The season started in early June with big boy Bluefins and Yellowtail swarming near the Todos Santos and Ensenada islands and then moving northward. Come late July we had tons of Dorado (mahi mahi) in our waters. In fact, we had so many Dorado a lot of locals are dubbing this "the year of the Dorado."

The fish are still biting too! Learn what is happening now off the coast of California and what we see happening in the weeks to come.

Yes, we still have Dorado in our waters. They are still biting but we see it winding down soon since the water temps are dropping. It's still good fishing though. Yellowfin are still moving up the line from Mexico with plenty of steady Yellowfin and BlueFin Tuna fishing now, as it has been for months.

We see the fishing continuing to be great for a bit. Here's why…

Anglers have been nabbing big Yellowfin Tuna way up north, near Fort Bragg and San Francisco. This is rare for these waters that are typically too cold for Yellowtail. Dorado have been making their way up north too. There was even a Dorado caught way up in Oregon! This shows that the fish went further north than usual, which means they will be turning back down south and passing through our waters later too.

Bluefin will also still be in our waters for a while as they usually hang around at least through the Beginning of December. We will be focusing on Bluefin and Swordfish trips for the remainder of the season, but we might very well still catch some Dorado/Yellowtail/Yellowfin Tuna while we are out there.

We've seen a lot of creative ways to haul in fish this season. Here are a few examples of fishing tactics that have taken in some prized catches:

• A lure out of Australia dubbed the Madmacs can be trolled at speeds of 12 to 15 knots. Bluefin love the speed of these lures. We've seen the most benefit: they run fast - about 12 knots - and are straight-tied on 80 pounds of mono or fluoro wind-on to your spectra backing, with no swivel or heavier leader. These lures have become so popular that many shops across the country were totally sold out by mid-June. You can find people reselling these at insane prices.
  
  
• The other hot bait has been the Spreader bars. These run better at slightly slower speeds than the Madmacs - at around 8 knots. Be sure to run them far enough back or off to the side (outriggers work great) so they are out of your prop wash. The best colors are purple, pink, and red-brown, and are especially effective with a bigger stinger in a brighter contrasting color.
  
  
• For smaller fish, a knife jig with a smaller grade is great. Wind through bites since these fish are not large enough to choke down the big jigs. Winding helps to get the bottom hooks to set before the jig is pulled from the fish's mouth.
  
  
• When going after big fish, switch to a big lure - something like a Madmacs Nomad 240. The color is not so important as the size. One downside is that these lures do not always hold up when going after big fish, but I guess you have to pay to play as they say! The most effective method has been trolling three lines at different lengths at about 12 knots.
  

We expect Bluefin to continue to be great fishing at least through October. Yellowtail, and to a lesser extent Dorado, are likely to be biting pretty strong for another month or so too.

Heading into the winter months as Bluefin, Yellowfin Tuna and Dorado leave our waters, there is still fun and lucrative fishing to be had. Rockfish fishing in San Diego is peak from October through December, and sometimes into January. Rockfish season closes on January 1st through March 1st. Yellowtail always hangs around in our local waters and so do Vermillion RockFish. In other words, there is almost always a good time to go fishing off our beautiful San Diego coast.

Book your fall Bluefin trip now! Or make your plans for a Rockfish winter trip today!