Fishing Month By Month Guide
Fishing:
The type of fish we catch depends on the time of year and location…
January: Halibut, Calico and Sand Bass, Sculpin (Rock Fish closed)
February: Sand and Calico Bass, White Sea Bass & Halibut (Rock Fish closed)
March: White Sea Bass, Halibut, Rock Fish, Salmon Grouper Calico Bass, Sculpin, Sheephead
April: Rock Fish, Salmon Grouper, Halibut, White Sea Bass, Sand and Calico Bass, Sheephead, Lingcod, Sculpin
May: Calico Bass, White Sea Bass, Rock Cod, Sand Bass, Barracuda, Yellowtail
June: Rock Fish, Salmon Grouper, Halibut, Calico Bass, Sand Bass, Yellowtail, Barracuda, Blue Fin Tuna, Bonito
July: Sand Bass, Yellowtail, Albacore, Dorado, Calico Bass, Blue Fin Tuna, Yellow Fin Tuna, Albacore Tuna Halibut, Barracuda, Bonito
August: Albacore Tuna, Yellowtail, Barracuda, Blue Fin Tuna, Yellow Fin Tuna, Dorado, Calico Bass, Sand Bass, Bonito
September: Yellowfin Tuna, Bluefin Tuna, Yellowtail, Calico Bass, Halibut, Bonito, Dorado
October: Calico Bass, Yellow Fin Tuna, Yellowtail, Halibut, Bonito, Dorado
November: Rock Fish, Salmon Grouper, White fish, Sheepshead, Calico or Sand Bass, Halibut, Lingcod
December: Rock Fish, Salmon Grouper, White fish, Sheepshead, Calico or Sand Bass, Halibut, Lingcod
This is a guide to what fish are typically available each month, but not guaranteed and not all fish can be caught at every location. Fishing doesn’t always equal catching. Fish species availability does vary each year and varies from location to location.
Fishing:
The type of fish we catch depends on the time of year and location…
January: Halibut, Calico and Sand Bass, Sculpin (Rock Fish closed)
February: Sand and Calico Bass, White Sea Bass & Halibut (Rock Fish closed)
March: White Sea Bass, Halibut, Rock Fish, Salmon Grouper Calico Bass, Sculpin, Sheephead
April: Rock Fish, Salmon Grouper, Halibut, White Sea Bass, Sand and Calico Bass, Sheephead, Lingcod, Sculpin
May: Calico Bass, White Sea Bass, Rock Cod, Sand Bass, Barracuda, Yellowtail
June: Rock Fish, Salmon Grouper, Halibut, Calico Bass, Sand Bass, Yellowtail, Barracuda, Blue Fin Tuna, Bonito
July: Sand Bass, Yellowtail, Albacore, Dorado, Calico Bass, Blue Fin Tuna, Yellow Fin Tuna, Albacore Tuna Halibut, Barracuda, Bonito
August: Albacore Tuna, Yellowtail, Barracuda, Blue Fin Tuna, Yellow Fin Tuna, Dorado, Calico Bass, Sand Bass, Bonito
September: Yellowfin Tuna, Bluefin Tuna, Yellowtail, Calico Bass, Halibut, Bonito, Dorado
October: Calico Bass, Yellow Fin Tuna, Yellowtail, Halibut, Bonito, Dorado
November: Rock Fish, Salmon Grouper, White fish, Sheepshead, Calico or Sand Bass, Halibut, Lingcod
December: Rock Fish, Salmon Grouper, White fish, Sheepshead, Calico or Sand Bass, Halibut, Lingcod
This is a guide to what fish are typically available each month, but not guaranteed and not all fish can be caught at every location. Fishing doesn’t always equal catching. Fish species availability does vary each year and varies from location to location.
Reel to Reef knows how to rock fish!
Rock Fish
Season is open March-December (Closed Jan and Feb but
Mexican waters is open all year round). These tasty fish can be caught in
depths from 200-300ft deep. I like using spectra line and two hook dropper loop
set ups. Frozen squid and live sardines are used as bait. Reel to Reef Charters
will provide all the gear and tackle to go after these fish. Catalina, San
Clemente Island, and Mexican waters near the Coronado islands have excellent
Rock fishing all year round!
Captain Mark Austin with a nice Calico bass.
Calico Bass can be caught all year round. Fish must be 14' long to be legal keepers. These fish love eating live anchovy, squid, and plastic swim baits. Calico bass are caught deep in or on kelp line edges and points. Calico bass are excellent eating! I do encourage catch and release on the Calico bass or keep only what you plan on eating. Calico bass is the target species on Dana Point 1/2 day trips.
Reel to Reef scored limits of Yellowfin Tuna.
Offshore Fishing for Tuna, Yellowtail, and Dorado is a summer time event. July through first half of October is the typical offshore season. This type of fishing is extremely exciting and are excellent table fair! These fish are typically found approximate 30-50 miles out and south in Mexican waters out of San Diego. Some years and months the fish can be in US waters and much closer in and even caught just a few miles offshore out of Dana Point or Oceanside.To locate the fish, you are looking for floating kelp patties, diving bird schools, or crashing fish on the surface. You can also locate a school of fish by trolling tuna feathers, jigs, and Rapala's. Once a kelp patty is located, diving birds are found, fish are breaking water on the surface, or we hook up a troll fish. We quickly pin on a live sardine and toss it out and hope we get to yell out "Hook Up" or "Fresh One"! These fish will pull hard and test the skills of even the most experienced anglers! A 15 to 20 minute battle is not uncommon on a big fish.
Offshore Fishing Images Below:
