• Dec the 21st- Saturday and a foggy day at that— pea soupy early thinning out towards late morning hours allowing those boats without radar to head out. Cold wind along with the fog— The day got better as the fog left- light west wind put a small chop on the water- water temps 57-59 - not much said on the radio or from those returning back in with glowing fish reports- a single large 4 lb sand bass up at the Pipe , and a Gray Whale was spotted heading south— maybe that’s a sign of more to come.

• Good luck if you; get out tomorrow- JD

• Happy Holidays—

• Dec the 20th Fridays report- Yikes only a couple of more days till Christmas, the End of the Year , the New Year and Winter Solstice .

• Foggy and lingering into the late mid-morning hours. Only a few boats out- seas calm light south wind 2 -3 kts Building swell from the west by this weekend— Stand by

up ahead of us-Whalers watching for birds these days — I see splashing he says— outside Laguna 27/48

Holidays shoppers into the shop- Sweatshirts and T’s, a few stocking stuffers and a nice saltwater small spinning rod and reel for a young boy- a hat for Mom and a lure for Dad.

Weather keep calm might be that fog again although dosen’t look like it at sunset- 4:48— tomorrow the 21st it sets at 4:49 Yippy!

• Thursday’s report- Dec 19 2024- Blue sky’s again after the nighttime fog— thick in places- some very high clouds -coastal waters calm- maybe 1-3 kts from the south- water temps -mostly under 60 degrees-

26/ 57 dolphins— 1/2 way between the 14 and Dana/Laguna out 5-7 miles

Looked like it might get a little foggy this evening- Drone show off the Balboa Pier 6:15 and 8:15 during the Christmas boat parade

Wed’s Dec the 18 th 2024- Days are short! nights are long — soon to change- Clear blue sky this morning, light marine haze seaward- light wind from the south 2-3 kts ,seas look great-no swell , tides are starting to back off now that were on the back side of the moon- sunset today 4:48 pm ( the earliest sunset of this year was back on Nov 30 Sat at 4:44pm )

Whale watchers happy to find a few dolphins near the harbor entrances and within a couple miles of it— otherwise it looks like a beautiful desert out there- so far— 12 noon- tight to the beach off Laguna a few bottlenosed dolphins and there was a reported sighting of Orca’s somewhere??

Ya know it’s So. Calif Christmas weather when gals are out paddle boarding around the bay in swimsuits ! What wind there was backed off to dead calm- seas flattened even more- Nice

Newport’s Christmas Boat Parade tonight Yikes! looks like there’ll be a lots of family and friends down at the beaches— Enjoy-

Happy Holidays— JD

Tuesdays Dec the 17th— it’s marching right along!— cool morning hours- high clouds above, white marine haze seaward- seas okay- light S/w wind 2 -4 kts-

Made three casts— three bites missed them all- outgoing tide-

Not much in the way of sealife seen off out local waters— Desert one of the whale watchers said— a Finback was spotted mid morning 29/ 49 outside Dana- sunk out and I think they lost sight of it- quite a few birds around flying- might be squid , 14 minutes before it came up again, 1/2 mile uphill, it’s course being plotted by the watchers to get a second glimpse of it- came up again 7 minutes later traveling in the same course. other times upwards to 20 minutes - a lot of watching water for a quick look- otherwise really a nice day out there today

More tomorrow- Happy Holidays— JD

Closed on Mondays— might go Christmas shopping! Yikes! Yardwork and went to the movies with grand kids—

— Sundays and the day of rest— Dec the 15th- morning clear sky except seaward it’s a white haze — 2- 4 kts of wind from the southwest- seas calmed- tides strong- Christmas shoppers everywhere- a few boaters out— looking for the bottoms fishes— basses halibuts sculpin etc, -

The whales were out towards the 14 Mile Bank dolphins too

This time Next Sunday the days will begin to get longer!!! Yippee!

Saturday Dec the 14 2024- Light cloud cover some stuff north of us- building clouds by this afternoon wind light from the west/southwest 3 5 kts- seas still and a mix in them— Tides running out strong today- at almost 3 kts and In this afternoon at 2 kts-

Dolphins up off Newport this morning— 2-4 miles off the beach— must be some bait up there- sardines, squid?

yet another nice December day— Dry December—- no rain still on the cool side

Friday Dec the 13th— Friday the 13th Yikes!! and a Full moon to boot- Stand by! Skies have some leftover clouds above, below -seas have a leftover short West swell, light to fair wind from the south- some mix to the seastate- seasickness stuff-

The bait barge here in Newport is not there for the rest of the season, it’s due back in the Spring- anglers here have to rely on making their own or go down to Dana- or up to Long Beach for it.

Whale watchers, seeing bird pile ups off Abalone Point about a hundred dolphin in the area 30/ 51 - 2-3 miles off the beach- along that drop-off-

Turns out to be a okay day— wind turned light from the west 2-4 kts sea’s backed down— whale watchers were chasing a humpback and some fishers who were out after Lingcods— looking for mackerels or jacksmelts for bait-

Have a fun weekend— JD

Dec 12th 2024 Building cloud-cover from the west- light wind from the south being drawn into the approaching low front— Time for a Thursday nite football game and a warming fireplace.

Strong tides this weekend with Water temps 58 degrees— Penguins spotted! Yikes!

dreary day ,

Dec the 11 2024 Weds High overcast sky- cool weather calm seas-Quiet on the western front-

Gale warnings for the Sea of Cortez Stand By— ( see warning->)

Gulf of California Gale Warning -strong to gale force N to NW winds through the entire length of the Gulf of California and seas of 10 to 12 ft. Strong NE gap winds are also occurring across most of the Baja Peninsula, spilling into the Pacific waters of Sebastian Vizcaino Bay and southwest of Punta Eugenia, as well as offshore of Punta Abreojos

Sportfishers heading uphill from the down south tuna grounds—watchfull of the weather— Red Rooster III just below Turtle this morning—

Cabo report from Aaron G—

“Merry Christmas, hope all is well.

Here's a quick Cabo report for you, just got back. Marlin fishing is real good off of Los Arcos. Fish are not showing behind the boat or on the surface, so metering bait balls and drifting baits over them has been the ticket. My son Jack (12) had a 5 fish day.

The dorado seem to have disappeared. Some wahoo up the line from the golden gate to Cerritos zone. The tuna is hit and miss offshore with the porpoise schools approximately 15-30 miles off the beach. Some big models around.

Anyway, a good time as always with family and friends old and new.”

~Aaron G.

Local whale watchers—- report——— nothing— traveling 35 miles to finally fine a few dolphins— up and down from Newport to Dana- and out to the rigs—- nothing so far today— empty ocean— later in the day they found a humpback came up after the low slack tide today- then went down

tomorow’s a another day—

Dec the 10 th 2024 , clear and clean crisp morning air- light marine seaward wind light from the west seas calm- there’s a lump from the west every so often-seas 2-4 ft , building tides as the Full Moon approaches

Vessels traveling up or down the Baja peninsula have winds coming down the Gulf and spilling over the low lands, pushing seawards 25- 30 kts+— Yikes !

Newport beach was a very find day here today- a offshore whales and some dolphins kept the whales watchers happy fishing still on the slow side—

Closed on Monday- Took the skiff out after cleaning the build up green stuff off the bottom, waters cold at 55 and green- 50 +casts no bites- came home and put up Christmas lights!

Sat and Sunday Dec the 7 & 8th— both nice days— stil on the cool side but nice— weather’s held calm- light south on Sunday- seas holding cold at 55 degrees here locally- not much going on— small halibuts and a few smaller bass-

Dec the 6th 2024— Morning thick fog— by noon most of it should have gone away- Santa Ana’s this evening- coastal waters cold and 60 degrees and dead calm so far—

T/C having their Christmas lunches — Steve L is the guest speaker— should be good—

Thursdays report—Dec 5 th - Gray and cool— no wind foggy sky seas calm— not much said on the radio these days— a few whalers and some dock/ cargo ships loading or unloading with instructions for garbage collection or inspectors on board-

Whalers out at 20/ 43.4 inside the 267 Fathom spot outside Dana— 11:16

7.2 Quake off Northern Calif— Yikes!

Sun briefly showed itself here on the beach today— that was it— damp most of the day— not much said on the VHF, spent the day finishing up working on those 4 Penn Senators 10/0’s— replaced bridges, screws, rings, drags, side plates, they’re work horses, turns out the guy who uses them is in Indonesia on a remote island , has a ranch house overlooking an crescent bay of bleached white sand , a curl of surf off one corner of the cove, a deep cut through the reef on the other side- chock full of wahoo- which is where the 12/0’s come in- I’m fishing there vicariously . JD

—— Wed’s Report- Dec the 4th 2024 Light overcast— no wind seas calm- tides still up and down

Table fair — Rock cods from the 14 — mainly small ones - but still tasty - all their meat/ tissue expands as it comes up from the deep water. Tenderizes ‘s it.

When that sun sets the air temps drop like a rock!

Tuesdays report- Dec the 3rd 2024 — Only twenty more days till the days begin to get longer — Scattered clouds above- wind light to fair out of the south/southeast 3-7 kts seas okay some mix of small wind chop and west swell

-Coastal fishing still fair on the basses- other’s are filling their sacks with San Dabs!

Not much in the way of hole heads reported so far— what sealife there was was at 20/53 ( just below the 14) -Whale feeding in a wide circle chasing bait—

Bay and coastal waters clear visibility- with the cooler nights and calm waters — if you can see the fish—- they’ve already seen you—

Calm day on the waterfront—

Closed on Mondays— yard work and took the grandkids and dog to the beach

Sundays report Dec the 1st— time to start thinking about the Last and the First Fish of the Year—- Nice morning weather again- a few high clouds above- light south wind 2 4 kts seas calm- very calm-

Christmas gift giving times ahead— Custom built six- sided split-cane Tonkin Bamboo rods- in Light, Med and Heavy Tackle strengths- Available at JD’s

Another calm day here on the waterfront— we are blessed here in So Calif. not much rain, no snow , no bugs, and mostly sunny.

Whalers report seeing a dozens of small sunfish under the kelps , sometimes they’ll take small sabkai rigs and the jump!

Saturday and the end of November- 2024- Wind light from the south/southeast 2 4 kts— a few lingering clouds overhead- tides are strong- waters still on the cool side of 60 not much wind to disturb it for a while.

Nice day to take the relatives from back East out for a boat ride— some dolphins off Laguna 3 -4 miles seas and vista are good. outside to 29.4 / 50.4

Good luck tomorrow if you get out— JD

Should be another nice sunset this afternoon

Friday Nov the 29th 2024— Overcast and cooler a bit of rain on the horizon—

Black Friday—

Several boats out— lots of folks out and about— walking biking etc, some bay movements

Dead calm out there today— - whalers seeing dolphins and a humpback halfway between Dana and the 14 12:57

The bay— having many family’s together— the fathers and grandfathers taking the kids to the public docks to fish, drop lines and bag on anchovies and they’re on their way.

Nice sunset—

Have fun this weekend— JD

Thanksgivings day— Closed

Wed’s report, Nov the 27th the year 2024- Soupy fog on the beach this morning — in spots, other areas nice and sunny- winds light from the west, Seas okay

Whalers looking for sealife- seals, dolphins etc, foggy out there too- Dolphins at 20/ 50 they they were lost in the fog—

Happy Thanksgivings Day — JD

Closed this Thursday; Open Friday - Sunday

Tuesdays Report 11/26 24 Starting to feel like Fall and early winter now- leaves dropping, morning’s crisp and a few rain drops . wind light from the south - seas good- building clouds out west-

Inshore harbor and bay waters have seen a growth of that green algae again , mooring lines and boat bottoms turning green.

Three teenage boys in the shop today— having lost one of their prized casting lures here in the bay— small barracuda took it— they were after another similar lure , noticed one hanging on the wall of displayed old tackle - Yea you can have it— wasn’t doing any good on the wall. Out the door happy— going fishin!

