San Diego fishing report for the week of September 17, 2026. Mid-September is prime time for the San Diego fleet, and this week the boards are full. Bluefin are still on the offshore banks, the Coronados are producing yellowtail, and the warm water has the paddies loaded with dorado and yellowfin. The overnight and 1.5-day boats have had the best of it.
What’s Hitting
This week the bluefin tuna remain the headline. Fish from 30 to over 100 pounds are on the offshore banks and along the temperature breaks 40 to 80 miles out, feeding on anchovies and sardines at night and in the early morning. Yellowtail are steady at the Coronado Islands and along the La Jolla and Point Loma kelp, with mixed sizes and some 25-pound-plus fish. Dorado and yellowfin tuna are on the kelp paddies in the warm water inside the bluefin grounds, and skipjack are mixed in. Calico bass are steady on the kelp, and the half-day boats are catching rockfish, sculpin, and sand bass on the local structure.
Where to Find Them
Bluefin are on the offshore banks along the warm-water breaks, with the fleet working the areas from the Tanner and Cortes banks south to the 60-mile bank and the waters off northern Baja. Yellowtail are at the Coronado Islands, along the kelp lines at La Jolla and Point Loma, and on the offshore paddies. Dorado are on any kelp paddy in 68-degree-plus water, generally 20 to 50 miles out. Calico bass are on the kelp edges from Point Loma to La Jolla.
Tides & Conditions
Water temps are in the high 60s to low 70s offshore, which has kept the warm-water species in range. Winds have been light in the mornings with a moderate afternoon westerly and a mixed swell of 2 to 4 feet, and the offshore runs have been comfortable. The morning gray has been burning off by mid-morning.
Tackle & Tactics
For bluefin, fly-lined live sardines on 40 to 60-pound fluorocarbon, sinker rigs at night, and 200 to 300-gram flat-fall jigs for the bigger fish, on a two-speed lever-drag reel with 80 to 100-pound braid. Yellowtail want a fly-lined sardine or mackerel, a surface iron cast to breaking fish, or a yo-yo jig dropped to the meter marks. On the paddies, a fly-lined sardine on 25 to 30-pound for the dorado and yellowfin. Calicos want a swimbait or a plastic worked along the kelp edge.
Local Intel This Week
The Shelter Island public ramp is the main launch for San Diego Bay and the offshore grounds, with the Dana Landing ramp in Mission Bay and the Chula Vista ramp in the south bay as alternatives. The sportfishing landings at Point Loma, H&M, Fisherman’s Landing, and Seaforth are running overnight and multi-day trips to the bluefin and paddies. Fish are concentrating on the offshore breaks and the Coronados. Bluefin have a daily limit and yellowtail a size limit; check current California DFW regulations and Mexican permit requirements before fishing the Coronados or Baja waters.
This Week’s Tip
On the bluefin grounds, the bite often turns on in the dark and shuts down at sunrise. Fish the sinker rig and the flat-fall from the moment the boat sets up, and do not wait for the crew to call it. The angler who is ready at 4 a.m. usually goes home with the fish.
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