Saturday May 25th 2019
Evening Updates marked in RED
—– Weather —–
Great weather this morning and while some wind came up in the afternoon it wasn’t bad. Just enough to make white caps in a few locations.
Tomorrow we have another storm system coming in. Rain and wind should begin early in the day up north and spread south during the day. This is forecast to last into Monday morning.
There will likely be some clearing wind on Monday following the storm but after that the forecast is calling for light winds and no rain for all of next week and into the following weekend.
As always, please keep a close eye on the latest forecast and conditions for your local area before you head out!
Synopsis for Inshore Waters of the Southern California Coast
Weak onshore flow will continue today, increasing Sunday with gusts to 20 kt in the outer coastal waters as a cold front moves through.
Showers are possible Sunday into Monday morning. Weak to moderate onshore flow will prevail Monday through Wednesday.
Northern Sector – Santa Barbara to LA
Southern Sector – Orange and San Diego County and SCI
Baja Sector (experimental, may not be updated every day)
—– Bait Report —–
Bait Barge Contact Info
Everingham Bros Bait Company
San Diego – 4-6″ sardine (5-25)
Mission Bay – 3-7″ sardine (5-25)
Oceanside Bait Barge Recording (760) 434-1183 – 5″ sardine. New hours for bait dock. Starting 5/27/19. 5 am-5pm.(5-25).
Dana Point – 5-7″ sardine (5-10).
Newport Bait Barge (310) 461-5370 – 4-6″ sardine (5-20)
Nacho’s Bait Barge (updated when members report) – 5-7″ sardine – NO squid (5-24)
San Pedro Bait Barge (310) 365-2516 CH.11 – 4-6″ sardine (5-20)
Redondo Bait Report (310) 372-2111 – sardines – Available most mornings. Call 909 721-5849 for Mike at the bait barge (5-24)
Marina Del Rey (updated when members report) – Sardines. $30/scoop, half scoops not available (5-6)
CISCOS Bait Barge – sardine & anchovy mix (5-25)
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INSHORE & ISLANDS Section
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Channel Islands
Once again the 15 to 25lb seabass bit in the early morning hours today.
Just like yesterday much of the action was done and over with shortly after 8 to 9am. Not just seabass either as the boats are also catching 15 to 25lb yellowtail and some big log barracuda
Becher’s Bay has been the focal point for squid and from what we are told this is where it is happening now.
Other areas seeing seabass in recent days at Santa Rosa include the Eagle’s Nest and Rhodes Reef. Either one of these areas could go off too.
San Nicolas Island
One boat made the run out here and found the lingcod bite to be wide open and they scored limits of big quality rockfish, and some whitefish.
The action came off the north side and off the east side in water 100 to 240 feet deep. DO NOT fish deeper than 240! That is the limit as this Island is in the Cow Cod Conservation Area.
***** Reminder *****
This Island is in the Cow Cod Conservation Area so you may not fish in water deeper than 240 feet if you have rockfish, whitefish, sheephead, etc. on board your boat.
Santa Monica Bay
Water is warming and cleaning up but there is still no signal of surface fish except for 1 very large white seabass reported caught on a live sardine down in the Rocky Point area. Hopefully tomorrow’s storm won’t set it back any farther.
Until things straighten out about all there is to catch is rockfish, whitefish and sculpin at the South Bank and other surrounding deep water spots.
LA Harbor / Long Beach Shelf / Newport Beach
Cold streaky water and slow surface fishing is the story for this area. Rockfish though love this cold water and are biting pretty good on the Southeast Bank. Sculpin are biting good on the 150 and lately the quality has been very with not a lot of shorts under 10″ being caught.
Catalina Island
Squid;
There is some squid in the Mills Landing area but not a lot and last night it was again very tough to catch.
There just isn’t any volume of bait around right now.
No squid boats that we know of are at the Island selling bait.
Fishing;
Conditions are improving and so is the bite. A few yellowtail are beginning to bite. Nothing wide open, just a 1 to a few here and there but it is a beginning.
There is some signal of yellows back side west and back side east. Look for clean water and downhill current. Having squid would be a big plus but not 100% necessary.