Sky’s turned gray —cooler— only whale report of two humpbacks traveling south 29 /50

Closed on Mondays- House cleaning day-

Sundays Report 11/24 /24 Cloudy and sunny— and some fog- high clouds, low clouds and a clearing west wind to develop- Nice day— not much going on — JD

Sat — sorry no report

Fridays —- seems like we were just there?—Nov the 22 - Blue sky again- some frost on the rooftops-, coastal nice- whaler reports 6 outside Dana Pt ran into a wall of fog- 150 ft vis— haven’t seen much-

Old customer called up this morning, fishing the East Coast now for Stripers (Bass) was looking to purchase an old lure we had back on the 90’s , a Hand poured plastic bait that looked like a 6 “ sardine- said they were the dynamite! —- Sorry, no longer made , like so many other good ones - past history -

Well another nice day here in So Calif. wind stayed light from the west— kept the fog to the south of Newport- Whalers finally found a few dolphins- a herd of 20 marched by them-19/ 48 other than that quiet locally,, a few smaller skiffs came back in- bass tackle

Upcoming weekend weather looks Okay- get out early enjoy the day’s warmth and back in for the college football games

It’s that time of year when traveling sportfishers come up or go down from the Cape/ Mag Bay weather’s not the best at 12-15 kts N/W wind for most of the trip.

— Thursdays Nov 21 st 2024— Shortest days of the year still a month away- Cool again morning hours— sun helps as the day goes by- wind light from the west 5 kts seas okay, looks cold and a bit darker green this morning- tides starting to mellow out—

Whalers report thousands of dolphins off Laguna— couple to three miles out— 11:20

Again nice afternoon weather— those heading to the Island - should find some halibuts around the back side- maybe a tail or white Sea bass off Church— good luck—

Wed’s Report Nov 20th 2024—- Blue sky again— nice warmer that yesterday— nice here on the beach— light wind from the west/southwest 3 - 4 kts seas okay some swell there from the west— more coming—

Another quiet day on the western front— nice though— not much said from the whales watchers—

Tuesdays report—11/19th Pale blue sky with increasing clouds - wind light to fair as it comes out of the west- seas have a lot of textures on them, 3-5 swell out of the west

Coastal water temps cold- with a strong break running from the East end to San Diego

All quiet on the western front!

Closed on Mondays — Raked leaves and flew a kite with granddaughter on the beach- great fun— 6 years old’s always have fun!

Sunday— Nov 17th 2024— Nice! Azure Blue sky- seawards a little marine white haze— smooth seas- full moon’s morning’s tide , clear green-

Nice out there today— a converging of both dolphins and the Humpback whales towards the noon hours— 25.3/ 50.7 , half way between Dana and the 14 Mile bank—

They say there’s some thresher sharks around— have fun

—— Saturdays Nov he 16th—- Full Moon and tides are swinging strong—— Quakes— stand by— Clear morning air and the water temps have dropped to 54 degrees here in the harbor — waters gin clear-

Dolphin watchers—- Offshore glassy and no birds

David calls in with a Lobster report from Catalina’s West end where last Thursday before the Blow they had good hooping— not much current and 50ft worked out well for them, straight sardines as bait—

25.4/ 52.6— what was one or two whales turned into 5 or 6 —-they’re here with all those birds- tons of dolphins —lots of birds feeding— 3:01

Looks like there were a good number of smaller skiffs coming back into the harbor - smaller bass rods etc. making it an early day of it—

We’ll see what this next weeks weather and water conditions brings—- Squid off LB and Huntington , Laguna

Friday again—11/15 Blustery wind from the W/NW 15-20+ kts- clouds nice to see again, Ocean has a lot of sheep on it— Tides are Strong- both coming and going—

Windy! water temps might drop again after this blow—

Cold water pushing the squid further south— at Blacks Beach S/D

Thursdays Report—11/14 Nice again— what can one say- still nice middle of November- due to change a little over the next few days as a cold front passes through with wind and swell behind it then back to Santa Ana’s next week, The Ying and Yang of So. Cal Fall’s weather- —

We haven’t seen anything the afternoon whale waters said—- nope only those 60 dolphins we saw earlier—- I’ll take those— what happened to the Humpbacks—- oh they kelp traveling south- - thanks- The day was quiet , and peaceful afternoon with westerly sun and high clouds , nice sunsets this time of year—-

El Nino Report- whether the La Nina report—

EL NIÑO/SOUTHERN OSCILLATION (ENSO)DIAGNOSTIC DISCUSSIONS14 November 2024 

ENSO Alert System Status: La Niña Watch 

Synopsis:  La Niña is most likely to emerge in October-December 2024 (57% chance) and is expected to persist through January-March 2025.

Over the past month, ENSO-neutral continued, as evidenced by overall near-average sea surface temperatures (SSTs) observed across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean Below-average subsurface temperatures persisted across the east-central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and upper-level wind anomalies were near average. Convection was suppressed over the Date Line and was weakly enhanced over eastern Indonesia The traditional and equatorial Southern Oscillation indices were positive. Collectively, the coupled ocean-atmosphere system reflected ENSO-neutral.

The IRI plume predicts a weak and a short duration La Niña, the team still favors onset of La Niña, but it is likely to remain weak and have shorter duration than other historical episodes. A weak La Niña would be less likely to result in conventional winter impacts,

3 humpbacks whales traveling south? 24.1 / 44.2

Wed’s report- November 13 2024- Nice— clear and sunny— not much wind maybe 2 kts ? seas good. waters on the cool side- best chance for local fish- work the art. reefs north of Newport and off HB structure spots, sand and calicos— white fish and maybe a halibut— that’s if for now—

Stronger Santa Ana’s forecasted next week with Strong—N/E-Gap winds along the Baja peninsula - stand by

Tuesdays Report- November the 12th 2024— A few clouds around cooler, wind light from the south a couple of knts— seas have a small wind ripple to them not much swell- waters cold here on the beach-

Pretty quite on the waterfront today— VHF had a Cargo ship unloading its garbage- and that was about it—

Closed on Mondays—Re-sanded a dozen bamboo blanks /#400W/D and varnished them to perfection, took most of the day, they look nice.

Sundays report Nov the 10 2024 - and yet another nice day— little more breeze from the south this morning- 5-6 kts- seas okay small wind cap on it, turning west in the afternoons

Coastal fishing fair— some sand and calicos— short barracuda in the kelps , party boats still on the sculpin beds and a halibut or two here in the bay—

Boy dosen’t get much nicer here towards the middle of the November month. Few high clouds moving in- lots of folks out - good times for all- — fishing well it’s a little on the slow to fair side- tides will start to flow stronger next week.

— Sat November the 9th 2024—- and another fine day here in So Calif. other that the wild fires— they’re not good— but good news on the Swordfish tournament, Minutes before lines out yesterday and setting sun, a 360 lb Swordfish was hooked- and two hours later boated— Congrats to GJ and crew, and this morning the Donkey Wrangler at 9:49:50 AM Calen Offield hooked and boated a Swordfish. ! both on the deep drop method— “Go get another one Bob says”— weather nice light s/w wind 3 4 kts seas calm for the most part- nice weekend forecasted— enjoy-

Nice day— but very few radio reports— the noon hours came and went— only the one earlier caught was reported with Calen Offield boating a 328lb Swordfish., incoming slack at 3 this afternoon maybe a broadbill will show —

and the day went on— another real nice day -lots of folks out and about— as the sun sets, still no word on any swords hooked other than Chase’s fish this morning— better luck next time Lines out 5 pm

Hey it’s that day again— Friday- my the weeks go by quickly- Nov the 8th Sunny, Clear and crisp morning- for the most part the NE winds and died down light southwest here this morning 2- 3 kts seas calm- waters cool at 60 degrees

Sounded like someone had a swordfish up — go get em!!— IGFA Swordfish Open going on today- Live Scoring Link Sounds like a fish was hooked , S.S. Minnow ( inside Clemente Is) — 11:06—- 12:13 lost it!!

And the nice day continued, with the wind staying fair and sunny- Not much going on in the swordfish world with only a few reported bites earlier in the day although radio reception seems a little scratchy - standing by - did I hear someone saying marlin?? as the sun sets no reported hook up for the Open— and a minute later—- the hook up and called it in—

WON Tuna Jackpot in it’s second day of the tournament— 220 lbs Tuna leads the pack so far— catches with-in a pounds radiance separate several notable catches— 1 st day— Prime Time Randy Davis Tuna 220.3 lbs Live scoring Link

Thursday’s Nov 7th day - An football game this evening- something to watch other than the news— Still Santa Ana’s not a strong but it’s a solid 15-20 N/E so far today- turning West towards the afternoon hours— Again not many boaters out— although further offshore what the wind there is dies out and it’s gets nice— Swordfish should bask (pop) on that midday slack tide, same tomorrow and Sat— Dolphin Stampede— at least that’s what the whale watcher said— 22 over 49 , couple of Humpback Whales 6 off Abalone too

Wind switched to a strong westerly - by sunset it backed off to grease !

Wed’s the 6th of November— Well glad that’s over with, we hope—- now we can get back to some serious fishing— Windy Day- Stiff 25+ kts doesn’t look like anyone’s out today, Avalon getting some of the brunt of it—

Up Next locally So Calif. is the Swordfish Open-

Tuesday’s Election Day- Stand By!!! Nov the 5th 2024—- Mild Santa Ana’s now forecast to blow strong tomorrow out of the NE 25-gusts to 50! — Stand By!

Lots of bait seen 7 off the beach between Newport and Dana a few birds but no dolphins seen yet for the dolphin watchers ( EKA Whale watchers) more sealife at 9 miles and further south

This weeks the IGFA Swordfish Open- Stand By for hopefully better weather by next weekend

And the WON Tuna Jackpot at the Cape—

well it was a nice day here today— not many boats out- wind turned south/ east for most of the day— nice— tides starting to mellow out-

Closed on Mondays— Found some worms and took #2 grandson over to the public dock for 4 spotted bay bass and a Sargo- other boys on the dock were into pencil barracudas, bass and shiner perch- fun fishing for all of us— boys asked if I’ve ever fished this dock before— said yep for the past 70+ years— !

Sunday Nov the 3rd 2024— Nice morning—some marine haze seaward light south wind 4 -6 kts seas okay -some swell there-Clearing wind from the N/W as that front passed through-

Couple of boats out— some bay kayackers fishing for the bass n small halibuts- water’s cold not much in the way of catches so far

Whale watchers— searching for something-

Tides still strong

Friday—- Mid channel towards the 209/ 289 waters 65 and reported to have some yellowfin tunas seen there— no bites-

Not much said on this afternoon windy day— “kinda rough out here” one whale watcher said but it’s worth it!— Humpback breaching— “came clear out of the water— pretty amazing” — 31 / 51 —3:09 pm

Next week’s excitement—- coming is the WON Tuna Jackpot 2024 Fishing Dates: November 7-8, 2024 — Lots of big tunas being sought afternoon— they say the secret is to catch a chillwilly and drag of over the deep water drop-off of Gorda Banks

the weekend arrives— November the 2nd and a nice day it is— little cloudy and breezy from the south/southeast this morning as that eddy comes in and an cold front moves through from the north , seas still cool at 62 degrees

— November the 1st - and its a Friday—- yea! the weekends at hand , Clean up some of the spooky stuff and get ready for Thanksgivings and Christmas— it’s a short way off- Like yesterday light blue sky- haze seaward and light south wind seas still with a little wind chop to it. Tides strong— made 4 cast off the dock one small 6” halibut bite-

West wind picked up by noon— cooler too- light wind cap— New Moon tonight

25/45 whale- 7 minute dive - 14 mile bank— Same as yesterday- stayed fair all day— but not much in the way of sealife around here offshore— probably squid will show up over the next week with all that up welled cold water against the beach- WSB? Halibuts , Red Tide?

