Author: Joe Sarmiento

There are certain conventions to catching the various species of fish that we target here in Southern California.  Based on the time of year, what they are eating, the conditions where you are fishing etc.  There is likely a “best” way to catch the target species. But what do you do when they don’t want to bite? For a lot of people, it’s do the same thing, but with lighter line and/or smaller hooks.  That’s one option.  Not my favorite, but one that we’ve seen a lot this year, especially in response to the tight-lipped tuna we’ve had. I’m not…

A lot of my articles are based on what I’m hearing from the community.  People ask me a question.  I’ve either had that experience to answer it, talked with anglers that have recently, and/or reached out to captains or crewmembers who can give me some insight on the answers. Today I’m writing about this particular topic, because it’s the exercise I’m going through my head as I try to figure out what to bring for my last offshore trip of the year Friday night, a 2 day trip on Eclipse Sportfishing. Yellowfin/Dorado Mostly a bait thing on boils or kelps…

Maybe it’s just me, but it feels like El Nino is finally winding its way down.  It isn’t that there isn’t still warm water and some better than usual fishing to be had.  There’s still a good chunk of U.S. water that is holding yellowfin with a sprinkling of bluefin mixed in.  My buddy April Wilson-Surprenant just got off a 2.5-day on the Toronado Monday morning with this nice bluefin (right). For the last week or so, Capt. Bruce Root on the Sport King, has been reporting small counts of yellowfin…pretty cool for an LA-based 3/4-day boat.  My buddy Dave Pierson even caught…

Fly Fishing Yellowfin Tuna Finally last week something different happened when some boats scored big on yellowtail out at San Nicolas island.  My intention last weekend was to get in on it aboard the Eldorado with Capt. TJ Schlick, but the wind kicked up outside and the trip was cancelled. Other than that San Nic bite, the 2 main things going on for months now have been the 805 yellowtail bite, and the yellowfin tuna bite.  The standard advice on the yellowfin has been to go with a light setup…20 lb. mono main line to a 15-20 lb. fluoro leader, and…

I’m always on the hunt for new ways to prepare yellowtail.  We catch it all year, up and down our coast and at the islands. Obviously the bounty has been great during El Nino, but even in colder water years we still catch them.  It might be on dropper loop instead of surface iron, but they’re still there. This week, lots of boats hit it big at our local islands.  Catalina seems to be coming back, but the big news of the week is San Nic.  My buddy John De Lisio (right) rode with Capt. Tucker McCombs on the Outrider Sunday…

Fishing Halibut Sand – Catching Halibut My friend Mike Abenoja is a programmer by trade.  We’ve collaborated on various projects.  He is the technical expertise behind So Cal Salty.  Mike is a fishing fiend like me.  He is a pro-staffer for United Composites and a principal behind SurfaceIron.com.  Mike and I occasionally get to fish together on boats, but most of the fishing we’ve done together has been on the beach. I haven’t done much surf fishing during El Nino, but Mike has been making me want to get back on the sand.  He’s been on a quest this Summer/Fall to…

Captain Jeffrey Markland of the Thunderbird posted this picture (left) last week. I posted it on my So Cal Salties facebook page with the caption of “If you’re close enough to tangle lines, or a well placed jig could reach…YOU’RE TOO CLOSE!” Of course that post set off comments like, “Who was there first?” “Sportboats don’t own the ocean!” etc. There has been a fair amount of tension lately between sportboats and skiffs, especially with how close that yellowfin bite has been to the beach in San Diego. I am primarily a sportboat angler, so 99 times out of 100,…

I have a colleague at work, Ivan Hammond.  He’s a chef by training, but he bangs it out in cubicle land with me by day.  I love chatting with him about his food ideas all the time.  He’s had a lot of influences coming from Tucson, Arizona and now living here in SoCal.  His current project is to create tamales with different fusion twists on them.  Stay tuned for that. Ivan also enjoys fishing.  I shared some info with him and he caught his first yellowtail this year.  It was great to see him come to work after that weekend…

