost immediately. Mine stuck. Watched at least one other fish jump and tail walk while fighting mine.”

Dock Totals 9/17 – 9/23: 4107 anglers aboard 189 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 4942 bluefin tuna (up to 280 pounds), 10 bonito, 361 calico bass, 584 dorado, 3 halibut, 1 mako shark, 1 perch, 363 rockfish, 1 rock sole, 274 sand bass, 2 sanddab, 1473 sculpin, 146 sheephead, 1 triggerfish, 194 whitefish, 1403 yellowfin tuna, and 38 yellowtail.

Saltwater: The meat of the catch this past week was tuna: yellowfin and especially bluefin. With fish moving in closer, full-day boats scored well without traveling far from port, and the majority of the fish were caught by the fleet working within 50 miles of the coast out near the Corner and the 182 due west of Point Loma. With most of the full-day to 3-day boats working that tight area, yellowtail and dorado counts dropped substantially. Mostly, those species were caught by the few longer-range boats working down the coast of Baja in warmer water. That said, a striped marlin was caught, another was hooked and lost, and more were sighted within eight miles of Oceanside Harbor by private boaters heading out for tuna.

Rockfish numbers dropped to almost nil, considering that the count is usually in the thousands caught per week. The new closure from the 50-fathom line shoreward kept the local half and three-quarter-day boats focused more on bass and sculpin nearer the coast and away from their usual rockfish spots. As this is a new restriction in water 300 feet deep or less to ease pressure on nearshore rockfish, one has to wonder if added pressure around the kelp beds and sand flats will negatively affect those areas. The closure of nearshore rockfish will last until the Spring of 2024, and we have to own, as anglers concerned with conservation to maintain health of our fisheries, that the pressure of thousands of weekly private boaters and sportboat passengers, especially when concentrated on tight areas, can adversely affect marine biospheres.

To date, management seems to have been working well, given the numbers of calico and sand bass being caught and kept every week, and the fact that, given size limits of 14,” the number of released fish is steady at about a 4-to-1 ratio over those kept. This will be something to watch, and I am sure the California Department of Fish and Wildlife is on it. Still, those ‘freezer-filler’ rockfish trips aren’t completely off the table, it’s just that one has to gear up to fish deeper than 300 feet — out to 600 feet depth. Most of the gear we use for “west coast style” inshore fishing is for shallower water and surface action, so breaking out the jigging rigs used for up and down yellowtail or tuna fishing might just be the answer to get those vermilion and salmon grouper up from the sort of depths that require heavier weights and jigs to reach without being over influenced by currents below and wind above the surface pushing the boat.

Lingcod, though, will be few through the rest of the year into next spring, as they mostly inhabit water from 100-300 feet. This is why they are not represented in the counts from this past week. Both that, and only a few hundred rockfish reported, is a first in my recollection after decades of following the fleet’s reports. Then again, if you’re fishing in Mexican waters, inshore rockfish are still allowed year-round at all depths, though the added expense of Mexican licenses and trip costs might put a few folks off: normally, rockfish are targeted by the least expensive trips offered. Same with private boaters; it can be an expensive venture going south into Mexican waters and given the limits of five fish per species per angler, it is hard to justify the added fuel, boat permit, and licenses for a trip that might not “fill the freezer.”

This week, on September 29, recreational lobster season will open in the Southern Management area, which is from 34°27 N. Latitude (Point Conception, Santa Barbara County) to the U.S. - Mexico Border. Given the rising cost of buying spiny lobster due to increased demand for our locally commercial-caught bugs by Asia, hoop-netting has grown in popularity over the past decades. One can hoop-net from public piers, kayaks, and boats, but the regulations are precise and violations can be met with hefty fines. So, I will give this year’s breakdown directly from the CDFW. The basic regs are as follows:

• -Recreational lobster season opens at 6:00 p.m. on the Friday preceding the first Wednesday in October and closes at 12:00 a.m. on the first Wednesday (night) after the 15th of March.
• -Recreational Bag Limit: Seven lobsters per person.
• -Minimum Legal Size Limit: Three and one-fourth inches, measured in a straight line on the midline of the back from the rear edge of the eye socket to the rear edge of the body shell (3 ¼ inch carapace). Please see the lobster measurement diagram on how to measure your lobster.
• -Permit Requirements: CDFW Spiny Lobster Report Card and California recreational fishing license, available at CDFW's Online License Sales and Service. An Ocean Enhancement Validation is also required if fishing in ocean waters south of Point Arguello (Santa Barbara County), unless fishing under the authority of a one- or two-day California recreational fishing license.
• -Skin and SCUBA Diver Gear Requirements: All skin and SCUBA divers must only use their hands to take lobster.
• -Pier Fishing Gear Requirements: You may use up to 2 hoop nets while fishing from a public pier.
• -Vessel Fishing Gear Requirements: You may possess up to 5 hoop nets while fishing from a vessel, but the total number of hoop nets from a vessel cannot exceed 10, even if there are more than 2 people on the boat.
• -Fishing Locations: See the CDFW Ocean Sport Fishing Interactive Web Map.
• -Hoop Nets Prohibited 24 Hours Prior to the Season Opener: Hoop nets may not be deployed south of Point Arguello, Santa Barbara County during the 24 hours leading up to the recreational lobster season opener.

So, in summary, the tuna are close and biting well. You might run into some striped marlin as near as the Nine-Mile Bank. No more shallow rockfish, so if wanting to fill the freezer plan on going south or go deep. And the bugs are back on the menu for harvesting. They’re out there, so go get ‘em!