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February 7, 2003
Pete Thomas, The L.A. Times
There's Nothing Cold About the Fishing This Winter
A long, cold winter was supposed to feel much longer and colder for Southern California landing operators because of regulation changes banning the fishing for rockfish and other bottom fishes.
These are the bread and butter for many of the fleets, the fish that lure the kind of fishermen who don't mind going out when it's cold and rough.
With rockfish out of the picture, prospects for any kind of a season were bleak at best.
But a funny thing happened this winter, in Southern California anyway. Winter never really materialized. And, despite poor fishing in some areas, the spring- and even summer-like weather has brought hordes of ordinary anglers out of hibernation.
"People love to go fishing on a nice, calm sunny day," says Rick Oefinger, owner of Marina del Rey Sportfishing, whose passengers have enjoyed an April-like halibut bite for the last two weeks in the Santa Monica Bay, catching fish to 35 pounds.
His boats aren't the only ones filling up.
"I got out with 43 people on Sunday and that's not bad for any time of year," says Norris Tapp, captain of the Freelance and manager of Davey's Locker in Newport Beach. "We got over to Catalina and went around the east end, where it was protected from the northwest wind. It was glassy, in the mid-70s and there was nothing but sunshine. It was gorgeous."
The passengers spent the day catching calico bass and blue perch. But Tapp and other captains, as delighted as they are about the weather, are encouraged that unseasonably warm weather and water will eventually spark an increase in activity among more exotic species, notably yellowtail and white seabass.
"We've already been catching some yellowtail at San Clemente [Island], and I would not be surprised whatsoever if there are yellowtail right now at Catalina," Tapp says. "It's just that nobody's really looking for them yet."
The water temperature at Catalina is holding at 60-61 degrees, or about three degrees above normal. Along the coast, surface readings have been as high as 64 but are averaging closer to 60 degrees. This too is higher than normal and credited largely to the lack of persistent westerly winds and the upwelling they cause.
But some are also giving credit to a weak-to-moderate El Nino condition in equatorial waters. "There are some interesting things happening out there," says Steve Crooke, a marine biologist with the Department of Fish and Game.
Crooke pointed south to the Colonet region of Baja California, where San Diego boats are legally targeting rockfish but also encountering schools of seven- to 10-pound bonito and even some larger yellowtail.
Some have also had run-ins with jumbo squid, perhaps the same squid that invaded Southland waters by the thousands last August, visitors from South America that seem to show mainly during El Nino cycles.
These voracious mollusks, if they are of the same schools, have doubled in size and weigh as much as 28 pounds, with mantles up to 1 1/2 inches thick.
On this side of the border, at San Clemente Island last Saturday, passengers aboard the Pacific Star out of Davey's Locker thought they had stumbled onto a frenzied school of yellowtail when gulls and pelicans started diving on baitfish chased to the surface by much larger predators.
The predators turned out to be barracuda, a lesser-prized game fish but one nonetheless that usually doesn't appear until spring.
Closer to shore, although passenger loads are unseasonably high, fishing remains poor in most areas. The most notable exception is Santa Monica Bay, where the fishing might even be better if some wind would blow.
"It's been almost too calm," Oefinger says. "On some of the days, we haven't even been able to get a good drift going, which we really need for halibut fishing."
He was not complaining.
Double Whammy
If there's a downside to the warmer water it's that it has resulted in much smaller squid schools around the islands and along the coast. Live squid is the top bait for white seabass and one of the top baits for yellowtail.
Additionally, this is shaping up as one of those seasons when anchovies, rather than sardines, are the predominant species of baitfish coming up in the seiners' nets. Anchovies, while ideal for bass and other small game fish, are not as effective for white seabass and yellowtail.
Winds of Change
How weird has this winter been?
"Very weird," says Gene Allshouse from San Quintin Sportfishing, in the typically wind-swept fishing haven south of Ensenada. "Normally at this time of year, we hope for one or two days a week that are fishable. This year, so far, there has been one or two days that were questionable and that's about it. Very warm and little to no wind. I'm not sure if this is a sign of El Nino, but it is a sign of something."
Rockfish and lingcod are not off-limits in Mexico and Allshouse says fishing has been very good for the bottom fish.
Hot Tuna
On the other side of the Baja California peninsula, in the popular East Cape region on the Sea of Cortez, the water has yet to drop below 71 degrees -- it usually dips to as low as 67 at least once during the winter -- and the north winds the region is notorious for have not been as persistent this year.
"This has been the nicest winter we've had in the 12 years I have lived here," reports Mark Rayor, owner of Vista Sea Sport dive center and an avid fisherman. "The weather is more like the beginning of April than February. Last year, we burned about two cords of wood in the fireplace. This year I can count the number of times we have used it on one hand."
The hotel fleets have enjoyed almost summer-like fishing for 20- to 40-pound yellowfin tuna, which are being located beneath porpoises, "and dorado are charging our lures through the porpoise and tuna," Rayor adds. "It has been solid for weeks and it's just getting better. Hotter than any bite I saw all last year."