If you want seabass the squid is required! The seabass are still running the beaches on the back side but not biting well. Water conditions are not right but they are improving. Would not be surprised if a few are caught in the coming days IF this next storm coming tomorrow doesn’t wash out the back side again like the last one did.
San Clemente Island
The Long Beach Carnage was at the Island in the Cove last night and was able to make a little bit of squid but sold it all quick to the boats that were already there.
They left at day break and went home to San Pedro.
Today the bite was on the slow side as there just was not any conditions. Current was dead slow or not running at all.
Yellowtail are there on that squid bed in the Cove and they are on the front in the Gold Bluff / White Rock area and up NW at the 9 and the Dunes /Runway area. One thing is certain…. Sea Lions are being a major pain in the a$$. They act like they don’t want anybody to score a yellowtail as they are actively trying to steal every single yellowtail that gets hooked. Because of this and because of structure and the size of the yellowtail it is recommended that you fish with no less than 40lb and be ready to HARD and fast. You need to make short work of them or the odds of losing them go way up.
Again all of this is mute if there is no current like there was a total lack of this morning.
Be sure to check the Navy closure schedule before heading out. Always monitor VHF Ch. 16 and obey any requests to clear out of closed security zones.
Click here for info on how to read the closure schedule.
Dana Point / Oceanside
Conditions are improving but not enough yet to consider the bass fishing anywhere near good. The cold water is helping the kelp though. Should start seeing good kelp beds in the near future.
Rockfish and sculpin continue to be the #1 catch and Box Canyon remains the go-to area. The shallower 180 to 200 foot cobble stone bottom is where the sculpin are while the rockfish are mostly on the deeper 220 to 24 foot stone piles.
Del Mar to Imperial Beach
Skiffs and kayaks are finding a few yellowtail again this morning in the area just above the MPA. They are puddling, breezing and under tern birds.
We know of a couple caught slow trolling sardines and mackerel and at least 1 caught on surface iron cast ahead of a breezer of yellowtail.
It is very hit and miss though with many not seeing or catching anything
**** Attention ****
There is now an ice vending machine at the Shelter Island launch ramp for your convenience. It’s located right near the bathroom building at the top of the ramp. The machine takes credit cards and 20 lb. bags are $6.95 each.
Swipe your credit card to open, take as many as you want, and it charges by weight when you close the door.
——– Mexican waters ———
Getting Permits To Fish Mexico ñ An Angler’s Guide To Baja
by That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
Coronado Islands / Rockpile
Best water conditions appear to be around North Island and it gets worse the farther south you go.
There are some yellows along the weather side of North Island but getting them to bite seems to be difficult.
Most of the boats report metering some in the area but not getting any of them to to bite. Yesterday fishdope member Milk Belk got one on a trolled Rapala in tight to the weather side of the Island but that is the only yellowtail we know of that was caught. The sportboats got zip.
Today sounds like a repeat of yesterday. All the reports we are getting as of post time is that the yellowtail bite is very slow.
With so few boats fishing the Islands reports are very hard to come by so if you fished the Islands please shoot us a report to Reports@www.fishdope.com.
Bracelets are now required to fish within Pacific Island Biosphere Reserve areas, including the Coronado Islands, Todos Santos, and San Martin Island. You can purchase bracelets for $5 per person per day at Fisherman’s Landing Tackle Shop, Point Loma Sportfishing Tackle Shop, and Dana Landing Market & Fuel Dock. You will need to provide your boat name, boat owner’s name, number of passengers, and dates you will be in the reserve areas, but you don’t need any other special IDs or info to purchase the bracelets. Everyone on board must have a bracelet to enter the Biosphere Reserve. Biosphere Reserve boundaries are now available on the FishDope Charts (click the Closures layer). For more information, please see https://www.bdoutdoors.com/pacific-islands-biosphere-reserve/ and for the full Biosphere Reserve Declaration click here: (may need to refresh a few times to display the document ñ in Spanish)
The boundaries of the Biosphere reserve:
N32 20.000′ to N32 29.000′, and W117 12.000′ to W117 20.000′
**** ATTENTION ****
You must stay at least 250 meters (820 feet) away from any tuna pens. If you don’t you are at risk of losing your boat and landing in a Mexican jail.
