Tuna Bite Remains a Bit Inconsistent

Tuna fishing for Southern California anglers remained inconsistent this week with some really great fishing at times followed by much slower action. Scott Buchert from Corona del Mar headed 150 miles on the boat First String down the Baja coast, where he encountered tremendous yellowfin tuna fishing.

"It was easy to catch a limit [five tuna per angler in Mexico] and the action was crazy," said Buchert.

Joe Davis from Newport Beach headed down to the same zone as Buchert on a private boat and had a similar experience. "You could watch the fish fighting for you bait," said Davis. "We had limits of 18- to 25-pound yellowfin tuna in less than two hours."

Closer to home—only 55 miles south of San Diego—many boats continued to fish the tuna pens. The weekends have been slow as there has been too much boat pressure. By Wednesday morning, the Endeavor out of Seaforth Sportfishing called in by 8 a.m. with limits of bluefin tuna in wide-open action. Albacore were also being caught, giving rise to hopes that there was still time for the prized longfin tuna to make a run.

The Toronado from Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach returned with 21 bluefin tuna on Wednesday. Most of the bluefin on the Toronado was caught after 3 p.m. Light line continued to be an important factor in getting the wily tuna to gobble up the bait. Fifteen-pound test line with a 20-pound test fluorocarbon leader seemed to be the most effective way to get a hook-up on these 12- to 40-pound tuna. The Toronado has a two-day trip departing Friday night.

Largest lure weighs more than 350 pounds

It’s the largest lure in the world as recently recognized recently by the Guinness World Records. It measures 10 feet, 10 inches long; 17.75 inches wide; and 14.625 inches thick. It weighs 355.2 pounds.

The lure was patterned after a 5 1/2-inch Flatliner lure made by David Partridge and designed to mimic a struggling baitfish. The smaller lures are used to catch bass and other small game fish. Mark Davis of S.S. Spitfire Mercantile built the giant version over a period of 10 months.

Quick bites

• Surf fishing action continued good on most beaches. Pete Thomas from Pete Thomas Outdoors has been spending his afternoons surf fishing near Solana Beach. Thomas has caught numerous nice corbina on sand crabs. Tom Raftican from the Sportfishing Conservancy in Belmont Shores caught a big spotfin croaker off Seal Beach. Raftican said he spent a lot of time looking for a really big sand crab. Raftican said the action was very good when he fished with six-pound test line.

• Tremendous amounts of market squid continue to take up residence in the Santa Monica Bay. There has been squid around the Palos Verdes Peninsula, off Hermosa Beach and elsewhere. Market squid is referred to as "candy bait" because of its effectiveness on so many different species. All of this squid can only be a good thing because the big ones do come out to eat the little ones. Fishing in the bay has been good for a mix of calico bass, rockfish, perch, sheephead, and an occasional white sea bass or yellowtail.

• Assembly Bill 376, which bans the import, sale and possession of shark fins, passed the California legislature last week. "It's a great day for sharks in California," Michael Sutton, vice president of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, told the Washington Post. "They may now actually survive for another 450 million years." The aquarium was a lead sponsor of the bill.

• In perhaps a sign of the times, another mom-and-pop tackle store is going out of business. Purfield's Pro Tackle near Venice is selling all inventories, including the mounts on the wall through Sept. 24. Purfield's has been the go-to tackle shop in the area for decades, but it's closing its doors due to the economy and other factors. "I am really going to miss the special attention and service I've been getting here for over 20 years," said Will Ebersman from Los Angeles.