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Fish Report: Wahoo fishing going strong down south
Pelicans and bonito ravaging baitfish
Large squadrons of California brown pelicans diving just outside the surf line on baitfish as dolphins charge in for a bite during the fracas.
Dock Totals 12/7 – 12/13: 899 anglers aboard 45 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 2 black seabass (released), 82 bluefin tuna, 1294 bonito, 164 calico bass, 1 mako shark, 12 perch, 84 rock crab, 1894 rockfish, 264 sand bass, 1 sargo, 694 sculpin, 188 sheephead, 141 spiny lobster (365 released), 270 whitefish, and 6 yellowtail.
Saltwater: Angler numbers went up a bit in the good weather, bringing most counts up as well through the week. Bonito and rockfish continue to top the catch for local boats, while long range boats are catching lots of yellowfin, yellowtail, bluefin and wahoo. Some of that bluefin is within 1.5-day range, as reported by the Tribute with limits of bluefin tuna, limits of reds, and some sheephead and whitefish in the mix on their Pizza Port-sponsored trip that ran from the 12th through the 14th of December. The Tribute will be offline until the 9th of January when they begin the season with their Colonet runs.
Further south, big bluefin are hit and miss along the mid-peninsula, with much of that action centering outside of San Pablo Canyon near Bahia Asuncion. Yellowtail continue to bite well along the Vizcaino coast, so many of the long-range trips that have limited on tuna and wahoo are sliding inside along the coast for that action to top off their holds. Boats fishing near the Ridge outside and running south from Bahia Magdalena have been getting into some incredible wahoo fishing, with anglers scoring on the troll but mostly on the slide during troll stops while casting lures and wahoo bombs. The same type of action on the skinny speedsters can be found out at Alijos Rocks — though that is an unnecessary trip given the bite is hot much closer to the coast.
Great wahoo fishing aboard the Royal Polaris' Let’s Talk Hook Up 8-Day long range trip fishing off the southern coast of Baja.
The presence of lots of bait along the northern peninsula has triggered a long stretch from local San Diego water south to El Rosario, with much of that action within casting distance of shore. This past week here in San Quintin, anglers have been lining up along the beaches to take advantage of the bite, with good results. As these fish aren’t really ripping the surface or boiling but rather feeding from below the bait while birds work from above, the best bet is to find diving birds and fishi near the fracas. And by fracas, I mean pelicans diving in hordes so thick that they sometimes collide. Pelicans are usually graceful fliers — surprising for such an ungainly-looking bird — but I have seen a few accidental crashes between these California brown pelicans. I also saw a pelican barely miss a dolphin that was feeding on a mutually targeted bait ball.
Halibut have also begun sliding into shallows along the beach here, and some of those casting at the bonito have caught a few — including myself — to around 24 inches. As there is no size restriction in Mexico for halibut, I kept a couple around 21 inches long. Amazingly, halibut filet out at about 50 percent of their whole body weight. Most pelagic fish, like tunas and jacks, tend to give about 30 to 35 percent of their body weight in filets. Bass and rockfish offer even less, due to their heavier heads and skeletons. But halibut put out, and an average California halibut, legal at 22 inches, will weigh in at around four pounds and provide enough meat for four half-pound portions. I like them baked, fried, broiled, grilled or steamed. They get kind of mushy in the smoker and, to my taste, are a waste in ceviche. The bonito will smoke up just fine, and my other catches this week — barred surf perch — make excellent ceviche. As taste is subjective, I won’t pretend to know how others like various species prepared; I just know I have been eating very well this past week. Asi es. Desfruta! Whether on the beach, bay, lake, or offshore, they’re out there so go out and get ‘em!
Here's something you might be interested in.
Fish Report: Wahoo fishing going strong down south
Pelicans and bonito ravaging baitfish
Fish Report: Wahoo fishing going strong down south
Pelicans and bonito ravaging baitfish
Large squadrons of California brown pelicans diving just outside the surf line on baitfish as dolphins charge in for a bite during the fracas.
Dock Totals 12/7 – 12/13: 899 anglers aboard 45 half-day to 3-day trips out of San Diego landings over the past week caught 2 black seabass (released), 82 bluefin tuna, 1294 bonito, 164 calico bass, 1 mako shark, 12 perch, 84 rock crab, 1894 rockfish, 264 sand bass, 1 sargo, 694 sculpin, 188 sheephead, 141 spiny lobster (365 released), 270 whitefish, and 6 yellowtail.
Saltwater: Angler numbers went up a bit in the good weather, bringing most counts up as well through the week. Bonito and rockfish continue to top the catch for local boats, while long range boats are catching lots of yellowfin, yellowtail, bluefin and wahoo. Some of that bluefin is within 1.5-day range, as reported by the Tribute with limits of bluefin tuna, limits of reds, and some sheephead and whitefish in the mix on their Pizza Port-sponsored trip that ran from the 12th through the 14th of December. The Tribute will be offline until the 9th of January when they begin the season with their Colonet runs.
Further south, big bluefin are hit and miss along the mid-peninsula, with much of that action centering outside of San Pablo Canyon near Bahia Asuncion. Yellowtail continue to bite well along the Vizcaino coast, so many of the long-range trips that have limited on tuna and wahoo are sliding inside along the coast for that action to top off their holds. Boats fishing near the Ridge outside and running south from Bahia Magdalena have been getting into some incredible wahoo fishing, with anglers scoring on the troll but mostly on the slide during troll stops while casting lures and wahoo bombs. The same type of action on the skinny speedsters can be found out at Alijos Rocks — though that is an unnecessary trip given the bite is hot much closer to the coast.
Great wahoo fishing aboard the Royal Polaris' Let’s Talk Hook Up 8-Day long range trip fishing off the southern coast of Baja.
The presence of lots of bait along the northern peninsula has triggered a long stretch from local San Diego water south to El Rosario, with much of that action within casting distance of shore. This past week here in San Quintin, anglers have been lining up along the beaches to take advantage of the bite, with good results. As these fish aren’t really ripping the surface or boiling but rather feeding from below the bait while birds work from above, the best bet is to find diving birds and fishi near the fracas. And by fracas, I mean pelicans diving in hordes so thick that they sometimes collide. Pelicans are usually graceful fliers — surprising for such an ungainly-looking bird — but I have seen a few accidental crashes between these California brown pelicans. I also saw a pelican barely miss a dolphin that was feeding on a mutually targeted bait ball.
Halibut have also begun sliding into shallows along the beach here, and some of those casting at the bonito have caught a few — including myself — to around 24 inches. As there is no size restriction in Mexico for halibut, I kept a couple around 21 inches long. Amazingly, halibut filet out at about 50 percent of their whole body weight. Most pelagic fish, like tunas and jacks, tend to give about 30 to 35 percent of their body weight in filets. Bass and rockfish offer even less, due to their heavier heads and skeletons. But halibut put out, and an average California halibut, legal at 22 inches, will weigh in at around four pounds and provide enough meat for four half-pound portions. I like them baked, fried, broiled, grilled or steamed. They get kind of mushy in the smoker and, to my taste, are a waste in ceviche. The bonito will smoke up just fine, and my other catches this week — barred surf perch — make excellent ceviche. As taste is subjective, I won’t pretend to know how others like various species prepared; I just know I have been eating very well this past week. Asi es. Desfruta! Whether on the beach, bay, lake, or offshore, they’re out there so go out and get ‘em!