Summary Fish Report—April 20, 2016 at 4:40 PM

 Provided by Bob Vanian of 976-Bite Fish Reports at www.976bite.com

     We are well into the spring fishing season and El Nino is still present and we are seeing it’s ongoing effects via a very early start to the Southern California offshore fishing season.  The past several weeks have seen bluefin tuna biting in what have at times been in good numbers and we have even seen a few yellowfin tuna biting as well.  In addition to the offshore tuna fishing there has been additional early season excitement with yellowtail biting at some of the local islands and at spots along the coast.  The coastal and island fishing has also provided some good mixed bag catches of rockfish and sculpin along with a few halibut and occasional flurries of barracuda action.

The bluefin tuna have been biting for several weeks but the bite has been hit or miss from day to day with some days seeing near limit to limit fishing (a limit of bluefin is two bluefin per angler) and other days providing scratchy fishing.  We are currently in a phase of recent days that have been providing mostly scratchy bluefin fishing but there are still bluefin being caught most every day.  For example, the most recent sportboat count was from the Legend out of H&M Landing that fished on Tuesday, April 19, 2016 and had 13 anglers on an overnight trip catch 3 bluefin tuna and 7 yellowtail.

The productive areas currently are the 60 Mile Bank, the Hidden Bank and the 475 Knuckle.  The deep water outside of the Banda Bank was a good area a few days ago but has since slowed down.  There were also bluefin biting closer to Point Loma for boats fishing around the 9 Mile Bank, 182 Spot, 181 Spot, 209 Spot, 312 Spot and 178 Spot but the bluefin fishing has been rather quiet in those areas for the past week.

The bluefin have been ranging in size from 15 to 80 pounds.  There are also occasional yellowfin tuna in the mix with the schools of bluefin and the few yellowfin that have been biting have been in the 50 to 60 pound class.

The bluefin out at the 60 Mile Bank have been mostly the 15 to 25 pound fish and have been biting by drifting live sardines over meter marks or sonar marks.  In other areas much of the action has originated from stopping on spots of breaking fish and the best bet has been to try and cast iron into the spot of breaking fish as you first approach them.  Some productive iron jigs have been Salas 7X lights, Colt Snipers, Flat Falls, Megabaits and Laser Minnows.

The fishing at the Coronado Islands has been good for a mix of yellowtail, barracuda and rockfish.  The yellowtail attract most of the attention and the yellowtail bite has been pretty good most days but has generally falling short of providing near limit to limit fishing.  Barracuda have been biting in some fair numbers and when Skippers turn their attention away from the surface fishing to trying for rockfish, the bite has been good.

As an example of the recent fishing, on Tuesday, April 19, 2016 H&M Landing had a 3/4 day trip on the Malihini out fishing the Coronados with 8 anglers that caught 18 yellowtail.  Tuesday’s fishing also had Seaforth Sportfishing with a 3/4 day trip out to the Coronados aboard the San Diego with 30 anglers that caught 42 yellowtail.

Productive areas for the yellowtail have been the Rockpile, the area inside of the north end of South Island and the weather side of North Island.  The yellowtail fishing around the Rockpile has been slowing some over the 2 days due to some off color water moving into the area with today’s best reports coming from boats fishing up and down the weather side of North Island.

The yellowtail have been biting from stopping on sonar marks, meter marks and occasional spots of fish found working on the surface.  The yellowtail have been mixed sized fish that are running from 5 to 25 pounds.  The nicer sized yellows tend to come from the Rockpile and the weather side of North Island and the smaller yellows tend to come from the area inside of the northern part of South Island.

Surface iron, flylined live baits, yo-yo iron and sardines fished on dropper loop rigs are producing yellowtail action.  Adjust your bait or jig selection based on where the school of fish you are working is situated in the water column.

Good choices for yo-yo iron have been Salas 7X heavy, Salas 6X and Tady 4/0 jigs in scrambled egg, blue & white and orange & red color combinations.  For surface iron, try Salas 7X lights and Tady 45’s in blue & white and  sardine colors.  A surface iron with red and orange might also be worth a try with all the red crabs around and with the orange and red color combination working for yo-yo iron fishing.

