Author: Joe Sarmiento

Next week is already Thanksgiving!  Once we get past that holiday, the rest of year is basically a blur(fishing report).  Next thing you know it, it will be 2018. There are a lot of things going on this time of year vying for our attention.  For those of us who call ourselves salty, it doesn’t mean we stop.  Here are the options left for the last month of the year. Thanksgiving Tuna…Again! I wrote in my last post how I was wondering what Capt. Rick Slavkin of the Oceanside 95 would do for a follow-up last weekend on the yellowfin tuna. …

Hey guys, sorry for the late post.  I’m up here in San Francisco for the weekend.  I came up to fish with my buddies, Nick Lam and Tim Shiau.  Tim is a deckhand on Enterprise Sportfishing, and Nick is his buddy that lives up here, but frequently comes down to fish with us in SoCal. Quick little bit of business before I get into the trip though… I was wrong. I wrote last week that Offshore Is Over.  Offshore is definitely on its last legs, but it’s NOT quite over just yet.  I was shocked this week to get the update that…

I admit it.  Kind of a click bait sort of title, but let’s review the facts.  The boats that summer in San Diego have gone home for the winter.  Some boats are already in the yard or getting ready.  Traditional offshore fishing…burning a lot of gas looking for paddies, birds working, porpoise, signs of fish etc. is over unless you go long.  Water temps have dropped in our local waters.  And the all landings fish count for yesterday showed a whopping tally of 5 yellowfin tuna.  Offshore season is over. So what’s with the dodo picture? That’s my buddy and…

Editor’s Note: A little luck goes a long way in fishing and Joe Sarmiento is the first to remind us of that. Despite varying luck, the SoCal fishing report is still good. I typically sign off my SoCal fishing report with, “Good luck if you get out there.” No matter how good you are, it’s going to take some things going right to have a successful outing.  My experience this weekend is a good example… I stepped onto the Eclipse last Friday night for a 2-day trip.  Capt. Jeff Walker (right) was at the helm.  The fishing had been good earlier…

Alternate title for this article was, “A Tale Of Two Pictures.” I posted the above picture on my Facebook page this week.  It’s my buddy April and her fiancé, Kevin Martin, a crewmember on Toronado Sportfishing.  The Toro was on a 2 day last weekend with Capt. Ray Lagmay running the trip.  They fished San Clemente and picked up 42 Yellowtail, 21 sheephead, 110 whitefish and 45 rockfish…a very solid Fall combo trip for sure. On the way home they ran into a spot of bluefin and managed to pickup a couple nice ones.  The above fish ran around 100-pounds and a…

I wrote last week how among the opposing forces of offshore vs. bottom fishing, I chose to go bottom fishing.  It’s a matter of personal preference.  I’ve had my fill of tuna for the year and just want to do (and eat) something different as it applies to fishing. That said, even if you decide to go in the opposite direction and fish offshore, the nature of what’s happening on the water seems to be in a state of flux. For weeks now, you could get away with say 20/40/60# mono bait sticks and be done with your trip prep.  Flylining a…

It’s Fall…one of my favorite times of year.  Outside of fishing, I’m a huge football fan and my team is good this year.  That said, I can always DVR the game.  You can’t replay fishing at a more convenient time! I have a 3-day weekend on tap.  Earlier this week, I was planning on where I should go.  There are lots of options to choose from right now.  Offshore is still going strong.  You basically have two choices in offshore fishing right now.  You can opt for a more traditional offshore experience and paddy hop for yellowfin and dorado.  Or you…

I got a text yesterday.  “So this just happened…” It was from Josh Lish, a commercial fishing buddy of mine who runs out of Oceanside Harbor.  He sent me pics that I viewed on my phone.  We’ve been catching bluefin in excess of 300-pounds this year (see my post from last week!).  So, I have to be honest, my first reaction was “265…that’s nice.  Congrats buddy.” Then I noticed the sickles and realized it wasn’t a bluefin… Josh said he thought it might be a California state record yellowfin tuna.  I know the world record is 427, caught by Guy Yocom on…

