Provided by Dana Wharf Sportfishing
We had a great week of fishing in some amazing conditions.
Our water temps hovered at 63° pretty steadily all week, and that provided some fun 1/2-day bass action. Flylined sardines, rubber lures like flukes, and small swimbaits caught some nice calico bass. Sinker setups like dropper loops and 1-oz egg sinkers did well for the sand bass and sheephead. We’re still seeing a halibut here or there, too, for the anglers at the bottom soaking sardines.
We also had some really fun big bonito fishing. This bonito ranged from 4–10 lbs. Trolling jig stops and surface signs like breezers and birds were what we looked for to get the boat stopped. Flylined sardines and sniper-style jigs were the go-to setups. Very fun and very good fishing. When kept iced up and fresh, this bonito is some of the best-eating fish.
On the deep rockfish scene, more mixed bags of chilies, bankies, and grouper were caught out on the 14-Mile Bank. It’s still a bit tricky out deep due to the abundance of squid still hanging on the bank. Dropper-looped live baits and squid strips were the best baits. Slow-pitch jig anglers did well, too. In the rockfish areas along the coast, it was the reds, grouper, and chilies that made up the bulk of the catch. There was also plenty of good action on whitefish and sculpin in some areas as an alternative to rockfish.
