Fishing remains consistent in local seas

Jim Niemiec

The fishing scene continues to improve for the local sport fleet

and private yachts fishing mid-channel waters up and down the coast and

all the way to the west of San Clemente Island. daily fish counts show

good numbers of yellowfin tuna, dorado, yellowtail and calico bass, and

this past week saw the first significant showing of striped marlin for

the billfish fleet. Fishing is very good and there are even a few

albacore and bluefin tuna being fished out on the outer banks as these

schools of tuna migrate north with cooler water currents.

Captain Tom Pertierno of Costa Mesa headed his six-pack charter boat

“Limitless” out to look for kelp in the channel with this outdoor writer

and local harbor area anglers Eric Nyquist and Ed Leland on board the

fast sportfisher. A few of the floating kelps held only a couple of tails

and small dorado, but one large paddy exploded with yellowfin tuna

weighing to 20 pounds, dorado scaling in the 10- to 15-pound class and a

whole bunch of yellowtail that ate every bait that hit the water. The

action lasted for nearly two hours and it was time to head back to the

dock with a slammer full of great fighting exotics to show for just a few

hours on the water.

The fishing grounds are getting a lot of pressure from the local fleet

when westerly don’t kick up and turn over the sea. Under calm conditions

spotting a kelp is easy and sliding in on jumpers or breezing schools of

fish can often produce exceptional action. The deluxe mini-long range

sportfisher “Searcher,” running out of Fisherman’s Landing, had an

awesome sun downer bite on bluefin tuna last week with John Savage of

Costa Mesa and this writer being two very fortunate anglers to be on

board the trip. Captain Rick Treamer headed the vessel toward the Double

220 and located the right paddy that was holding tons of bluefin tuna.

Even though the fish would not come up and jump on a jig, it didn’t take

long for these tuna to march up the chum line and begin a wide open bite

that carried into the dark of night. Anglers on board put nearly two tons

of bluefin in the slammer before darkness fell and the bite stopped.

With albacore and bluefin tuna on the move up toward the Cortes and

Tanner banks, most sport boats and the majority of private yachts are

concentrating on exotics that prefer water temps in the mid-70s. There

has been a bait problem for Newport due to the warm water and the demand

for god bait. Seems the sardines are turning bad after a few hours in a

bait tank and the mix of anchovies has been good on some days for hook

bait while other wraps are bringing penheads to the receivers.

Marlin fishing finally got a late start this weekend with the first

good numbers of fish caught and released around San Clemente Island off

the slide outside Avalon. According to Dean Plant, over at Anglers Center

in Newport Beach, there are plenty of marlin in the area with excellent

water conditions. Ron Johnson of Newport Beach skippered his 35-foot

Skipjack “Show Down” out to the 499 spot on the back side of San Clemente

Island and hooked two marlin on bait over the weekend. Both fish were

released by Johnson, who has a good reputation for his conservation

efforts toward the spikebill fishery in local waters.

On Wednesday, Captain Joe Bairian of Newport Beach, fishing on board

the “Bongos II” landed the first marlin of the season for the Bongos

Sportfishing Charter fleet when the deluxe six-pack charter boat hooked

into a marlin in the channel while trolling for tuna and dorado. The

billfish was caught over a high spot and released. Captain Bairian

reported excellent water conditions and expects the marlin season to kick

into high gear over Labor Day weekend.

Also testing his marlin fishing talents this week was Captain Harvey

Hunnicutt of Irvine who fished two days in a marlin tournament aboard his

44-foot Pacifica “Reel Salty.” Hunnicutt reported that there were good

numbers of jumpers and feeders spotted on the back side of San Clemente

Island and as far southeast at the 277 spot and that the tournament

recorded 14 caught billfish. The consensus of veteran local marlin

fisherman is that the season has been a slow one to start, but that it

could really develop into a banner early fall showing of striped marlin

providing current warm water conditions remain in the channel.

There is still time to register for three upcoming marlin tournaments.

The 552 Club “Get Hooked on Hoag” will co-host its 12th annual Tag and

Release Billfish Tournament on Sept. 8 and 9 with Tiara Yachts. There

will be more than 120 anglers competing in the event that raises funds

for Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. A Bon Voyage Party will be held on

Sept. 7 at the Balboa Yacht Club to kick off the event. For more details

on the unique tournament that has generated in excess of $14 million to

fund special projects for Newport’s finest hospital, phone (949)

574-7208.