SAN DIEGO — Bluefin tuna biting in the middle of February are providing anglers with an opportunity at quite an unexpected give. Things get up over the top the weekend of Feb. 15 and 16 though with good numbers of bluefin tuna enroll the offshore fishing draw in areas ranging from the liquids a short way outside of Newport Beach on down to the lower end of the 9 Mile Bank off San Diego.
Most of the bluefin have been in the 20 to 80 pound compas with there too being some unconfirmed radio clatter about a 225 pound bluefin being caught on Feb. 15. The best bluefin field is 2 to 5 miles outside of Newport Beach with additional bluefin sightings being reported by ships fishing 2 to five miles off the City of San Clemente, 2 to five miles off San Onofre, 2 to 5 miles off Oceanside and at both the high and low discontinues of the 9 Mile Bank.
The bluefin have been unearthed by feel spots of divulging fish that are frequently observed by diving chicks. Some of the first schools of bluefin were presented by crafts out on whale watching trip-ups while watching whales and porpoise/ dolphin in areas where there was a lot of enticement. The bluefin ought to have hooked in a variety of ways with most of the action coming in areas where breaking fish are showing. There have been reports of bluefin robbed on slow trolled mackerel, gradual trolled sardines, poppers and face iron with slow trolled mackerel reported to be working the best.
Sportboats fishing down the Mexican coast at the High Spot area outside of Punta Colnett have been fishing the field on what are mostly 1.5 day trips and have been doing well on a mix of wines, rockfish, lingcod, bonito and yellowtail.
The yellowtail being caught on the Punta Colnett area jaunts ought to have going up into the 20 -plus pound class.
Boats fishing for ruby-reds and rockfish around Los Coronado Islands continue to do very well and have also been catching an occasional bonus lingcod. Good fields for the bottom fishing include hard foot areas to the north , northeast and northwest of North Island while working in 25 to 55 sees of irrigate. Also productive has been fishing the lower part of the 9 Mile Bank while keeping on the Mexico side of the border and fishing in the 60 to 80 fathom extents. Another good rockfish region around Los Coronado Islands has been fishing smudges along the South Kelp Ridge below South Island in the 20 to 40 see depths.
An ongoing reminder to anglers is that the annual two-month rockfish/ groundfish close on the U.S. area of the Mexico border remains in effect until March 1, 2020. With the rockfish/ groundfish close still in effect, Southern California anglers fishing in US waters continue to focus their efforts on genus that are still open to fishing and there has been good action for a mix of sand bass, calico bass, perch and sculpin along with a few halibut and an periodic commotion of yellowtail action.
Productive countries for bass and sculpin ought to have the Imperial Beach Pipeline, the province above the Imperial Beach Pier while fishing in 7 to 8 measures of ocean, the hard underside areas to the southeast of the Whistler Buoy at Point Loma, the hard foot to the north and northwest of Buoy# 5 at Point Loma, the Point Loma Pipeline, the Jetty Kelp outside of Mission Bay, the Variety Kelp while fishing below the MLPA closure zone at the lower end of La Jolla, the upper expiration of La Jolla, the Anderson and Buccaneer Pipelines, the artificial shoals outside of Oceanside and Box Canyon.
Areas producing some halibut act along the San Diego County coast are 180 to 220 hoofs of water outside of the Oceanside Pier, the sandy tush ranges neighboring to the structure of the Yukon shipwreck off Mission Beach, the sandy tush contiguou to the structure of the sunken NEL Tower off Mission Beach and the zone between the Imperial Beach Pier and Tijuana River. San Diego Bay is another place where some halibut have been morsel as well.
The manifests of yellowtail along the San Diego County coast remain unreliable and incoherent. The most pressing illustrates of yellowtail have been found in an area run from outside of Mission Bay on up to the lower part of the MLPA closure zone at the lower end of La Jolla. Locating bait in this sector can be an indicator of a locate where yellowtail might establish. There has also been a lot of enticement off Imperial Beach and there have been periodic demoes of yellowtail spotted around the bait schools off Imperial Beach. A good extent straddle to try and locate yellowtail has been in 18 to 30 measures of water.
The coastal yellowtail have been mostly 18 to 25 pound fish and yellows ought to have located by observe sonar marks, rhythm ratings and smudges of wielding fowls. Once located, yo-yo iron, surface cast-iron, mackerel and sardines have all been working for the yellowtail with skin-deep iron toiling the best.
Good picks for yo-yo iron include Salas 6X and 6X Jr. jigs in off-color and grey and clambered egg complexions. Good alternatives for face iron include Salas 7X light-footeds and Tady 45 ’s in blue and white, slew and sardine colorings. The sardines and mackerel have worked while sluggish trolled, flylined and fished deep with a dropper loop-the-loop rig. There are reports of mackerel being caught for enticement in about 40 -5 0 foot of sea off the Mission Bay jetties.
With bluefin tuna in the picture during the middle of February, it looks like we could be headed for a very interested 2020 fishing season. Keep on fishing and I hope to see you out on the spray!
Bob Vanian is the voice, columnist and researcher of the San Diego-based internet fish report service called 976 -Bite which can be found at www. 976 bite.com. Vanian also provides anglers with a personal fish report service over the telephone at 619 -2 26 -8 218. He ever welcomes your fish reports at that same telephone number or at bob9 76 gnaw @aol. com.
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