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Friends use Spanish mackerel to bag yellowtails
By Ed Zieralski, San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 7, 2003
Jimm Hoffman was trying to focus and get the best picture of his friend's catch when he was rudely interrupted.
Hoffman got bit, hard, by a breezing yellowtail. He still managed a picture of his buddy's fish, but he landed his own 15 minutes later.
Hoffman, of Rancho Bernardo, was fishing from a kayak off La Jolla on Saturday when his friend, Marc Rosas of Orange County, also in a kayak, landed a 30-pound yellowtail.
"I was taking pictures when my line started running," Hoffman said. "Fifteen minutes later I landed a similar 30-pounder."
Hoffman said both yellowtails ate baited Spanish mackerel.
Yellowtail bit for local sport boats fishing last weekend off Pukey Point, the northern-most tip of North Island. Private boaters such as Harry Okuda noticed Friday morning that the sport boats were missing in action at the usual rockcod area at the south end of the 9-Mile Bank.
"I knew something was up because they all were over there at Pukey Point," Okuda said. "I went over late, but I managed to get a yellowtail."
The yellowtail are running from 12 to 20 pounds, with an occasional 25-pounder. The fish are taking iron jigs in 20 to 40 fathoms of water.
Okuda and Marty Morris on Morris' boat, Ken-Dan, caught albacore in late December to end the 2002 season, but it didn't take long for ocean anglers to record the first albacore of 2003.
First-of-the-year albacore were caught last week in U.S. waters from the Butterfly Bank south to the 60-Mile Bank. One of the longfins reportedly went 46 pounds.
Richard Hytinen, Escondido, caught an estimated 41-pound albacore while fishing on the Aluminator on Saturday in U.S. waters east of the Butterfly Bank. He used a live sardine for the longfin. The boat finished with three albacore on the day.
Bay fishing remains steady, with spotted bay bass and sand bass performing. Guide Bill Schaefer put Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and son Tommy, 8, onto a mix of sand bass and spotties on Saturday. Schaefer said they used mostly crankbaits and Kalin Grubs, and Tommy caught a 3-pounder.
Schaefer said the overall sizes of the sand bass he's been catching are lighter this year. He predicts the five-bass limits in the upcoming San Diego Anglers eighth annual Open Bay Bass Tournament on Jan. 18 could be lower than past years. Schaefer reports that the sand bass they caught drifting averaged 11/2 to 2 pounds.
But bay guide George Tuthill reports sand bass averaging 3 pounds on his recent trip with light-line and fly-fishing clients.
Schaefer, who has finished second in four of the last five Bay Bass Tournaments, will deliver a Bay Bass Seminar tomorrow night at 6:30 at the Bahia Hotel, 998 West Mission Bay Drive. It's open to the public.
By Ed Zieralski, San Diego UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
January 7, 2003
Jimm Hoffman was trying to focus and get the best picture of his friend's catch when he was rudely interrupted.
Hoffman got bit, hard, by a breezing yellowtail. He still managed a picture of his buddy's fish, but he landed his own 15 minutes later.
Hoffman, of Rancho Bernardo, was fishing from a kayak off La Jolla on Saturday when his friend, Marc Rosas of Orange County, also in a kayak, landed a 30-pound yellowtail.
"I was taking pictures when my line started running," Hoffman said. "Fifteen minutes later I landed a similar 30-pounder."
Hoffman said both yellowtails ate baited Spanish mackerel.
Yellowtail bit for local sport boats fishing last weekend off Pukey Point, the northern-most tip of North Island. Private boaters such as Harry Okuda noticed Friday morning that the sport boats were missing in action at the usual rockcod area at the south end of the 9-Mile Bank.
"I knew something was up because they all were over there at Pukey Point," Okuda said. "I went over late, but I managed to get a yellowtail."
The yellowtail are running from 12 to 20 pounds, with an occasional 25-pounder. The fish are taking iron jigs in 20 to 40 fathoms of water.
Okuda and Marty Morris on Morris' boat, Ken-Dan, caught albacore in late December to end the 2002 season, but it didn't take long for ocean anglers to record the first albacore of 2003.
First-of-the-year albacore were caught last week in U.S. waters from the Butterfly Bank south to the 60-Mile Bank. One of the longfins reportedly went 46 pounds.
Richard Hytinen, Escondido, caught an estimated 41-pound albacore while fishing on the Aluminator on Saturday in U.S. waters east of the Butterfly Bank. He used a live sardine for the longfin. The boat finished with three albacore on the day.
Bay fishing remains steady, with spotted bay bass and sand bass performing. Guide Bill Schaefer put Chargers offensive coordinator Cam Cameron and son Tommy, 8, onto a mix of sand bass and spotties on Saturday. Schaefer said they used mostly crankbaits and Kalin Grubs, and Tommy caught a 3-pounder.
Schaefer said the overall sizes of the sand bass he's been catching are lighter this year. He predicts the five-bass limits in the upcoming San Diego Anglers eighth annual Open Bay Bass Tournament on Jan. 18 could be lower than past years. Schaefer reports that the sand bass they caught drifting averaged 11/2 to 2 pounds.
But bay guide George Tuthill reports sand bass averaging 3 pounds on his recent trip with light-line and fly-fishing clients.
Schaefer, who has finished second in four of the last five Bay Bass Tournaments, will deliver a Bay Bass Seminar tomorrow night at 6:30 at the Bahia Hotel, 998 West Mission Bay Drive. It's open to the public.
