Author: Erik Landesfeind

Yup, it’s been yet another week of people going out and getting shots at catching the fish of a lifetime and the fish are getting even bigger. Over the last couple weeks, hundred pounders have fallen out of the ranks of being considered “big” and at the pace we’re going, I wouldn’t be surprised if a fish over 300-pounds makes it to the scale in the next few days. With multiple 240-pound fish hitting the dock and unconfirmed reports of a 270-pound fish weighed, there have got to be bigger ones out there and sooner or later someone is going…

The big news this week continues to be the bluefin tuna that are biting in US Waters and are starting to bite for sport boats. Boats from San Diego to Newport Beach have been getting in on the action, even if their passengers weren’t ready for it. The Thunderbird out of Davey’s Locker was one of those boats. After being kicked out of San Clemente Island by the Navy on Monday, they went offshore and found the bigger fish. They suffered heavy losses and after going 11 for 32 on the big fish, they went back to fishing yellowtail on…

I’m one of those guys who will always carry a crankbait rod when fishing for spotted bay bass or making a trip to the breakwall, but I’ve always left it at home when fishing outside the harbor. I started to suspect that might be a mistake after a trip with Captain Gerry Mahieu. During that trip, Gerry fished the crankbait extensively and fished it in areas I’d never considered conducive to crankbait fishing, like boiler rocks and kelp beds. A couple weeks later, I fished with Captain Jimmy Decker and he too spent the entire trip fishing a crankbait in water…

Fishing hard baits is a great way to catch all three species of saltwater bass. The problem is that most hard baits are designed for freshwater use and if you fish them right out of the box they’re eventually going to let you down. Here’s a sample of some of the hard baits in my tackle box that are having some problems. At the top is a Daiwa Salt Pro Minnow, while designed for saltwater fishing, the hooks are too small and tend to tear out. Below that is a Strike King deep diving crankbait, the lure is designed to…

Who knows what’s going to happen a month from now, or next week, or even tomorrow for that matter, but I will say that right now is the best shot you’ll probably ever get at the bluefin of a lifetime. Will you land one? I doubt it. Will you hook one? Probably not. Will you even see one? Maybe. While those odds don’t seem to be stacked in the anglers favor, when you consider that we’re talking about catching a 200+ pound tuna within 40-miles of the dock in Orange County, it would be silly not to at least try.…

The 4th of July holiday usually signals the start of the summer fishing season in Southern California and while the fish have been biting for a couple months already this year, it still means there will be increased crowds. The good news is that there are enough fish biting in enough places that not every area is going to get wiped out by additional boat pressure. The trick is going to be figuring out where to go and what to do to avoid getting stuck in one of the crowds. My recommendation to sport boat and private boat anglers alike…

Although everyone hoped it wouldn’t be the case, we all knew that the consistent bite on big bluefin in local waters was going to come to an end. And while the bite may not be completely over, last weekend’s windy conditions, coupled with this week’s full moon, definitely have the bluefin at least temporarily off the bite. The good news is that we’ve still got good water conditions and tons of bait on our local banks, so the bite could come roaring back at any time. As of Thursday, there are still some big bluefin being seen and caught by…

The good news is that we’ve experienced yet another week of amazing tuna fishing. Although the fish bit better some days than others, anyone that found the right batch had a shot at a fish from 50 to 200-pounds, some within 10 miles of the point. The bad news is that along with the typical crowds weekend crowds, anglers are going to have to deal with some breezy conditions over the next few days. The wind probably won’t be enough to put the fish down, but it will be enough to make them tough to spot and will make for…

There are two main complaints I’ve been hearing from fishermen about the big bluefin tuna that are swimming in our local waters. The first complaint is that people are having a tough time getting them to bite and when they do bite, they’re having a tough time getting them in the boat. I’m far from being an authority on bluefin tuna fishing, but I’ve got a few tips that might help you hook and actually land one of these trophy fish on an artificial lure. For the sake of brevity, I’m going to fast forward to the point where you’ve…

Go fish! I’ve spent quite a bit of time writing about bluefin tuna lately. Bluefin reports, bluefin tactics, bluefin tackle, if it starts with “bluefin” I’m pretty sure that I’ve written something about it over the last couple months. But just when I thought that I’d said all I had to say on the subject, I realized that I’d neglected to share the most important advice of all. There’s a good chance that this tuna bite is going to be a once in a lifetime opportunity, so remember to enjoy it. Enjoy the fact that the fish are biting even…

One of the hot topics of discussion on our message boards the last couple weeks has been bluefin tuna tackle. Most of these posts are based on questions asking which lures to fish, which rods to fish them on and how to present those lures once you’ve found some fish. As I mentioned in last week’s article, I’m a long way from having these fish figured out, but I’m confident enough in my tackle choices to recommend the tackle I think will get the job done. This quiver of rods should cover every artificial lure presentation you’ll need to have…

Summer came to Southern California with a bang over Memorial Day weekend with an unprecedented bite on big bluefin tuna. The fish were so big that by Monday afternoon the guys who fishing the zone were referring to fifty to sixty class fish as small, 80 to 120-pounders were good ones and those over 150-pounds were big. With multiple 200-plus-pound fish making it to the docks since Sunday, unprecedented truly is the only way to define it. While the bite was off a bit on Wednesday, it was pretty good during the rest of the week. A friend of mine,…