Click here for more details on this subject
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The Mexican Navy is there and checking boats on a regular basis for Vessel Temporary Import Permit and Valid Country of Residence Passport for each person on the boat (can’t purchase the FMM (Tourist Card) without a passport anyway).
Required permits are listed on the CONAPESCA website for fishing within 12 miles of land including the islands. The permits can be purchased through their website.
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OFFSHORE Section
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–——— US WATERS ———–
178 / 9 Mile Bank
Report from Q Woolsey;
Some friends and I headed out to the 9 mile bank and covered most of it. We found 9 paddies all pretty good size. Nothing holding however. Fished surface iron and had divers Spearfishing on every paddy and we saw nothing. Water is still dirty and needs time to settle. Started north 9 and the further south we went, the murkier the water got. Lots of paddies no fish.
——- MEXICAN WATERS ————
425-101 / 475 Knuckle / Finger Bank / Upper Hidden Bank
There are still plenty of bluefin in this area although getting one to bite is difficult as they are plugged full of red crab. There is so much red crab around. HUGE spots of it up on the surface and down to 100 feet or so.
The bluefin are fat and lazy just slurping the crab up off the surface. Many of these bluefin are not responding to chum, hook bait or jigs but a few are so it is still worth trying.
30-40lb fluoro with a hot sardine remains the best way to get a bite but be fore warned. A lot of these bluefin are in the 80 to over 125lb class and are next to impossible to land on 30 to 40lb test
New spots of bluefin have been located south in the 238 to west of the 1140 Finger area and many of the boats working this northern zone have made the move to the more southern area.
The following GPS numbers are where bluefin or kelp paddy yellowtail were found today but not necessarily where tuna/yellowtail were caught:
32 09 x 117 26 – Bluefin
32 08 x 117 21 – Bluefin
32 07 x 117 20 – Bluefin
32 06 x 117 19 – Bluefin
Double 220 to the 238 down to west of the 1140 Finger / Lower 500
New areas of bluefin have been found. Early word is these are in 2 size classes for the most part. There is a bunch of the 25-30lb class fish and a bunch on tuna in the 40-60lb class. There are some big ones though in the 100 to 150lb class being seen and caught too.
They are being found up on the surface blowing up on micro fin bait (likely mini anchovy).
Today there were a lot of boats working this area and they found bluefin but they did not want to bite anything with a hook it worth a darn. There were some caught but nothing close to what you would call good fishing or even close to the volume the boats are looking at.
The morning was very slow but around 11 to 12 noon the boats started seeing schools pop up. During the afternoon the boats ran from spot to spot most of the time not getting a bite or if lucky 1 or 2 bites.
As of post time the high boats had 10 to 15 bluefin. Many only a few and there were plenty with zero.
Just like up north and in general all season the best way to get a bite is with 30-40lb fluorocarbon and a 1/0 circle hook and a HOT sardine. Since these are smaller on average you might want to drop down to 25 or even 20 if they are super touchy but remember if that 150lber jumps on your sardine while you are fishing 20 or 25lb you are very likely going to get spooled.
The main area appears to be a large 10 plus mile block running from about 31 25 south to about 31 15 and on the west side from about 117 26 east to about 117 18.
It should also be noted that this zone is also holding some very good kelp paddy yellowtail fishing. Some boats reported 40+ by mid morning.
The following GPS numbers are where bluefin or kelp paddy yellowtail were found today but not necessarily where tuna/yellowtail were caught:
31 28 x 117 18 – Kelp paddy yellowtail
31 26 x 117 23 – Bluefin
31 22 x 117 25 – Bluefin
31 19 x 117 22 – Bluefin
31 17 x 117 23 – Bluefin
31 17 x 117 21 – Bluefin
31 16 x 117 20 – Bluefin
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All reports, good, bad, or otherwise are very helpful.
