Provided by Dana Wharf Sportfishing
Southern California anglers saw changing conditions and a wide variety of opportunities over the past two weeks, with everything from local bass and rockfish to yellowtail, bonito and offshore dorado keeping anglers busy.
During the first week, great water helped the local bass action continue for half-day anglers. Water temperatures of 66 to 67 degrees locally had both calico bass and sand bass biting well. Sliding egg sinker setups and dropper loops fished best for the sand bass, while calico bass were caught on fly-lined sardines, rubber lures and hard jerkbaits. Anglers fishing the bottom also found good sheephead action, along with some nice sculpin and whitefish.
The rockfish season also got off to a strong start. Locally, vermilion rockfish were biting well, with mixed bags of bocaccio, flags and specks. Quality sculpin and whitefish were caught out deep as well. Eight- to 10-ounce double-dropper loops fished best for the rockfish along the coast.
Out in the deep water on the 14, anglers had to work a little harder. Current along the bank made fishing challenging at times, but there were still some quality rockfish caught. Big bocaccio, chilies and bank rockfish made up much of the catch, while jig anglers found success fishing 300- to 400-gram jigs.
At San Clemente Island, the Fury also found plenty of rockfish, whitefish and other mixed bottom fish. Calico bass fishing in the kelp was noticeably good, with favorable water movement creating fun fly-line fishing along the kelp edges.
As the second week developed, conditions continued to improve and the fishing along the beach picked up considerably for both half- and three-quarter-day trips.
The big story was the arrival of local yellowtail.
Nice schools of yellowtail were located along the stretch from San Mateo down through Camp Pendleton. Sonar schools, trolling stops, meter marks and plenty of chum were helping crews locate and stop the fish.
The yellowtail were mostly solid 15- to 20-pound fish, providing anglers with a quality opportunity surprisingly close to home. Fly-lined sardines accounted for many of the bites, although there were days when fishing a sardine on the dropper loop produced the better action. Surface irons and yo-yo jigs also caught fish.
The productive fishing did not remain a secret for long. Increased pressure from private skiffs and other boats over the weekend contributed to the bite slowing considerably after the area was fished heavily.
Bass and bonito continued to provide additional action, with both fly-lined baits and Colt Sniper-style jigs producing fish.
Offshore, kelp paddies continued to hold some dorado. Crews also reported seeing considerably more yellowfin tuna in the area, particularly around dolphin, although getting the tuna to bite remained difficult. The increasing presence of yellowfin is nevertheless something crews will continue watching as the fish settles into local waters.
At San Clemente Island, the Fury continued to find excellent bass fishing, along with plenty of bonito and mixed bottom fish. Yellowtail were also in the mix, with island fish generally running from about 15 to 25 pounds.
Perhaps the biggest change across the two-week period has been the water itself. Temperatures that were running around 66 to 67 degrees locally during the earlier fishing have climbed into the 73- to 75-degree range, with crews reporting very clean conditions.
With yellowtail showing along the coast, dorado offshore, increasing signs of yellowfin and continued bass action at San Clemente Island, anglers now have several directions to choose from as the warm-water season continues to develop.
