Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Hot (tuna) fun in the summertime

Time to load up the smoker

There is never a “Nawww, I don’t want it” reaction to smoked fish. - Image by Leszek Kobusinski
There is never a “Nawww, I don’t want it” reaction to smoked fish.

Inshore: Half-day boats are concentrating on the great calico bass bite of the kelp in Point Loma and La Jolla. The legal-sized (14” or greater) count on the "checkers" nearly doubled last week over the week previous. Noting the release numbers, it’s about a 50-50 chance of catching a legal calico on every hook-set, which is extraordinary for the local kelp beds. The ¾-day boats are getting bonito, barracuda and yellowtail at the Coronado Islands. The yellowtail are in the smallish range, from 8 to 25 pounds, but are hitting the deck in solid numbers. Still not much of a showing of yellowfin or dorado within ¾ day range, though that can change quick with the warm water still out there.

Outside: Yellowfin tuna and dorado showed well last week, about equal to the week previous versus angler count. The bluefin tuna numbers dropped off again dramatically; they seem to be subject to full moon phases and maybe fatten up more at night while our nighttime orb is at its brightest. There are some striped marlin out there on the banks along with a few reports of hammerhead sharks; both, along with the two opah caught so far this summer, are good indicators that a strong pelagic season is underway. This is about the point in the year when the yellowfin tuna and dorado started showing in the inshore counts, so I wouldn’t count that possibility out this year. Hopefully, they’ll follow those big bluefin to the 9 Mile bank for the local crowd. Still, it’s looking great out there.

Sponsored
Sponsored

7/17 – 7/23 Dock Totals: 5949 anglers aboard 224 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 108 dorado, 16 bluefin tuna, 1,584 yellowfin tuna, 2 striped marlin (1 released), 1 thresher shark, 1 mako shark, 5,008 yellowtail, 4,921 calico bass, 55 sand bass, 1,073 rockfish, 13 lingcod, 44 sculpin, 1,909 bonito, 481 barracuda, 81 sheephead, 4 halibut, 6 white seabass, 120 mackerel, 29 whitefish and 10 treefish.

Notable: When the fishing is good and those who love it tend to bring home more than they need, it’s time to clean out the freezer to make room. I tend to give a lot of fish away for that reason and there is never a “nawww, I don’t want it” reaction here in Mexico. Especially when I smoke it up. Truthfully, and though usually snubbed, barracuda and bonito, if kept fresh and bled when caught, make excellent smoker fare. When these fish are around I get excited and load up on mesquite chips. Sure yellowtail and tuna are better, but a good smoked bonito or barracuda can go a long ways in making some neighbors happy. You never know what’s coming back your way when you share such a treat. Fresh tamales and hot pozole are the usual reciprocations at my house.

Scheduled fish plants (lbs): 7/29 Santee Lakes, catfish (1000), 8/1 Jennings, catfish (1000)

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Navy solves San Diego homeless crisis by retiring four locally moored ships

Decommision Accomplished
Next Article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
There is never a “Nawww, I don’t want it” reaction to smoked fish. - Image by Leszek Kobusinski
There is never a “Nawww, I don’t want it” reaction to smoked fish.

Inshore: Half-day boats are concentrating on the great calico bass bite of the kelp in Point Loma and La Jolla. The legal-sized (14” or greater) count on the "checkers" nearly doubled last week over the week previous. Noting the release numbers, it’s about a 50-50 chance of catching a legal calico on every hook-set, which is extraordinary for the local kelp beds. The ¾-day boats are getting bonito, barracuda and yellowtail at the Coronado Islands. The yellowtail are in the smallish range, from 8 to 25 pounds, but are hitting the deck in solid numbers. Still not much of a showing of yellowfin or dorado within ¾ day range, though that can change quick with the warm water still out there.

Outside: Yellowfin tuna and dorado showed well last week, about equal to the week previous versus angler count. The bluefin tuna numbers dropped off again dramatically; they seem to be subject to full moon phases and maybe fatten up more at night while our nighttime orb is at its brightest. There are some striped marlin out there on the banks along with a few reports of hammerhead sharks; both, along with the two opah caught so far this summer, are good indicators that a strong pelagic season is underway. This is about the point in the year when the yellowfin tuna and dorado started showing in the inshore counts, so I wouldn’t count that possibility out this year. Hopefully, they’ll follow those big bluefin to the 9 Mile bank for the local crowd. Still, it’s looking great out there.

Sponsored
Sponsored

7/17 – 7/23 Dock Totals: 5949 anglers aboard 224 boats out of San Diego landings this past week caught 108 dorado, 16 bluefin tuna, 1,584 yellowfin tuna, 2 striped marlin (1 released), 1 thresher shark, 1 mako shark, 5,008 yellowtail, 4,921 calico bass, 55 sand bass, 1,073 rockfish, 13 lingcod, 44 sculpin, 1,909 bonito, 481 barracuda, 81 sheephead, 4 halibut, 6 white seabass, 120 mackerel, 29 whitefish and 10 treefish.

Notable: When the fishing is good and those who love it tend to bring home more than they need, it’s time to clean out the freezer to make room. I tend to give a lot of fish away for that reason and there is never a “nawww, I don’t want it” reaction here in Mexico. Especially when I smoke it up. Truthfully, and though usually snubbed, barracuda and bonito, if kept fresh and bled when caught, make excellent smoker fare. When these fish are around I get excited and load up on mesquite chips. Sure yellowtail and tuna are better, but a good smoked bonito or barracuda can go a long ways in making some neighbors happy. You never know what’s coming back your way when you share such a treat. Fresh tamales and hot pozole are the usual reciprocations at my house.

Scheduled fish plants (lbs): 7/29 Santee Lakes, catfish (1000), 8/1 Jennings, catfish (1000)

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Next Article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.