Southern CA Saltwater Fishing Report

Offshore season arrives! BY BRANDON HAYWARD/WON Staff Writer Published: Jun 21, 2012

Print This Article Email This Article Digg This Article

Bluefin scores and limits of yellowtail just past 100 miles ushers in the 1½-day season THEY’RE GETTING CLOSER — Brian Sims was running the Royal Star when these anglers got into bluefin within 1½-day range while on a 2½-day trip. The bluefin are pushing up and it’s great yellowtail fishing on the kelps. Offshore time! SAN DIEGO — Word came Sunday night that the Pacific Voyager had put over 50 bluefin on the deck just over 100 miles from Point Loma while on a 1½-day trip out of Seaforth Sportfishing in San Diego; the report from Seaforth came on the heels of limit style yellowtail fishing to go with some bluefin samples for boats on 1½-day trips fishing Saturday. “What we are seeing is really exceptional. It’s early still, and there’s good areas of bluefin around, guys are seeing into the east and into the west,” reported Pacific Voyager owner/operator Mark Ornoz on a call with WON after getting back from a 1½-day trip Monday morning. “Our bluefin were 25 to 30 pouners, nothing under, nothing under, and the yellows were 8 to 12 pounders.” So far as conditions go down around 115 miles where they got bit, Ornoz says the set-up looks optimal. “There’s good water, and we saw decent sign of fish (bluefin). We had bluefin off sonar schools and kelps.” The flyline sardine was the trick on the bluefin — “it was standard bluefin fishing,” concluded Ornoz — and the standard bluefin tricks like a good bait and a little piece of fluorocarbon is what anglers gearing up for future trips should be ready with. The yellows were also eating the yo-yo jigs in addition to the sardines. It’s the same grade bluefin tuna that long range boats were — and still are — on down past 200 miles. In fact, it was a long range boat — Royal Star, which has been hot on the bluefin this season — that got the closer-to-home bluefin and yellowtail action off to the races when the first day of a 2½-day trip kicked out 36 bluefin on the first day of fishing to go with limits of yellowtail early in the week. Limits of yellowtail were the norm for the 1½-day trips that fished on Saturday after departing Friday night. Seaforth’s Legend was on a 2½-day trip with Billy Santiago at the helm when it scored 11 bluefin and 91 yellowtail for its super light load of 10 anglers. Point Loma Sportfishing’s Grande had 9 bluefin and 90 yellowtail for 22 anglers on its 1½-day that fished Saturday. Fisherman’s Landing had the Condor out fishing on Saturday on a 1½-day and it posted 60 yellows and 3 bluefin. All the landings have trips in the books! It’s time to get out there for a shot at bluefin. It could last all season, or it could be an early season deal. Only way to get a slice for sure is to go now.