Nice home guard yellowtail caught while fishing aboard the morning New Seaforth half-day run.

Dock Totals 3/3 – 3/9: 641 anglers aboard 35 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 24 bluefin tuna, 10 bonito, 25 calico bass, 6 halibut, 48 lobster (117 released), 6 perch, 66 rock crab, 368 rockfish, 572 sand bass, 3 sanddab, 472 sculpin, 114 sheephead, 470 whitefish, and 6 yellowtail.

Saltwater: As we are winding down to the end of rockfish closure and toward the beginning of the 2024 season, signs are still very good out there. Bluefin tuna are being caught by the few mid-range boats operating thus far while fishing down south off of Ensenada. Most of the fish are smaller units in the 40-pound range, though larger fish to 150-pounds are in the mix. There are still only a couple 1.5-Day to 3-Day boats running, but more will be coming on line soon. Officially, the season begins after the Day at the Docks, though this past year it seems there was no end, with yellows biting through the winter and bluefin sticking around. Day at the Docks will be on April 7 this year, so mark your calendars, it’s always a must do family event.

Yellowtail off the coast from just south of the Coronado Islands to San Quintin have been a little spotty, though the bite off San Quintin has been going strong when conditions are good enough to get out to the high spots south of San Martin Island that line up some 10 miles off the coast. Blackfin Sportfishing running out of Ensenada reported some yellowtail action heating up, while San Quintin’s Garcia’s Pangas and K&M Sportfishing have been getting on them with regularity. Even close to home, a ‘home guard’ yellowtail was caught on the AM half-day the New Seaforth. Home guard yellows are those we catch out of season, as in the few that stick around through the winter when most move south to the warmer 64 to 68-degree water they prefer.

The long-range fleet has been scoring well on larger yellowfin tuna and wahoo, with the Red Rooster reporting solid action on yellowfin tuna to a whopping 315-pounds. The Royal Polaris did not fish this past week after their successful run down off of the southern Baja Peninsula. Instead, they ran an 8-day eco-trip for the Cabrillo Aquarium that included whale-watching in San Ignacio Lagoon and hikes on Isla Todos Santos and the Islas San Benito where they saw, as reported, ‘...a variety of plant life, elephant seals, harbor seals, fur seals, lizards, sparrows, Herman’s gulls, western gulls, common ravens and ospreys.’

A long-range ‘cow’ 315-pound yellowfin tuna caught off southern Baja aboard the Red Rooster III.

This coming week will be your last chance to get out and hoop up some bugs (or grab them if diving), as the spiny lobster season closes this year on March 20th. The season has been pretty good since the opener in late September, with a decent ratio of keepers to shorts caught. As usual, the season began with a band and lots of limits, then tapered as the months passed, but all in all it was a very good year for hooping with an average of one out of every three raised being legal-sized. Both recreational and commercial seasons end on the 20th, so it’ll be frozen bugs until next September’s opener Friday, September 27th. 

If tempted to load up on lobster before the end of the season, remember that you can only use up to two hoops if working from a pier, and five hoop nets per person on a boat, though hoop nets from a vessel cannot exceed more than ten if more than two people on the boat. As always, have your gauge, report card, and license on hand. Scuba and free divers can only take them by hand and using no implements such as nets, tongs, or sling spears. The bag and possession limits are 7 lobster per person per day. 

Surf fishing has been heating up for anglers working the tide swings and rips, with lots of barred surfperch showing signs of spawning. Unlike many of the species of sport-caught fish in our area that lay eggs when spawning, barred surfperch give birth to live young. The fry will often be expelled during the stress of the fight, though they are usually capable of swimming if they can be expressed and released.  If a large perch with bulging belly, it is probably full of fry. Usually, a slight downward squeeze toward the vent will expel the young perch if the fish cannot be released. That’ll give them a chance, albeit like those born naturally, their chance of surviving to maturity is pretty low given the predators in the surf.

Other catches from the surf zone this past week include halibut, California corbina, and yellowfin croaker, as sand crabs are beginning to show well in the swash. Much of the action has been on lures, with Lucky Craft jerk baits and plastics on a Carolina Rig working best. Whether from shore, boat, pier or kayak, it is getting fishy out there, so go get ‘em!