My previous article focused on the hot yellowfin tuna bite that was happening.  I was saying how boats were going to be focused on catching those yellowfin, so if you wanted a bluefin, you needed to go on a multi-day trip, OR a bluefin-or-bust targeted mission. The hot yellowfin bite continued this week, but the biggest news was the 345.1-pound bluefin tuna caught aboard Ranger 85  Sportfishing (top).   That’s the lucky angler, Joe Roder, in white with the big smile on his face. Capt. Robert Gray led a group of 27 anglers on a 2.5-day trip.  They filled sacks on Day…

Last week at this time, we were wondering “What happened to the offshore tuna bite?”  The previous week saw limits style fishing for many pelagic species.  Suddenly, that train came to a screeching halt.  Lousy conditions characterized the middle part of last week offshore…perhaps created by Hurricane Lidia down below?  Where there was once a choice of more traditional paddy hopping activity and/or chasing bluefin, it abruptly became a bluefin or bust scenario.  The only silver lining was that those pesky blues were finally responding to bait. Going into the weekend, conditions began to lie down.  What lay on the other side of it though…

It’s Labor Day Weekend!  Like most of you, I’m looking at the prospect of a 3-day weekend.  I was really hoping to get on an overnight or 1.5 for Sunday fishing offshore on Monday, but as I’ve been saying, for the last couple months now… If you don’t already have a ride setup going into the weekend, chances are you won’t find the ride you’re looking for If you’re like me and you just need to get a salty fix, there are good options.  One I really like and I will fit in at some point over the next 3-days is…

I have to be honest and say I’m not a big fan of “finesse” fishing.  One of the reasons why I enjoy summer calico fishing so much is that when it’s good, I can fish big baits on big string and they just come up and smash it! At the opposite side of the spectrum is fishing light line and small hooks to coax a bite from picky bluefin.  I hate it. Somewhere in the middle of that spectrum is the setup that is getting bit offshore paddy fishing right now. I had a chance to get out on an overnight this week…

It’s been kind of a slow week.  I’m still bullish on the fishing opportunities overall.  The fact that it’s almost impossible to find a weekend ride right now tells me that you all think so too. Definitely some highlights though… The water is warm.  Exotic pelagic species are making their way north.  The first sportboat marlin of the year got caught this week aboard the Western Pride out of Davey’s Locker (above). A couple dodos (aka mahi mahi) got caught this week in Santa Monica Bay!  That’s Jackson Maltz (right), son of owner/operator Jeremy Maltz, aboard his dad’s boat the Spitfire earlier this week.…

I love this time of year.  As the kids go back to school, now is a good time for the salty of us to take some adult vacation time on the water. Even better, the offshore scene (offshore business) now is no longer just a one trick pony.  It’s diversified and far more engaging.  It’s no longer the spectator sport of seeing big bluefin tuna splashing around, but not biting.  Nor is it watching “that one guy” fight the fish of a lifetime because it happened to be their turn when a monster bit the yummy. It’s a little bit…

Depending on what kind of mood I’m in, I look for and get different things out of going fishing.  Sometimes I want loud and crazy.  Sometimes I get a kick out of the competitive aspect with my buddies on the boat. The last couple weeks, I’ve been dealing with some family health issues.  I’ve never been one to do well dealing with medical stuff anyway… So I’ve been self medicating with small doses of saltiness I got invited on a free 2-day tuna trip this weekend, but I passed.  Too much going on and I didn’t want to be out-of-pocket that…

If you were looking for a follow up to last week’s article – Inflated Counts & Internet Anglers – I did have some more thoughts about it and plan to do something (maybe on SoCal Salty), but the news of the week trumps that discussion for sure. My colleague Erik Landesfeind just posted a good read on this news that the bluefin finally bit this week.  Both numbers and size of fish are notable.  Multiple “super cow” sized fish have been caught in the last couple days.  Even better, all the catching isn’t just happening for the skiff crowd.  Those…

