A rare nighttime wahoo bite rewarded anglers while fishing aboard the Intrepid off Baja California Sur.

Dock Totals 12/30 – 1/6: 568 anglers aboard 33 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 151 bonito, 58 calico bass, 1 lingcod, 129 lobster (251 released), 28 perch, 83 rock crab, 521 rockfish, 544 sand bass, 18 sanddab, 246 sculpin, 2 spider crab, 1 triggerfish, 27 white croaker, 160 whitefish, and 5 yellowtail.

Saltwater: There were no reports on bluefin tuna out west for the first week of 2024, as the huge storm swells put a damper on any trips planning to head that direction. But we should soon see both if they are still in the mood to bite and where they are currently holding in the calmer windows between these passing El Niño-influenced strong northwest winter fronts. Still, it can be a long haul in rough conditions to the Cortez and Tanner banks this time of year, so I expect more 1.5-day to 3-day boats will be fishing along the coast, and will maybe take a shot out west if conditions allow and word comes in about action from private boaters or commercial spotter planes.

As rockfish fishing is done at all depths until April, the local focus has been on the great sand bass bite that usually comes about this time of year. From the San Diego Bay’s deeper channels to the flats off Imperial Beach in 60 to 90 feet of water, the “grumpies” did not disappoint those targeting them this past week. “Grumpy” used to be a common term for big sand bass, and I believe it was due to the dour “expression” given by the shape of their mouth. Whether or not that’s true, they’re biting good. And for those looking for surface action in what was a very slow year for local yellowtail, some bonito have been finally biting well a mile or two off the San Diego coast — maybe a bit late in arrival, but still some light line fun for those finding them. Speaking of yellowtail: they have been hitting the yoyo iron and knife jigs, with a very good bite going on right now off the banks outside of San Quintin, and good fishing for them along the Baja coast going south from there. Full-day to multi-day rockfish trips will be running south of the border for the next few months, and we should see some yellowtail caught on some of those, as they have been holding in the same areas noted for excellent rockfish and lingcod. 

Baja Sur is still on fire for pelagic species, including yellowfin tuna, dorado, and wahoo. The Intrepid reported a solid non-stop wahoo bite after sunset and well into the night, which is not a normal occurrence with the toothy “skinnies.” Normally, wahoo are daylight feeders, but this time, they started feeding on bait after being drawn in by the boat lights off the Ridge area outside of Bahia Magdalena. Anglers on board have also been catching a good number of quality yellowfin tuna, with most fish in the 60-100-pound class and a few larger fish well over 100-pounds caught during their 9-day fly-down trip. 

Abasai Martinez and his massive 71.2-pound Lake Wohlford record catfish.

Freshwater: Trout continue to bite very well in the area lakes on Power Bait and mini jigs, but the story this week is of a huge catfish caught at Lake Wohlford on December 30. The fish, a 71.2-pound blue catfish, was caught by angler Abasai Martinez and beat out the previous lake record of 67 pounds. Though the big blue cats usually respond better to cut mackerel or chicken livers, Abasai Martinez was using a nightcrawler while fishing by the crappie float. As I noted in last week’s report, this time of year can be good for the big cats. This is because of both the rainier weather in SoCal winters and the trout stocks. The added activity and scents seem to stir the big boys up, and even though many think of early fall as catfish prime season, some of the largest cats of the year will often be caught between Thanksgiving and Easter. 

Through the summer and fall channel cat season, yes, they do bite well, especially at night, but I would have a hard time counting all the 10-plus pound cats caught by folks targeting trout in the winter. During the same week as Abasai’s record-setting catch, angler Kona Xiong caught a 32.20-pound blue cat, and Somnang Onn checked in with a 17.40. It is always a good idea to take along some catfish bait on trout outings, as the next record might just be hanging out near your favorite trout fishing spot. With the good trout bite, a limit of stockers can be caught fairly quickly, and one can switch gears and target channel or blue catfish without skipping a beat. All area lakes hold some catfish — either channel cats or blues or both — and they can add a lot of excitement to a fishing outing. 

As for the trout fishing, as I said, they have been biting well at all area lakes. A good spot to hit, especially if taking youngsters for their early or first fishing experiences, is Santee Lakes. With available food at Angry Pete’s Pizza and a well-stocked General Store, it can be a more convenient place for parents to get the kids into some healthy outdoor fun and a learning experience as well — and to boot, this weekend, January 13 and 14, Santee Lakes will be holding their “Trout Re-opener,” with a fresh stock of 3,000-pounds total of both rainbow and lightning trout planted just prior to the event. No license is needed, and park passes can be purchased ahead of time at the General Store. They’re out there, so go get ‘em!