Yellowfin tuna fishing off the hook Beware border closing

From <a href="http://adventuretravelalliance.com/fishing/u-s-san-diego-royal-polaris/">AdventureTravelAlliance.com</a> The yellowfin numbers went up nearly tenfold.

Dock Totals Sept 10 – Sept 16: 5,182 anglers aboard 218 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 353 bluefin tuna, 10,824 yellowfin tuna, 1,378 skipjack tuna, 247 dorado, 1,886 yellowtail, 441 calico bass, 179 sand bass, 1,682 rockfish, 3 lingcod, 924 bonito, 2 barracuda, 145 whitefish, 67 sheephead, 11 halibut, 11 Spanish jack, 1 cabezon, 1 white seabass and 1 opah.

Saltwater: The bluefin tuna seemed to get larger as the week wore on, although the total number caught dropped. The yellowfin tuna numbers went way up, nearly tenfold, and most boats reported limits caught. I can imagine sushi materials such as soy sauce, ginger and wasabi are selling well while the sizzle of seared ahi can be heard about town. There are lots of skipjack tuna in the mix and the inshore fishery got a break from the ½ day boat pressure as many of the short run boats decided to look outside for the yellowfin tuna, as reflected in the lower rockfish and calico bass numbers.

Down south off Ensenada, it’s been much the same as San Diego while San Quintin fishing is more spring-early summer -like with lots of barracuda, yellowtail, white seabass and rockfish caught. One bluefin tuna was reported on Saturday the 16th (Mexico’s Independence Day), but other than that, the tuna haven’t returned to the nearshore banks that run south of San Martin Island. Hurricane Norma is tracking off the coast and might push more of that tuna-laden warm water into the normally cool stretch from upper Viscaino Bay to just below Punta Banda with her stronger eastern edge.

Several nice lingcod have been reported by the pangeros in San Quintin — more reminiscent of years past before the large San Diego-based sportboats started pinning up on the few small reefs to target them.

The San Ysidro port of entry and the southbound lanes of Interstate 805 and Interstate 5 will close at state Route 905 at around 3 a.m. on Saturday, September 23 and will remain closed until September 25 at noon, so plan your trip to Baja around that. The entry ports at Mexicali or Algodones will be open.

Top boats of the week: All yellowfin tuna counts noted were limits of five fish per angler.

Sept 16 – The Chubasco II loaded up on yellowfin tuna with 135 along with 55 skipjack tuna and 3 dorado for the 27 anglers aboard their ¾ day run. 19 anglers aboard the Liberty scored 95 yellowfin tuna, also on a ¾ day run.

Sept 15 – The Sea Adventure 80 3 day trip carrying 21 anglers reported 315 yellowfin tuna while the New Lo-An’s 18 anglers caught 26 dorado, 3 yellowtail, 20 skipjack tuna and 95 yellowfin tuna on a 1.5 day trip.

Sept 14 – The Mission Belle ¾ day run with 38 anglers aboard resulted in 190 yellowfin tuna, 35 skipjack tuna and 1 dorado.

Sept 13 – The Diawa Pacific reported limits of each, with 60 yellowfin tuna and 60 skipjack tuna for the 12 anglers aboard their overnight run.

Sept 12 – 31 anglers aboard the Ocean Odyssey caught 310 yellowfin tuna and 26 dorado on a 2 day trip.

Sept 10 – 32 anglers aboard the Chief loaded up on a 2.5 day trip with 1 dorado, 26 yellowtail, 80 skipjack tuna and 320 yellowfin tuna.

Fish Plants: No plants this week.