Barracuda have been biting around the Rockpile and also at kelp bed areas such as the South Kelp and the Ribbon Kelp.   Some of the barracuda action has come from stopping on spots of breaking fish and some of the barracuda action has come from fishing on the anchor near the high spot at the Rockpile as well as at the South Kelp or the Ribbon Kelp.  Try flylined sardines or surface iron for the yellowtail.

A good zone for the rockfish has been at hard bottom areas to the north and northwest of North Island while fishing in 25 to 45 fathoms of water.

The fishing along the San Diego County coast has been producing some flurries of yellowtail action off La Jolla and there has also been good mixed bag fishing for rockfish, sculpin and bass.  There are also a few halibut starting to bite for some of those who have been drifting the area below the Imperial Beach Pier.

The upper end of La Jolla has been best for the coastal yellowtail fishing.  The bite has been scratchy most days but catching a single yellowtail can make your day a memorable one as they have been mostly quality sized 20 to 30+ pound yellowtail.  The yellowtail have been found by locating meter marks, sonar marks or spots of breezing fish. They have been biting on surface iron, yo-yo iron, flylined mackerel and mackerel fished deep on a dropper loop rig.  Anglers need to adjust their bait and lure selection and their presentation based on where the particular school of fish they are working is located in the water column.

The fishing for bass, sculpin and rockfish up and down the San Diego County coast has been best at hard bottom and structure spots.  Productive areas have been the Imperial Beach Pipeline, hard bottom areas around the Whistler Buoy at Point Loma, the hard bottom to the northwest of Buoy #3 at Point Loma, the hard bottom outside of the Green Tank, the 270, Del Mar, Leucadia, the Anderson and Buccaneer Pipelines, the artificial reefs outside of Oceanside and Box Canyon.

San Clemente Island has been producing some pretty good numbers of yellowtail along with some good numbers of calico bass and rockfish.

The ridges outside of Pyramid Cove and China Point have been good for yellowtail and rockfish.  The boiler rocks in Pyramid Cove have been productive for calico bass.  The Runway and 9 Fathom Spot at the west end of San Clemente Island have produced a few yellowtail and good numbers of rockfish and also look for some improving numbers of yellowtail and some bonito along the front side of the Island from spots of breezing fish found between Purse Seine Rock and White Rock.

Good choices for yellowtail can be surface iron, yo-yo iron, flylined sardines and sardines fished on a dropper loop rig.  Anglers need to adjust their bait and lure selection and presentation from the surface to down deep based on where the particular school of fish they are working is located in the water column.

It is my goal to provide you timely and accurate information in these Summary Reports containing news from right off the water.  If you require more frequent reports with more details that include the specific location of where catches have been made, I refer you to the daily Member’s Reports at www.976bite.com .  Those Member’s Reports contain additional specifics that include latitude and longitude coordinates and other descriptive references about where and how fish are being caught.  Make the most efficient use of your precious time on the water with the use of timely and accurate information.

     The Fred Hall Show in Del Mar is certainly the best fishing tackle and boat show in the San Diego it begins Thursday, March 17, 2016 and runs through Sunday, March 20, 2016.  Show hours are noon until 8:00 PM on Thursday and Friday, 10:00 AM until 8:00 PM on Saturday and goes from 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM on Sunday. 

The Fred Hall Show has something for the whole family with plenty of things for kids to do including a free trout pond.  Kids 15 years old and younger get into the show for FREE with a paid adult and can fish for free at the Mammoth Lakes Kids Free Trout Pond!  Other great kid’s activities include the Ram Truck Ultimate Air Dogs, the Great American Duck Races, the Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show, the Kids Saltwater Touch Tank and the DFW Kids Casting program where kids learn to cast for prizes.

     976Bite.com will have a booth at the Fred Hall Show and we hope you stop by the booth to say hello and take advantage of the incentives we are offering on web site subscriptions.

