Channel Islands Sportfishing weekly fish report for week ending January 18, 2015.
Whopper’s of the Week:
Neal Parish from Ventura CA, 41lb Halibut caught on the Cobra using live mackerel on a dropper loop rig.
Dave Horton from Taft CA, 32lb Yellowtail caught on the Cobra using a live mackerel on a dropper loop rig.
Jonathan Gonzales from Moorpark CA, 28lb Yellowtail on the Cobra using mackerel colored Salas 6XJR jig.
Pete Banks from Oxnard CA, 8lb Bonito on the Cobra using a surface iron.
Report:
It’s mid January and the ocean remains warm and calm. Captains are reporting 66 degree water still at the islands and 62 degree temps along the coast. The yellowtail bite along the Malibu coast has slowed but not over yet. Early in the week the early morning boats targeting the yellows, put several fish on deck, while losing many more. Boat traffic has become an issue and has seemed to shut the bite off. Fish are still being metered in big schools, so they are there but not biting good at the moment. Because of the traffic, some of the boats checked out the islands and found even warmer water and a huge abundance of bonito. Capping the week on Sunday, the Cobra and Erna B fished Anacapa Island and loaded the boats with hard fighting bonito ranging from only 3lbs but up to 10lbs. Lots of fun on medium to light tackle!
Sand Dabs are one of the most overlooked good eating fish in our area. There is no limit on these tasty flat fish and they are really easy to catch, making it perfect for all anglers! Captain Don Rowell on the Gentleman has been putting his anglers on the spot, catching huge amounts of Dabs! While on these 3/4 day trips with the Gentleman you will have the opportunity to “bring home the bacon”. Anglers are defiantly catching way more than they had expected.
On another note, Whales are here! We are running daily whale watch trips at capacity on the Ranger 85 and the Coral Sea. They are mostly seeing Gray Whales but have seen Orca and Humpback Whales too! Dolphins and Sea Birds are always in abundance here at the Channel Islands. Something for everyone!!!
To see our current schedule and book online, click here!