Have fun this weekend— GoodLuck—

Spooky Halloween day Oct the 31st 2024— Pale Blue sky- light marine haze seawards- seas have calmed very little wind maybe a 2 kt S/E -

Again several boats out today with the intent of catching a Broadbill Swordfish- seas are calm now -should be pleasant out there -except for pulling on something that pulls back! JD’s carries Swordfish Squids- on hand- rigged or unrigged Good Luck!

Not much said on the radio today— it’s as if the VHF radio is without voice these days— dock and barge workers still there— nice day again- several fellows out for the days fishing here in the harbor- relaxing in the sun- strong tides these days- stand by—

Happy Halloween —

Wed’s report Oct the 30th— High lacy clouds this am- cooler air— seawards still that marine haze there- seas ok- a leftover lump from the west— light ruffle to the surface- wind 4- 5 out of the west/ southwest

Reported a little harder to make bait at Mag Bay these days—

Next week is the IGFA Swordfish Open- hope there’s still some fish around by then— Couple of boats over the past week pre fishing the local waters— -Birds, common dolphins, some sealife 5 6 off the beach—

Nice Day— go Dodgers

Tuesdays Oct the 29th 2024 - Pale blue sky some marine haze seaward- wind light to fair from the west- west swell coming in with it 4-6 ft +

Sad Note —— Kathy E. passed away this morning - RIP

Late in the day— radio reports said there were bluefin on the 290— go get em” 3:45

Go Dodgers—

Closed on Mondays —Spent the day at home—

Sundays report—Oct the 27th, better morning with a better sky by mid morning the fog began trying to creep in again. should dissipate soon?

Several boats out Deep dropping locally yesterday — said they’d had a bite but no hooked fish - strong down hill current

Fog came back in— as did the sailboats and private sports—creepy

Go Dodgers!

Saturday Oct the 26th- Foggy- Anderson Pea Soup style fog— hopes to clear up by noon here on the beach - maybe- light west clearing at 2 3 kts- seas calm.

The Cape’s tournaments this year had staggering catches - 330 lb Tuna, hundreds of Striped marlins, Blacks and Blues in 8 and 10 hour battles, one fish just out weighing another only by a few pounds and thousands of dollar differences, giant fish caught that weren’t in the giant Jackpots only to be bested by smaller fish that were. Lots of Money Spent— Lots of it awarded -

Black and Blue Total Payout: $6,847,200.00

Team Payout Hooray $1,559,500.00 , Prime Time $1,148,400.00 , Stella June $901,500.00 , Crudo $854,150.00, Súper Neighbors $511,150.00, PLC HOOKERS $460,500.00, Sneak Attack $400,000.00, Never Say Never $204,000.00, 7 -10 Split $204,000.00 , El Suertudo $204,000.00

BAC’s got their Bay Bass tournament today here in Newport— Winning team- three fish with total 6.6 lbs — Spotted Bay Bass- over 50 anglers - good turnout— BBQ & Awards Party on Sunday the 27th

Friday- again- Oct the 25th World Serries Baseball game today! overcast and a bit foggy this morning- heavy last night- seas calm very little wind 1- 2 kts west/southwest-

Black and Blue Tournament down south - lots of mula $$$ on the table! - and from the reports lots of Blues and Blacks too-! Amazing and not one Stripper!

The Big Money Tournaments at the Cape are something— all this past week the atmosphere is charged with the “Big One” , evening hours spent in the bars watching sport games, Tonight’s World Series games no exception- Jam packed after the Tournaments days fishing with tales to be told and cool drinks to refresh the days stress- and believe me there’s a lot of stress there- especially the last hours of the event- tick— tick—- tick the clock winds down- all eyes watching the baits and lures- tick tick— -

tick—tick— the battle goes on for those hooked up tick — tick - the weight- in by 9 pm—

Go Dodgers—

Have Fun this weekend— might be some fog

— take care— Good luck- whales and dolphins 30/ 50 today—

—Thursdays report— Foggy Oct the 24th— no wind seas calm as glass , not many boats out so far today

Took the day off yesterday to go fishing with my daughter Rebecca- spent the day on Christan’s Sekas Sportfishing out of Dana Point — good trip -seas were kind, not much sea-life seen except near the 181 and 289 banks - dolphins and a pair of whales, ran over to Clemente and took a few Calicos and hooked a yellowtail — good times !

Whalers report lots of dolphins, a fin whale and a Hawaiian ( humpback) outside South Laguna — 25/ 45

We’ll be closed on Wednesday — going fishing!

— Tuesdays Oct the 22nd 2024— and again a nice sunny morning with blue sky and a hint of coolness as we enter into the Fall months— no wind seas calm- They say there’s some Thresher Sharks north of here Newport- good luck— Whalers reported not much on the 14 maybe towards the 267 there’s more sealife—

Heard on the news of the big swordfish off SD and a Swordfish stabbing a surfer! Yikes

Several boats out Deep dropping outside Newport today— no reported hook up as of the 3 pm time

Weather stay calm all day— light west towards the afternoon hours 4 6 kts—

Tomorrow night—- Balboa Angling Club Members!

Don’t forget, our last Club Member Porch Party of the year is this Wednesday!!   It’s a potluck, so bring an entree or appetizer to share.

Wednesday, October 23 5:30pm 201 A. St., Newport Beach

and Down Mexico way — the Black and Blue starts tomorrow— with Total Payout: $5,762,625.0 for 159 Teams

Closed on Mondays

—Oct 20—Sunday and Blue Sky— a welcome sight— wind light if any east? seas calm- radio reception good whalers and dolphin’ers report dolphin— said six miles of em’

-cooler water on the inside- 63 degrees and shy of the 209 up to 66 and good signs of bait around—

BAC’s Bay Bass Tournament- is next weekend —call the club for details— This is a team event 3 anglers 3 fish limit your more than welcome to fish it solo but it’s more fun with friends lines in at 6:00 out at 1:00 weigh in @balboaanglingclub by 1:30 Potluck porch party kickoff Wednesday 5:30 @balboaanglingclub

We’ll we did it— 11:52—- slack tide today 11:10 S/E of the 209 10 miles 3.5 Black and Purple 01/42

Well it’s been a good week- weathers’ held for the most part- coastal and island fishing fair or better for the basses etc. swordfish made a showing, reports of tunas but few caught- a marlin or two released- tides will flatten out on this back side of the moon we’ll see what develops - good luck if you get out- JD

—Sat the 19th Another nice day light Santa Ana’s wind varying north/east/ south/ west

Boat far and wide today- whalers out too- a Humpback off Laguna, or two, common’s towards Salt Creek 2 - 4 off the beach— Deep-dropping for swordfish by a couple of boats no reported hook up yet

They say there’s schools of Yellowfin tunas out there- not much said of it on the radio so far but it might be there- go get em” the stuff below is outside Collenet

Oct the 18 the Friday again and what a relief to see the morning’s sunshine again- just a few scattered clouds on the horizon- wind light from the west/southwest 4 5 kts seas okay there’s a west swell there

Swordfish this time of year here in So Calif— at least that’s the thought— and there’s been a few around these days— not much reported on the surface-some on the deep drop method - Marlin should still be around, we haven’t had any major cold fronts yet-the the warming trend this weekend—

Cabo— Little Black and Blue tournament third day and still only the two fish weighed that qualified, 467 Black & 401 Blue no fish yesterday and none so far today- there was a giant Yellowfin Tuna at 330 lbs! Yikes !! and Today Wild Hooker boated a Black Marlin. AT 11:47:12 AM— as the day ends several fisyh were boated— some not to qualify but good for the ego photos .

Wind from the west pushed through around the noon hour— stayed west till sunset-

A check to see if Clemente Island is open this weekend shows yes—

Oct the 17th 2024- Wind from the southeast this morning 3-5-6 kts more clouds that overcast sky- tides full with the Full moon, find it curious that they’d ( the government) would have a Earthquake Alert day at the same time as a Full Moon phase with the possibility of a quake as past history shows, just saying!

E-Mail from Pete on the way down to Mag Bay—- e mail— Oct 17 at 11:53 AM

John,  just a note to pass on to the guys coming down.  the 13 spot holding tuna 30/70lbs and lots of marlin. acres of bait.  water 69.   good bite out from of Santa Maria.  36/ 20-22 water 70/73

Nice day no quakes yet?

Oct the 16th Wed’s Full Moon and a light overcast here again — like yesterday cleared off towards noon- nice after that , Strong Tides

I think your bit— Keep winding— Yea but there’s no weight on the line, the bouy just laying there—- keep winding— I think you bit!!—- fishing, towards the upper 9 Mile Bank I think , late yesterday afternoon towards the 5:30 time- two guys deep dropping for swordfish—

This morning ‘s E Mail from Ryan— Hi JD

Saw two marlin today, a sleeper at 33.14/117.53 and a jumper at 33.05/117.57 On Saturday saw a feeder at 33.29/118.04 One of my captains also saw 2 marlin today in area of 33.28/118.01

There for the taking!! Ryan NEWPORT COASTAL ADVENTURE Ryan@NewportCoastalAdventure.com PH: 949.922.8784 www.NewportCoastalAdventure.com

Overcast for the day - more tomorrow

Mexico— Baja Cabo San Lucas, the Offshore B & B Tounament - 135 boats Total Payout: $2,715,675.00
One fish boated so far Black by the Los Compadres , Martha’s in their with the Release Division and Down Time boated a Blue Marlin.

Oct 15th— Tuesdays report —- more overcast today— no wind and seas are calm-

Yep there’s still a few marlins around— past years they stay around till about the second or the third strong cold front from the northwest sweeps down, ,as long as there’s feed here they should stick around- traditionally staying close to the islands where there’s an abundance of food ( Squid) available.

A call back East / Florida to Baitmasters in regards to the availability of their Ballyhoo baits—unrigged dozen packs of Med Large size which is the common size used for the Stripers off Baja/ Mag Bay— sorry not available just yet— only smaller sizes have been harvested and from the past hurricane not much since then- the belief that if cooler water develops they might be able to get some bigger baits— but it’s limited and uncertain. Headed to Mag— better bring the sabikis and some chum!

Building tides with the Full moon on Thursdays
and another nice afternoon-

Closed on Mondays Yard work— lots of leaves these days—

Sundays- Oct the 13th the day of rest— still overcast a bit cooler wind freshened from the south this morning a little stronger 3-6 kts seas okay light ruffle to the seastate

Bruce had a double on yesterday, one came off , caught the other one—( not sure about that?) but one of the fish reported to be big— real big— back out it again— in tight along the contour lines of the island’s drop-off-

And another nice afternoon—-

Sat Oct the 12th 2024—- Overcast even drizzle but not fog— better visibility two + wind from the south 2-4 kts seas good on the inside waters

Whale watchers reported yesterday seeing what he’s called fining tuna not really chasing bait just slowly moving along- dolphins in the ares, a thousand of em’ as well as humpbacks, split the difference between the 14 and 267 and inside from there — like the past couple of days it cleared off afternoon nice- lots of folks out and about—

Sounded like someone was saying they came in and hit the brighter color lures— (Marlin??) 4:53pm

Los Cabos Billfish Tournament Payout

Stella June $228,506.67

Sneak Attack $106,714.67

The Daddy Rabbit $100,558.33

El Suertudo $73,883.33

Never Say Never $57,493.33

Upcoming the BAC’s Bay Bass tournament October 26 @ 6:00 am - 1:00 pm

Newport Harbor Bay Bass Tournament

Balboa Angling Club 200 "A" Street, Balboa, CA, United States

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2024 Lines in at 6:00 am and Lines out at 1:00 pm All fish must be weighed in by 1:30 pm at the Balboa Angling Club Entry includes BBQ & Awards Party on Sunday the 27th

Friday again—Oct 11 the hope for a clear morning were dashed with the onslaught of fog again— still foggy mid morning- hope to clear off- wind light from the west 4-5 kts- seas calm-

Said he’s seen a Jumper- too far for them to run to— same place as last week— 1:16pm ——-east end I’d guess-

Couple of boats out today— deep dropping for swordfish— good luck!

