Photo by: spectrasportfishing.com
Island Yellows – Anglers aboard Spectra enjoyed an excellent yellowtail bite at Catalina Island over the weekend.

“We had a company charter to Catalina Island over the weekend and boy, were they in for a surprise.”

“Trying not to sound like a broken record, but we all know this season has been full of surprises, some more disappointing than others. One day it’s on, and the very next day it’s off like nothing even happened. Let’s not all forget that although catching is fun, it’s the fishing that drives the best hunter out of all of us. I was well-reminded by a good friend recently,‘some people will never understand that sometimes, it’s not about the fish, it’s about the fishing.”

“On Saturday’s Catalina Island trip, six lucky anglers were able to participate in a rare excellent yellowtail bite. We caught eight yellowtail, three black sea bass (released), 25 calicos and various other fish as well.”

The biggest fish of the day was caught by chartermaster Charina A. Pastrana, landing a yellowtail that tipped the scales at 39 pounds – a personal best.

“Calico bass fishing was excellent as well. They bit the fin bait over the squid. It’s best just to bring both baits over to the islands.

“Whether you plan on fishing with us or another operation, Catalina Island is Southern California’s little escape. If you have not been there yet, look into it, because it can be a truly amazing experience.”

Working rigs aboard the Spectra included 30- or 40- mono with a dropper-loop sitting about 24 inches from the bottom weight. Six to 8 ounces of weight was working. Other rigs included a three-quarter-ounce sliding egg sinker, with an aki twist hook, size 7/0. The akis work well for squid fishing.

For more information about Spectra fishing, call (562) 266-6228 or visit spectrasportfishing.com.

View the original story at http://www.fishrapnews.com/news/newsArticles.aspx?x=11544

Summer-like conditions continued in San Diego and off the coast of Northern Baja as flat seas and the warmest water temperatures of 2010 greeted anglers with good numbers of bluefin and yellowfin tuna.

The delectable tuna are being taken 40 miles from Point Loma and range from 10 to 40 pounds. The fish continue to be finicky; in most cases only biting 20-pound test with 20-pound Blackwater fluorocarbon leader with a smaller No.2 hook.

By noon Wednesday, the Legend from Seaforth Sportfishing and the First String from H&M Sportfishing both had mixes of more than 50 yellowfin and bluefin tuna.

“We had 100 mixed tuna on our previous trip,” Legend skipper Shawn Throwbridge said. “It’s still early today so we are hopeful for even more.”

The tuna are in range of L.A.- and Orange County-based landings.

The Toronado from Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach will embark on a 2-day tuna trip Saturday at 8p.m. Spots go for $200.

“We’ll be there at daybreak and fish until dark,” Don Ashley from Pierpoint Landing said.

The Spectra from Pierpoint Landing caught eight yellowtail to 39 pounds at Catalina Island over the weekend.

The night started with literally tons of bait squid floating all around the Spectra. The market squid was  netted to be used for bait the following day.

The smallest yellowtail of the day weighed in at 25 pounds and the anglers also caught and released three black sea bass to more than 100 pounds.

Fintastic: The Shark Conservation Act is designed to protect sharks in U.S. waters from being killed solely for their fins. It is estimated that 80 million sharks a year are slaughtered for their fins, which are an essential ingredient for shark-fin soup.

Most of the sharks are heaved back in to the sea after their fins have been cut off. Finning represents the greatest threat to sharks, which are essential in maintaining a healthy marine ecosystem.

Events: The 18th annual Puerto Nuevo Lobster Festival is Oct. 17 in the quaint Baja fishing village. For $20, restaurants will offer you a lobster plate served with homemade tortillas, rice and beans along with three drinks. You can get more information by visiting www.rosarito.org.

Ensenada will hold a family surf fishing event at El Faro Beach on Oct.23-24. Surf fishing at this time of year is good for barred perch, spotfin croaker, corbina, halibut and other species. More information at www.BestBajaFishing.org.

Local bounty: The half-day Redondo Special continues catching good amounts of rockfish with an occasional flurry on white seabass.

“There is so much squid around that the seabass are still here,” Redondo Special skipper Eric Hobday said. “We have even seen some schools of yellowtail around so we are still looking for surface fish on most every trip.”

LONG BEACH — Will Catalina be the island to be at this fall?

That’s been the question being asked, especially by those that are wondering if all the squid that’s been at the island this season will end up being the magic bait to produce the fall yellowtail bites that the island is known for.

There’s a new area of squid along the backside of the island, and it was the new bait grounds between Ben Weston and China Point that gave the six-pack Spectra the first real shot at the island’s big yellowtail that are known for getting on the squid this time of year.

