This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Anglers Await Lingcod, Rockfish Opener

The rockfish season is about to open; Peggy Stein catches a 43-pound, 10-ounce halibut to take the lead in the Dana Wharf Halibut Derby; and great twilight fishing continues.

Anglers are anxiously awaiting the March 1 lingcod and rockfish opener, when they will be able to take home some of the finest-eating fish in the sea.

Don Ashley from Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach said that last year’s bite was the best he had seen in quite awhile. “We were having some of the best rockfishing I had seen in over 20 years,” said Ashley. “(We caught) huge vermillion rockfish, along with lots of lingcod and much more.”

Rockfish seem to thrive better in cooler water, which Southern California has had its share of for the past two years. There are more 50 different species of rockfish that inhabit the waters off the Southern California coast, and every single one of them is great eating.

Find out what's happening in Redondo Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

One of the best lingcod venues has been San Nicolas Island, where catching the two-fish limit of lingcod is not out of the question. In addition, anglers can catch big sheephead, whitefish and have a good chance to reel in some big halibut and early-season white sea bass.

Fishing at San Nicolas Island is done in 120 feet of water or less, so anglers can bring their light tackle and have a ball.

Find out what's happening in Redondo Beachwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I love it because you never know what you may have on the line,” said Scott Buchert from Corona del Mar. “It’s always so interesting to see what you haul up from the depths.”

Halibut derbies in full swing

Peggy Stein took over the lead in the Dana Wharf Halibut Derby on Sunday with a giant 43-pound, 10-ounce halibut caught on Sunday.

“You can count the 40-pound halibut I have seen taken in the past 40 years on one hand,” said longtime skipper Larry Moore. “This is a great accomplishment.”

At Long Beach Sportfishing, five halibut were caught on the Native Sun on Wednesday, making this one of the Pot of Gold Halibut Derbies in years. David Akamine from Torrance is the current leader of this year’s derby with a fat 39-pound, 2-ounce flatfish.

“We are not only seeing more halibut, but we are seeing more big halibut, too,” said Landing manager Jennifer Doyle.

Anglers see good twilight fishing

Twilight fishing remained good on the Native Sun, where anglers are catching good amounts of sand bass and sculpin. This week’s warm weather may give the bite an added boost.

A 2-ounce leadhead with some fresh dead squid has been an excellent way to entice a bite from these nocturnal feeders.

Anglers are also catching halibut, and one night, the bite on octopus was wide-open. For a glimpse of the nighttime action, check out the Patch fishing video above.

There are more twilight trips this weekend on the Native Sun. Trips set sail at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and return around 11:30 p.m. on the same day. For reservations, call 562-432-8993.

Fun continues on ‘Fishing with Phil’ trips

The Liberty out of Long Beach Sportfishing headed over to Catalina Island on a Fishing with Phil trip Monday for Presidents Day. The weather was summerlike, and while the calico bass and whites sea bass were no-shows, there were plenty of big perch to fill the sacks. Anglers were also treated to the beautiful sights of the backside of Catalina Island as well as a giant pod of dolphin and two surface-feeding fin whales. Check out some of the action on the Patch fishing video above.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?