     You can get all the information about the Fred Hall Show on their web site at www.fredhall.com. The web site is loaded with information including show times, directions and a schedule of seminars. You can also purchase admission tickets on the web site and save yourself the possibility of waiting in a ticket line.

     Come on out and see the latest in fishing and boating gear and let’s talk about the upcoming fishing season. I hope to see you at the show!

    Sincerely,

    Bob Vanian

Summary Fish Report—February 19, 2016 at 4:45 PM as Provided by Bob Vanian of 976-Bite Fish Reports at www.976bite.com

The winter months are progressing toward spring but despite what the calendar says, yellowtail have continued to bite throughout the El Nino winter and continue to provide action for San Diego area anglers.  Anglers have had to watch the weather reports to avoid the days of bad weather but there have been plenty of good weather days where anglers have been able to get out on the water and do some fishing.

Yellowtail have been highlighting the action and the best yellowtail areas in recent days have been Punta Colnett and the Finger Bank.  There has also been a chance at finding some yellowtail biting while fishing around the 27 Fathom Spot, the Rockpile and the Coronado Islands with boats fishing spots along the San Diego County coast scratching out an occasional yellowtail while fishing off La Jolla, Del Mar, Leucadia and Box Canyon.

Boats fishing Punta Colnett have been finding some of the best of the yellowtail action and they continue to return with a nice mix of yellowtail, reds and assorted rockfish along with a few bonus lingcod.  Sportboats have been fishing Punta Colnett on 1.5 day trips out of San Diego Bay and Mission Bay and most of their trips to Punta Colnett have been departing on Friday evening to fish on Saturday.

The yellowtail biting at Punta Colnett have been quality sized fish that have generally been running from 18 to 25 pounds.  Yo-yoed iron has been working best for the yellowtail with some yellows also being caught on dropper loop rigs that are baited with sardines, anchovies or mackerel. Good choices for yo-yo jigs have been reported to be Salas 7X heavy and Tady 4/0 jigs in the scrambled egg color.

Fish counts from 1.5 day trips that fished the Punta Colnett area last Saturday,  February 13, 2016 start with the Pacific Voyager out of Seaforth Sportfishing that had 23 anglers catch 81 yellowtail and 65 rockfish.  The Eclipse out of Seaforth Sportfishing had 18 anglers catch 35 yellowtail and 80 rockfish. The Dominator out of Point Loma Sportfishing had 14 anglers catch 55 yellowtail, 6 barracuda, 30 rockfish, 10 lingcod and 4 bonito.  H&M Landing had 31 anglers aboard the Chief catch 16 yellowtail, 162 rockfish and 2 barracuda. Fisherman’s Landing had the Pacific Queen out with 33 anglers that caught  111 yellowtail and 90 rockfish. The Fortune from Fisherman’s Landing was also out on a 1.5 day trip and returned with 21 anglers catching 10 reds, 21 yellowtail, 2 lingcod and 86 rockfish.

Boats fishing on three-quarter day trips out of San Diego Bay and Mission Bay have been finding yellowtail action while fishing at the Finger Bank. In addition, there has also been a chance at locating some yellowtail action while fishing closer to the Coronado Islands around North Island, South Island, the Rockpile and the 27 Fathom Spot.  Around South Island, take a look at the Ribbon Kelp and the area inside of the north end of South Island. Up at North Island, yellows have been located off the south tip of North Island, into the North of North Island and along the weather side of North Island.

The yellows are being found by locating sonar marks or meter marks and Skippers who are fishing in the area of the 27 Fathom Spot and Finger Bank report that the yellows are often found about 20 fathoms below the surface near spots of working birds that are often associated with red crabs or anchovies.  Boats with scanning sonar continue to have a big advantage over boats equipped with a traditional up and down style fathometer in this type of fishing but the fact that the yellowtail meter marks are often found in the region where there are working birds can be a visual help in getting located to those with traditional fathometers.

The yellows have been mixed size fish that have mostly fallen within the 10 to 20 pound range.  Once located with the electronics, Skippers have been drifting over the meter marks and sonar marks and anglers have been hooking the yellows on yo-yoed iron or on dropper loop rigs that are baited with a live mackerel or a live sardine.

