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PRIVATE BOATER: Jumbo storm season churns up Humboldt squid
PRIVATE BOATER: Jumbo storm season churns up Humboldt squid,Western Outdoor News,SOUTH CAL PRIVATE BOATER UPDATE,souther california coastline sportfishing,salt fishing,el nino, el nigno, El Niño,Dana Point,San Diego and Northern Baja
Western Outdoor NewsPublished: Feb 09, 2010
SOUTH CAL PRIVATE BOATER UPDATE
Humboldt squid are part of the El Niño winter package, a “jumbo” consolation prize to offset the many lost fishing days caused by all the storms that have hit already this February and are forecast to continue.
The jumbo squid were found in big numbers along much of Southern California by private boaters. John Bretza of Okuma was part of the fleet off Dana Point last week (see photo and caption this page) while Bob Vanian at 976bite.com said the giant squirters continued to dominate action off San Diego and Northern Baja, although a few below-the-border rockfish.
Speaking of rockfish, one good thing about February is that it means we’re that much closer to the March 1 Southern California rockfish opener. Weather will probably be a factor, but at least the reds, chuckleheads and slimes will offer a fallback plan as boaters head out in search of seabass, yellows and calicos.
Vanian at 976bite.com said very few, if any, boats were out fishing on Saturday and Sunday, but good weather earlier in the week offered some fishing opportunities to intrepid private boaters.
“What was found by those who ventured out to the upper end of the Nine Mile Bank was that the fishing for giant squid remained red-hot,” said Vanian. “The giant squid have also invaded a lot of offshore canyon and drop-off areas further to the north with reports of squid being caught coming in from as far north as the Santa Barbara Channel.”
Those who fished the upper end of the Nine Mile Bank have generally reported their best success while fishing the outside edges of the drop-off of the upper end of the bank. A good depth to begin a drift has been in about 150 fathoms of water. Dropping a squid jig down to around 500 feet and winding it back to the boat has been a good way to get a bite going. As the boats continue in their drift and continue to hook more squid, the squid tend to rise up closer to the surface. Most of the squid have been running in the 20- to 40-pound range with some bigger ones to around 60 pounds also in the mix. The twilight hours have been producing action that usually continues on into the dark.
The lower end of the Nine Mile Bank has been a good spot for rockfish while fishing in Mexican waters. Salmon grouper and reds made up the bulk of the catch at the lower end of the Nine Mile Bank. A bit of good news for those looking for some surface fish is that there were also a few large bonito biting at the lower end of the 9 Mile Bank. The bonito have been good-sized fish running between 6 and 12 pounds.
Captain Bob Woodard of the Christina Lynn fished a mid-week trip out to the lower end of the Nine Mile Bank and reported some good fishing for a mix of reds and salmon grouper. Woodard said they had to work hard for their fish but said that the quality size of what they were catching made the effort worthwhile. They ended up with a near-limit to limit catch of salmon grouper and several good sized reds. The bonus highlight catch of the day was when Woodard caught a 12-pound bonito.
The Coronado Islands were another spot that produced a few big bonito during the week. The Malihini out of H&M Landing found a few good sized bonito biting at the Ribbon Kelp at South Island on a trip they made early in the week. The bonito were a nice compliment to their catch of assorted bottom fish and were reported to be in the 6- to 8-pound class.
The fishing for rockfish remains good out at the Coronado Islands. A couple of the better spots have been along the outer ridge areas of the South Kelp Ridge below South Island and at the hard bottom into the north and to the northwest of North Island.
Judy Ostberg of the Melody reported about a trip they made on Friday to fish the Banda Bank on a trip out of Marina Coral. Ostberg said they found excellent bottom fishing at the Banda Bank for a mix of reds, salmon grouper, whitefish and Johnny bass. The reds were the highlight of their catch of and they had 10 good-sized reds that were in the 4- to 6-pound class.
Ostberg reported doing some trolling after finishing with their bottom fishing and said they picked up 4 good-sized bonito on the troll. The bonito went to 10 pounds and Vanian said he believed they caught them while fishing near Todos Santos Island.
Boats fishing along the San Diego County coast have been picking up a nice mix of bass and sculpin along with an occasional bonus halibut. Hard bottom and structure spots have been working best for the bass and sculpin. Some productive areas have been the Imperial Beach Pipeline, the hard bottom to the north of the Whistler Buoy at Point Loma, the Jetty Kelp in front of Mission Bay, the Variety Kelp at the lower end of La Jolla, the Anderson, Buccaneer and Cardiff Pipelines and the artificial reefs in front of Oceanside Harbor.
