August is San Diego’s headline month and the fleet has been delivering. Warm water has pushed well up the coast, the paddies are holding dorado, and the bluefin bite offshore has been the story of the summer for anyone able to make the run. Closer to home, the kelp and the bay are producing steady calico bass and halibut for anglers who would rather not spend a night at sea.
What’s Hitting
Bluefin tuna are the primary offshore target, with fish spread across the banks and the ridge to the west and south. Dorado are under the kelp paddies and have been the most reliable fish for the day-and-a-half boats. Yellowtail are on the ridge and the high spots, and yellowfin are mixed into the tuna schools on some days. Inshore, calico bass are along the kelp lines off Point Loma and La Jolla, halibut are on the sand flats in Mission Bay and San Diego Bay, and barracuda and bonito are working the bait along the coast.
Where to Find Them
The offshore banks and the ridge have been the tuna water — most of the fleet has been running well outside, so plan the trip length accordingly. Kelp paddies anywhere in 30 to 80 miles are worth stopping on for dorado and yellowtail. The Point Loma kelp and the La Jolla kelp hold calicos and barracuda. The sand flats and channel edges in Mission Bay and around the Coronado Islands area produce halibut.
Tides & Conditions
Offshore water is 70 to 74 degrees, inshore high 60s. Seas have been 2 to 4 feet with an afternoon westerly. The new moon at the end of the week means dark nights, which historically helps the flyline bite at grey light and hurts the mid-day sonar game. Warm water breaks have been shifting daily, so check the current sea surface temperature charts before committing to a course.
Tackle & Tactics
The bluefin program is flyline sardine on 25- to 40-pound fluorocarbon for the grey-light bite, with heavy sinker rigs and knife jigs for the deeper daytime fish. For dorado on the paddies, a light flyline sardine on 20-pound fluorocarbon is all it takes. Yellowtail want a live mackerel or a surface iron. Inshore, calicos are eating swimbaits and plastics worked along the kelp edge, and halibut come on a live smelt drifted along the sand with a Carolina rig.
Local Intel This Week
Shelter Island and Dana Landing are the practical public ramps; the Point Loma and Fisherman’s Landing sportfishing docks run the offshore trips if you would rather not take your own boat. Shore anglers are catching bass and bonito from the Shelter Island Pier and the Ocean Beach Pier. Fish are concentrating on the paddies and the offshore banks rather than the open water between. Bluefin, yellowtail and calico bass all carry size and bag limits, and Mexican waters require a separate permit — check current California DFW and NOAA regulations before keeping fish.
This Week’s Tip
On a paddy, do not run right up to it. Come off plane a hundred yards out, drift in with the wind, and get a few sardines swimming before the boat gets close. Half the dorado under a good paddy leave before the first cast is made, and it is almost always because the approach was too aggressive.
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