If you go fishing please give us a call or shoot us an email.
reports@www.fishdope.com
1 (619) 992-6099
Friday, May 24th 2019
—– Weather —–
Excellent weather this morning. Many areas reported flat calm seas and little to no wind.
In the afternoon the wind came up some like it always does but nothing bad.
The next couple of days look pretty good right now. Not a lot of wind and dry.
Sunday/Monday the rain returns and Monday looks to be fairly windy after the storm front passes us by.
Long range forecast for Tuesday through the weekend is calling for not much wind and no rain.
As always, please keep a close eye on the latest forecast and conditions for your local area before you head out!
Synopsis for Inshore Waters of the Southern California Coast
Weak onshore flow will continue through Saturday, increasing a little Saturday night through Tuesday.
Northern Sector – Santa Barbara to LA
Southern Sector – Orange and San Diego County and SCI
Baja Sector (experimental, may not be updated every day)
—– Bait Report —–
Bait Barge Contact Info
Everingham Bros Bait Company
San Diego – 4-6″ sardine (5-21)
Mission Bay – 4-6″ sardine (5-23)
Oceanside Bait Barge Recording (760) 434-1183 – 5-6″ sardine (5-24).
Dana Point – 5-7″ sardine (5-10).
Newport Bait Barge (310) 461-5370 – 4-6″ sardine (5-20) Nacho’s Bait Barge (updated when members report) – 5-7″ sardine – NO squid (5-24)
San Pedro Bait Barge (310) 365-2516 CH.11 – 4-6″ sardine (5-20) Redondo Bait Report (310) 372-2111 – medium size sardines – Available most mornings. Call 909 721-5849 for Mike at the bait barge (5-4)
Marina Del Rey (updated when members report) – Sardines. $30/scoop, half scoops not available (5-6)
CISCOS Bait Barge – sardine & anchovy mix (5-24)
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INSHORE & ISLANDS Section
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Channel Islands
The white seabass bite went wide open this morning as several boats scored limits by 7 to 8am. In addition the boats are also scoring yellowtail and some big barracuda on the squid grounds.
Becher’s Bay has been the focal point for squid and from what we are told this is where it is happening now.
Other areas seeing seabass in recent days at Santa Rosa include the Eagle’s Nest and Rhodes Reef. Either one of these areas could go off too.
Santa Monica Bay
Water temps are starting to climb back up but still have a long ways to go. It was 52 and is now 55-57 degrees and streaky.
No sign of any surface fish. Just the same old rockfish, whitefish and sculpin at the South Bank.
LA Harbor / Long Beach Shelf / Newport Beach
Cold dirty water is making any chance for a surface bite very slim.
Most boats are focused on rockfish and sculpin on the Southeast Bank and the 150.
Those fish are biting pretty good as they love the cold water.
Catalina Island
Squid;
There is some squid in the Mills Landing area but not a lot and last night it was very tough to catch.
The Long Beach Carnage was there and was able to score about a 1/2 dozen scoops and moved around to the Isthmus to sell it. They sold out quickly. The plan is to try and make more again tonight.
Pacific Carnage – contact on VHF channel 11 or call them at (562) 714-8103.
Fishing;
In general the fishing around the Island is slow due to cold green water. Give it a few more days to clean and warm up.
If you are coming over anyway best bet is rockfish at the West End Humps or rockfish area off the East End (see gps page).
San Clemente Island
This Island has the best fishing for yellowtail right now in all of SoCal and northern Baja.
The key to fishing these fish is current. No current, no fish.
The quality is outstanding. Most are in the 20-30lb class with a few bigger and only a handful smaller.
These yellowtail are being located in 4 areas. Pyramid Cove near the Caves Spot and up at the other end of the Island in the Dunes/Runway area. The 9 is holding good numbers of yellows too.
On the front side the Gold Bluff to White Rock area is working well today
Sea lions are a major issue! They are stealing a lot of them.
Structure is an issue too. Because of this it is recommended you fish 40 or even 50lb.
The yellows are biting the sardine today if you are unable to score any squid.
Along with the yellowtail there are also some bonito and barracuda biting too.
