Though short lived, last weekend’s wind storm was strong enough to extinguish the bluefin bite south of the border. The Pacific Queen ran down to the area that had been holding fish on Wednesday and they were gone. Luckily the yellows were still around and they salvaged the trip by landing 100 of them for 26 passengers.
If I had to guess, I’d say the bluefin are probably still around and if they are they’ll likely be relocated this weekend once there’s some more coverage in the area. With the full moon scheduled for Wednesday of next week and good weather in the forecast, I’m expecting someone to find them somewhere.
Bluefin aside, as you can see on the Navionics chart, there are lots of good fishing options available. Starting up north, the Aloha Spirit has island bass fishing trips online for the weekend and I wouldn’t be surprised if they took a pass through last weeks yellowtail zone to see if those fish are still around. If you’re heading up there I’d recommend bringing your surface iron jig stick just in case.
The Santa Monica Bay is still producing steady bass and sculpin fishing. Live squid has been making a big difference and as you can see by this 11-pound calico caught (and thankfully released) aboard the Redondo Special on Wednesday, there are some big fish in the mix. The bass are also biting for private boaters fishing Palos Verdes. BD’er Tunaslam got in on the action Wednesday as well. You can read his full report here.
It sounds like the red crabs have shown up in large numbers along the front side of Catalina. If you’re headed over there any time soon I’d keep a surface iron rod handy and an eye peeled for any birds that are looking fishy. If this turns out to be anything like last year there should be some yellowtail swimming around eating the crab.
I don’t think anyone has fished San Clemente Island in the last couple weeks but the weather is going to be fishable and I’d imagine the bass will be biting. The bass and sculpin are biting for half day boats fishing along the coast from LA to San Diego. There are also some halibut being caught by boats that are targeting them. There are halibut special trips running out of Dana Wharf and Fisherman’s Landing. There are multiple 1 1/2-day trips running this weekend out of San Diego that are scheduled to fish coastal rockfish and yellowtail. Depending on what boats see out on the bluefin grounds, those trips may take a detour outside so I’d make sure and bring at least one heavy rod in case you end up fishing tuna. Good luck wherever you end up fishing this weekend!
