Tuna Move in Just in Time for the Fourth

Signs of a good tuna season continued to show up in the waters off Baja California this week.The Pacific Voyager returned to Seaforth Sportfishing in San Diego from a two-day trip with 55 bluefin tuna and two yellowtail. The hard fighting tuna have been mostly in the 20-lb. to 40-lb. class with a few fish nearing 100 pounds. Anglers must be aware that besides a 25-lb. outfit, they will need heavier tackle.

“We saw spots of tuna all day long,” said Captain Scott Misel of the Condor who recently had nine bluefin on an overnight trip. “It’s only a matter of time until they really bite.”

Tuna fanatics are also awaiting the arrival of albacore but there has been very little sign of these prized longfin tuna. The traditional start to the albacore season is the Fourth of July. Water temperatures, bait, and conditions in general appear to be ideal for a good tuna season as most remain optimistic.

The waters off of La Jolla and Oceanside have been producing a few bass, barracuda, sculpin and rockfish with an occasional flurry of white seabass. There has also been some yellowtail cruising and a few halibut taken too.

Boats from Corona del Mar to San Pedro continue to catch copious amounts of barracuda with more and more sand bass every day. Captain Andy Siratt called in from the Enterprise out of Long Beach Marina Sportfishing on Wednesday with excellent barracuda fishing. Jason Rico, Captain of the 1/2 day City of Long Beach, echoed those remarks as his passengers were enjoying a similar bite.

The island bite has really slowed down but most skippers believe that this is a temporary situation. “There are still a lot of seabass, yellows and really good calico bass fishing at our islands,” said Captain John Ackley of the Westerly out of Long Beach Sportfishing. “It’s just a matter of time until it goes off again.” Boats fishing Catalina, San Clemente and Santa Barbara islands have been catching a few white seabass with the smaller six-pack boats getting the best of it.

The Palos Verdes coast has been alive with a variety of species. Calico bass, white seabass, yellowtail, halibut, rockfish, barracuda and more have been taken this past week. Jimmy Bass from Tradition Sportfishing reports very good calico bass fishing near Point Vicente along with good sheepshead fishing and lots more.

The Redondo Special was at Point Vicente on Saturday when Patrick Friedman caught the boat's of 2011. In addition, anglers caught calico bass, white seabass, rockfish and a few sargo.

Earlier in the week, the Special had 29 sargo on a single trip. “That’s the most sargo I seen in many years,” said Captain Eric Hobday. “It’s good to see them back.”

The Hermosa Beach white seabass bite has slowed for the sportboats but smaller private boaters from Redondo and Marina del Rey continue to score some of the big croaker along with some fat halibut. Keith Lambert was out on his boat with a friend and landed a 39-lb. halibut and 50-lb. white seabass earlier this week. There is still squid just offshore from Hermosa and that is keeping the larger gamefish around. Last Saturday, the Highliner out of Redondo Sportfishing had 30 white seabass for 10 anglers. The majority of the fish range from 20 to 50 pounds.

Surf fishing continues to improve as the water temperatures warm. The surf near the piers from Huntington Beach to Manhattan Beach continues to produce barred perch, corbina, a few halibut along with some leopard sharks and spotfin croaker.

Fishing around the high tides with six-pound test has been a great way to catch a variety of species. Sand crabs, ghost shrimp and blood worms have all been effective baits.

Fish with the pros:

Philip Friedman Outdoors has two trips on the horizon. On Wednesday, July 6, you can join PFO experts on a local twilight trip from 6 p.m. to midnight for only $37. Then on Sunday, July 13, you can join the PFO gang for a three-quarter day trip. Both trips are out of Long Beach Sportfishing, Berth 55 on board the Native Sun. For more information, call Captain Larry Moore at 714-329-3853.

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Fishing oddities:

One-eyed shark baffling scientists: A 3-foot long fetus with one eye taken in La Paz, Baja California continues to baffle scientists. The creature looks like something out of a horror film.

Garz-illa
A 234-pound alligator gar was taken by three bow fisherman in Mississippi this week from their 16-foot boat. It is said to be one of the largest alligator gars ever taken.

Florida Spinner Shark
A spinner shark jumped over an unsuspecting surfer in Florida this week and it was caught on video. Spinner sharks are known to frequent waters close to the coast; in this case, it was a little too close.

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Free Tuna Seminar

There is a free tuna seminar Thursday at the Hooters of Anaheim from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Captains Jeff Jones and Larry Moore will cover everything you need to know about how you can catch more and bigger fish this year. You get five free wings too with the purchase of any drink. For more information call Captain Jeff Jones at 562-704-9545.