This year’s Steve Moyer Memorial Tournament was a great success and though the weather conditions were a bit snotty, the fishing was much better than last year’s event.

With over 140 contestants, anglers were fishing every part of La Jolla conievable. A variety of species were caught, including Yellowtail, Halibut, Bonito, and Calico bass. No White Seabass were caught in this year’s tournament.

The Tournament had divisions for the 3 major species of fish (Yellowtail, White Seabass , and Halibut), as well as a division for all other species.

 The heaviest fish honors go to Gabe Martin with a last minute 42.2 lb. halibut. Gabe got top honors in the Halibut division. The Yellowtail Division winner was Dave Kalwick with a 30.4lb. yellowtail. The “Others” Division was won by Ed Walker with a 5lb. Bonito.

 YakTackle.com is a proud sponsor of the Steve Moyer Memorial Tournament and donated over $1,000 worth of merchandise for prizes.

It’s been a great summer with lots of warm water and large fish. The yellowtail season this year has been outstanding with lots of 20# and 30# class fish being caught throughout the summer.

Reports of Dorado just 3 miles off Oceanside had some kayakers searching for dodos, but no reports of any being caught by kayakers.

The water is still warm and has great clarity. Fall could prove to be an exciting time, with smaller crowds and larger fish.

Dave S. continues to bring in large yellowtail in the high 30# class range.

Well, we didn’t see the White Seabass run we expect in June. While a few stragglers were caught, for the most part, they’ve been a no-show this June in the inshore areas around La Jolla.

However, that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been plenty of action. There were still lots of Threshers caught and released by kayakers in the La Jolla area. Reports of others in ports north of San Diego have also filtered in.

 Down South, there has been lots of nice sized yellows caught in Northern Baja, with even bigger versions the further south you go. East Cape has also seen lots of Dorado as the water has really warmed up.

The last two weeks of May saw some great action, if you knew where to find it. SCI saw some great WSB action with many commercial charters limiting out. Let’s hope those schools move closer to the mainland. Inshore action near the coast from Dana Point to La Jolla saw a great mix of halibut, barricuda, large bonito, and yellowtail. It was difficult at times to get past the logs, but definitely worth the effort. Most yellows were caught on surface irons, though live bait worked well also, if you could keep the ‘cudas off of it.

There were a few Threshers reported in the past week, as well.

The water has really warmed up in popular fishing areas, such as La Jolla. Average sea surface temps have been in the mid 60s, with higher temps reported in isolated areas.

 Lots of breezing yellowtail, along with surface boils and feeding frenzies were seen this week, though very few were caught by kayak anglers.

There have also been reports of live squid in the area. Some were caught in the middle of the day, though they were unable to turn those into forkies.

This week’s cooler temps could have an impact on the fishing, but with the Memorial Day weekend coming up, I’d fish before Friday if you expect to have any water to yourself.

The threshers are here! Always an exciting catch, these fish can provide lots of action and aerial acrobatics. Lots of local report a wide open bite of the toothy critters on several occasions. Team YakTackle hooked into 5 threshers in the first 2 hours of fishing last week. While we don’t preach our political beliefs on this forum, all fish were released.

Also, Bonito have been caught in the area the past couple of days, with some over 12lbs. These frenetic eaters provide lots of action and can put up a fun fight. If you’d like to keep some for fillets, your best bet is to bleed them on the water and put them on ice immediately. Having an insulated game bag can make the difference between nice tasting fish and those that taste a little “gamey”.

 The water has definitely warmed up, with local water temps in the low 60’s. A bit of South wind over the past few days has made for less than optimal conditions, but the weather in the upcoming days, along with the moon phase, could make for some great fishing later in the week.

The first week of May proved to be a bit of a challenge for anglers searching for Yellowtail and White Seabass in SoCal waters. The water was brown, though there was lots of bait in the water. Recently, Threshers have been caught (many released), providing excitement for those anglers.

Below, Dorado50 brings in a Thresher of about 50lbs. The fish was released unharmed.

The month of April has proven to be very slow for anglers in the La Jolla area. One Saturday saw several WSB caught and a couple of nice YT, as well. However, that bite proved to be short lived and the rest of the month saw very little action, with only sporadic fish caught by kayakers. Let’s hope that May turns out to be better than April.

The fishing was slow for most of March, though there were a few white seabass caught, including some in the high 40# class and one over 50lbs. The water temps dropped while the last week of March saw some very clean water. Unfortunately, the WSB don’t seem to like that, as they were nowhere to be seen. Even the free divers reported very few sightings toward the end of March. Let’s hope April brings more action!

High pressure in the SoCal area makes for some sunny skies and great weather to be on the water. The days have been warm and the breeze, light. Unfortunately, the fishing action has been light also.

 With the full moon on Friday, there was great tidal movement.  A bit of swell early in the week and the storm from last week made for some dirty water conditions inshore. Look for water clarity to improve in the coming days, though the swell and surf is forcast to increase later in the week.

With the water beginning to warm up, the action should be increasing. Santa Catalina Island and San Clemente Island have reported a few White Seabass being caught recently. Closer to home, we’re looking for that action to increase here, although not much has changed recently.