FISH REPORT 7/20

Hey all, I know this is late today, out webmaster, Erik Landesfeind and Rachel Baker are getting married tomorrow... We wish them good luck and no stress!

Good Morning!
I would like to thank those who have sent in their photos so far, please continue to send us pictures of the fish you catch on Long Beach Bait Company bait to get your picture on our website and for a chance at great prizes. Please send photos to longbeachbaitcompany@yahoo.com
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This is our bait and fish report for Friday 7/20.

Our receiver is currently loaded with chum sized anchovie with a limited amount larger ones, nice bait sized sardines and bait sized mackerel. No matter what you're targetting, come by the receiver and we will have the bait you need this weekend. As usual, Martin will be on the receiver all weekend and you can call him on Channel 11 or at (562) 455- 9928. He will be able to give you the lastest bait and fishing information when you talk to him.
The Long Beach Carnage is at Catalina and has plenty of live squid. They plan to be there all weekend and will make as much bait as they can every night, so if you're heading across give Paul a call on Channel 11 or at (562) 714- 8103.
Now to the fish report...

Offshore

The local offshore bite has dropped off again. There are still some fish in range of Long Beach, but the weather has been up outside and it's a long haul for not wide open fishing. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and the fish will start to bite. If you are dead set on running offshore this weekend, I would angle out towards the butterfly as there have been some yellows on the patties out that way, so if you miss on the albacore, you still have a chance to put some fish on the boat. In my opinion, with the availablity of yellows at Clemente and Croaker and Yellows at Catalina, it's not worth the run offshore. If you are looking for more information about offshore fishing, please refer to my report from 7/13.

Catalina

The good news is that with another wave of squid moving into the island, the seabass and yellows are biting again! Several sportboats have posted good scores on yellows in the last couple of days and some friends of ours reported limits of nice sized seabass yesterday at the island.

If you are looking to make a big score on the exotics, you need to have live squid, so make sure and stop by the Long Beach Carnage who is anchored just east of Avalon and pick up a scoop from Paul. Paul can give you the current dope when you pick up your bait, but here is what I know.

There is still a bite on the big yellows happening early on the squid grounds just outside the V's. These are the same fish that have been biting the last couple months, so please refer to my post from 6/22 for info on how to fish this area. If the morning bite doesn't pan out or if you get to the island after dawn, I would head to the west end. There have been big schools of 8-15 lb yellowtail cruising around the deeper water spots on the west end from Ribbon Rock up to the West End High Spot. If you want to fish these yellows, I would look around the area for bird activity and meter marks. If you find fish and good current, anchor up and start a chumline of squid chunks with a few live every now and then. You should either flyline or fish with a light slider (1/8 to 1/4 oz). If you are marking fish and have good conditions, don't be afraid to give the spot some time as it takes the fish a while to bite sometimes. The seabas that have been caught have been coming off the beaches and kelp lines tight to the island. I would start looking at Salta Verde and points west. This is your standard Catalina seabass fishing. Look for conditions (current, junk, structure) and fish the tides (incoming, full slack, outgoing and low slack) for your best chance at a croaker.

The bite on the frontside is getting better and better! There is now steady fishing on calicos that are readily eating the sardines, swimbaits and iron. The yellows are finally starting to activate with private boats consistently coming back with a handfull of yellows in the boat.
Most of the spots from the Isthmus to the west end have been biting well, so check out your favorite kelpline or reef. Most of the better scores on yellowtail have come from the areas to the west. The yellows on the front side tend to cruise up and down the island following the deeper ridges that run along the frontside of the island, so remember to check some of the deeper ridges in 70-90 feet of water before anchoring too close to the kelp. If the fish are in the deeper water, you should meter them when you are checking out the spot. If not, they will sometimes find your chumline. The most productive method to catch fish at this time of year is by flylining (sardine, anchovy or squid).

San Clemente

The yellowtail are still biting at Clemente. I hate to just say the same thing over and over, but boats fishing Clemente in the last week have been doing well on the yellows on the front side east end of the island. The yellows are readily taking the sardines and jigs, but if you get a chance to run across with some live squid, take it. If you're heading across, I would check out the area from Purse Seine Rock up to White Rock. You can refer to any of my reports in the last month for more info on the bite at Clemente.

Coastal

Palos Verdes Penninsula

Not too many reports coming from up the line, but the few that I've gotten indicate that the fishing continues to be good on nice sized calicos in the kelp. Please refer to my report from 6/22 for more information on how to fish this area.

Horseshoe Kelp

Continued sporadic fishing on barracuda good fishing on calico bass. The bite on the horseshoe has been tough for the sportboats, but it has been biting well for private boaters. If you head out there, spend some time looking around for rocks and reefs and try to anchor properly on them. If you need help finding spots on the shoe, you should pick up a spot locator book at your local tackle store. Once you find and anchor on a spot (position your boat about a hundred feet upcurrent of the spot), start a chumline of chovies and fish the sardines, swimbaits and iron. If you are on a spot that is holding fish, you should immediately start to get bit. The bite will get better and better as you sit there. If you carry a chum bucket, this is a situation where it works well.

Huntington Flats

The sand bass are finally starting to muster and the twighlight boats have started to post big scores. This pattern is indicative of the beginning of the normal sandbass migration so let's keep our fingers crossed that this bite gets going soon. If you are heading down to the flats, I would look around for meter marks in 70-90 feet of water and drift over them to see if they bite. If you catch fish, drop your anchor and start a chumline of anchovies. The sandbass will bite the chovies, small sardines, swimbaits and whams, so don't be afraid to try different techniques to get bit.

That's about it for this week.
Now get out there and catch som fish!
See you on the water...