It started kicking in last week, and it’s really going full speed now.  I’m talking about the yellowfin tuna bite.  A quick look at Monday’s dock totals shows 39 bluefin to 1500+ yellowfin! So does this mean that the bluefin bite is over?  Not necessarily It means that the yellowfin are biting, and they’re close.  If you are the owner and/or operator of a sportboat, then you are going to go with the option that offers the greatest chance of success for the anglers on your boat, your crew to make money, and keeps your fuel costs down.  It’s the smart…

The fish chatter lately has been dominated primarily by the amazing bluefin bite.  With good reason, what we are seeing right now is historic.  All these boats on the anchor by San Clemente knocking down trophy bluefin. We likely won’t see this happen again for a decade or more.  Recent reports show that bite might be moving north, but the opportunity is still there. While that bluefin bite has been going on for awhile now, the “story of the week” is how the yellowfin are biting for the local boats in San Diego.  The San Diego had a big hit…

I mentioned before, in the Taking Kids Fishing post, that a half-day trip is the entry point to take kids (or anyone else for that matter) fishing for their first time on the ocean.  The reason I say that is because A) It’s a small commitment in terms of both money and time; B) You have the option to not leave as early in the morning and C) It provides a good test… If you can survive a halfie and still want to go out fishing, you are definitely hooked! You see, I have a love/hate relationship with half-day trips.  On…

I was very fortunate to score a limit of very nice grade (80-ish) size bluefin tuna this week on Pacific Queen Sportfishing. Thanks so much to Capt. Gavin, Jared, Mike, Austin, Bobby and Johnny for a really enjoyable trip.  That crew was top notch, the boat was a really comfortable fishing platform…great trip.  I have soooo much fish.  I’ve been cutting and bagging, snacking on sashimi, sharing with friends. Wednesday night, I got home late from work and was starving.  I needed to make something quick and easy for dinner.  It would be good too if I would have some…

I always cringe a little when someone asks me, “What is the best way to catch (insert name of species here)?”  It’s not that I’m being difficult, but my answer will always be the same… It depends There are certain conventions to catching certain species.  These conventions offer a great starting point, but at the end of the day, getting bit can and will change day-to-day, even hour-to-hour. Monday I went fishing with Pacific Queen Sportfishing for a day and half trip.  Everyone is excited about the tuna bite.  I’ve been writing a lot lately about what to bring out…

Fishing With Toddlers  If I was totally on top of my editorial calendar game, I would’ve done this article in late May or June when school was letting out. I’ll justify my recycling of classic So Cal Salty content by saying I know all you parents out there are busy people.  Perhaps some well intentioned, “This is the year I take (insert name) to do some ocean fishing” got lost in the hustle and bustle of summer vacation.  I get that.  Well, there is one more big weekend, Labor Day, coming up, so seize the opportunity to be a cool…

A friend of mine, Rena Wiseman (pictured above) of Bob Sands Tackle, hit me up this weekend… “Hey Joe; Bob (her boyfriend Robert Foster) and I are going on the San Diego on Monday.  What do you recommend we bring in terms of gear?” The boat is back looking offshore again, so I referred her to the article I posted over the weekend for Must Have Offshore Rigs. Rena guest posted on So Cal Salty for me once.  She moved here from Detroit, Michigan a few years back and we met on one of my local boats, the Spitfire out…

Before we even talk about gear, book trips now! Open party weekend availability is a unicorn right now.  Honestly, if you don’t have a weekend date booked already, in all likelihood you won’t fish until October.  Seriously. Even for me.  I’m getting on the Pacific Queen Sunday night next weekend, fishing Monday.  As of this writing, there are only 6 spots left! You may be asking yourself why?  Pictured above, anglers aboard the Old Glory display why.  Yellowfin up to over 100-pounds appeared, and guess what?  They showed up this week ready to play.  We’re not talking one boat either.…

