Provided by Captain Brian Woolley of Dana Wharf Sportfishing
The excellent bass fishing continues this week. Water temps have been holding steady between 70 and 71 degrees, and that warm water has the calico bass fired up over the hard bottom and tucked into the kelp. Light-line setups have been the go-to—no. 2 hooks and a small handful of assorted sliding egg sinkers are all you’ve needed to catch some nice bass. For those tossing artificials, swim baits, hard jerk baits, and surface iron have been putting solid calicos on deck too.
Sand bass fishing has also been part of the outstanding action. We spent a day or two up the coast fishing the mud, classic summer-style sand bass fishing. It was wide open at times, with flurries of seven to ten fish going at once. Some really nice quality fish are in the mix, with rubber lures and reverse dropper loop setups being your best bet.
We’re still seeing plenty of halibut in the counts as well. The zone below San Mateo Point down through San Onofre continues to be a hot stretch. The Dana Pride had eight halibut on board for their trip yesterday, so it’s definitely worth soaking a bait.
Over at San Clemente Island, the Fury has had more great fishing. Calico bass are biting well in the kelp, and outside the kelp line, the bonito fishing has been steady. For those wanting to fish the sinker rigs, sheephead, whitefish, and rockfish are all part of the mix.
Yellowtail action at the island has been hit or miss, varying day by day. The Fury had a good shot at them midweek, picking up fish in the 8- to 20-pound range.
Captain Christian on the Lex Sea also had solid yellowtail fishing over at the island, with 18 fish for three anglers on Wednesday.
Overall, things are rolling along just fine.
Quick update on the June Big Bass Derby—the current leader is a 6.5-pound sand bass. We actually had a 10.2-pounder caught this week, but the angler wasn’t entered in the derby—always tough to watch! Don’t forget, it’s just five bucks in the office before you hop on the boat, and all proceeds go to CCA CAL.
