Huntington Flats Ready to Explode

Huge schools of barracuda along with some sand bass moved into the Huntington Flats on Wednesday.

“I metered miles of fish that just never settled down to bite,” said Capt. Andy Siratt from the Enterprise out of Long Beach Marina Sportfishing. “If the amount of fish I saw today bites, it’s going to get crazy.”

There have been some good bites the past five years but they have lacked staying power, which will be the test of this bite as well. The water temperature and plenty of bait might be enough to hold the fish in place.

The Enterprise had 20 anglers on Wednesday catching 100 sculpin, 48 barracuda and two sand bass.

“I’ll go on record as saying that this bite is ready to explode and there will be big catches of sand bass and barracuda,” Siratt said.

Commercial gill net boats operating out of San Pedro report having the best barracuda fishing they've had in five years. The gill netters must fish four miles offshore. On Tuesday night, at least one boat reached its capacity of barracuda. This gives Siratt’s prediction even more weight.

Barracuda and sand bass have a penchant for biting at night so Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach is offering twilight trips. These trips depart at 6 p.m. and return around midnight.

While fishing remains slow at Catalina Island, a missing ingredient seems to have returned. Capt. Jaime Ashley of the bait boat Provider made one set with his nets and filled the bait receivers for Long Beach Bait. Market squid is part of the food chain and a favorite snack for gamefish like yellowtail and white sea bass. Hopes are high that the arrival of the squid migt transform a poor bite into a better one.

The tremendous barracuda bite in the Santa Monica Bay came to a screeching halt on Monday proving that fish do have tails and can swim away. After 10 days of excellent action, the bite came to a complete stop. The Redondo Special has switched back to rockfish as have the rest of the fleet hoping for the barracuda to return. It is also the time of year when the sand bass arrive so fingers are crossed.

Palos Verdes freedivers continue to spear giant white sea bass to more than 50 pounds this week. On Sunday, the Big Game 90 was fishing for barracuda only a few miles from Palos Verdes when skipper Mike Jewitt metered what he thought might be white sea bass below ths schools of barracuda. He had some anglers drop down deep with a live squid and the result was two 40-pound sea bass.

Surf fishing has been good on beaches from Huntington Beach to Torrance Beach. Barred perch continued to bite with a lot more corbina showing in the warming waters. Sand crabs and ghost shrimp have been the best baits.

Bolsa Chica State Beach produced good barred perch and yellowfin croaker fishing. Good fishing at Dog Beach at the Huntington Cliffs for some barred perch to three pounds as well as lots more corbina. Halibut and leopard sharks were taken here as well.

The rocks around Palos Verdes continue to provide good opaleye perch fishing along with more calico and sand bass. The calico bass are fond of warmer water and have been more active in recent days.