Marlin, tuna targeted by local anglers

JIM NIEMIEC

Marlin popped up strong off Catalina Island last Friday and the bite

continued through the early part of the week with lots of stripers

being caught and released. Dara Stotesbury of the Balboa Angling Club

reported excellent fishing on live bait and marlin lures in an area

only a mile or two off the Casino at Avalon.

Last Friday Dara captained the Pizza Mind, a 23-foot Edgewater,

while Alex Samios of Newport Beach battled a marlin that struck a

black and purple Sevenstrand lure. Unfortunately after battling the

billfish for 1 hour, 15 minutes the marlin threw the jig. On Sunday,

Greg Stotesbury, ran his sportfisher Kawakawa out to the same area

and found a hungry marlin for his brother Mike. The marlin bit on a

greenback mackerel and was released after it was brought to leader.

It was a great weekend of marlin fishing for Los Pescadores member

Bill MacCorkell who was fishing by himself aboard his 25-foot

Skipjack Agitator. On Saturday MacCorkell caught and released three

marlin and then went back out to the fishing grounds and hooked and

released another marlin on Sunday. Also fishing alone in the hot area

was Vic Summers of Balboa aboard his 28-foot Uniflite Sleeper and he

released a marlin on Monday.

Marlin fishing was so good that Cabo Yachts sent out their 35-foot

Cabo Express Picoso and the anglers on board had a triple jig strike

on Sunday off Catalina, releasing two fish and one marlin came

unbuttoned.

Water conditions are good with the sea temp holding between 66 and

68 degrees. No one knows for sure how long the marlin will stick

around in this cooler water and if a new storm front moving down from

the Pacific Northwest pushes the billfish in southern waters off Baja

Norte.

Yellowfin tuna are schooled up under porpoise but the bite has

been hot and cold for sport boats running trips of out Davey’s Locker

and Newport Landing Sportfishing and private yachts. Calm waters

allowed lots of small boats to target the tuna grounds some 18 miles

southwest of Newport and the pressure on the yellowfin put the fish

down over the weekend. There are reports of big areas of tuna all

around Catalina Island and down the beach off Dana Point. Call ahead

to one of our local landings to find out what boats will be chasing

tuna later this week.

Dave Navaro of Costa Mesa fished aboard the Some Fun running out

of Dana Wharf Sportfishing last week and landed a 28 pound yellowfin

tuna, while Ron Muratella of Newport Beach headed out on a three

quarter-day run on the Freelance out of Davey’s Locker and sacked a

26-pound yellowfin. Also catching a whopper this past week was Lance

Hoglund of Huntington Beach who hooked into a 31-pound white seabass

fishing aboard the half-day boat Western Pride.

Trout fishing is red hot at Irvine Lake with lots of trophy trout

and quick limits rewarding fresh water anglers fishing this heavily

stocked lake.