Surf Fishing on Thanksgiving and Warm Weather Ahead

Tom Raftican from the Sportfishing Conservancy and Bob Osborne from Surfside are true fishermen.

This Thanksgiving, they were up at daybreak catching a variety of surf fish during a friendly competition between the two. The duo have a fierce yet amicable competition going on for bragging rights on most holidays.

This year, Osborne battled a guitarfish for more than an hour on 6-pound test line before catching and releasing the creature. There is still a great debate going on about who won this year's competition as Osborne claimed victory with his feisty guitarfish and Raftican claimed foul saying it was not a game fish.

In the end, the two caught and released barred perch, spotfin croaker, corbina, and the infamous guitarfish. For a fisherman, there is little doubt that this is a great way to start off Thanksgiving.

Warm Weather in the Forecast

Great weather in the forecast should continue our fine rockfish bite. Boats from San Clemente to the Santa Monica Bay continue to reel in good numbers of bottom dwellers including lingcod.

Lingcod season closes December 1st, so now is the time to get out and catch one.

Boats Catching Rockfish and Lingcod

The Toronado from Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach is headed out Saturday night for a lingcod special to San Nicolas Island. The weather forecast is fantastic so this promises to be a fun and productive trip.

The Native Sun out of Long Beach Sportfishing is one of the best kept secrets in town. She is a comfortable and beautiful ride, and this weekend will have a three-quarter-day rockfish trip where the local bite has been excellent.

“We have been catching lingcod at times along with a mess of other rockfish," said Captain Gabriel. “The great weather this weekend is only going to make it better,” he said.

Boats from Marina del Rey and Redondo Beach have also caught excellent numbers of rockfish and lingcod but they have also had some excellent surface action at times.

The Highliner out of Redondo was out this week for excellent calico and sand bass fishing. Live as well as fresh dead squid has been very effective recently as bait for bass fishing.

Gray Whales and Dolphins Spotted

More gray whales are moving through our local waters as they head for their calving grounds in the Baja lagoons.

“We are seeing more and more gray whales all the time,” reported Danny Salas from Harbor Breeze Cruises in Long Beach.

In addition, huge pods of dolphin have been spotted off Marina del Rey, Redondo, Long Beach, Corona del Mar, and San Clemente.

You can hardly go wrong with a whale watching trip this weekend with the summerlike weather in the forecast.