Sportfishing Fleet of San Diego Goes to the Outer Bank

The San Diego sportfishing fleet is switching from kelp-paddy-hopping for small yellowtail to outer-bank fishing for tuna, dorado and bigger yellowtail, because of recent exploratory searches for albacore.

Skippers on three boats that went out Tuesday night reported catching a variety of species Wednesday about 140 miles south of Pt. Loma. Included were limits of yellowtail weighing between 10 and 30 pounds.

“Now we’ve got dorado, we’ve got yellowfin, we’ve got bluefin and we’ve even got giant squid,” Bill Stephens said from H&M; Landing. “We know it’s not a fluke; it’s all moving up with this warm water.”

Aside from the yellowtail, Wednesday’s fishing went as follows:

--Dana Hubbs on the Cat Special reported 11 albacore, weighing between 15 and 20 pounds, and three dorado.

--Joe Herring of the Searcher said his passengers caught one albacore and five dorado. Hall was still fishing Thursday and said via radio that as of noon he had caught another albacore, two more dorado and 60 yellowtail.

--Dave Stephens of the Fortune had three bluefin tuna between 25 and 30 pounds and three dorado aboard.

Mike Keating, on a long-range trip aboard the Spirit of Adventure, reported hooking five yellowfin tuna and landing two of them, about 210 miles south of San Diego.

The skippers are crediting tropical storms off southern Baja California. The storms are pushing warmer water and the fish it contains north, within reach of the overnight fleet.

Michael Laurs, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, said there are other factors involved. He added that a satellite image he received shows a wedge-shaped band of dirty water extending 90 miles offshore just south of Ensenada, temporarily blocking the migration of tuna farther north of the area being fished.

“I think that (dirty-water) boundary is going to break down,” he said. “It’s not real substantial, and I think those fish are going to shoot up this way.”