Southern California is in its best stretch of the year. Water temperatures offshore are in the upper 60s to low 70s, the bluefin are within reach of the day-and-a-half fleet, and the local kelp fishing is holding up nicely for anglers who do not want to make the long run. Morning fog has been burning off by mid-morning most days.
What’s Hitting
Bluefin tuna are the main event, with fish spread across a wide zone offshore and a good mix of sizes. The bigger fish have been finicky and are rewarding boats willing to fish the flying-fish patterns at night or throw a big surface iron at breaking schools. Yellowtail are on the banks, the Coronado Islands, and under kelp paddies, and dorado are showing under the same paddies as the water warms. Yellowfin are mixed in offshore. Inshore, calico bass are on the kelp and the hard structure and have been a reliable light-tackle option, with sand bass on the flats and halibut on the sand. Bonito and barracuda are around in pockets.
Where to Find Them
Offshore, the fleet has been working the zones outside the 43 and the 302 and running to breaking fish and paddies. Kelp paddies anywhere in the offshore lane are worth stopping on for yellowtail and dorado. The Coronado Islands, when open and accessible, hold yellowtail and calico. Inshore, the La Jolla and Point Loma kelp beds are the calico program, and the flats off Imperial Beach and Mission Bay have halibut and sand bass.
Tides & Conditions
Offshore surface temperatures are 68 to 72 and the water has been blue in the outer zones. Seas have been one to three feet with a light morning breeze building in the afternoon. Inshore water is in the mid-60s. Morning marine layer has been thick — run carefully and rely on radar until it clears. Tides are moderate and the inshore halibut bite has been better on the moving water.
Tackle & Tactics
Bluefin demand serious gear — 60- to 100-pound fluorocarbon, quality circle hooks, and the patience to fish a sardine or a flying-fish pattern properly. A big surface iron thrown at a breaking school remains one of the most effective techniques when the fish come up. Yellowtail on paddies want a live sardine or a heavy iron dropped and cranked. Calico bass eat a swimbait or a plastic on a light head worked right along the kelp edge — cast into the stringers, not away from them. Halibut are best targeted by drifting a live bait or a bounce ball on the sand.
Local Intel This Week
The Shelter Island, Dana Landing, and Chula Vista ramps are the practical launches for private boats, and the sportfishing landings at Point Loma and Fisherman’s Landing run the offshore trips. Shore anglers can find bass around the Ocean Beach and Crystal Pier structures. Fish are concentrating on kelp, paddies, and breaking schools rather than open water. Bluefin, yellowtail, and halibut all carry size and bag restrictions, and fishing in Mexican waters requires a Mexican license — check current CDFW and federal regulations and seasons before keeping any fish.
This Week’s Tip
When you find a kelp paddy, do not idle up and stop on top of it. Shut down well upwind and drift onto it while throwing a few live baits ahead of the boat. Yellowtail and dorado under a paddy scatter at the sound of an engine directly overhead, but a quiet drift with chum in the water will bring them right up to the transom.
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