Be sure to check the Navy closure schedule before heading out. Always monitor VHF Ch. 16 and obey any requests to clear out of closed security zones.
Click here for info on how to read the closure schedule.
Dana Point / Oceanside
Best fishing in the area is for rockfish and sculpin in the Box Canyon area. Water is cold and dirty. Up to 58 or 59 but that is still to cold for a decent bass bite.
Still needs a few more days to recover.
Del Mar to Imperial Beach
Water is warming up. Some reports of it nearing 60 degrees today. It is still streaky dirty though.
A few guys said they saw yellows just above the MPA.
Reds were biting this morning up off Del Mar and those little rockfish along with some whitefish and sculpin were biting at the Whistler.
Ericka Gray reported in with this nice yellowtail caught just above the MPA this morning on a cast scrambled egg Tady 45.
They found the yellowtail up on the surface under tern birds. Mixed size fish. Some small and some nicer ones like this one.
**** Attention ****
There is now an ice vending machine at the Shelter Island launch ramp for your convenience. It’s located right near the bathroom building at the top of the ramp. The machine takes credit cards and 20 lb. bags are $6.95 each.
Swipe your credit card to open, take as many as you want, and it charges by weight when you close the door.
——– Mexican waters ———
Getting Permits To Fish Mexico ñ An Angler’s Guide To Baja
by That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
Coronado Islands / Rockpile
Cold dirty water has slowed the yellowtail bite way down.
The boats are seeing schools of yellows in the mornings but they are not generally interested in biting. A few do but for the most part they are ignoring everything.
Schools are being found mainly on the sonar with some found along the weather side of North Island, along the ridge in the Middle Grounds and the area between SKR and the Rockpile.
This afternoon some good sonar schools were found SSW of South Island in the general area around 32 19 x 117 15. Word is these didn’t want to bite either.
Evening Report from Mike Belk:
Hey guys, got out today. Beautiful ride out. Water cold and green, as expected, but North Island is recovering quickly. 59.5 in morning and 61 by 2 PM. Water greenish blue there, not as bad as I expected. Got a really nice yellow first thing on a Rapala tucked in tight to lee of north island. Couple other boats got 1 or 2 here also. Slow trolling sardines was working too. Unfortunately that was all we got. Checked out lighthouse but water was way worse, 57 degrees and dirty green. Came back to middle grounds and lost another big yellow on the bass gear and a hardbait, casting to small bonita/mackerel boils. Rocked me quick. Oops.
Chased some bird school boils north of middle grounds later but they were up and down quick.
Caught and released some small assorted rockfish at Pukey and left early. Normal bumpy ride home.
If the wind doesn’t blow too hard Sunday/Monday I think things will shape back up soon.
(Forgive the shorts, he’s Australian…)
– Belk out
With so few boats fishing the Islands reports are very hard to come by so if you fished the Islands please shoot us a report to Reports@www.fishdope.com.
Bracelets are now required to fish within Pacific Island Biosphere Reserve areas, including the Coronado Islands, Todos Santos, and San Martin Island. You can purchase bracelets for $5 per person per day at Fisherman’s Landing Tackle Shop, Point Loma Sportfishing Tackle Shop, and Dana Landing Market & Fuel Dock. You will need to provide your boat name, boat owner’s name, number of passengers, and dates you will be in the reserve areas, but you don’t need any other special IDs or info to purchase the bracelets. Everyone on board must have a bracelet to enter the Biosphere Reserve. Biosphere Reserve boundaries are now available on the FishDope Charts (click the Closures layer). For more information, please see https://www.bdoutdoors.com/pacific-islands-biosphere-reserve/ and for the full Biosphere Reserve Declaration click here: (may need to refresh a few times to display the document ñ in Spanish)
The boundaries of the Biosphere reserve:
N32 20.000′ to N32 29.000′, and W117 12.000′ to W117 20.000′
**** ATTENTION ****
You must stay at least 250 meters (820 feet) away from any tuna pens. If you don’t you are at risk of losing your boat and landing in a Mexican jail.
Click here for more details on this subject
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The Mexican Navy is there and checking boats on a regular basis for Vessel Temporary Import Permit and Valid Country of Residence Passport for each person on the boat (can’t purchase the FMM (Tourist Card) without a passport anyway).