The Malihini out of H&M Landing fished a three-quarter day trip on Thursday, February 18 and had 17 anglers catch 34 rockfish and 17 yellowtail.

An ongoing reminder is that the fishing for rockfish/groundfish is closed in California waters until March 1, 2016.  There is no such closure on the Mexico side of the border and the waters around the Coronado Islands have been productive for rockfish.  The Premier out of H&M Landing has been running half day trips into Mexican waters to fish for rockfish on weekday morning half day trips and on these trips they usually fish areas such as the lower end of the 9 Mile Bank, the hard bottom into the north of North Island and the hard bottom to the northwest of North Island.  The Premier was out fishing on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 and they had a half day trip with 17 anglers catch 89 rockfish.

There continues to be a chance at finding some yellowtail or white seabass action at La Jolla.  The fishing continues to be scratchy most days but the occasional yellowtail or white seabass being caught continue to be quality sized fish.  The upper end of La Jolla has been the best area to try and get into some yellowtail or white seabass action.

Live squid has been hard to locate but would be a preferred bait if available.  In the absence of live squid, best bets for yellowtail have been a yo-yoed iron or a dropper loop rig that is baited with a live mackerel.  Best bet for white seabass in the absence of live squid has been a live mackerel that is fished on a dropper loop rig.

Boats have also been searching for yellowtail in coastal areas such as Del Mar, Leucadia and Box Canyon.  The bite is scratchy but every once in a while someone finds a meter mark or sonar mark that produces a nice sized yellowtail.  Once a mark is located with the electronics, the best bets have been fishing with yo-yoed iron or with a dropper loop rig baited with a mackerel or a sardine.

Anglers looking to do some fishing for bass and sculpin along the San Diego area coast have been working hard bottom and structure spots and have been catching a mix of sand bass, calico bass and sculpin.  Productive areas for the bass and sculpin have been the Imperial Beach Pipeline, the hard bottom to the northwest of Buoy #3 at Point Loma, the Point Loma Pipeline, the hard bottom outside of the stretch between the Green Tank and Sunset Cliffs, the sunken NEL tower outside of Mission Beach, the hard bottom outside of the kelp at La Jolla, the Anderson and Buccaneer Pipelines, the artificial reefs outside of Oceanside and the hard bottom outside of the kelp at San Onofre and the Barn.

    It is my goal to provide you timely and accurate information in these Summary Reports containing news from right off the water.  If you require more frequent reports with more details that include the specific location of where catches have been made, I refer you to the daily Member’s Reports at www.976bite.com .  Those Member’s Reports contain additional specifics that include latitude and longitude coordinates and other descriptive references about where and how fish are being caught.  Make the most efficient use of your precious time on the water with the use of timely and accurate information.

Summary Fish Report—January 29, 2016 at 6:05 PM Report Prepared by Bob Vanian of 976-Bite Fish Reports at www.976bite.com

The first part of the 2016 fishing season has seen Southern California anglers have to deal with a series of weather systems that have brought some much needed rain but which have also brought some days of high seas, large surf and strong winds that have kept anglers off the water.  We are currently in a stretch of several days of nice weather but that is forecasted to come to an end tomorrow (Saturday, January 30, 2016) with the arrival of another weather system that brings a chance of rain beginning on Saturday afternoon.  The poor weather conditions are currently forecasted to last through Monday.

With these big winter swells, be extra cautious as you go in and out of some of the harbor entrances that tend to close out during a large swell.  Also be extra cautious about fishing shallow water coastal or island areas as you never know when a big set of waves might appear and break in what had previously been calm water. As always, be sure to check the latest marine weather forecast before you head to the ocean to do some fishing or boating.

The good weather days have been highlighted by a chance at finding some winter time yellowtail action.  San Diego area anglers have been finding a chance at finding a biting yellowtail while fishing at La Jolla, the Coronado Islands and on the 1.5 day sportboat trips that have been fishing off Punta Colnett.