Baja, Cabo- Los Cabos Billfish Tournament continues today ( last day of three days fishing) only 34 some boats entered this year- and 3 blues of Blacks over 300 so far —another one or two late in the day - With the weather holding for the past week- expect things to change— approaching weather fronts this time of year from the Northwest bringing lower temps, wind and swells- Stand By—

Today’s weather a lot like yesterday-some midday afternoon sunshine nice still hazy seaward- wind light from the west 4-5 kts- this weekends inside water look ok some morning south wind outside waters expect a steady 12-15 and building late in the day- both days-

Go Dodgers!!!! —- Go Padres !!!

1947 Oct 10th, Mom gave birth to a couple of boy twins, he’s out surfing this morning and maybe playing soccer this afternoon or go sailing. I’ll toss a line in - Clearing overcast - wind light to fair from the south as it clears off this morning. seas okay -

A check with the San Clemente Island Security’s web site shows the “Cove” / SHOBA C & D C&D 12-OCT-24 0400 (4 am) to 0600 ( 6 am) to be HOT on Saturday morning- then should be open after that and all day on Sunday with much of the rest of the island open as well-

Nice day — nicest we’ve seen for a week, hazy marine seaward sky mostly clear , west for most of the day- fair

Whale watchers - chasing around looking at a few dolphins and a whale near the 14—

Oct the 9th 2024- Sill Overcast like June Gloom stays overcast till mid day- clouds up in the afternoon- Wind today is light to fair mostly west/southwest 2-4 kts - seas calm

Today’s project- restore an older Penn Senator 1950 10/0 reel- clean, lube, resurface the drag washers- works good now- ready to catch a big fish-

Bait ball of anchovies off Dana to Laguna good sealife—— whales with them— 31/50 1:00 Slack tide

Sun came out for a while then clouded up again—

No fish reported

Oct the 8th Tuesdays report— Still overcast here on the shorelines- clearing inland— light west/southwest at 4 5 kts— seas okay- not much swell —visibility a mile or less , sailboats not going very fast these days—

Mexico’s, Baja Cabo has a small disturbance headed it’s way—looks to dissipate- Florida got bigger fish to fry—

Swordfish Tides this week-Slack high tide during the middle of the days warming sunlight tomorrow One Tide Day called Diurnal Tide (a tidal cycle where there is one high tide and one low tide in a 24-hour period.) It’s believed the swordfish come up from the cold depths to warm their bodies in the surfaces sun and stay up longer on the surface-

Deep-drop , buoy fishers working the 9 mile bank this week— 32:42/ 117:30

Sun came out after noon —nice— but lingering off the coastline friday looks good so far—

Closed on Mondays— rested -

Oct the 6th — still overcast sky- although maybe a little brighter so far- wind light 2-3 from the south- seas calm

As the private sportfishers plan ahead for their southern bound destinations and the tournaments soon to come — a quick look down south- from 65 to 90 degrees— couple of good breaks noted (see below)

Coastal waters holding at 63 degrees a bit warmer towards the East end of the island reported a jumper on the 277 and a feeder near the 152— local bait ( mackerel hard to find— only sardines so far)

Went down to two teasers cleared out the other stuff— saw a lot of feeders here so far today—181 area—( I think) 12:12

Foggy most of the day—

—Oct 5 th 2024— Well it looks like the party’s about to begin— hundreds of boats both big and small heading out the harbor . Weather’s better with a little more hope for clearing cloud cover at the Air Show— wind is light to fair as it clears off from the west, small cap with it- Seas calm fog—-too-

AIS shows the tuna fleet to be working off the back side of Clemente— - the Navy has exercises there through out the day— The cove is “Hot” today and tomorrow from 2 pm till 10 pm , check the web site for open hours San Clemente Island Security

Air show quote of the day— “Do you think they think we can see them???”

Working offshore-Newport 6-7 miles out, one boater asked - anyone catching anything in all this baits that’s here?—

Whales watchers- finding a couple of Humpbacks 27/ 47 -5-6 off the beach- ( dana/ saltcreek)

Foggy for most of the day— sunshine 3,500 feet straight up—

- Oct the 4th Better weather here on the beaches— still a bit on the overcast but it’s brighter and even some blue above— wind is light from the west /southwest 3-4 kts- seas okay- Air Show starts today— the roar continues—zo000om

Stayed high overcast for most of the day now—

Lot’s of boats moving a bout— some heading towards the backside of the island in search of the late season tunas— weather looks ok for them-

good luck this weekend if you get out—a few halibuts around— maybe pick up a scoop of sardines and while at anchore watching the air show you; might come home with dinner too! Good Luck - JD

Oct the 3rd Thursday— fog here on the coastline— cool with a light south eddy wind at 2-5 - 6-8kts seas calm with a light ruffle to the water’s surface, building - little swell- looks a little bleak out there today— reported—

It’s that time of year when there’s a break from the summer business and the winter business- forward thoughts brings the work load of the bamboo fishing rods to build-currently I’ve finished seven of the dozen light tackle bamboo blanks sanded down to the 400 grit paper- straight and smooth- finish up the other 5 more blanks-in a week or so then towards the varnishing process which takes a month or better. And time to start another order for more bamboo blanks, takes 6 months sometimes—Measurements made to create a softer parabolic taper in the split cane’s taper for a light to med strength flex. Give but not break!—

Hoose was over to the Island said good bass and bonitos- fun stuff- and some bottom grabbers too

Still no sun here on the beach

JD’s is taking orders for Baitmasters dozen packs of un-rigged Ballyhoos for the Mag Bay fishing season this Fall-

Upcoming the IGFA Swordfish Open— see the IGFA for details—

Oct the 2nd 2024—- Foggy here on the beach— warm and sunshine inland— 1/4 vis looks to burn away— I think— no wind- seas okay I think—

Couple boats headed out early this morning—- heading to SBI in search of the Bluefin tuna—

Humpbacked whale 3 off Newport 32/ 53 dolphins there too-

You on here——— 15lb’er— off the foamer on a meatball- came up on it tossed the popper— got him —— came on on the dolphin put out the spreader bar—- just got it in— maybe 80-90lbs Yellowfin— 2:05

Phone call this afternoon—- just after being out on the water— said Don’t give up the Ship just yet— there’s still plenty of fish out there—said he’s seen quite a few feeders Yes marlin” on the 277 today—and schools of dolphin held the tunas—

foggy today maybe 1/2 or a little better — Never saw the sun today till after 5:30-6pm—sweatshirt weather-

Oct the 1 2024—- Tuesday-, Started here in the shop on Oct the 1st 1976! =Yikes— a Sales Rep for California Tackle/ Sabor rods at that time- traveling the roads- some 70 miles a year- the fuel dock here had ordered some tackle- / rods, line etc. was asked why don’t you work here— open up a tackle shop here behind the fuel dock, that was some 48 years ago now- yikes! Still here— JD

Coastal foggy conditions hazy sky as it tryis to burn off- warm inland— light west/southwest wind as it lifts . Seas okay- light wind chop- building tides as the New Moon approaches

Huntington Beach Air Show coming up in a day or two— practice flights roaring over the coastline today—— roarrrrring ——weather looks better so far this year—

Young man comes in the shop today— looking for a hand scale—I’ve got a 50’lb scale— what’s you catch— about a 40 lb Halibut—- right at the harbor entrance— going lobster fishing— got a scoop of sardines— oh well might as well put one down — 1/2 later a 40 lb halibut—

Another coastal report— fished Izor’s Reef today— white fish and a few mackerel— that was it—

Closed on Mondays, light yard work relaxed in the back yard- read the Old Man and the Sea, 1954, cool book- makes one think of ones thoughts as he’s playing a fish- JD

Sunday—Sept 29th repeat from yesterday— overcast morning light west wind clears off towards noon or shortly after that—westerly clearing sky

Boats returning from the islands and the T/C Hunt tournament— couple of tuna flags flying— no marlin flags yet—

58 degree water here on the coastline—from Long Beach to Oceanside— clean green— Reports of the marlins further south towards the waters between Clemente and the mainland— ( below the 312) 32:59 / 117:46— maybe 4 this morning— — a sleeper and tailer seen off the East end of Cat— went away/ sunk out-

Not much said on the radio today— I’m sure someone caught a fish— but not many reported-

Sat Sept the 28 2024— Over—over—overcast weather this morning- almost foggy- coming out of the harbor green for the first 5 6 miles— some birds and baitballs after that- towards the shipping lanes— wind-calm- seas calm—light westerly as the overcast begins to lift-

Spotter play was to have reported schools of 50- 80 lb Bluefin on the 209 yesterday— no reports so far today—
Bottom of the tide a few more marlin bites for the ILTT tournament, afternoon’s roll call , sounded like a few fish seen- not sure if any caught— —
Nicer afternoon with the sun out-light west-
- Friday Sept the 27th 2024-

Overcast again this morning— due to burn away by noon( It didn’t) — lots of boats out today— searching— water 67/69 on the 277 lots of bait seen- dolphin seen so far—

10 west of the 172- schools of small tuna seen ,foamers— a few bites there too-

ILTT / Gene Grimes San Diego tournament, as of noon— one marlin released— another one lost towards the turn of the tide’s low Slack. 3:01 jig fish hooked released their second fish for the day—-—4:35 another hook up Cabrilla

Swagger say’s he’s baited a few fish today—

Diver said there were lots of “shorts” lobsters off Crystal Cove this morning-

Boats out on the 14 this morning in search the reported Yellowfin— found 65 degree water lots of sealife, birds, bait dolphins, whales free jumping marlin — but no tuna for them— yet—

Young man— just came in the shop— called earlier wanting to know if we carried Ballyhoos baits— said he’s be right down— sat on the seawall outside the shop and spoke to someone about what size baits to buy , showed photo to the other guy- chose the three pack of Med Select size— wanted a pusher head to go in front so he could troll it faster—- spent some time showing him how to re rig them for the pusher head—- got distracted by phone call and another other couple of kids in the shop- , good kids, the ballyhoo guys, stuffs a marlin lure in his back pocket— no good can come of it— I retrieved the lure, he had a couple other things to buy— sorry left my wallet in the car— 30 minuets later he comes back in to pay for what he’s left behind—apologized —

Sept the 26th Thursdays and still a morning’s overcast day— like yesterday it cleared off towards a afternoon’s hazy sky and a fair to strong west wind—

Dolphins , commons off Dana Point— too many to count- also a Humpback was around outside the point ( Dana) —bait must be there—-

Buccaneers Days at Catalina, the T/C’s has their Hunt Tournament Friday and Sat ,

Sept the 25th 2024—- and the overcast days continue— wind is light from the west 5-6 kts, seas okay- some small wind chop on it,—Newport’s water temp this morning— 62 degrees warmed up to 64- Yikes!

Bait was tough to get—

The warmth of Mexico is becking- sportfishers thinking of Mag Bay and the Mainland of Mexico , If you heading down and require some service on the tackle give JD’s a call of drop by with it— - takes about a week to two to service the reels— biggest problem we have now is getting parts—JD

San Clemente’s Island Security’s web site shows the “Cove” ( SHOBA) to be “Hot” ? active on Friday till 6 pm then open all day Sat, sat night until 2 pm on Sunday afternoon—-

Several years ago— with concern of how fast the holding barb of Circle Hooks used for Striped Marlin would corrode, allowing the fish to dislodged them. Working with Eagle Claw’s technical Dept , the L2004EL is a light wire hook with Platinum Black plating typically exhibits corrosion resistance up to a maximum of 72-84 hours , submersion in salt water with moving water, as on a fishes mouth would cause rusting to begin much sooner. The point and barb are the first places on the hook to begin rusting due to their fine edges. The deterioration rate, that would depend on salinity, PH and temperature of the water. The fish’s mouth, naturally accustom to baitfish with barbs/ spiked fins has the ability to work these reduced barbs out themselves.