Required permits are listed on the CONAPESCA website for fishing within 12 miles of land including the islands. The permits can be purchased through their website.
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OFFSHORE Section
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——- MEXICAN WATERS ————
425-101 / 475 Knuckle / Finger Bank / Upper Hidden Bank
Once again there were a few boats out looking for bluefin and they found them in the same general area they have been in for about 2 weeks now. There is a lot of bait in the area and that in turn is what is holding these tuna to the area.
The zone is below the 425 / 101 and just west of the 475 Knuckle. In the afternoon the area move a bit to the west but it still in the same general area.
The tuna being found are running mainly between 60 and 90lbs but there are bigger units up in the 100-150lb class being seen and hooked too.
The bluefin are biting the sardine fly lined on 40lb fluoro, The sinker rig on 50lb fluoro and on the Flat-fall jigs fished on 80-100lb. Best bet? Currently the odds for getting bit go to the fly line sardine.
Problem is with these really big tuna is they are nearly impossible to catch on 40lb which is what it is taking to get a bite. Best rig is still a 1/0 circle hook tied on to a 10 to 20 foot piece of 40lb fluorocarbon and this attached to 65 to 80lb braid. You need a reel that will hold at least 450 yards of it.
Forget using little reels that only hold 2-300 yards of braid. Guys are getting spooled almost daily. You don’t want to be “that guy”.
Today the morning started out on the slow side. Not a lot of tuna seen but the number slowly got better as the morning wore on. Schools were found up puddling, breezing in the flat calm weather and on sonar marks. Lots of bait marks too.
There is a ton of red crab around and the tuna are focused on them, just swimming around and “slurping them up”
The boats actually saw a lot of tuna today but they were fat and lazy all porked out on red crab.
The following GPS numbers are where bluefin or kelp paddy yellowtail were found today but not necessarily where tuna/yellowtail were caught:
32 10 x 117 28 – Bluefin
32 08 x 117 22 – Bluefin
32.07 x 117 21 – Bluefin
32 06 x 117 18 – Tons of bait
32 05 x 117 17 – Bluefin
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All reports, good, bad, or otherwise are very helpful.∑
If you go fishing please give us a call or shoot us an email.
reports@www.fishdope.com
1 (619) 992-6099
Thursday May 23rd 2019
Evening Update Marked in RED *****Attention iPhone and iPad users***** The new iOS FishDope app for iPhone and iPad is here! Search for FishDope in the App Store to download and install. We recommend a minimum of iOS 9 to run the app, and newer versions will give the best performance. Note: Please use your FishDope username, not email address, to log in. The app offers all the charts and the latest 7 days of fishing reports, and you can now stream live VHF radio while online. It automatically stores the fishing reports for offline use, and it also saves the last chart region and chart layers you’ve viewed so that you can take them with you on the water and out of wifi range. You can also continue to view the FishDope website with a browser like Safari or Chrome on your phone or tablet, but only the app will save reports and charts for offline use. We’ve created a FAQ page for the app (with instructions for using it) here: FishDope App Frequently Asked Questions If you have other questions or notice bugs, please post them up in our forums.
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—– Weather —– With the exception of some light showers in San Diego County waters the rain is gone and the winds have dropped under 10 knots in most areas. There was still a bit of a lump this morning but the white caps and heavy chop are gone, even up in the Channel Islands and on the offshore waters. There is still a Small Craft Advisory up for Santa Rosa and San Miguel for winds in the 15 to 20 knot range today and those in fact did start to blow by mid morning. The current forecast says Friday and Saturday look pretty good. No rain and winds 15 knots or less. Sunday/Monday the wind and rain come back. Tuesday and beyond the forecast is calling for the wind to back off and no rain. As always, please keep a close eye on the latest forecast and conditions for your local area before you head out! Synopsis for Inshore Waters of the Southern California Coast Isolated light showers will continue this morning. Weaker onshore flow will continue through Saturday, increasing for Saturday night through Monday.