In addition to a chance at a nice sized yellowtail, La Jolla has also kicked out an occasional white seabass.  No big numbers of either of either yellowtail or white seabass have been biting at La Jolla but if you connect it is likely to be with a quality sized fish as most of those fish have been up in the 20 to 30 pound range.  The upper end of La Jolla tends to be the best while fishing in depths ranging from 18 to 30 fathoms of water.

Live squid has been good bait for yellowtail or white seabass at La Jolla but squid availability has been very much hit or miss and they have generally been hard to locate and catch.  The majority of the yellowtail caught at La Jolla have been caught on yo-yoed iron or on a dropper loop rig that is baited with a live mackerel or a live sardine.  A live mackerel has generally been working better than a live sardine.  For the white seabass, live squid would be best but anglers without live squid have seen occasional action on a live mackerel or a dead squid that is fished on a dropper loop rig.  If using dead squid, make sure they are of a grade that is suitable for human consumption.

As an example of today’s fishing at the upper end of La Jolla, a couple of private boaters each reported catching one yellowtail today.  They were both pleased with their catch as they were trophy sized 25 pound class fish.  Both of the yellows were caught on yo-yoed iron and one Skipper reported that he caught his on a green and white color jig.

The winter season has also provided occasional yellowtail action for boats fishing hard bottom areas outside of Point Loma, Del Mar, Leucadia and Box Canyon but there has not been much in the way of yellowtail action reported from these areas in recent days.  The back side of Catalina Island produced a couple of 10 pound class yellowtail for a boat fishing the Farnsworth Bank at mid-week.  The water was at 60 degrees and the conditions were looking good for something to possibly continue to develop in the way of an early season yellowtail bite at Catalina.

Anglers need to keep in mind that that the annual 2 month rockfish/groundfish is in effect until March 1, 2016 for those fishing Southern California waters. Rockfish fishing does remain open for those fishing waters on the Mexico side of the border.

Anglers choosing to stay on the United States side of the Mexico border and target sand bass, calico bass and sculpin have been looking to fish hard bottom and structure spots.  Productive areas for the bass and sculpin along the San Diego County coast have been the Imperial Beach Pipeline, the hard bottom to the northwest of Buoy #3 at Point Loma, the Point Loma Pipeline, the Green Tank at Point Loma, Hill Street at Sunset Cliffs, the structure of the sunken NEL Tower off Mission Beach, the hard bottom outside of the kelp at La Jolla, the Anderson and Buccaneer Pipelines, the artificial reefs outside of Oceanside and the hard bottom outside of the kelp at the Barn and San Onofre.

The Coronado Islands have been producing much better numbers of yellowtail than La Jolla but the fish have been mixed in size with most ranging from 5 to 20 pounds.  The smaller 5 to 10 pound yellowtail tend to be caught while fishing areas inside of South Island and at the Middle Grounds and the larger 10 to 20 pound yellows tend to be caught while fishing areas around North Island.

The Pacific Voyager out of Seaforth Sportfishing fished at the Coronados on Thursday, January 28, 2016 and had 17 anglers on a three-quarter day trip catch 43 yellowtail and 85 rockfish.  The Mission Belle out of Point Loma Sportfishing last fished at the Coronados on Wednesday, January 27, 2016 and had 18 anglers on a three-quarter day trip catch 47 yellowtail, 2 bonito and 4 rockfish.

The fishing around the Coronados has been heavily dependent on being able to find a sonar mark with scanning sonar and most private boats that are equipped with a traditional up and down style fathometer are struggling to be able to find good numbers of biting yellowtail.  Some of the private boaters have been scratching out a few yellowtail but not in the big numbers that have been caught on some of the sportboat trips.

Once yellowtail are located, anglers have had success in hooking them on yo-yoed iron or on a live sardine or a live mackerel that is fished deep on a dropper loop rig.  Salas 6X Jr. and Sumo Jr. jigs have been working well.  Good color patterns have been scrambled egg, blue mackerel or green mackerel.

Sportboats have been fishing 1.5 day trips to Punta Colnett out of San Diego Bay and Mission Bay.  The fishing at Punta Colnett has been very good for 15 to 25 pound yellowtail along with a nice mix of lingcod, reds and assorted rockfish. Most of these trips have been leaving on Friday evening, fishing on Saturday and returning home on Sunday morning.