“There was definitely no problem making bait. We loaded up the tanks and made about 100 extra bags for the freezer,” reported the Spectra. In years past getting squid to start October is big news, but seeing how the squid never went away this year, it’s not the squid, but first fall score on yellows that make the trip. “We ended up with 8 yellows to 39 pounds right there in the bait grounds. The average was about 32 to 34 pounds, and the smallest was 24 pounds.”

When the fish came through they really wanted to bite; at one point they had four going at once.

Fall and squid and yellowtail go hand and hand with the Farnsworth Bank—at least it did many moons ago—but the Bank did not have any yellows on it despite good conditions when the Spectra gave it a check. The water was 69 on the Farnsworth and 64 to 65 in the bait grounds.

The ¾-day boat Freelance had a pair of yellowtail earlier in the week at Catalina to go with the bonito and bass fishing that has been good for the boats fishing the front on ¾-day trips. Last weekend did not give up any yellows for the Newport Beach based ¾-day that runs out of Davey’s Locker, but the bonito fishing was great. On Sunday 250 bonito, 25 calico bass and a sheephead went in the sacks for 63 anglers. The day before was a practical mirror image when 57 anglers scored 250 bonito and 26 calico bass. Dana Wharf Sportfishing’s Fury had a great trip on Sunday when 20 anglers scored limits of bonito (100), 78 calico bass and 1 sheephead to go with 1 yellowtail.

The Pursuit was over at Catalina on Sunday on its 6 a.m. full-day out of 22nd Street Landing. It ended up with 47 bonito to go with a mixed bag that included 29 calico bass, 20 sheephead, 16 whitefish, 39 salmon grouper, 151 rockfish and 14 reds.

BACKSIDE YELLOW—A new area of squid pushed into the backside of Catalina Island, and the Spectra was there to take advantage of it last Saturday. The overnight trip out of Pierpoint Landing gave up 8 yellows in the bait grounds from 22 to 39 pounds. The 39 pounder was this beautiful forkie being shown off by Charina A Pastrana.

Read the full article here http://www.wonews.com/t-SCSaltReport_100510.aspx

Captain Jack and Jeff Cooke (right) show off the 59 pound white seabass caught by Cooke on Sunday.

Photo by Pam sharp

Two weeks later, Saturday night, June 19, Cooke boarded a 976-Tuna charter on the Spectra out of Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach. He and his two fishing buddies agreed to each chip in twenty dollars, to go to the angler on the trip that scored the biggest fish.

The bait tanks were already loaded with some live squid. At the island, none of the light boats had any to sell, so the crew fished with nets for the prized “candy bait”. Just before dawn the passengers were called out on deck to start fishing. With no response by sunrise, Captain Jack moved around from one small cove to next along the rocky shores of Catalina Island, looking for the right conditions among dozens of sandy beaches. In one of those spots afternoon, an angler landed a seabass just over 30 pounds. The fish tend to travel in schools; one usually means there are others in the area, and that set off a rush of adrenaline among the angers. Seconds after the first fish was on the deck, Cooke hooked up. After a trip around the boat, fish dragging angler, it took two of the crew to gaff and drag the fish over the rail. But Cooke had his prize.

The fish weighed in at a whopping 59 pounds.

Cooke, unchallenged by his two friends, went home with the $60, and a lifetime worth of bragging rights.

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-52384-LA-Fishing-Examiner~y2010m6d21-Angler-scores-huge-white-seabass-at-Catalina-Island

SOCAL SALT REPORTS: Catalina gives up its biggest hits of the year on white seabass

BY BRANDON HAYWARD/WON Staff WriterPublished: Jun 22, 2010

SOUTH CAL HAYWARD REPORTS

LONG BEACH — Along with being able to keep 3 white seabass starting on Wednesday of last week came the best white seabass fishing of the year.

And it wasn’t just for small boats and six-packs. The bigger sportboats like the Big Game 90 and Freedom posted some impressive counts.

“We ended up with 38 seabass for out 27 guys,” said Big Game 90 owner/operator Mike Jewett on a call with WON after wrapping up a 2 1/2-day trip out of Long Beach Marina Sportfishing on Sunday.

The trip put it’s extended length to fish all over the place day and night.
“We started at Catalina in the bait grounds up west where Tommy (Lee, on the Freedom) had 35. We left to go to Santa Barbara Island for nothing, and then we went back to Catalina for 11 seabass. We waited it out in the bait grounds for nothing, and then we went to San Clemente Island,” said Jewett.

Clemente continues to be a huge dissapointment. Like the other sportboats to visit Clemente recently, the Big Game 90 saw signs of yellowtail, but there wasn’t much action.