Surprisingly there were no big shake ups on the fishing front before, during, or after last weekend’s full moon. But considering the fishing we’ve been experiencing the last couple weeks, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Other than the Producer out H&M Landing catching the first albacore of the year on a 1 1/2-day trip, things were business as usual along the coast and business has been good. An influx of squid at the Channel Islands and Catalina has made for some more great spring fishing this week. Both the Amigo and the Island Spirit out of Ventura Sportfishing got…

Things have been changing this week along the Southern California fishing front; some for the better, others for the worse and a few that are just different. With not much precedent to call upon. due to the last few seasons being such a departure from the fishing we normally have in our waters, all we can do is guess. And with the first full moon of what would normally be considered the beginning of the summer season coming on Saturday, it’s going to be interesting to see how things play out. While we’re waiting let’s take a look at what…

 Before I get into this week’s report, I’d like to take a look at what happened to the bluefin bite after I wrote last week’s report. The tuna were biting fairly well early in the week, but the bite peaked on Thursday and Friday. This looked very promising for the guys heading out on the weekend, but Saturday morning dawned on lots of boat pressure and almost no tuna being seen or caught. In my opinion there were a couple of factors that caused the weekend bluefin disappearance. First off, a quick check of the lunar calendar indicates that Friday…

Despite the fact that it might be overcast or even raining as you read this, this week’s storm shouldn’t have much of an effect on the fishing, which has been great for a change. After getting a few days break from the wind over the weekend, the bite has improved dramatically on both the inshore and offshore scenes. There’s a lot of stuff the cover this week, so without further adieu let’s get to the reports. Starting in San Diego, the yellowtail fishing has been good for the 3/4-day and overnight boats and almost everyone is getting a shot at…

Put simply, the difference between fishing for calico bass and being a calico bass fisherman is the amount of tackle you’re going to need to do it. While just about any saltwater rod and reel combo will allow you to catch calicos, if you’re interested in seriously targeting them you’re going to need some specialized tackle. Just how much tackle you’re going to need is dependent on your interest level and budget, but for the sake of this article I’ve put together five rod and reel combos that will cover almost every scenario you’ll encounter. The good news is that…

With the weather we’ve been experiencing the last couple months, I’m finally starting to understand the old saying about Eskimos having 100 words that describe snow. While I don’t have quite that many to describe wind, I am running out of different ways to describe another windy week in my column. So, for simplicity’s sake let me say this; it’s been another windy week, but the weather is supposed to be better this weekend. Will there be any fish to catch? Probably. There’s not much to report on the offshore scene other than that the Aztec out of Seaforth Landing…

Mixed Bag Yup, you guessed it, the wind is going to blow again this weekend. To add insult to injury, we might also finally get a little bit of that rain we were expecting all winter. So, let’s chalk up one more week of me sounding like a broken record and saying, “yes, it’s going to be windy this weekend, but hopefully the fish will still be biting when the wind stops again”. I’m honestly thinking about switching my weekly reports to Monday for the next few weeks so that I can at least give the reader some wind free…

It seems like all I’ve been talking about for the last few weeks is the wind. Looking back over my recent columns, they all seem to have a similar theme; the wind was blowing, the wind is going to blow or the wind is blowing right now. As much as I hate to tell you this, the wind is going to blow again this weekend and there’s a good chance it’s going to blow again next week at some point. So why are we getting all of this wind? It’s April and April is always windy. The difference is that…

I hate to say it, but this is going to be another one of those “good news / bad news” reports. The good news is that the big bluefin bit in earnest this week out of San Diego. The bad news is that it’s supposed to rain all weekend. Yeah, I know, it sucks! Some more good news, or at least I’m hoping it will continue to be good news, is that this year’s storms haven’t had all that much of an impact on the fishing. So let’s just keep our fingers crossed that continues to be the case with…

Lead Head Tips One of the questions I get asked most often is, “Which lead head should I use when fishing for (insert bass species here)?” While that may seem like a simple enough question, it’s actually pretty tough to answer without giving a bunch of situational exceptions. Rather than focusing on choosing the right lead head for a particular species or situation, I’ve put together a tackle box that will cover all species and situations. Going into that tackle box will be three main styles of lead heads in 4 different sizes that will cover the bulk of your…

Looking back over my last few columns, I can’t help but notice a distinct pattern. The pattern consists of a few days of wind, followed by a few days of good fishing, followed by another round of wind and then more good fishing. Well, this week was no different. After a good weekend of fishing, we were treated to several days of heavy wind. As soon as the wind stopped, the fish resumed biting for the boats that did make it off the dock. One of the first boats to get out this week was the Aloha Spirit out of…

Boat Essentials – What to Pack One of the best things about being a private boater is heading in a different direction than the rest of the fleet and finding an area to fish all by myself. On the same token, one of the drawbacks of being a private boater is that if I forgot something at home, I’m going to go without on the trip. Over the years I’ve found that it’s never a certain lure or a specific rod that I wish I’d brought. It usually ends up being something as simple as a dry sweatshirt or something…