LIVE Weather Broadcast Northern Sector – Santa Barbara to LA Southern Sector – Orange and San Diego County and SCI Baja Sector (experimental, may not be updated every day)
—– Bait Report —– Bait Barge Contact Info Everingham Bros Bait Company
San Diego – 4-6″ sardine (5-21) Mission Bay – 4-6″ sardine (5-23) Oceanside Bait Barge Recording (760) 434-1183 – 5-6″ sardine (5-4). Dana Point – 5-7″ sardine (5-10). Newport Bait Barge (310) 461-5370 – 4-6″ sardine (5-20) Nacho’s Bait Barge (updated when members report) – 5-7″ sardine – NO squid (5-20) San Pedro Bait Barge (310) 365-2516 CH.11 – 4-6″ sardine (5-20) Redondo Bait Report (310) 372-2111 – medium size sardines – Available most mornings. Call 909 721-5849 for Mike at the bait barge (5-4) Marina Del Rey (updated when members report) – Sardines. $30/scoop, half scoops not available (5-6) CISCOS Bait Barge – sardine & anchovy mix (5-20)
****************************** INSHORE / ISLANDS Section ******************************
***** Recovery Mode *****
Yes the weather was much better today but with all that gale force wind over the past 3 days the ocean has rolled over and dropped several degrees. Most bites that were happening before the wind are history now. It is going to take some time for conditions to straighten out. We do have more rain and wind coming Sunday/Monday. Hopefully it won’t have much effect on water conditions
Channel Islands
SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON W to NW winds 15 to 20 kt with gusts to 25 kt. Strongest northwestern portion. Combined seas 8 to 11 ft dominant period 12 seconds. Wind and seas are forecast to come down tomorrow and Saturday and then turn back up a bit on Sunday/Monday with a little stronger wind and more rain. We did not get any reports from out west so far today. It remains unknown if the seabass are still there or not. Better weather is forecast for tomorrow so we’ll likely get some intel then. We did get a report of pretty good fishing for mixed red rockfish and whitefish at the East Anacapa Reef in cold 52 degree dirty water but that was it.
Santa Monica Bay Cold temps and and dirty water put the skids on any chance for those barracuda to move in for at least a few more days to a week. Conditions will need to straighten out first before that happens, if it happens at all…. Rockfish and sculpin are your best bet right now. They love the cold water and are biting just fine out on the South Bank
LA Harbor / Long Beach Shelf / Newport Beach Water temps are a chilly 52 to 53 degrees. It is also a dirty green to brown. As you might have guess the surface action is dead slow. Only rockfish and sculpin bite in these conditions. That said the rockfish bite out on the Southeast Bank and the sculpin bite on the 150 were both pretty good today. Fresh dead and frozen squid worked well.
Catalina Island
We had a contact fish the Island today looking for yellows, seabass, barracuda and/or bonito and he found no sign of any of those. He said the water was a dirty green and 57-58 degrees everywhere he went on both the front and back. Sounds like this place is going to need some time to recover. No word on squid. We hear Long Beach Carnage plans to go over and have a look. They might stay or they might leave early to try SCI. We’ll left you know where they are if they have any for sale this weekend.
San Clemente Island
Early word from the Island has some of those big 20-30lb yellowtail still willing to bite. These big yellows are up in the Dunes/Runway area ans they are also in Pyramid Cove near the Caves spot. Water temp dropped to just below 60 degrees but the yellows are showing anyway. There is still some talk of squid in the Cove. If this is the case it explains why those yellows are still there in the cold water.
Be sure to check the Navy closure schedule before heading out to San Clemente Island. Always monitor VHF Ch. 16 and obey any requests to clear out of closed security zones. Click here for info on how to read the closure schedule.
Dana Point / Oceanside
Water temp 56 to 57 degrees. Color is brown to green. Inshore action this morning was very slow. Did not get any rockfish or sculpin reports from Box Canyon.
