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March 12th Week Saltwater Fishing Report

OCEAN FISHING REPORT

By Terrence Berg and Phil Friedman

www.976-TUNA.com

CHANNEL ISLANDS UPDATE: Wide open rockfish action with most skippers reporting rockfish limits for all anglers on board their boats, along with a smattering of whitefish and the occasional halibut. Windy conditions could make fishing a little tougher through the weekend, but the bite is excellent.

LOS ANGELES AREA UPDATE: Weather conditions were awesome over the past week, but wind was kicking up Wednesday and was forecast through the weekend. While the rougher conditions and poorer tides will slow things down, there have been excellent signs that spring is here. At Catalina Island, anglers aboard the Phantom out of Pierpoint Landing have landed white seabass every day since last Friday. On Sunday, the seven anglers on board had nine legal seabass, another 35 just under legal-sized, 20 yellowfin croaker, 16 calico bass, five sheephead, and three halibut. For the half- and three-quarter day boats, the bottom fish bite in the Santa Monica Bay for the Redondo and Marina del Rey boats has been wide open with reds, chili pepper, and salmon grouper all filling the sacks. The sculpin are also still showing in good numbers. The winter sand bass bite also still remains very good, especially considering the season, for anglers fishing leadheads tipped with squid.

ORANGE COUNTY UPDATE: The Sea Horse out of Dana Wharf Sportfishing made overnight trips to San Clemente over the weekend and found excellent conditions there. Anglers on these three trips managed to land 17 yellowtail to 25 pounds, along with limits or near-limits of rockfish and a smattering of calico bass. There has also been a decent pick on the local bass, with an occasional halibut, backing that all up with good sculpin and rockfish catches for the half- and three-quarter day boat anglers. There are also sand bass showing in unseasonably good numbers here, too.

SAN DIEGO UPDATE: There continues to be excellent rockfish action for the San Diego-based fleet. The warm weather also seemed to be pulling some of the migratory fish up the coast with reports of barracuda in the middle of the channel this past week. For the half-day boats, there is still a decent pick on local bass, and even an occasional yellowtail or white seabass around La Jolla.

INSTRUCTIONAL CHARTERS: The staff of 976-TUNA and SKB host instructional charters throughout the year, offering beginning anglers or veterans advice and on-the-water teaching of techniques for different saltwater species. The next trip is a two-day trip aboard the Big Game 90 leaving April 13 targeting white seabass, yellowtail, and rockfish. This trip is limited to 28 anglers and the cost is $199. There is a special Cino de Mayo trip May 4-9 to teach anglers the basics of fishing Baja. This trip will be held out of Palmas de Cortez. For more information on upcoming SKB/976-TUNA instructional charters, call 310-328-8426.

This Week's Freshwater Hot Spots in Southern California....

Jim Matthew's Picks of the Week

1. While the bite is probably not going to be as good as this past week because of the moon phase, the spring spawn is starting for largemouth bass and one of the best spots will continue to be Casitas Lake. No, you can’t launch your own boat here because of the fear of quagga mussels, and the rental boats are going fast every day. But the fish are up and the bite is one. Call the marina at 805-649-2043 for an up-to-the-minute update and check on the availability of rentals.

2. Diamond Valley Lake kicked into high gear this past week for largemouth bass, but a changing moon and cooler weather will likely lull the bass bite here. It is still one of the best picks in the region for bass. Lots of quality fish this past week. For updates, check with the marina staff at 951-926-7201 or the folks at Last Chance Bait & Tackle in Hemet at 951-658-7410.

3. San Vicente really kicked on for bass this past week as the fish moved in tight for the spawn. Lots of small males are being caught right now, but fishing the outside points has produced some bigger fish over four pounds. Vicente is only open on weekends. For lake information, call 619-465-3474 www.ci.san-diego.ca.us/water/.

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