Shark Week, White Seabass and Tuna

San Diego Tuna

Still very tough. There is a mix of yellowtail, yellowfin and bluefin tuna and some dorado 120-miles south of Point Loma but it’s far from a slam dunk. Rough weather during the past week did not help.

 Catalina Island

The Dreamer from Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach returned early Tuesday with three-fish limits of white seabass. Captain Allyn Watson reported lots of market squid for baitfish and good evidence of seabass in several spots at Catalina Island.

 On Wednesday, Toronado skipper Ray Lagmay had five-white seabass on board by 8 a.m. He too was metering lots of fish too. Water temperatures were perfect for a seabass bite and there had been several fish taken later in the day.

Coastal Kelp Beds (San Clemente to Palos Verdes)

We are so lucky to be blessed with our rich kelp forests. There are home to a variety of species that provide anglers with great action. Giant kelp is one of the fastest growing plants in the world and can grow as much as two feet a day.

 There had been excellent calico bass fishing, along with an occasional white seabass and yellowtail from La Jolla to Malibu. The recent windy weather dropped water temperatures and slowed down the bite.

 The weather forecast through the weekend is for far less wind and water temperatures have already started to bounce back. That should kick this bite back into gear. Fishing the edge of the kelp line with anchovies, squid and swimbaits has been deadly for calico bass. The best bite has been occurring around the high tides and if you find the bass are reluctant to bite drop down to 12-lb. test.

 By Wednesday, private boaters off the Orange County coast were reporting much better calico bass fishing. At the Palos Verdes kelp, the Redondo Special hooked 3 white seabass and landed 1 and reported good calico bass fishing.

 Sand bass and barracuda

While there has been catches along the coast for sand bass and barracuda, they too have been affected by the cool water generated by the breezy weather. The bite has been slower but is also showing signs of rebounding.

 The ½ day Southern Cal out of Long Beach's Pierpoint Landing had 120 sand bass for 14 anglers on Tuesday morning. More sand bass were being taken off Huntington Beach as well as off Newport, Corona del Mar and San Clemente. There was also sand bass being taken out of Redondo and Marina del Rey. The water and the bite should warm up in the coming days.

Surf fishing

Barred perch fishing remained good from San Clemente to the Santa Monica Bay. The cooler water slowed down the corbina bite but that should rebound this week. Seal Beach kicked out a few nice halibut and there was some spotfin croaker around Bolsa Chica and Dog Beach. Sand crabs are still plentiful and make great bait while small chrome lures have been effective for halibut.

 Shark week

It’s Shark Week and a good time to think about how we can be responsible shark anglers. Shark populations worldwide have been decimated and it has had a catastrophic effect on our ecosystem.

 A recent study concluded that with many large predator sharks declining, their prey are free to feast on lower organisms like scallops and clams depleting valuable commercial stocks.

 Patrick Douglass from the Shark Diver is convinced that the reason we see more Humboldt squid in our local waters is the lack of sharks. “There used to be a giant buzz saw near Cabo San Lucas in the form of lots of sharks that are gone now. The squid have an open door now with nothing left to stop them.”

 Many anglers believe that the recent sand bass and barracuda drought was a direct result of the jumbo squid here. They point to the coincidence that there were no Humboldt squid here this year and the fact that this has been the best local fishing year in at least 5 years.

 Tom Raftican from the Sportfishing Conversancy in Long Beach says it’s time for anglers to do their part. “We need to employ our best fishing practices to help insure a healthy shark population,” said Raftican.

 Here are a few things that shark fishermen can do.

1)      Take only what you intend to eat

2)      Avoid the take of large pregnant females

3)      Minimize fight time by using heavy tackle and a fighting harness.

4)      Use circle hooks to increase the likelihood of mouth hooking your catch

5)      Maneuver your boat to follow a hooked shark and gain line whenever possible.

 Raftican recommends going to the Pier Institute website for more information.

 The Tradition out of Redondo Beach Sportfishing has a special 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. trip on Friday August 12^th with instructors on board. The trip will head to Catalina unless local fishing is better. For reservations call (714) 329-3853. It is limited to only 30 anglers and promises to be a great time.