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SOUTH CAL PRIVATE BOATER UPDATE Humboldt squid are part of the El Niño winter package, a “jumbo” consolation prize to offset the many lost fishing days caused by all the storms that have hit already this February and are forecast to continue. The jumbo squid were found in big numbers along much of Southern California by private boaters. John Bretza of Okuma was part of the fleet off Dana Point last week (see photo and caption this page) while Bob Vanian at 976bite.com said the giant squirters continued to dominate action off San Diego and Northern Baja, although a few below-the-border rockfish. Speaking of rockfish, one good thing about February is that it means we’re that much closer to the March 1 Southern California rockfish opener. Weather will probably be a factor, but at least the reds, chuckleheads and slimes will offer a fallback plan as boaters head out in search of seabass, yellows and calicos. Vanian at 976bite.com said very few, if any, boats were out fishing on Saturday and Sunday, but good weather earlier in the week offered some fishing opportunities to intrepid private boaters. “What was found by those who ventured out to the upper end of the Nine Mile Bank was that the fishing for giant squid remained red-hot,” said Vanian. “The giant squid have also invaded a lot of offshore canyon and drop-off areas further to the north with reports of squid being caught coming in from as far north as the Santa Barbara Channel.” Those who fished the upper end of the Nine Mile Bank have generally reported their best success while fishing the outside edges of the drop-off of the upper end of the bank. A good depth to begin a drift has been in about 150 fathoms of water. Dropping a squid jig down to around 500 feet and winding it back to the boat has been a good way to get a bite going. As the boats continue in their drift and continue to hook more squid, the squid tend to rise up closer to the surface. Most of the squid have been running in the 20- to 40-pound range with some bigger ones to around 60 pounds also in the mix. The twilight hours have been producing action that usually continues on into the dark. The lower end of the Nine Mile Bank has been a good spot for rockfish while fishing in Mexican waters. Salmon grouper and reds made up the bulk of the catch at the lower end of the Nine Mile Bank. A bit of good news for those looking for some surface fish is that there were also a few large bonito biting at the lower end of the 9 Mile Bank. The bonito have been good-sized fish running between 6 and 12 pounds. Captain Bob Woodard of the Christina Lynn fished a mid-week trip out to the lower end of the Nine Mile Bank and reported some good fishing for a mix of reds and salmon grouper. Woodard said they had to work hard for their fish but said that the quality size of what they were catching made the effort worthwhile. They ended up with a near-limit to limit catch of salmon grouper and several good sized reds. The bonus highlight catch of the day was when Woodard caught a 12-pound bonito. The Coronado Islands were another spot that produced a few big bonito during the week. The Malihini out of H&M Landing found a few good sized bonito biting at the Ribbon Kelp at South Island on a trip they made early in the week. The bonito were a nice compliment to their catch of assorted bottom fish and were reported to be in the 6- to 8-pound class. The fishing for rockfish remains good out at the Coronado Islands. A couple of the better spots have been along the outer ridge areas of the South Kelp Ridge below South Island and at the hard bottom into the north and to the northwest of North Island. Judy Ostberg of the Melody reported about a trip they made on Friday to fish the Banda Bank on a trip out of Marina Coral. Ostberg said they found excellent bottom fishing at the Banda Bank for a mix of reds, salmon grouper, whitefish and Johnny bass. The reds were the highlight of their catch of and they had 10 good-sized reds that were in the 4- to 6-pound class. Ostberg reported doing some trolling after finishing with their bottom fishing and said they picked up 4 good-sized bonito on the troll. The bonito went to 10 pounds and Vanian said he believed they caught them while fishing near Todos Santos Island. Boats fishing along the San Diego County coast have been picking up a nice mix of bass and sculpin along with an occasional bonus halibut. Hard bottom and structure spots have been working best for the bass and sculpin. Some productive areas have been the Imperial Beach Pipeline, the hard bottom to the north of the Whistler Buoy at Point Loma, the Jetty Kelp in front of Mission Bay, the Variety Kelp at the lower end of La Jolla, the Anderson, Buccaneer and Cardiff Pipelines and the artificial reefs in front of Oceanside Harbor. |
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