JD’s carries Baitmasteds pre-Rigged Swordfish squids, ready to go and ready to catch em”

Boats returning back from the 499 area this afternoon reports seeing the foamers —smaller 30- 40lb fish up and down quickly, they only had a couple of zips on their spreader bar rig— circling the foamers to get the bites— they had no kites etc. other party boats drifting with the baits and a few purse seiners there too- —maybe the faster boats could get to them with a cast -getting past the 35 line -= whales -sealife- birds -bait- but no marlin seen—

Seeing as how these are light wire hooks made of standard carbon steel, once the plating is penetrated, they would not last long in saltwater.

—Sept 24 2024 Tuesdays report

— Overcast morning hours— sun coming out towards the noon hours- wind light from the west—-

Today— Returning WHOW boats coming back into the Newport Harbor after their great weigh - in at Avalon yesterday afternoon and into the early evening hours— Bluefin tunas and other fish caught by these Vets— remarkable catches! Thanks for participating and thanks to all the Volunteers and commitments by the boat owners and their crews—

Closed on Monday - JD

Sundays report- Sept 22 Cloudy overcast calm seas and wind— nice— lots of folks out and about— Slack tide today towards the noon hour— standing by—

Boats scatter far and wide in search of fish- reported there were the schools of bluefin off the backside of Catalina to the 499 and down the backside of Clemente—

WHOW boats 44 boats and a hundred vets— nice — Monday afternoon at the Green pleasure pier at Catalina is the Live Weigh-in—

Wind from the west developed came up leaving a choppy day—64-65 degree water

Sat’s Report Sept the 21 24, Looks calm and greasy out there this morning— low cloud cover and calm wind- seas mellowed out— Plenty of boats out today— should be fun— good luck-

14 Mile Bank held bait— Humpbacked whales and other hole heads there too-

reported some Yellowfin in the area- good luck-

WHOW IS HERE! Our Send-Off livestream starts today at 1 PM PT, with the WHOW fleet assembling in Newport Basin for a patriotic boat parade at 4:30 PM PT. Let’s honor our heroes and kick off the tournament in spectacular fashion! #WHOW2024 #FreedomAlliance

Couple of things to look forward to— San Diego has the up- coming ILTT/ Gene Grimes fishing tournament call the San Diego Marlin Club for details— and in October there is the 7th International Billfish Symposium – October 8-10, 2024 in San Diego, California WHEN:October 8, 2024 – October 10, 2024 all-day WHERE: Hubbs – SeaWorld Research Institute 2595 Ingraham St San Diego CA 92109 CONTACT: Bruce Pohlot 954-924-4223

and into November 8-10, 2024 The IGFA SoCal Swordfish Open returns to its original “swordfish only” format in 2024!  the world’s PREMIER swordfish tournament that is hosted annually in the famed waters off Southern California!Secure Your Spot in the IGFA SoCal Swordfish Open & Win a Once-in-a-Lifetime Fishing Trip with Bad Company!

The first-place winning team of the 2024 IGFA SoCal Swordfish Open will receive an unparalleled one-day fishing trip offshore Newport, CA, with the renowned Bad Company Fishing team

Friday’s Sept the 20th report— Cloudy morning- cooler- light to fair West/southwest wind 5-7 kts Seas have a small wind cap to them—

Wind stayed west all day- we’ll see what this weekend brings -

The WHOW’s scoring is based on the variety off fish caught, and of course who gets the biggest- boats will range from north to south lets wish them luck-

The Boat Parade works its way through the harbor then out to sea towards sunset - Wish them well if your in the area— that bluff above CDM good viewing point to watch them head out of the harbor— Best of luck to them — JD

Thursdays Report- Sept the 19th 2024

Light overcast some drizzle but not much— looks like the sky’s are clearing— no wind -seas okay—

Back to hearing the whale and dolphin watchers on the radio these days— off Main beach 300- 500 of the common’s seen just milling around—

BAC’s has a Swordfish Seminar this Thursday afternoon to Evening- — should be be good with expert advice— give the Club a call- bring a treat for the Pot Luck too! -

A check with the San Clemente Islands Security’s web site shows the “ Cove “/ SHOBA” to be open Saturday till Sunday morning 8 am gets “ Hot” till 5 pm that day then Sun night open till 2 pm on Monday—

Weather looks ok for the weekend — not too much wind forecasted, wish I could report an abundance of offshore fish to be caught this weekend—they may have vanished southwards - might be a few seabass, yellows around the islands— squid being the main feed out there now, coastal fishing ok on the basses, smaller halibuts around— , Catalina — the three “B”’s are there- — northern islands have a showing of sea bass, halibuts still around too. deep dropping for swordfish is another option— another one taken yesterday—- BAC’s got their Seminar there this evening—

Wed’s Report Sept 18 2024— Feels like Fall again— wind is light from the south 3-4 kts seas okay- Some of the bigger Private sportfishers/ Yachts are getting ready for the WHOW event—

Full Moon and strong tide changes today

Got to say it— getting to JD’s Tackle shop is about the hardest tackle shop to get to- by car- boating might be easier- the island’s street repairs and constructions detours cause one’s blood pressure to rise-! but relax once you get here the scenery is quite pleasant- JD

- wind from the west pushed the clouds inland- then turned south then west— towards the afternoon hours— nice—

We should be able to get a better sat image of the water temps tomorrow

Tuesday Sept 17 2024— feels like a early fall day— all we’ll need is a couple of Santa Ann’s and we’ll be there— couple of clouds around wind light to fair from the south. southeast, seas okay Big swell from the west - very few boats out or on the radio so far— Upcoming is the WHOW starts on Sat with boat parade through the harbor before they head out the jetty towards sunset—

BAC’s has a Swordfish Seminar this Thursday afternnon to Evening- — shoul be be good with expert advice— give the Club a call- bring a treat for the Pot Luck too!

Full Moon Thursday night—!

Swell laid down—turns out a nice day- sunny and warm- waters still on the cool side 68-69 degrees—

Closed on Mondays—
Spent an hour collecting innkeeper worms - dirty work that paid off - took my granddaughter out - she caught a nice little leopard shark and 3 calico bass and a couple of rays. Pulled the bass in so hard it popped right out the water into her chest. Panicked, she threw the rod and reel back into the water, retrieved- line still on the fish- Good memories.

Sundays Sept the 15th almost feels like fall, not quite but it’s nearing it— light overcast this am wind light to fair from the west 3- 6-7 kts- seas okay some mix to and light chop there .

Returning to ports today- boats coming back into the harbors from a long weekend of Marlin fishing— Pesky’s reported to have close to 30 fish released for their 35 boats— a little tougher this week than the past Masters week—bottom and rising tide had the bites-

casting to sleepers but no bites, most up in the jigs-

What’s up Next -the WHOW-Saturday, September 21, 2024 then the Tuna Clubs Hunt

Local boats out chasing some tunas under the dolphins—6-8 off the beach

Sat Sept the 14th Day 2 of the Pesky’s starts as a overcast sky- wind very light if any at all- 1 -4 kts seas generally calm

11:00 update 5 fish caught and 1 lost for the morning report. Here are some pictures of Pesky’s at play.

By 4 pm all the boats were back towards Avalon - with fish tales and drinks to be shared— fun time—

E-Mail this afternoon—- JD- Hugh on MAI TAI here.  We're about 4 off the pier with the paddlers and just watched a nice swordfish go finning by.  Aloha!

Long day— must have worked on a dozen or more reels- service and new line— Boats are starting to get ready for their southwards travels— Mag Bay First then the Cape ( some may just pass by it) and onward to the Mainland of Mexico and points south to Panama!

—- Friday— Sept the 13th Overcast and a light south wind— nice- seas still have a mixed lump out there-

Pesky’s is today— your never sure what you hear is the truth! something about fish stories—- standing by— On the water reporter Jeff— Randy’s brother is due to keep the updates — Standing by—

Rumor says six fish so far released—-

2:00 update. 12 fish caught so far for the day and 5 of them by girls that have gone wild!

4 O ‘clock up date 15 fish for the day so far — only 1 fish lost , boats fishing from Santa Cruz Is. to the East end of Cat—- 5 boats with 2 or more fish —JW

Thursday’s Report Sept 12 2024 — Overcat again and wind from the south— eddy effect I’d guess- the sun to come out towards late morning hours- seas have a wind chop on them also a mixed up swell—a little better tomorrow

Cooler water coming down from Pt Vincent/ Long Beach— bait in that cooler water—- maybe some fog too— stand by!

Wind stayed south for the day - couple of boats out prospecting— for the Pesky’s wind and swell on the outside-

‘Lines in at 5:48 tomorrow morning— I won’t be here

Have Fun!—

Sept the 11 th. 2024 A day never to be forgotten— Morning hours here on the beach mostly cloudy to late mid morning hours when the sun was trying to get through it— wind is stronger today from the south 6-7 kts + — sea okay some mix to the swell and wind chop- Swordfish tides this week —

And coming up next is the WHOW - another great event— !

Most life seen today shipping lanes between A Bank and the 14— along that break running S/E from the end of the island—

Sept the 9th 2024—- Back at it again- Tuesdays report— starts a little on the windy side with a light to fair west wind stronger on the outside— swells are mixed and added small wind chop to it-, couple smaller boats came back in early—

Up Next—- the Pesky’s that wild and wacky marlin tournament where it’s not club vs. club, nor is it team vs team, nor boat vs, boat, it’s Angler vs. Angler even on the same boat— this years it’s— “ Spring Break” and all the fun things that go with it— Stand by !!! -Starts Friday the 13th and continues into Saturday where the radius of fishing grounds is reduced by the hour till all boats are close to the island at lines out— Rumor has it’s there’s a wet T-Shirt contest too! Yikes!

Tonight at the Chicken Coop Kick Off is at 6 pm

35 boats in the 34th Derby— Spring Break!! along with shot glasses, beer bongs and megaphones and bra flags, Added points for bageling a mahlin’s bill, wearing Derby garb and calling in the hook-up correctly !

In Years past- fake Mahlin’s tails and fins were tossed overboard in the early morning hours of the fishing grounds—come sunrise they were spotted floating just like the real thing- even to the point where mackerel were harnessed to pull these fake tails giving them the appearance of moving - fake sleepers fooled many of the unsuspecting—even the Stup#@%** lifeguards who thought they were sharks ! lots of fun— —have fun JD !

Sept the 7th 2024 — That’s a wrap on the Balboa Angling Club’s 2024 Master’s tournament! the weather was good and so was the fishing, good show of fish , morning’s incoming tide the fish came up— lots of chances but not all boats got into them, doubles off jig and a baits in the water,, 30 boats close to 50 fish released, about the same for the loss rate , jig bites that fell off and a few break offs, . Stay tuned tomorrow for the official final results. Well done all. JD

35 boats reported 83 hook up’s— not counting the multitude of strikes or fish up in the jigs or fish sighted, 43 fish released and 40 fish got free by themselves, And one Marlin will be wearing a Satellite Tag that will tell where this fish is heading over the next better part of a year—- !! Thanks to the Dana Anglers!!

High Angler Award went to Charlie Albright, 2nd High Angler to Michael Jacobs and 3rd High Angler to Loren Washburn,

High Club the Los Pescadores 2nd went to the Dana Anglers and 3rd to the Tuna Club, High Boat to the Stella June fishing for the Peskys, Bull Pen #2 and Kea Kai #3 also for the Peskys

Great Tournament!!!— Radio Control- Out—-Till Next Year—

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sept the 6th 2024 — First day of the Balboa Angling Club’s Master’s tournament is complete. A HOT day on top the Catalina ridge-line. 45 fish hooked - 22 released I think and 23 fish lost (hooks fell out or light line broke in the battle).

