SUNDAY UPDATE: Catalina really bit well for a few boats this morning on the seabass. Nothing big or anything--the biggest fish I heard were a fish or two in the 30s, while the rest sounded like smaller fish like you'll see below. 

I promised my source I'd leave the details out until the story hits the shelves--and this blog--and seeing how there's no info without sources, the rest goes without saying... so here's the rest of Sunday's blog. No hype, no bullshit: the season is here. Time to get some. (I'm living vicariously through buddies and readers, so make me proud.) 

Aside from the biscuits, nothing really went off this weekend, but the prospects are getting better thanks to conditions improving every day. 

Yellowtail on the Big Game 90 and tiny seabass for skiffs and private boaters was the big news from Catalina Island over the weekend. 

I just talked to Mike Jewett on the Big Game 90. He said they hooked eight yellows to get the two that hit the deck on their 2½-day trip that fished Catalina all day Friday and Saturday. They made squid okay the first night and Jewett said that he metered one school of seabass. 

Here’s the jackpot yellowtail, a 29 pounder caught by Mike Nixon. 

On the seabass front, there were some seabass caught before the call I got before updating this blog. They are super small fish, but it is a start. The six-pack MarDiosa had its first seabass of the year on its first trip of 2012 on Friday; the Options had its first of the year the same day. Small fish, but seabass nonetheless.  

Locals, skiffs and yachts had some fish down east. Here’s the grade of the fish, as shown off by the guys on the yacht Provider. 

Still no signs of barracuda local, and the resident bass seem like they still need some time to perk up for the sportboats. 

Down at the islands, as in the Coronados, the yellowtail fishing took a powder yesterday, but the barracuda fishing was plenty good with some limits to be had. The whole FMM thing is still confusing to some, especially private boaters. But here are the brass tacks: The San Diego and Malihini are not taking the FMM forms that Mex Tour Assist “provides” and have figured out a way to stick with their $95 ticket prices and not have to charge the 30 something dollars that a Mex Tour Assist FMM would cost; no skiffs have been checked for FMMs; the Navy has not asked to see them. Some skiffs are taking them, some are not. 

It's a classic case of buyer beware. . .  just like the offshore rumors. No doubt there's going to be some over wintering on the bluefin tuna given the basics of the migrations of small fish, but until the report goes "this person caught albacore," it gets back to buyer beware.