Well it had to come sooner or later.  Very very light on the bluefin this weekend.  A quick check of the counts revealed only 4 being caught on San Diego boats…Capt. Jodie Morgan on the Apollo went 2 bluefin tuna, 63 yellowfin tuna, and 1 dorado for 21 anglers on an overnight.  Capt. Ray Summers of the Vendetta scored 2 on a 3/4-day trip. That’s lucky angler Shawn Padilla of Imperial Beach aboard the Vendetta with his bluefin (right). The fish haven’t disappeared altogether… I’m sure there are still some around, but fish on the boat is what pays the bills for sportboat…

If you’re part of our community, you’ve probably been hit up by now to rise up to the #profishingchallenge.  It’s a modern day chain letter of sorts, other than it doesn’t forebode doom if you don’t choose to participate.  The idea is you post a fishing picture a day for 10 days and each day you nominate another angler to take up the challenge. It’s basically an opportunity to pull out your brag book of fishing pics. I’ve got 10 good pics easy, so of course I’m playing along. Anyway, on Friday I posted my big tuna (top) a 188-pound…

Right now, the action is smoking hot on the kelp line.  Calico bass are in a spawning phase right now and they tend to be very aggressive biters during this time.  Your half day boats are all over this action.  It is one of my favorite fishing scenarios all year.  That said, it’s a very stern-centric activity.  The bite is usually activated when there is a good current going into the kelp and it starts to lay down.  Thus when the boat sits on the anchor, the stern is the spot to be. If you are not on the stern,…

No, I’m not talking about our presidential election.  God knows we’re all getting tired of that debate.  I’m talking… Inshore vs. Offshore The Case For Inshore Less of a time commitment Cheaper Weekend availability It’s REALLY good right now Capt. David Domaguin hit me up this weekend telling me to hurry up and come out to fish the Daily Double with him.  Dave reports that the Point Loma kelp beds are ON FIRE with spawning calico bass. When the bass are in this mode, they are aggressive biters.  This is the time of year that when you fish the Kelp Cutter…

I’ve been asked several times in the last week… “Is it time yet?”  or “When is it going to get wide open?” We’re talking about offshore fishing and honestly, this is uncharted ground for me.  The El Nino event that started in 2014 is winding down.  This is the first El Nino that I’ve lived through as a consistent angler in our waters here in Southern California.  None of the seasons that we’ve experienced it have run a typical pattern and I’m not seeing one this year. Lots of good things have happened this year.  Leading that parade has been the…

Five Star Fish Processing posted the above picture yesterday on Facebook.  Alongside this picture they wrote: Remember Five Star does not accept Yellowtail or Tuna under 10 Lbs. Please spread the word. Catch and release guys. For one- they are babies, for two- your yield to that fish is 10% max…. Let those things grow so we can have a better season next year and years to come. Please respect my morals and cut them off! One commenter said something about they can’t legally impose their morals on other people.  They’re not discriminating on customers based on race/religion/gender etc., so they…

One of the tenets I’ve been taught in fishing here is to start heavy in terms of gearing up and work down.  The logic being if you can get bit on 50, you’re going to be better off than fighting a fish on 20.  So you work down to find the heaviest line test that allows you to still get bit.  Keep in mind, I fish primarily on sportboats.  It’s one thing getting bit on 15 fluoro with a size 4 hook when you can pull up the other lines and chase down a fish on a skiff.  On a…

Last weekend, I thought I was going to be with my daughter.  Go to her swim meet on Saturday.  Take in a movie on Sunday. Typical “daddy” weekend for the two of us.  As it turned out, I found out late on Friday afternoon that she would not be back in town for us to spend time together.  I was disappointed.  Well, there’s always a silver lining, right? I can go fishing! …Or can I? As I started poking around looking for fishing opportunities, I came upon a stark realization…most of the good rides were sold out.  Yup, we’re full…