Good luck to all the anglers tomorrow! Stay hydrated out there!

Sept the 4th 2024—- and the day starts sunny—- light marine haze seaward wind from the west 4-6 kts light wind chop on the water— seems a bit off color too-

Weather report for the weekend— per Windy it looks a little better— not much better , a little better but still a windy west afternoon—

Boats working the 312 yesterday found lots of paddies— only a few fish under them- small yellowtails and a dorado or two—
Windy today—12-15+ West solid

Good Luck this weekend if your out fishing—- have fun— JD

Chlorophyll Charts from yesterday— - there’s a lot of bait- porpoise- some Humpback and Minkki whales below Dana— in that green water—

Sept the 3rd 2024- Starts of fine— light marine haze seaward— wind is light to fair 4-5+ kts Southwest due to swing more from the west—

Only a couple boats out- searching or returning from a long weekend at the island— seas a good for traveling— Yesterdays tuna fleet out to the lower banks behind Clemente- closer to the island Desperation reef ( where in desperation they caught cods there to fill the sacks) trolled Mad Max Lures in the larger size did it in for the 150lbs + tunas there— kites n’ flyers also did the trick there.

Afters the days trolling around burning fuel— heading home— one more tack — the afternoon marlin showed up— bright pink colored lure— nice sized fish put on a good show— released well—- heading in- 6 off the beach porpoise rushing hard— meter marks showed fish— up ahead of the of the pod the get chum and a bait the water —- no bites but they did see fish

Not much said on the radio so far today—- Whales watchers below the harbor towards Dann and below report lots of porpoises and bait—

Weather stayed west for most of the day hazy marine sky— cloud cover developing in the afternoon hours—

thats all for now folks!

Sept the 2nd labor Day! Coastal marine cover stronger and almost a hint of fog! wind is light from the south 3-4 kts— seas good— strong tides in this New Moon phase-

There’s a sleeper here between us—- there were a couple of them here earlier we just trolled around them— no bait meter marks 10:38 morning’s High Slack tide 10:10am— Standing by

Inside info has marlins here- there— most of the inside banks, shipping lanes or the drop-off outside the rigs are holding— two and singles and even a triple reported— stand by! Sleepers in the morning not hungry, fish up in the attractive bait and lures - , dredgers, spreader bars used for the tunas, old fashioned boone birds , that piece of lumber with mirrors all over it- they all work and none of them do!

This coming Wed afternoon 5pm the Masters will have their kickoff at the Pizza place in the Golf Course on Irvine Blvd.

Sept the 1st- coastal clouds till noon came back towards the late afternoon hours, wind stayled light from the south mild for the day- seas good,

Morning marlin bite at the island, slowed down mid day— afternoon hours and a triple reported inside the island, other reports of jumpers ( marlin) seen Osborne, West end, off Long Poing- Avalon -125 off the East end— A bank and the 14 Mile Bank—Jumpers??

Making bait, Mackerel was tough today—both here in Newport- HH , LB and even over at the island—

Aug the 31st— Last day of the month-Falls in the air! morning overcast wind light south 2-3 kts seas flat-

Boats out fishin everywhere—

Slack low tide today— 2:26—

We just had a knockdown— 12:10

Upcoming weekends tournament weather looks to be blowing— stand by—

nice work —a scratchy radio came through— 3:52

A hesitant phone call— minutes later—JD—- will you be open tomorrow—?— ahaa- would it be possible to—-look at a Trinidad reel— that’s the second one on that reel today and it’s drags — needs work- we’ve got the tournaments coming up next week— we just had a double and that reel surges bad— needs work— Sure glad to do it— JD

Good luck tomorrow— have fun— JD

Aug the 30 2024, starts the weekend with a overcast sky but no wind— almost dead calm out there— as dozens of boats headed out for the long weekend— A check with the San Clemente Island Security’’s web site shows the Island is open for the most part throughout the weekend and Monday —gets active on Tuesdays— have fun- warm water in tight to the island—

Email this morning— Hey JD, Bill here on Eagle, got a solo fish this AM 3 off whites on a JD Bought ballyhoo, on a reel spun and serviced at JDs! Nice school size dish, Tough doing it solo, thank gif I have thrusters!

JD’s has rigged Ballyhoos in stock—

And Torpedo Rays—- that’s the second one I’ve caught in the past two days! He says’ Black almost purplish colored long rat type wippy tail and bat-wings that are electrified! —Yipes!!—— Yep— up to 35 Volts!!!!— they can knock you right out of the boat and have caused deaths to divers— Electric Rays they bring their wing together and ZAP!!! — know as Torpedo Rays— they are in our waters — just cut the line! Don’t fool with them__ they are not nice

More thoughts

Hook rigging# 101 for marlin---

it's all theory mind you- they (the fish) may be striking short one season, then climbing all over the jigs the next - Whacking them aggressively this morning or just tapping them with just the slightest interest later on. Single hook or double hooks- stiff rigged or free swinging or a mix of both.  Which is right?

New ideas emerge or fade away each year, conceptions change.  But the proven theory's over time prevails.  The fish are built in a physical way , their mouths  bills and jaw bones are always shaped the same, maybe even their philosophy remains the same.  You can use these characteristics to improve the strikes and the solid hook ups-

Over the years I've developed my own theory - On the question of Single or Double hook Rigs.  Double hooks hook or snag more fish, simply two hooks catch more things than one hook- they also catch more weeds and everything else in the water.  They are a maintenance issue, you have to check them for weeds more often and keep the hooks straight within the skirts to swim well.  Single hooks are easier to work with and will allow the lures to swim and look better in the water. The single hook drives well but it's hooking radius is limited.    6/0, 7/0, and 8/0 sized hooks are most common for Stripers, those fishing light lines of 16/ 20/30 lbs can fish the 6/0 and 7/0's  well but an 9/0 is to big to drive.  50 and 60lb test lines can support the bigger hooks.

     Striped Marlin have a fixed upper bill and a flexible lower jaw that clamps upwards, the inner roof of its mouth is the softest area to lodge a hook in or adjacent to it where that soft tissue joins the jawbone. Hooks have to find a home in that soft tissue, wrap around the rounded jawbone and hang or drive into the hard bill it's self. The style of hook must adopt to the bone or flesh. 

One theory of mine and there are many- is that the fish either strike or take a lure presented to them- They like to "Strike" brightly colored lures (Oranges/bright Greens/Yellows/ Reds) and "Take" resembling or natural colored looking (mackerel colored, dark greens or dark colors) lures- and this method of attacking the lures require a different style of hook to be used. When Striking or bill whacking at a lure- a hook a curved-in barb style (7691S) catches, snags better than an opened throated one- which doesn't hit at the best angle as it bounces off.  With an more resembling looking lure the fish try to "Take" or swallow /eat it from behind, the hook style (7732) with the bigger "bite" radius will catch deeper in the fishes mouth where it finds the softer tissue.  It's all theory but is reasonable, JD

Aug the 29th 2024— Thursdays report- marine layer seaward, light wind from the west/southwest 4-6 kts— still nice weather—

Thursdays — beating the weekend crowd the marlin fleet was out early working the A Bank and towards the Rigs from there and those still interested in the tunas they’re still out there.

The Forgotten Art of Marlin Fishing— stretching back to the days of dragging flying fish and onward to dragging flying fish lures , spreader bars, dredges, daisy chained squids and dropbacked baits. In this past decade the art went away, except for a few old salty men and women. The sportfishng yachts with their long outriggers and portable cockpit chairs, flying gaffs and tail ropes and the assortment of many colored marlin jigs are things of the past. The Bluefin did that. Today’s influence of the striped marlin fishing is new to many. From how fast, which direction and why to what lures to use. Lures—- ahaa that’s a question. It’s still theory on the lure, hook, style, color, action but we’ve narrowed in down a bit— old school says dark days- dark colored lures, bright days -bright colored lures probably still holds true. Stiff hooked rigs seems to have an edge, hooks pointing up the preferred method, size and hooks always a challenge.

More tomorrow— JD

In looking at a marlin flag, the instructions on the back of the packages says,, marlin lures. Let run, set hook hard several times.!

Aug the 28 Wednesday- More marine cloud cover this am , wind very light— maybe 2 kts S/W seas calm, nice day quiet before the storm this weekend—

Morning radio checks,, yes your okay—and cargo workers

Tropical update—- So far this hurricane season it’s been good for the Eastern Pacific’s side. , what T/S that have developed have gone west, hope that pattern continues into the Fall season, although it’s very warm water in the Sea of Cortez, Standing by—

Boats and teams are getting ready for the upcoming tournaments and in general for the improved marlin fishing we’ve had,, all behind the boat it seems, or most of it— no tailers and only a few feeders reported , up real quick and gone, Smash and Grab as Randy would say — must be some environmental reason for them to act that way this season, thermocline, water clarity, temps, something — lots of hooks up —many fish throwing the hooks ,

Call this morning coming back from Avalon over the A Bank had a follow , dropback no bite but came up again on the other jig- dropped out — onwards home and a double on the jigs —wife on one and husband Mike on the other one— , 118:10/ 33:29 just outside the oil rigs drop off, his comes off while turning the boat— wife fights the other— till she says OK you take it— 12:15pm-, Low slack today 11:55

late afternoon report—- one for two and others caught off the Island and the A bank again —-today not many boats out —we went 2 for 5 bites he says— right were the water turned blue— 2 outside Avalon —had 30 jumps out of it— what time? just right after noon—

—Aug the 27th— - Tuesdays report—-Nice morning— soft morning clouds let the sun through mid morning— sea nice and calm wind light from the southwest—

Dog days of Summer— only a few boats out today— and not much reported on the radio— a kelp or two found but not much under them- some bait and a mola-mola, Where’s the summertime Dorado in all that hot water?—

Nice afternoon!!

What’s up Next!

Balboa Angling Club’s 43rd Annual Master Angler Billfish Tournament Sept. 6 and 7th

Pesky’s Gone Wild coming Sept 13th & 14thMail or Email Entry & SEND Payment ASAP To : Los Pescadores Fishing Club lospescadoresfishing@yahoo.com

WHOW This year’s event will be held Fri., Sept. 20 through Tue., Sept. 24. War Heroes on Water

Closed on Mondays — Dentist Yikes!!

Aug the 25th Sunday— Clear- light to fair morning southwest wind— backs of a bit throughout the day— lots of boats returning back into the harbors from the weekends outing—-Some flying marlin or tuna flags—- sunburnt gals on the foredeck sunning themselves— deep rumbling speed boats drowning out the chanting drunks in electric boats. Ahaaa the weekend crowd .

Reports of marlin catches in several areas- even off Palos Verdes, above the West end’s 286 area and off the East end of the island tight and off Avalon, 14 and Avalon mile banks held fish too—.

boats headed out towards the 209 area reporting finding kelps not not much under them— looking for the elusive Dorados and tails.

Overall a good weekend— the ladies got their taste of marlin fishing- fun as it is— they say it’s hours of boredom broken by seconds of insanity — weather for the most part was okay- westerly late in the afternoons— boat traffic in some of the better fishing spot’s some remarkable catches—two 4 1/2 hour battles on some of that old fashioned kite string 9 thread and a bamboo rod and reel pre 1950— 130+ marlin —-congrats!!— JD , quick thinking and winding in the ladies event resulted in a released marlin in just a few minutes— nice one—

Fun Weekend

AUG the 24 24, Sat and a fine morning it is, light southwest wind 4-6 kts , seas okay- small mix of seastate- lots of boats out— radio reports of shortbeak dolphins and commons outside Dana — lots of bait fish seen there too— one of these days the marlin will show up there— reports of tuna taken there ?

