We are well into the month of October and anglers that have not made the mistake of putting away their fishing tackle until the spring continue to be presented with good opportunities to catch bluefin tuna, yellowfin tuna, yellowtail, striped marlin, calico bass, sand bass, rockfish, halibut and a variety of other species. There was even a recent report of what was thought to be a feeding blue marlin seen off the East End of Catalina.
Bluefin tuna fishing remains good with the main area of bluefin activity being found at the Cherry Bank which is located about 18 miles west-northwest of the high spot at the Tanner Bank and is 41 miles southwesterly of the West End of San Clemente Island. There are also still a few bluefin being found around the 499 Spot, the Snail Bank, the 711 Spot and the Osborn Bank but the better fishing is out at the Cherry Bank. In a completely different sector there have also been a few of the 20 to 40 pound bluefin caught at the South Kelp Ridge below South Island at Los Coronado Islands.
The bluefin out by the Cherry Bank have been running from 30 to 170 pounds. Offshore bluefin have been biting on a variety of baits and jigs with sardines, frozen flying fish, live flying fish, California Flyers, knife jigs, Colt Snipers, poppers and trolled Nomad Madmac jigs being among the favored baits and lures. The bluefin fishing during the night time hours continues to be the best.
Anglers have been encouraged to include within the tackle that they bring a 30 pound test outfit and a 40 pound test outfit for flylining live baits and a rail rod outfit spooled with at least 100 pound test line for fishing for the bigger bluefin with the sinker rigged sardines, the sinker rigged frozen flying fish, the kite fished baits and the knife jigs. The bluefin at Los Coronado Islands have been biting best on slow trolled or flylined sardines that are fished on 25 pound test bait outfits using size #2 or #4 hooks.
The yellowfin tuna fishing has been scratchy but the yellowfin bite is currently showing marked improvement with the 6 pack charter yacht El Gato Dos out of Seaforth Sportfishing having a full day trip with 4 anglers catch their limits of 20 yellowfin tuna. The next day, the El Gato Dos followed up that limits of yellowfin tuna catch with a catch of 5 anglers out on a full day trip catching 6 yellowfin tuna. Most of the yellowfin have been caught where you locate porpoise in the region of the 224 Spot, 302 Spot, 371 Bank, 425 Bank and the Corner. Cedar plugs and Rapalas have been working well on the troll.
The fishing for striped marlin has slowed from the hot bite fishing of a couple of weeks ago but there are still striped marlin around. The areas where marlin have been showing in recent days have been spots around the East End of Catalina, the 312 Spot, the area to the west and northwest of North Island, the end of the Ridge below the 182 Spot and the 43 Fathom Spot. When marlin are located there have been some groups of feeders seen so there are still enough marlin around that could go on a late season bite. There was also a recent report from a Skipper fishing for marlin by the 125 Spot off the East End of Catalina that saw what he described as a “really big” marlin up feeding that he thought was most likely a blue marlin.
The Marlin Club held its annual Gene Grimes Memorial ILTT Tournament and had 3 marlin caught and released from the region off North Island during its 2 days of fishing. The Legacy caught and released 2 of the 3 striped marlin caught in the ILTT Tournament and the Cabrilla caught and released the third.
The surface fishing at Los Coronado Islands remains good for a mix of yellowtail, calico bass and a chance at a bluefin tuna. In addition there have been a few halibut and lingcod biting along with good numbers of assorted rockfish.
Some examples of the recent fishing are Mission Belle out of Point Loma Sportfishing that had 17 anglers on a full day trip catch 40 yellowtail. Seaforth Sportfishing had San Diego out on a full day trip with 28 anglers catch 79 yellowtail. Seaforth Sportfishing also had Sea Watch out on a full day trip with 20 anglers who caught 27 yellowtail and 5 lingcod. H&M Landing had Malihini out on a full day trip with 23 anglers who caught 23 yellowtail, 5 rockfish, 3 lingcod, 1 sand bass, 1 sheephead and 2 whitefish.
The best area for yellowtail has been at the Rockpile and the best zone for a chance at a bluefin tuna has been the South Kelp Ridge below South Island. If you want to try for a halibut, a productive zone has been drifting the sandy bottom areas along the lee side of South Island.