The trips that fished Punta Colnett last Saturday, January 23, 2016 did very well and the fish counts start with the Pacific Queen out of Fisherman’s Landing that had 35 anglers on a 1.5 day trip catch 175 yellowtail and 40 rockfish.  Seaforth Sportfishing had a 1.5 day trip on the Eclipse fishing Punta Colnett with 26 anglers that caught 118 yellowtail, 60 rockfish and 26 lingcod.  The Chief out of H&M Landing also fished Punta Colnett on a 1.5 day trip and had 18 anglers catch 62 yellowtail, 10 bonito, 52 rockfish and 14 lingcod.

Yo-yoed iron has been working best for the yellowtail at Punta Colnett with a live sardine or a live mackerel that is fished on a dropper loop rig also reported to be working well.  Scrambled egg has been a productive color yo-yo iron jig and the Salas 7X heavy and the Tady 4/0 have been hot jigs.

It is my goal to provide you timely and accurate information in these Summary Fish Reports containing news from right off the water.  If you require more updates and more details that include the specific location of where catches have been made, I refer you to the Member’s Reports at www.976bite.com .  Those Member’s Reports contain additional specifics that include latitude and longitude coordinates and other descriptive references about where and how fish are being caught.  Make the most efficient use of your precious time on the water with the use of timely and accurate information.

    Thank you,

    Bob Vanian

December 31, 2015 at 3:25 PM—- Summary Fish Report

 Provided by Bob Vanian of 976-Bite Fish Reports at www.976bite.com

     The calendar is ready to turn the page and enter into 2016 and this means that the fantastic 2015 Southern California saltwater fishing season has come to a close.  2015 was a fantastic year that provided excellent fishing for big bluefin tuna along with lots of yellowfin tuna, yellowtail, dorado and striped marlin.  The 2015 fishing season also amazed anglers in providing action on species rarely seen in Southern California waters such as blue marlin, black marlin and wahoo.  The 2016 fishing season has a big task ahead in trying to match or surpass what happened in 2015.  The great news is that with El Nino warm water conditions forecasted to extend into 2016 anything could happen and we could easily see fishing that equates or surpasses what we had in 2015.  It will be interesting and fun to see what the new year brings.  Happy New Year!

A couple of items of note are that the annual 2 month rockfish/groundfish closure goes into effect on January 1, 2016 for those fishing Southern California waters.  Rockfish fishing remains open for those fishing waters on the Mexico side of the border.  As somewhat of an offset, to the rockfish closure, the sculpin closure for those fishing in Southern California waters comes to an end on January 1, 2016.

There has been no news coming from offshore waters as no one has been out looking around offshore during the past couple of weeks.  There is still some 62 to 63 degree water around offshore and this is likely to be a bit cool to be holding yellowfin tuna.  Water as cool as 62 to 63 degrees might still be warm enough to be holding striped marlin.

What has been good is the fishing for yellowtail around the Coronado Islands.  Wednesday, December, 30th’s three-quarter day trip aboard the San Diego out of Seaforth Sportfishing saw 48 anglers catch 48 yellowtail and 45 rockfish.  Most of the yellowtail have been 20 pound class fish and Seaforth Sportfishing reports the yellows to have been biting on yo-yoed iron and live baits such as sardines or small mackerel that are fished deep on a dropper loop rig.  Look for meter marks or sonar marks over hard bottom areas to locate the yellowtail around the Coronado Islands.

There are also some yellowtail biting along the San Diego County coast but the bite has been hit or miss and on the scratchy side most days.  The yellowtail have mostly been quality sized 20 pound class fish so the payoff can be a very nice fish if you can get them to bite.

Similar to the yellowtail fishing around the Coronado Islands, skippers fishing the yellows along the coast have been looking for meter marks and sonar marks to stop on and fish with live bait on a dropper loop rig or yo-yoed iron. Most of the yellowtail are being found over hard bottom areas and locating schools of fin bait or red crabs can be a key to helping to finding a meter mark or sonar mark to stop on and fish. Productive coastal areas for yellowtail have been outside of Mission Bay, La Jolla, Del Mar, Leucadia and Box Canyon.