BAC’s ladies Tournament today—T/C Benefit also today—

Sounded like a boat out of Dana were marking schools of tuna (Yellowfin) just above the 267 around 1:25 this afternoon

Marlin boats spread out mostly off the East end and up above the West end , just above the 286 fathom spot, Weather better than expected—

Spent two three hours outside the Laguna Hospital 2-3 miles good marks but couldn’t get a bite—

Lots of boats out! — by the afternoon hours most of the boats were heading back into anchorage somewhere— half the fleet stayed near the East end of the Island several fish ( maybe half a dozen) released there today- the other half of the fleet ran up to the 286 area close to a dozen fish released there I think— weather played a part -

Good luck tomorrow if you get out— JD

Aug 23rd 2024 Friday again—- Morning cloud cover left early, light to fair southwind eddy effect- still blowing on the outside—- Marlin boats centered off the East end of the island—

Well I had a good time, accomplished all I wanted to do except catch a fish- or at least a large on—- ran down to Abalone Pt. early at dawn— hoped to catch a few green backed mackerel there but all I got was tangled bait rigs by the 1 lb bonitos- took off —out about a mile, shearwaters everywhere, charging herds of porpoise crisis crossing, waters turned deep rich purple blue, metered bait Looked real good— trolled daisy chained cedar plug and a rigged ballyhoo- for an hour but no bites, wished I’d had some mackerel to drift with— but no— headed up the coastline towards the drop-off outside Newport canyon— zigzaged trolled the hoo’s up to the offshore oil rigs - good upwelling current there and back again as the west wind and swell developed stronger- back down to the Newport canyon and put a rigged swordfish squid down to 1,000 feet, slow rowed couple hours along both sides of the shelf , no bites- did snag a large trash bag— that was it—- wind and swell grew and I headed home safe. gave it a shot!— JD —till next year—

BAC’s ladies Tournament tomorrow Sat— wish all the gals good luck— in times past, the first one to spot a marlin got to open a bottle of champagne- from then on they saw lots of em!

e mail report . We suck 0-3 yesterday. No fish behind boat yet but have seen some feeders and a sleeper less than a mile off Avalon

Wind turned west today— windy backside of Catalina tomorrow- stronger in the channel by mid afternoon , Sunday better—

Good luck this weekend—

FYI will be closed this Thursday (Aug 22) -

Aug 21 Wed’s report and again a busy day— Blue above, light south wind -seas Okay,

VHF calls JD’s Tackle you here- JD’s back—- we’re here 17 outside the Domes ( Dolly Pardons) just released a 175lb marlin— Congrats—- how’s the sealife down there? not much to see beautiful here this morning - warm 74 degrees Blind Strike-

How’d you do— all of our bites were before noon—- same here

Mid afternoon report from the island— Cowboy released three fish today— said others did well also!! no bait all behind the boat—

Full Day- what with winding line on reels, repairing a couple of them- tying knots in Linen lines and doubles on Dacron lines, frozen Ballyhoo’s being picked up and rigging marlin lures. selling squid and anchovies to the bay fishers and of course hats and t-shirts as always— long days as well as getting my tackle together— owning a tackle store — there’s no end to the stuff to take- or not—

Good luck to the Ladies Tournament this weekend and tomorrow’s Tuna Club Vintage Linen One and the Benefit on Firday and Sat— have fun JD

— Tuesday Aug the 20 and a busy dayl- late reports clear sky weather good seas good gonna blow Thursday bigger boats ok smaller boats not so good,

Congrats to to GJ Sacco on his 376lb Swordfish taken yesterday—taken on 80lb tackle—- nice catch!!

Boats at teams are gearing up for this weeks tournaments-

-T/C has their Linen One and the Benefit, BAC has the Ladies Tournament

Reports of some tuna marked under the porpoise outside Dana this morning wouldn’t bite anything—

And reports of several hooks ups off the East end— no West end report?

JD’s Closed on Monday

Sundays Report Aug the 18 2024— Better or at least clearing this AM as those morning clouds left early- wind light to fair

Hi JD, Royal Slam released one this morning off the Slide. Sally was the angler. Pink Eye Candy lure.= Best regards, Bob

Several other fish caught off the East end— reports also up again off the West end and back of the island at Cat canyon— it’s tournament time

Boats entering back into the harbor flying their laundry — even an albacore flag seen?

4 hours 15 minutes on 30lb tackle one of the toughes fish we’ve seen up here in Calif waters— never jumped— came in on a jig and took the dropback bait— tough fish— Alex the angler held on— came up just before the release— shinny not a brown spot on it— Released alive well and shinny—- Pacific Pioneer

Morning bite was slow— afternoon hours better— A Bank and inside from there to the Island held the fish— SBI?? farnsworth too!

this coming Thursday JD’s Will be closed— going fishing!

Sat Aug the 17th— A little more cloud cover this AM, light to fair morning wind from the south backs off mid morning— to a couple knts. Seas are good—

E mail from David this morning— saying making bait- green back mackerels at the harbor entrance west jetty— they left em biting—

33:16/ 117.43 Hot water and some tuna reported— might be a marlin there too

Morning High tide slack 9:23 came and went— this afternoon low at 1:54 then a rising tide till 8 pm this evening—

Marlin fleet moved to the East End— Tuna Fleet moved even further offshore towards the Cherry Bank and San Nicolas Is. and around 474 Bank inside the 119 line-

Hi JD, got my first marlin yesterday, East end of Catalina on a green/yellow Zuker. Thanks for all of your tips and advice!!!! Feel like a pro now.  Jeff - Little Kolo

JD- Caught these 3 pigs (Bluefin) on the flyers i bought from you! thank you -Frank
Thanks JD. 

Found one off west end on one of those drop back baits ( Ballyhoo) today. Missed the other one. David

Hi JD, Royal Slam had a double and released one off the East End. Best regards,Bob

Good luck tomorrow-JD

Fridays report Aug the 16th—Just like yesterday- marine clouds morning hours melts away mid morning— wind today stronger from the south 5-9 kts- seas okay light winc chop

Had one knockdown— didn’t stick —-the season of rubber hooks, as congrats went out to another boat minutes after that—who had just released a fish!

Waren— we just had a jig bite here— but it didn’t stick—- 1:50

Most of the marlin fleet- worked the West end- up and inside the island- VHF radio was maybe just out of range— although I did not hear much being caught bites but no fish— Escapada released one— Congrats !!

the Tuna Fleet working the Tanner Bank for the Bluefin and Yellowtails,,

Whale watchers report bait balls of anchovies outside Dana— waters real clear - Short Beaked Dolphns on them—

And the Full— Full Moon this weekend—

Good Luck have fun!— JD

— Thursday’s Report Aug the 15th 2024—- warm and sunny inland coastal marine clouds along the shoreline- melts away mid morning wind again from the south light to fair 5-6 7 kts-

Getting hot inside waters —cool waters outside Clemente

So Cal Tuna Club has a tournament today marlins and tunas— good luck to them

Making greenback mackerel tough these days— between the piers (Balboa and Newport) 30-40 ft a few green backs there— lots of micro bonito—-

We’re bit—- 2:15

Lone day and not much said on the radio— weather was great though waters warming up towards 75 degrees and greening up 152/ 277 etc

good luck tomorrow if you get out— JD

—— Wed’s Aug 14th report— again typical summer day— Light morning marine haze/ clouds backs off seaward— light south wind 2-4 -5 kts- seas good—

Common and shortbeak Dolphins off laguna 2-7 miles out—

and the afternoon hours the guy said there wasn’t any life at all from Dana to Newport not a bird to be seen— earlier in the day— yet another Broadbill swordfish seen locally— -

From the daily radio talk— lots of searching a few paddies that were empty and a reported marlin hook up —lots of small 1 lb bonitos at the island—

—— Tuesday—Aug 13th report— nice looking morning— hazy marine blue above wind light from the southwest 2-4 kts— several boats out scoutting—

Tides building for another quake! stand by—( moon and sun stretching the earth’s plates)

Boats out on the 209 reported not for them— yet 10:06— just north of the 181—- just baits and Mola-molas 10:17 and couple of free swimming dorados that’s about it—

52 and 32 Kelps with yellowtails 12:54— 40 over 54 too

If I hears it right he was saying swearing it was a Blue Marlin!!—-

Couple other rubberhook bites today too—

Better luck tomorrow— getting nice out there— \\\

Closed on Mondays— Lot’s of yard work—- While Vick and his brother Steve after spending the night at the Island- start out again monday morning off the west end of the island— a triple! fish into the daisy chain- a drop-back bit— jigs are bit— light lines are stretched out-100,200 300 yds+ the fish keeps grayhounding—another boat it trying to bait it- got to release two of them— Congrats— JD

And Sundays here too—-Aug 11th— again light marine haze to the sky- winds are light from the south— seas calming w/ light wind ripple on it—

Water temps warming on the inside south, outside the cooler water temps creating condensation thus cloud cover.

The fleets working the inside of the island— rubber hooks !

Marlin reported off San Mateo Pt 7 off the beach yesterday— attacking a daisy changed cedar plug- good sized fish !

Swordfish tides today— stand by— 2:10 they’ll float, as well as the marlin will be up feeding— 2:04

tide came and went— marlin fishing reported slow by catalina— though- two or three were taken released outside San Mateo— 4 -7 off the beach- under kelps!

And it’s Saturday again—Aug the 10th morning haze, wind light to fair from the west— some capping early—

We’ve still got quite a few miles to go— got to go and get back in the gyros— all they way out to the 43 up to the 181 not much —clean blue water coldest we found was 72.1 mostly 73, haven’t seen much a little stuff above the 43,, seen Risos, Makos, marlins, but no kelps— dosen’t look all that encouraging— 2:51pm

Couple of marlin bites by Catalina so far- and as the day went on the late afternoon report— there were maybe a Dozen marlins released—- Swagger shows how it’s done with triples, Kai Kane also in there with lots of releases, Pacific Pioneer does it again- going 4/2/1 for the ladies and half a dozen other bites for the fleet—- not a big area, , fish up with the tide —not much metered bait— most of it’s up behind the boat—jig fish or a dropback

Good weather on the inside of the island- too!

—Fridays Aug 9th report—-

hazy blue- wind light to Med S/SW 3-5kts- Nice size sets of swells pushing through — Surf’s Up— Cowabunga!!

AIS shows a few boats working the Catalina Escarpment, back side of the island’s deeper water marlins tunas? Not much seen so far

-=- The fish tunas 10 behind Clemente came up late in the afternoon yesterday— big ones

Scratchy radio report out of SD saying he’s traveled 35 miles before finding any kelps—-!

Coastal whale watchers seeing an late afternoon bait frenzy outside south newport’s coast 100 ft -200 ft depth—
Yesterdays the WHOW Tournament had their Captains meeting going over the rules and what’s expected of the boats and concerns of the Vets discussed—- the fleets getting bigger each Year - Become involved if you can- One of the best things this harbor has ever done— thanks Anthony and Team- JD

Thursdays Report—Aug 8th Typical summer day- few morning clouds light south wind turned light west in the pm

Reports of a Broadbill jumping Butterfly” outside the Balboa Pier mile and a half— better get the heavy tackle out— JD’s sells Rigged Squid—

Radio scratch at best speaks of chasing the bluefin or may have been Yellowfin- with the porpious and a few birds - maybe Oceanside area??

Northern waters are not seeing a whole lot of metered bait— once in a while a ball or Sauries will pop up on the slack times— Marlin will be on them— old timers say tough to get the marlin to take a cast bait to them while there feeding on the Sauries—they, sauries like to jump out of the water and the marlin can’t afford to take their eyes off them for a splashed bait near them.. Northern waters are holding swordfish—but most of it is spotter plane sub surface fish

Southern waters are holding Yellowfin and Dorado and yellowtails— stand by

Up Coming BAC Ladies Tournment and the Masters Stand by!

