SoCalSalty – SoCal Weekend Forecast

Things can change pretty quickly. At the beginning of the week, I was excited that ling cod season had just returned (April 1st). Then, I started getting in reports that a yellowtail bite was starting up, not just down in the 3/4+ boats in San Diego, but also up in the Channel Islands. All of a sudden, Thursday the weather turned and some boats didn’t even go out. Huge winds hit up and down the coast creating unsafe and unproductive conditions to fish. Hopefully it will blow through by the weekend. If so, it could be good.

Keep an eye on the weather service and have your gear ready. Here are my picks if the weather pans out:

1. San Diego: The San Diego out of Seaforth or the Mission Belle out of Point Loma. I don’t want to commit to an overnight, so I’m keeping an eye on these two 3/4 day boats. Earlier in the week, I had gotten reports that conditions were improving. Water temps were up to 63 and the YT were biting…just not landed. Wednesday, Seaforth was reporting YT landed on the boat and it wasn’t just on the yoyo jig, but also on the surface!

2. Channel Islands: Again, hard to commit to an overnight given the weather, so I’ve got my eye on the Gentleman and the Cobra. CI Sportfishing tweeted Thursday morning that they had live sardines, and it’s the only spot in SoCal getting into the ling. If weather conditions permit, and ling is your thing, this is actually your number one pick.

3. Dana Wharf: It’s still early, but from a pure betting man perspective, they have a deal now where if you buy a 3/4 day trip between now and the end of the month, you get 50% off on a trip anytime after May 1st. You know the fishing will be better later. For a 3/4, they’ll get you into a decent rockfish bite at the least, and then you have a 50% off ride when the calico bite heats up and maybe “exotics” like yellowtail, bonita, and barracuda are around during peak summer fishing months. It’s a worthwhile bet.

And just to update my ling cod post from last week…I got in touch with Capt Jeremy of the Spitfire and he sent over those ling pics I mentioned in my previous post. As mentioned, this jackpot ling was a hitchiker on a canary rockfish. Check out the pics and cross your fingers that the weather straightens out. Tight lines!