September is the peak of the Southern California offshore season, and the San Diego fleet has been on the fish. Bluefin of all sizes are on the offshore banks, yellowfin and dorado are stacked up on the kelp paddies, and the local kelp beds and the Coronado Islands are producing yellowtail and calico bass. The full-day and overnight boats are returning with limits on the good days.
What’s Hitting
What’s hitting this week: bluefin tuna from 30 to over 200 pounds on the banks southwest of San Clemente Island and offshore of the Coronados, with the best action on the sonar schools at night and on the foamers at first light. Yellowfin and dorado are on the paddies from 20 to 60 miles out, and there are skipjack mixed in. Yellowtail are on the Coronado Islands and the local kelp at La Jolla and Point Loma. Calico bass are thick on the kelp, and the bay is producing spotted bay bass and halibut for the small-boat crowd.
Where to Find Them
Bluefin on the Tanner and Cortes banks and the 43 and 371 areas, moving with the bait. Paddies for yellowfin and dorado on the outer banks and off the Coronados. Yellowtail at the Coronado Islands, the La Jolla kelp, and the Point Loma kelp edge. Calicos on the Point Loma and La Jolla kelp lines, and halibut on the bay flats near Shelter Island.
Tides & Conditions
Offshore water temps are in the upper 60s to low 70s with good clarity, and the bluefin have been up in the mornings and evenings. Calm seas most days have made the long runs easy. The morning marine layer burns off by mid-morning. The eddy currents offshore are moving the paddies around, so run and gun.
Tackle & Tactics
For bluefin, fly-lined live sardines on 40- to 60-pound fluorocarbon for the smaller fish, and flat-fall and knife jigs at night on the sonar marks for the big ones; kite-fishing a flying fish for the 100-plus-pound class. Yellowfin and dorado take a fly-lined sardine on 25- to 30-pound. Yellowtail want a live mackerel or a surface iron on the kelp and the islands. Calicos take a swimbait or a plastic on 20-pound.
Local Intel This Week
Public ramps: the Shelter Island ramp on San Diego Bay, the Dana Landing ramp in Mission Bay, the South Shores ramp in Mission Bay, and the Chula Vista ramp on the south bay. Fish are concentrating on the offshore banks and paddies, and on the kelp and islands for yellowtail. Bluefin have a daily bag limit and yellowtail a size and bag limit — check current CDFW regulations before keeping fish, and note that fishing the Coronado Islands requires a Mexican fishing license and permit.
This Week’s Tip
On the bluefin grounds, the boats that catch fish at night are the ones that stay quiet and drift on the sonar marks rather than running around. Get on a school, kill the engine, and fish the flat-fall jig straight up and down through the marks.
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