(El Granada) With the temporary closure of the Dungeness crab season, rockfish and lingcod are filling the bill for the time being.
A big swell and heavy winds over the weekend of November 13 put the lingcod off the bite, but rockfish counts remained solid for party and private boats. When the seas were calm earlier in the week, bonito were abundant for trollers working offshore.
The Queen of Hearts scored 30 limits of rockfish in the big sea on Saturday with the Riptide returning with 12 limits and a lingcod, according to Sherri Ingles of Half Moon Bay Sport Fishing, The ling counts were limited by the 9 to 12 foot swell, which results in the groundfish hunkering down to the reefs.
Captain Tom Mattusch of the Huli Cat took out a Becoming an Outdoor Woman charter on Saturday, November 14, and the participants were treated to limits of rockfish off Martin’s Beach and Tunitas Creek with a number of school fish in the mix.
James Nguyen of Dockside Bait was searching for bluefin tuna during the week, but didn’t find any tuna. They did find an excellent bonito bite with several fish over 10 pounds and ranging from 27 to 28 inches.
They were trolling Mexican Flag zukers, and they had as many as five on at one time. He said, “We had to go way out to 400 feet in depth to find 59 degree water, but once we hit the warm water, it was on.”