BEST BISCUIT OF THE YEAR, SO FAR — The biggest white seabass to get caught on a sportboat so far this season is this 59 pounder that Jeffrey Looke of Aliso Viejo caught while fishing on the Spectra with Captain Jack Dalla Corte last Sunday. Looke caught the fish on a Seeker 970-7, and a Shimano Torium 16 with 40-pound Izorline XXX.

“We looked at some yellowtail there and got one shitty little one. So we took off and went back to Catalina. We ended up getting 27 after dark,” added Jewett, who is running his last round of trips-including a Saturday open party-out of Marina Sportfishing this week before going back down to San Diego.

Sunday had some huge hits for the fleet. The Freedom backed up its big day Friday (when it had 35 white seabass) with 51 white seabass. The trip started at San Clemente Island for 2 yellowtail before heading for the East End of Catalina where the best seabass fishing was found.

The Options ended up with 3-fish limits at Catalina on Sunday for it’s 5 passengers. The crew got in on the fun and boated a few fish to bring the total up to 19 white seabass.
“We just scratched at them all day,” said Options skipper Tino Valantine. “It was our best trip of the year, which was a coincidence seeing how out best trips of the year on seabass last year was on Father’s Day.”

In addition to the big hits for some boats, the island also gave up its biggest sportboat-caught seabass of the season on Sunday for the Spectra out of Pierpoint Landing. The seabass was a 59 pounder caught by Jeffrey Looke of Aliso Viejo on a Seeker 970-7, and a Shimano Torium 16 with 40-pound Izorline XXX.
“We have had seabass five of the seven trips I’ve ran,” said the Spectra’s captain, Jack Dalla Corte. “There’s plenty of bait and fish over at the island and we are looking at a really good start to summer.”

On Friday the Spectra had 6 white seabass, 8 halibut and a yellowtail to go with good calico bass fishing for its 6 anglers.

The local coast was the hotspot during the week, and that’s where the Dreamer had some huge days. The last day it turned in a count form the coast was Wednesday when it was full three-fish limits for passengers and crew to the tune of 27 white seabass for 9 anglers.

The last big hit for one of the Redondo boats was on the Redondo Special on Wednesday when a wide-open seabass bite gave up 17 white seabass for the anglers on the morning half-day trip.

On Friday the MarDiosa tuned in 4 white seabass, 24 calico bass, 1 sheephead and a balck seabass (released) for its 6 anglers fishing Catalina.

http://www.wonews.com/t-SCSalTReport_hayward_062210.aspx

To read the Spectra report about this trip click here…

Catalina’s seabass bite takes ‘the slide’

BY BRANDON HAYWARD/WON Staff Writer
Original Article Link: http://www.wonews.com/t-SCSaltReports_hayward_033010.aspx

LONG BEACH — After giving up an exciting start to kick off the spring season, the white seabass bite at Catalina fell flat on its face last week. Over at Clemente, the Seahorse was able to find two yellowtail on Saturday, which ratcheted that island’s spring yellowtail count up to a whopping 3 yellows.

Bait has been an issue at Catalina. Actually, it’s been a major problem. There’s been almost no live squid available — the little bit that had been around on the middle of the front dried up leading into the full moon.

The last sportboat to catch a seabass last week was the six-pack Spectra, which ran its first open party trip with Tino Valantine at the helm for 2 school-sized seabass on Wednesday.

Valantine was back at his usual gig running the Options from Thursday through Sunday, and the seabass were nowhere to be found, despite covering the entire island.

“We made that squid on the front Thursday night, but that was the last night there was bait,” said Valantine. While live squid has been tough to make, the fresh dead in the freezer has been coming in handy. “We had limits of calico bass on Sunday. Mot of it was in the dark. It was flat-out wide-open night bass fishing for the guys that stayed up. We had a couple of short seabass from the shallow water spots.”

While the counts might not reflect it, Catalina is — or was leading up to this week’s front — in pretty good shape. Valantine had 60-plus degree water for the weekend trips, and plenty of “seabass water” to fish. The water was up to 63.2 when he left in flat calm conditions Sunday afternoon.

The only exotics in the counts since the Wednesday seabass at Catalina came from the Seahorse’s trip to San Clemente Island on Saturday. The Dana Wharf overnight boat had 25- and 28-pound yellowtail latch onto the yo-yo irons.

“I saw a little bit of fish around on Saturday when we had the two, but on Sunday it was only up once and we never got on it,” said Seahorse owner/operator Tyler Elzig on a call with WON. Clemente got a lot of coverage over the weekend from the fleet from Dana Point to Long Beach. Given this season’s El Niño hype, the island has been a real letdown this spring.