Provided by Dana Wharf Sportfishing
We had a good week of local fishing by June standards.
Water temperatures ranged from 65° to 69°. There were some dirty zones for sure, but we did have some nice water a few days this week, and that helped.
The local bass scene for the half-day anglers was pretty good, with flylined anchovies or baits fished on sliding sinkers being the best bet for bites. Small hooks and light line were the name of the game for the live bait anglers this week. No. 4 hooks and 12- to 15-pound line got the job done.
On the artificial lure side of the game, the plastics have been working well, and the A-rig continues to be on fire. There were some nice sand bass and sheephead off the bottom for the anglers fishing heavier sinkers. There have also been some nice yellowtail in the half-day area, with a few 18- to 20-pound fish caught over the last few days. Those fish were taken on live bait and A-rigs.
Off the beach, we caught a few fish this week on kelp paddies anywhere from 4 to 10 miles offshore. The same grade of yellowtail, ranging from 18 to 25 pounds, was showing there as well. Those fish were caught on flylined anchovies.
The three-quarter-day trips right now have been a mix of kelp paddy hunting in the morning and then bass fishing in the kelp or over hard bottom for the rest of the day.
Over at San Clemente Island, Dana Wharf’s Sportfishing vessel, the Fury has continued to see excellent calico bass fishing in the kelp. They’ve also continued to have good shots at really nice 20- to 30-plus-pound yellowtail during the early morning hours on live bait and yo-yo jigs. A little live squid helped perk up the yellowtail bite on a day or two, and there was even a nice white seabass mixed in one day. And, of course, there have been plenty of whitefish and big sheephead in the mix for the sinker anglers as well.
