The yellowtail around La Jolla have been the big news, but maybe the best shot at something exotic is to get above Point Conception and fish salmon? The bite really took off for Avila and Morro Bay boats, especially the skiffs. Jeff Stulberg sent me an e-mail yesterday saying how good the fishing is on the better-grade kings. 

"The salmon bite out of MB and Avila went WFO this morning...," went Stulberg's e mail from yesterday. "The bait showed up Tuesday afternoon on the incoming tide and the bite has been getting stronger ever since...We have 4-7 in the box so far this morning fishing in 225ft with hardware or bait 50ft on the downrigger...Fish are mostly #14-17, but some up to #25lbs this morning. Green Apex, Green Crocodiles, and herring on an RSK doing the best."

Here's Stulberg with a little sample of the action he's got into with his buds:

And then there's yellowtail. The yellows off La Jolla have been really tough to get a bite from. The volume is nowhere near what it was, but there's still some small balls of yellow around. Small ball yellowtail fishing is about as tough as it gets, even when the fish want to bite a little bit, but this spring it's been really tough to fool the yellows. Long casts in the direction the fish are facing, a jig that swims good on the slow grind and lots of patience has been part of the winning formula. 

It really seems like the best bet would be to jump on a 3/4-day boat and fish the Rockpile and below the 'Pile, where there was some good sign on the yellows earlier in the week. Here's the four they caught on the Malihini before the weather:

And then there's seabass. April used to be a good month at Catalina, but the island has been pretty blow out in April the past few seasons. The best bet at a croaker is along the beach. Kayakers in La Jolla and divers just about everywhere from LJ to Palos Verdes have had shots on the seabass this month. The best bet for anyone with a skiff who wants to focus on a big seabass would be to make some mackerel and fish a known seabass haunt while keeping an eye out for bird schools. 

I'm a glutton for seabass punishment (some call it dues paying) so that's going to be my play Saturday morning....