Pete Thomas, The L.A. Times
There's Nothing Cold About the Fishing This Winter
A long, cold winter was supposed to feel much longer and colder for Southern California landing operators because of regulation changes banning the fishing for rockfish and other bottom fishes.
These are the bread and butter for many of the fleets, the fish that lure the kind of fishermen who don't mind going out when it's cold and rough.
With rockfish out of the picture, prospects for any kind of a season were bleak at best.
But a funny thing happened this winter, in Southern California anyway. Winter never really materialized. And, despite poor fishing in some areas, the spring- and even summer-like weather has brought hordes of ordinary anglers out of hibernation.
"People love to go fishing on a nice, calm sunny day," says Rick Oefinger, owner of Marina del Rey Sportfishing, whose passengers have enjoyed an April-like halibut bite for the last two weeks in the Santa Monica Bay, catching fish to 35 pounds.
His boats aren't the only ones filling up.
"I got out with 43 people on Sunday and that's not bad for any time of year," says Norris Tapp, captain of the Freelance and manager of Davey's Locker in Newport Beach. "We got over to Catalina and went around the east end, where it was protected from the northwest wind. It was glassy, in the mid-70s and there was nothing but sunshine. It was gorgeous."
The passengers spent the day catching calico bass and blue perch. But Tapp and other captains, as delighted as they are about the weather, are encouraged that unseasonably warm weather and water will eventually spark an increase in activity among more exotic species, notably yellowtail and white seabass.
"We've already been catching some yellowtail at San Clemente [Island], and I would not be surprised whatsoever if there are yellowtail right now at Catalina," Tapp says. "It's just that nobody's really looking for them yet."
The water temperature at Catalina is holding at 60-61 degrees, or about three degrees above normal. Along the coast, surface readings have been as high as 64 but are averaging closer to 60 degrees. This too is higher than normal and credited largely to the lack of persistent westerly winds and the upwelling they cause.
But some are also giving credit to a weak-to-moderate El Nino condition in equatorial waters. "There are some interesting things happening out there," says Steve Crooke, a marine biologist with the Department of Fish and Game.
Crooke pointed south to the Colonet region of Baja California, where San Diego boats are legally targeting rockfish but also encountering schools of seven- to 10-pound bonito and even some larger yellowtail.
Some have also had run-ins with jumbo squid, perhaps the same squid that invaded Southland waters by the thousands last August, visitors from South America that seem to show mainly during El Nino cycles.
These voracious mollusks, if they are of the same schools, have doubled in size and weigh as much as 28 pounds, with mantles up to 1 1/2 inches thick.
On this side of the border, at San Clemente Island last Saturday, passengers aboard the Pacific Star out of Davey's Locker thought they had stumbled onto a frenzied school of yellowtail when gulls and pelicans started diving on baitfish chased to the surface by much larger predators.
The predators turned out to be barracuda, a lesser-prized game fish but one nonetheless that usually doesn't appear until spring.
Closer to shore, although passenger loads are unseasonably high, fishing remains poor in most areas. The most notable exception is Santa Monica Bay, where the fishing might even be better if some wind would blow.
"It's been almost too calm," Oefinger says. "On some of the days, we haven't even been able to get a good drift going, which we really need for halibut fishing."
He was not complaining.
Double Whammy
If there's a downside to the warmer water it's that it has resulted in much smaller squid schools around the islands and along the coast. Live squid is the top bait for white seabass and one of the top baits for yellowtail.
Additionally, this is shaping up as one of those seasons when anchovies, rather than sardines, are the predominant species of baitfish coming up in the seiners' nets. Anchovies, while ideal for bass and other small game fish, are not as effective for white seabass and yellowtail.
Winds of Change
How weird has this winter been?
"Very weird," says Gene Allshouse from San Quintin Sportfishing, in the typically wind-swept fishing haven south of Ensenada. "Normally at this time of year, we hope for one or two days a week that are fishable. This year, so far, there has been one or two days that were questionable and that's about it. Very warm and little to no wind. I'm not sure if this is a sign of El Nino, but it is a sign of something."
Rockfish and lingcod are not off-limits in Mexico and Allshouse says fishing has been very good for the bottom fish.
Hot Tuna
On the other side of the Baja California peninsula, in the popular East Cape region on the Sea of Cortez, the water has yet to drop below 71 degrees -- it usually dips to as low as 67 at least once during the winter -- and the north winds the region is notorious for have not been as persistent this year.
"This has been the nicest winter we've had in the 12 years I have lived here," reports Mark Rayor, owner of Vista Sea Sport dive center and an avid fisherman. "The weather is more like the beginning of April than February. Last year, we burned about two cords of wood in the fireplace. This year I can count the number of times we have used it on one hand."
The hotel fleets have enjoyed almost summer-like fishing for 20- to 40-pound yellowfin tuna, which are being located beneath porpoises, "and dorado are charging our lures through the porpoise and tuna," Rayor adds. "It has been solid for weeks and it's just getting better. Hotter than any bite I saw all last year."
