Dana Wharf Fish Report: Water Temperatures Improve Bass, Tuna Fishing

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Every week, Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching provides the Dana Point and San Clemente Times a report on the week’s fishing from Captain Brian Woolley, in addition to the weekly fish count.

Here is Captain Woolley’s report for the past week’s action:

The conditions made some improvements during the week, namely water temps. Water was closer to the normal 69-71 degrees by mid-day. Some current really helped move some water around, as did that big swell.

Some washed out areas through San Clemente made it an easy call to fish up above Dana Point in the Salt Creek areas for the half-day boat. There was more bass action on the fly-lined baits. We had both anchovy and sardine bait this week, which helped with the action as well. Fun summer bass fishing with some nice fish coming off the bottom, like the sheephead and sculpin. There’s a halibut or two in the mix, as well, on those half-day trips.

Three-quarter-day trips fished down off Camp Pendleton and saw some tougher conditions again as a result of the swell. But there was still some action on the hard bottom and along some of the kelp. Hard jerk baits and rubber lures fished well for the guys willing to commit to making numerous long casts. On the days there was just too much stacked against us, we made the run up the coast and fished above the Laguna Beach closure.  It was pretty much same deal with bass on the surface and with the artificial baits.

Fishing in the gray with the knife jigs paid off for the Fury with quality bluefin tuna going 40 to 110 pounds. Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching

Island action great at San Clemente Island for the Fury. Bass kicked into gear this week with some shots at the yellows in that 10-to-25-pound range. 

Both at the island and west, the bluefin saw some play from the Fury as well. They were fishing bluefin tuna from 40 pounds to well into the 100-pound range on a one-and-a-half-day trip this week.  The Boardroom and the LexSea have been fishing the same zone with great success on the same grade of fish, but they’re fishing on the high speed troll. It’s been very good for them too.

Busy and hectic, but fun at the same time.

Here are the latest fish counts from Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching:

July 27 – 9 boats, 271 anglers: 8 dorado, 3 yellowtail, 1 halibut, 50 calico bass, 28 sand bass, 5 sculpin, 16 sheephead, 19 white fish, 8 rockfish, 17 barracuda, 21 bonito, 1 blue perch, 274 bass released

July 26 – 11 boats, 240 anglers: 6 bluefin tuna, 3 dorado, 8 yellowtail, 155 calico bass, 21 sand bass, 22 sculpin, 31 sheephead, 39 white fish, 9 rockfish, 1 treefish, 3 barracuda, 10 bonito, 2 triggerfish, 22 blue perch, 1 opaleye, 418 bass released

July 25 – 8 boats, 228 anglers: 1 bluefin tuna 1 dorado 6 yellowtail 65 calico bass 20 rockfish 15 bonito 10 sand bass 7 sheephead 5 whitefish 3 sculpin 3 triggerfish 1 vermilion rockfish 1 bocaccio 515 bass released

July 24 – 4 yellowtail, 102 calico bass, 25 sand bass, 18 sculpin, 18 sheephead, 13 white fish, 3 rockfsih, 1 vermillion rockfish, 1 barracuda, 1 bonito, 1 halibut, 1 whitesea bass, 664 bass released

July 23 – 10 boats, 271 anglers: 9 bluefin tuna, 55 calico bass, 5 sand bass, 8 sculpin, 15 sheephead, 9 whitefish, 3 rockfish, 2 barracuda, 1 bonito, 847 bass released

July 22 – 10 boats, 291 anglers: 15 bluefin tuna, 1 yellowtail, 1 white sea bass, 9 bonito, 2 halibut, 120 calico bass, 22 sand bass, 1 sculpin, 33 sheephead, 6 white fish, 1 rockfish, 4 barracuda, 948 bass released

July 21 – 7 boats, 148 anglers: 5 bluefin tuna, 1 yellowtail, 3 bonito, 43 calico bass, 36 sand bass, 8 sculpin, 3 sheephead, 20 white fish, 35 rockfish, 5 vermilion rockfish, 98 bocaccio, 2 barracuda, 2 blue perch, 265 bass released

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