Those looking for rockfish are going to need to be fishing in Mexican waters once the 2 month annual rockfish/groundfish closure goes into effect on January 1, 2016.  Most will look to fishing hard bottom areas around the Coronados and at the lower end of the 9 Mile Bank on the Mexico side of the border.  Recent reports coming from these areas have been of good fishing for rockfish along with an occasional bonus lingcod.

Private boater Harry Okuda of the Alfresco III reported about fishing a recent 1.5 day sportboat trip to Punta Colnett aboard the Pacific Voyager out of Seaforth Sportfishing.  They fished on Monday, December 28, 2015 and had a fish count of 13 anglers catching 65 yellowtail, 15 lingcod and 50 reds.  Okuda said it was easy limit fishing for the yellowtail and that they had a few 8 to 10 pound fish in the mix but that most were up in the 15 to 25 pound range.  The yellowtail were reported to be biting best on yo-yoed iron and he said that Salas 6X and 7X jigs in scrambled egg color were working best.  Sardines fished on a dropper loop rig were also reported to be working for the yellowtail.

After limiting out on yellowtail, Okuda said that they focused on fishing spots for reds and lingcod.  The bottom fishing was good but he said that the jumbo sized reds they were hoping to find were not biting very well.  Okuda had his limit of yellowtail and 3 lingcod within his catch and estimated that his big ling cod was in the 12 to 15 pound range

     It is my goal to provide you timely and accurate information in these Summary Fish Reports containing news from right off the water.  If you require more updates and more details that include the specific location of where catches have been made, I refer you to the Member’s Reports at www.976bite.com .  Those Member’s Reports contain additional specifics that include latitude and longitude coordinates and other descriptive references about where and how fish are being caught.  Make the most efficient use of your precious time on the water with the use of timely and accurate information.

    Thank you,   

    Bob Vanian……976-Bite Fish Reports

It is  Make A Wish Tuna Challenge Time!

     The Make A Wish Tuna Challenge is the premier Southern California tuna fishing event and the tournament is fast approaching and is being held on Saturday, August 29, 2015 with a Captain’s meeting on Friday evening, August 28, 2015.   It is actually a three day event when you add the great awards ceremony, barbecue and raffle to be held at Silver Gate Yacht Club on Sunday August 30, 2015.

This is always a fine event and in addition to (Click on Fish Reports / Freebie Reports above to Continue Reading) being a great tuna tournament, it serves a much higher purpose in raising funds to benefit the Make A Wish charity.  Since 1994 the Tuna Challenge has raised well in excess of $2,000,000 to benefit the Make A Wish Charity and has helped fund many wishes for children with life threatening medical conditions.

The list of prizes up for the winning is truly spectacular and includes lots of fishing tackle, stays at fishing resorts and marine related and other prizes that are too numerous to list here.  You have a chance at winning prizes with the fish you catch and there are also incredible raffles and some spectacular things that are up for both silent and live auctions.  The highlight item up for the winning is the Grand Raffle Prize from the special Grand Raffle which is your choice of a Mazda 3, Mazda 6 or Mazda CX-5 that have MSRP of up to $25,000!  Tickets for the Grand Raffle are $10 each, 6 for $50 or 12 for $100.00.

The tournament has award categories for juniors and adults with a small boat and a big boat division as well.  A special division also exists for charter boat anglers.  The cost for entry is $105.00 for adults and $40.00 for a junior. The entry for a Charter Boat Angler to compete in the Charter Boat Division is $75.00.  The entry fees include a tournament t-shirt and a ticket to the awards banquet.

You can go to the Make a Wish Tuna Challenge web site and get all the details and sign up information at www.tunachallenge.org.

Please come out and participate and enjoy this fine event!  It is a win-win situation as you can have a good time, have a chance at winning some great prizes and enjoy the warm feeling of benefiting some kids who are in need of some cheering up in the process.