Provided by Dana Wharf Sportfishing
We’ve made through mid-July, and the current conditions and sea temps are pretty spot on for our stretch of the coast and this time of the season. Water temps have fluctuated a bit, moving around through the mid to high 60°s — getting close to that coveted 70° mark. July is always a fun month to find plenty of opportunities in a number of different areas.
On the local scene, the calico bass fishing has been really good. Flylined live baits such as an anchovy or small sardine have been very good choices for getting bites. If you’re out targeting bass and live anchovies are available at your local bait receivers I’d strongly recommend the anchovy over the sardine. If you can get a little of both, even better! Flylined baits on 12 to 20lb mono has been most effective. Some anglers like using a little fluorocarbon leader of the same line size as an extra bit of stealth and abrasion resistance for the toothy bass. Hook sizes we’ve been recommending have been in the no.4 to 1/0 size. Sliding egg sinkers from 1/8 to 1/2 oz have been helpful as well when casting a small anchovy away from the boat. Not only do the sliding sinkers help get the baits below the surface to the fish, it also helps keep the good bait away from any bird looking for a quick snack.
Anglers wanting to go the alternative route and use the artificial lures instead of the live baits have had great action and success as well. Small profile rubber lures like the jerk shads and swim baits have been working well. Any small rubber lure resembling an anchovy has been getting bit. A quick trip to your local tackle shop and a little help from a knowledgeable store clerk will help you make the right lure choices.
Down off Camp Pendleton the calico bass fishing has been great in the kelp areas too. Water temps and water clarity have been very important. On the cooler water days it’s taken a lot of live bait chum to get the bass activated and up willing to bite. Also in this stretch there have been a few nice white seabass taken on the live bait like mackerel. One particular seabass went 71 lbs and was caught on a live mackerel.
Sandbass have also been biting really well in areas above Newport Beach up through Long Beach. The big mud expanses are seeing nice aggregation of the sandbass. Sliding egg sinker setups, Carolina Rigs, and fluke style artificial lures have been lights out successful. Reverse dropper loop setups have been very effective too as these sand bass stage up in large numbers during this spawning cycle. No need for super heavy line as the 15 to 20lb line has been perfect. The bite has been good during the daytime, but it’s been really good at night on the twilight trips running out of the landings in those areas. Just a reminder that the possession limit on sand bass is now four fish per angler.
Over at Catalina Island the bass fishing has been great in the kelp. Along with the bass, the barracuda and bonito have been biting outside the various kelp lines. There’s also been mixed grade yellowtail around the classic spots on the east end of the Island. But finding conditions working in the right order have been the key to catching those yellowtail. Good current and nice water movement have been the big player.
Over at San Clemente Island the calico bass fishing has been good too. Very similar to the Catalina report, the fishing outside the kelp lines at Clemente has seen the same barracuda and bonito action. Flashy metal jigs like a Current Sniper jig have been getting the bonito and barracuda bites. There has also been some yellowtail being caught too. Live sardines on a flyline setup, surface iron and yo-yo jigs have all caught nice yellowtail over the last week or so.
Tuna anglers fishing out of San Diego have seen some really good catches too. The 43 fathom spot down to the Corner has been the best area for the bluefin over the last couple days. Flylined sardines have been best bait during the day time. Night time anglers fishing the knife jigs in the 200g to 350g have had great success too. The bluefin has ranged in size from 20 to 40lbs with some nicer 50 to 80 pounders in the mix too. This mass of fish has been moving around a lot out there and your best bet to score is to really keep track of it with a fish report service like Fishdope.com.
If you’re planning a trip on your own, boat planning is key. There are definitely good opportunities for you to connect. If hopping on an overnight or multi day boat is more your style, then I’d recommend calling the landing ahead of time to make sure you bring the right tackle.