Ahaa the day gets a little brighter— Reports of a Swordfish, Jumper “ Butterfly” off our coast—- time to get the heavy tackle out— JD

Aug the 6th Tuesdays—- Starts off foggy— thick pea soup- 61- 62 degree water offcolor and not bait to be fou;nd,, a few up off the Newport Canyon sardines and small macks— took a while for it to burn off— by lat afternoon up to 65 degrees- coastal fishin on the slow side— Offshore there’s a concentrations of warm water off the East end of Cat to Long Point

Double Hook up—-Released fish today. Alex Langston Lure fish. 30#. 3:15 Long Point area. Went 3-2-1 today. Very little surface action. The fish were in 71 deg water and  clear.— Congrats-— JD

Closed on Mondays—House and yard work—

And it’s Sunday —Aug the 4th another nice warm day— some marine haze seaward- a few lazy overhead clouds, wind light from the west/southwest- small mix of swells- otherwise nice— very nice—

said there were spots of tuna breaking 4 south of the Avalon Bank— 9:44am

Shortpeaks ( dolphins) outside Main Beach 2 miles— Whale watchers seeing Blue Whales, Fin-back Whales and Dolphins and Dorados— down off Dana way—

Congrats—- you hooked em right on that little bubble- mark right on the numbers— I’d sen feeder there- congrats— 2:12 Another fish lost at the boat—

it’s coming above you it’s solid white caps— we can see it coming —- and that afternoon Newport slop came in-mid afternoon

The weekend proved good for the tuna anglers who made it out yesterday- scores of angling feats made , angling clubs with their light lines did well 150 lb fish on 30 lb tackle-!

And it’s Saturday- warm and sunny light west 3-5 at best- seas okay-

Lots or radio talk so far- yesterdays 72 was dirtied up with some profanity— wasn’t needed, nor wanted—

Boats this morning speaking of some of the larger 150-200 lb tunas further to the west , smaller schools were on the baitschools

Water on the inside of the island looks nice and blue— inside the 100 ft curve sea grass and some weed fouled the jigs— outside that ( shrimp buoys) that shelf held a few marlin— Pacific Pioneer release one— jig fish, and Cowboy’s fish,Teri had a good fight, went into Avalon to lick they’re wounds— Bob and Sally had another one came loose at the boat- water 70 degrees not a whole lot of bait metered

Said the bluefin were up— foamer— hooked two on the poppers lost one landed one— 3:39 Low Slack tide today 3:07 tides turned—

SD bait was rolling as it turned 72 some squid being made in the “Cove” good for the yellows

Congrats to Provider and Surly Mermaid for their released yesterday— Bob H said most of the action was along the inside of the island ( Cat) from Long Point up— along the 100 fathom line— almost all of it came up from behind the boat —no surface , tailers, feeders etc, Jig fish or teased up on the daisy chained squids and dropbacks

“Hi JD, A pretty one today on Surly Mermaid.” Ali

Friday Aug the 2nd 2024- Again morning clouds left leaving some high tropical still , wind light + from the west seas okay with a light west swell, and a long period from the south - Couldn’t get them to go— some dorado under a paddy on the 14 this morning—-
Slow so far for the boats out fishing marlins — inside of Catalina

making bait this morning ( Friday/ Newport) water dropped to 61-62 degrees overnight— lots of sardines but no green-backed mackerels - JD’s has Rigged Ballyhoos in stock ( great for that dropback bait)

VHF radio air waves— sometimes makes it through the gap of Catalina’s Isthmus - “seeing schools of 40- 100+ tuna but we couldn’t get a bite”

Lots of boats out— not many scored Slack tides came- went bait was up birds flying but that was it— maybe it’s a late afternoon event bite?

Thursdays report July- ops now August the 1st 2024— moons 1/4 and darkening— Hurricanes down south will be assisting the northward flow of the the California counter-current, first of wind, then swells then current,

Overcast for most of the morning hours—- wind light to fair from the west/southwest 4-5 kts- seas okay- looks like a lot of the bigger yachts were heading out today and several deep sea divers with there heavy spearguns

a mile of common dolphins off Laguna to Newport—10 am

E-Mail—- Hi JD. Left for Catalina Monday. Not being well connected with the marlin fishing community, the only intel I could find was on your website saying something like "P. P. says he went 2,2,0 a couple miles off Long Point". I was there yesterday in my little 26ft boat and found a nice one that completely kicked my ass. My arms are still a couple of noodles. 

Going public with accurate marlin intel really helps the little guys like me so I want to say thank you and keep it coming.  My next trip should be in 1 to 2 weeks but I follow your website every day.  Keep up the good work and stay healthy.  Michael. 
Whatever it was it was bigger than a dolphin!! 30.9 47.9 10:53 Birds and about a 1,000 dolphins—

And a couple of Albacores taken from a SD boat— 30 lbers—

Lots of 30/40lb bluefin— foamers off Backside of the island— best lures were 6” stick baits—-

A lot of generic 67 degree, clean blue water with nothing in it—- made a few baits at the harbor entrance this morning— ran to the East end— back around the backside of the island ran up the 100 fathom curve up almost as far as the Isthmus ( what boats seen were heading further off the island towards SBI ) back again down the Ridge towards the macheral into the 277 —in back over the 14 — best life mile and a half off Newport— Making bait, Macks, out of Newport— from the jettys up to the piers- 60- 80 ft—

Wed’s Report July the 31 2024— We’ve lost 35 minutes of su

n since the 21 st of June—- Morning overcast sky starting to thin out by mid morning hours here on the beach— wind still light from the south turning west this afternoon - Only hear one boat today— scratchy— maybe coming around the East end— “had the jigs out — haven’t seen S*%##t”. Nice weather

Tuesdays Report July 30th 2024—- Coastal marine clouds— backed seaward towards the early mid day— wind light from the South— looks nice out there— Tides are beginning to mellow out—with some nice mornings high and a afternoon’s filling tide — Nice time of the summer months.

Coastal waters 67 degrees - fair to good calicos

Nice day— from a scratchy report water cooled down off back side of the island?

Closed on Monday, Afternoon spent with Grandson #2, Nice halibut on a drifted squid—

Sunday— July the 28th—- La Nino strike again ! as the water takes a turn downwards, reports as low as 62 degrees Yikes!!! Coastal marine clouds breaking up early mid morning— wind light/ south seas Okay some mix in there—

PP went 2,2- 0 — couple miles off Long Point— another one released on the 14 earlier this morning— other than that pretty quiet on the radio today— boat that went west found cooler water a good temp break but no bait, birds—

Looks like things will get concentrates— warmer warmer moving into bottom of Clemente- inside- good luck JD
reported 6 off Dana yellowfin— ?

Sat’s report— July the 27th— back side of the moon- The marine layer came in early last night stayed with us here on the each towards the noon hours , wind slight from the south 3-4 kts— seas Okay not real good but okay- short mix of seastate - light wind ripple on it. lots of boats out—- searching-Not much radio traffic so far— some sealife seen on the 267 - yellows spotted under kelps no takers

Sounded like a marlin was released on the 14 1:57 this afternoon maybe the Xiphias?—

PP called in —-they made a tack all the way south of the harbor to almost Oceanside —73 degree and no life— clean water but no life—-

3:25 another feeder up—- behind you—Slack was at— 3:04pm

Seemed like that was it for the day—

Friday—July 26th— Hey-!— it’s Friday again and the Summer’s weekend is at hand— enjoy it— morning hours here on the beach light overcast that melted away early , what wind there is, is from the south 2-4 kts very nice out there this morning— you should be there- Both yachts, sailors and smaller skiffs headed out the harbor this AM making it a long weekend— Avalon should be busy—

E-Mail report—— 1 BLUEFIN OFF MORRO BAY. AND SUTTLEBUTT THAT ALBACORE ARE 85 MILES OUT.

A check with the San Clemente Island Security’s web site shows the “Cove”/SHOBA to be open this weekend— got a yellow — just south of the 14 under a paddy— dozen boats showed up—diver went it— that was it—

Water off the East end/ Slide got a little bumpy this morning water temps dropped to 67.1 and offcolor white cappy there now- 11:30 am— boats had worked up the line towards the A Bank and up towards the inside of the island— and it looks to have dropped a bit and concentrated back towards Oceanside. Thought’s — with yesterday’s west wind reflects there may be a general thin thermocline in the So Bight with a pool of deeper warm water closer to the beach—

Long day—- and a different day— said he’s only seen one jumper and maybe someone had a bite—- different day—

Bob Wiki- Wiki had the Yellowfin up off Aliso this afternoon schools of em 29/ 47 —3:09

Thursdays July the 25th 2024— Starts out calm

morning— Westerly picked up mid morning—- pushing 10 kts by 10 am

Said he was 6 off the Point ( Dana) 72 and seeing breaking fish— 10:53 Kelp held some marks 25 ft down— but no takers yet—- said chunking got them the other day—

They’re still here— we baited four of them here this morning-

First one’ed released— Congrat- Bruce— we’ve still got a couple of them hanging—-3:09

never seen on get that far out of the water 10- 12 ft—- whale watcher w/ Humpback- 3:11

Second one released 3:12

We went 1 for two,

The day went well for the billfishers— Prospector ends up with a a pair released—- Swagger had five releases and another one later on- another boat headed back to the barn had a fish released , East end / Slide the Kiddy Pond— late in the afternoon another Indian attack with 6 or 7 fish up behind the spread -

West most of the day—

Wed’s Report- July 24th— Wind again from the west, fair at 10+kts seas ok but have a wind chop on them and a west smal short perod swell, mixed seas

One more tack— he says—Solo —- off the East end of the island—starting to get a little sloppy towards the noon hour today— one more tack inside closer to Church— and Indian Attack- all 4 lines go off and he’s able to get a drop back in— Nuts!, bait fish hangs- it’s off and running- the other trolling rods- two are still on, managing to keep the boat straight, the lines straight and the fish under somewhat of control, figures the dropback is a Circle hook it should hang— but the fish is soon lost in the battle- the other rods still have fish on them! Grabbing the reel with the most line- he’s able to get that fish up and released, the other line still on and able to get that fish close to the boat, get a couple wraps on the leader a solid pull and the hook come free!— Congrats— JD solo with a Double—

Hi JD, We released a fish Monday 17/14 off the slide. Alex Langston (16) 1st Marlin was caught on 30#. Hook up was 3:13 released at 4:00. Doug Williams was the leaderman with a clean and healthy fish.

Overall, very little bait but water held 71-73. The fish was in the 71d more in the bluesh conditions.  The warm water held too much jellies / Planktons. Saw some YFT near the 277 in the afternoon - no takers with the cider plug.

Caught on a  KK lure and thank you for the tackle. Dave

Tuesdays July the 23rd 2024—- Clear sunny and wind from the west early light marine haze seawards—

Yellowfin he said— up chasing bait— 9:43 am, Radio report was loud— fish off Laguna to Dana it seemed— by late morning hours several of the smaller skiffs returned to the harbor— having spent the morning chasing dreams of fish— no flags were flying— saying 10 off the beach- of San Onofree- good temp break up to 72/+ starting to see more sealife— 12:06, Fished the 181, 182 found only on Dodo not much there—

Sounded like a fish was either released or caught—- congrats given— 1:38 Slack Hi was at noon—

Couple of boys ( Young men) came in the shop this afternoon— showing off a few photos of the Yellowtails they caught— 3 for 8 he said— lost em’ on the kelp— All really nice sized 30+lb fish—

Don't miss this Thursday's 7/25 Tuna Seminar & Potluck at the Balboa Angling Club!

Afternoon—- bite-? 26/ 45 said it was everywhere- they had one going—- 29/45

Wind backed off and turned southwest for the afternoon hours— nice— Never can tell about radio report’s some fools say stuff just to be mean !

Closed on Mondays went Grunion hunting late at night— found a few w/ grandson— “One more” he says as the midnight wore on!

Sundays report July the 21st—- Warming inland and better sky today— wind still from the west/southwest maybe 4-6 kts— seas have a short lump to them— A congrats went out early—— maybe a billfish released — Boats inside the 267 say not much going on there— likewise on the 14 reported no show yet either 10:52 — Mornings High Slack Tide 10:59 Standing by—