There’s been some tension of late within our salty community.  On the one hand, you have captains and crews complaining about “Internet” and “El Nino” anglers.  The narrative goes, “You spoiled El Nino anglers have an inflated sense of your angling prowess.”  The companion rant to this narrative is, “There’s this sense of entitlement among anglers these days.  Unless the count is 100 yellowtail a trip, it’s not worth your time to go fishing.”  Usually, these statements are followed up with some variation of, “Back in the old days, before the internet, before social media, before everyone claiming they’re pro staff this and…

Sportboat Reports Working title… Have you heard those Vegas prognosticator types on sports radio during football season?  They’re on a lot when I’m driving to get on a boat.  They tell you to call in to their hotline to receive a free betting recommendation.  It’s their 24K Gold Lock Of the Week.  It’s such a sure thing, you’ll be willing to pay to know all their picks. I feel like one of those guys sometimes as I sit down to write.  People are always asking me where I’m fishing the upcoming weekend.  I’ve been on a pretty good roll this year calling my shots. …

Looking at the prospects for last weekend, I was decidedly an islands vs. offshore lean. The seabass were hitting up north.  Our local islands weren’t putting out numbers, but the counts were respectable on yellows with impressive size.  Add to the yellowtail, a sprinkling of halibut and seabass and it presented a solid opportunity. I don’t typically try to influence the destination or focus of a trip unless I’m the chartermaster.  I did however check with Capt. Rick Slavkin of the Oceanside 95 out of Helgren’s in Oceanside before committing.  I wanted to see which direction he was leaning on a 1.5…

I posted the above picture of angler Joe Oyama this week on my So Cal Salties facebook page.  It’s from The San Diego on Wednesday of this week.  The boat is back to fishing it’s regular fishing grounds, the Coronado Islands.  Joe being Joe, he didn’t just catch, but he got them on surface iron.  Style points. If you don’t know Joe, you probably recognize him.  He’s one of those select few guys that always seems to catch the target fish of the moment, usually before and/or bigger than anyone else.  I’ve had the pleasure to fish with Joe several times and he’s…

I didn’t really like a lot of the options out there for last weekend.  I told you that the local action was good along much of our coast.  The water is warming up which always activates the bass bite…one of my favorite fishy things to do. I took my own advice and got out on the City of Long Beach.  It didn’t disappoint.  Easy limit of bass, including the last 3 coming on the iron! This weekend, there are some better options Not that I still don’t like the local action, I do!  If you want to go longer though, there are some great options for…

My colleague, Erik Landesfeind, and I…and pretty much all the captains out there calling in their daily reports off the fishing boats have been talking about the potential and opportunity at hand in our local waters for several weeks now. “Seeing a lot of signal.  If these fish ever decide to go…” You’ve heard it too.  On the one hand, I agree.  Big bluefin are in play.  Yellowfin are starting to crash the scene.  Local and island fishing boats are seeing yellows.  Seabass are still getting caught.  Overall though, the big hits have been few and far between.  Capt. Ryan Bostian of…

Back in the BEN days (Before El Nino), the sportboat year basically rolled out as follows.  January and February were all about sculpin and sand bass.  You might break that routine up going on some Halibut Derby trips.  You looked forward to the rockfish opener.  We might get lucky in the Spring with some yo-yo yellows popping up somewhere, or the white seabass hitting at the islands or up north.  The fishing was mostly bottom oriented. Then around Mother’s Day, the cuda would arrive Their arrival signaled it was time to dust off your jig stick and get out to…

Last Saturday (May 27th), I got out on the sportboat, San Diego.  Satisfied with knocking off my white seabass this year (2 ways, 2 locations…I feel good about that!), I felt like it was time to turn my attention to offshore.  Last year I was happy to bag a limit of 80-pound fish on the Pacific Queen in August during that hot bite at Desperation Reef. Still, long after the sashimi and poke were gone, hitting that century mark is something that’s lingered with me.  I definitely want to put a 100-pound ‘local’ bluefin on my fishing resume like Joe Oyama’s yesterday on…