Slow trolled or flylined sardines have worked best for bluefin tuna when fished with 25 pound test line and a size 4 or size 2 hook. Yellowtail have been up in the 15 to 20 pound range and Seaforth Sportfishing is suggesting using 40 to 50 pound test outfits for fishing yo-yo iron or surface iron. Yellowtail have also been biting on dropper loop fished sardines, flylined sardines and slow trolled sardines. A 25 pound test live bait outfit would be a good way to go when slow trolling or flylining sardines and using 30 to 40 pound test live bait outfits would be a good way to go when fishing a sardine on a dropper loop rig.
The bottom fishing around Los Coronado Islands remains very good and the best areas for the mixed bag bottom fishing have been to the northwest, north and northeast of North Island in 25 to 60 fathoms. Also productive has been the rockfish fishing on the Mexico side of the border at the lower end of the 9 Mile Bank.
As a reminder, Southern California anglers need to take note that between October 1 and December 31 that the take of “Nearshore” rockfish, cabezon and greenling is prohibited and these may not be possessed. In addition, “Shelf” Rockfish, “Slope” Rockfish and lingcod cannot be taken shoreward of the 50 Fathom Rockfish Conservation Area Boundary Line. The 50 Fathom Rockfish Conservation Area Boundary Line is a series of connected waypoints as defined in Federal regulations (50 CFR Part 660, Subpart C). You can view the specifics of the regulations regarding this seasonal closure in detail at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website at wildlife.ca.gov.
The fishing along the San Diego County coast has been good for a mix of calico bass, sand bass, bonito, rockfish, sculpin, sheephead, halibut and an occasional yellowtail.
With the recent cooling of the coastal area water temperatures into the middle 60’s a lot of boats that are fishing off the San Diego County area coast have been focusing on fishing for rockfish and the rockfish fishing has been very good. Productive areas have included the 9 Mile Bank (while fishing on the United States side of the Mexico border), La Jolla, Del Mar, Encinitas, Leucadia, Carlsbad and Box Canyon.
The fishing at kelp bed and structure spots is still producing a pretty good mix of calico bass, sand bass, sculpin, sheephead and whitefish and there has also been a chance at catching a bonus halibut or yellowtail. Looking for kelp bed areas where you find your warmest water with a steady downhill current flow will help in finding a good bite in the kelp beds. Some productive areas for the bass, sculpin, sheephead and whitefish include the Imperial Beach Pipeline, the hard bottom to the northwest of Buoy #3 at Point Loma, the Green Tank, the kelp at the middle part and the upper end of La Jolla, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Leucadia, South Carlsbad, the Anderson and Buccaneer Pipelines, the Barn and Box Canyon.
The yellowtail fishing along the coast has been slow, but the kelp beds at La Jolla still provide the best chance at a coastal yellowtail. The best areas for a chance at a La Jolla yellowtail have been the area outside of the upper end of La Jolla and along the outskirts of the MLPA closure zone at the lower end of La Jolla.
A few halibut have been biting and one of the better areas has been outside of the Imperial Beach Pier in 35 to 45 feet of water. Other areas that might be worth a try in an effort to locate a biting halibut include the sandy bottom next to the structure of the Yukon Shipwreck off Mission Beach and the sandy bottom next to the structure of the sunken NEL Tower off Mission Beach. Going further north there has also been some halibut activity in the area below the MLPA closure zone at the lower end of La Jolla. In north San Diego County waters, areas that might be likely areas to produce a halibut include South Ponto Beach, the sandy bottom next to the structure of the Buccaneer Pipeline and the sandy bottom next to the structure of the artificial reefs outside of Oceanside.
The fall fishing season is well underway and is producing well with bluefin tuna at the Cherry Bank highlighting the offshore fishing and with a good yellowtail bite at the Rockpile highlighting the fishing at Los Coronado Islands. Keep on fishing and I hope to see you out on the water sometime soon!
Bob Vanian is the voice, writer and researcher of the San Diego-based internet fish report service called 976-Bite which can be found at www.976bite.com. Vanian also provides anglers with a personal fish report service over the telephone at (619) 226-8218. He always welcomes your fish reports at that same phone number or at [email protected]