Del Mar to Imperial Beach
Just like all the other coastal areas water temps and clarity took a hit in this area too. No reports of any yellowtail this morning in the La Jolla area. They might still be around though and might re-bite when the water conditions improve. Rockfish was the primary catch today. Best quality was in the Del Mar to the 32 fathom area. The Whistler saw a bunch of those little rockfish and a few sand bass and sculpin. Further down the IB Pipe got looked at for some sand bass and sculpin along with some little rockfish.
**** Attention ****
There is now an ice vending machine at the Shelter Island launch ramp for your convenience. It’s located right near the bathroom building at the top of the ramp. The machine takes credit cards and 20 lb. bags are $6.95 each. Swipe your credit card to open, take as many as you want, and it charges by weight when you close the door.
——— Mexican waters ————
Getting Permits To Fish Mexico – An Angler’s Guide To Baja by That Baja Guy-Gary Graham
Coronado Islands / Rockpile No report as of post time. We do know there were boats down at the Islands today but have not heard anything yet. Looking at the current SST it appears water temps have dropped down in the 56-57 degree range. That will more than likely shut down the yellowtail bite but again we have not heard one way or another. Watch for an evening update.
Evening Update; As we expected the yellowtail fishing was not very good. In fact it was pretty poor. There were a few caught but over-all it was dismal. No bonito or barracuda either. Areas looked at today include the weather side of North Island, Middle Grounds, Gun Site, Ribbon Kelp, South Kelp, SKR and the Rockpile. What few yellows were found came on yoyo iron off sonar marks at North Island and in the area between SKR and the Rockpile. Water is cold and green all over the Island chain and to the south. Probably going to take a few days to recover. Bear in mind there is another storm due to arrive Sunday into Monday. After that it looks like we will be in for a long stretch of good weather.
With so few boats fishing the Islands reports are very hard to come by so if you fished the Islands please shoot us a report to Reports@www.fishdope.com. Bracelets are now required to fish within Pacific Island Biosphere Reserve areas, including the Coronado Islands, Todos Santos, and San Martin Island. See the Mexico Info page in the Resources section for more info. **** ATTENTION **** You must stay at least 250 meters (820 feet) away from any tuna pens. If you don’t you are at risk of losing your boat and landing in a Mexican jail. Click here for more details on this subject *********************** The Mexican Navy regularly patrols the islands and checks boats for the required paperwork, including Mexican Fishing License, Vessel Temporary Import Permit, FMM and valid Country of Residence Passport for each person on the boat (can’t purchase the FMM (Tourist Card) without a passport anyway). Required permits are listed on the CONAPESCA website for fishing within 12 miles of land including the islands. The permits can be purchased through their website.
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425-101 / 475 Knuckle / Finger Bank / Upper Hidden Bank A few boats got out last night. Word is the weather is greatly improved. The few boats out did indeed find and catch at least some bluefin today. That said we actually got very little info. What we got is the Tuna are still in the same general area below the 425 / 101 and just west of the 475 Knuckle. The Tomahawk reported in at 10am with 3 bluefin in the 40-80lb class and they said the had several more hanging. An update at 11:15 they had 8 on board up to around 110lbs. We do not know if these were fly line sardine fish or flat-fall fish. Likely they were hooked on 40lb fluorocarbon and a small 1/0 circle hook. The following GPS numbers are where bluefin or kelp paddy yellowtail were found today but not necessarily where tuna/yellowtail were caught: 32 06 x 117 23 – Bluefin 32 06 x 117 18 – Bluefin 32 05 x 117 17 – Bluefin 32 03 x 117 19 – Bluefin This weekend…… There is a ton of boats online from Helgren’s in Oceanside to Seaforth in Mission Bay to Fisherman’s, Point Loma and H&M in Point Loma set to run Friday night. Many are full already and more are being added. If you want to go the best advice is to call ASAP and book a spot. The following is a list of contact numbers for the various landings; Helgren’s Sportfishing (760) 722-2133 Seaforth Landing (619) 224-3383 Fisherman’s Landing (619) 221-8500 Point Loma (619) 223-1627 H&M Landing (619) 222-1144
******************************************************************* All reports, good, bad, or otherwise are very helpful. If you go fishing please give us a call or shoot us an email. reports@www.fishdope.com 1 (619) 992-6099