Fishing in San Diego

The family just got back from San Diego on Wednesday evening. I don't think we recovered until yesterday. The trip was a whirlwind of activities. Visiting family, Disneyland, San Diego Zoo, Comic-Con, The Safari Park and much more. It got to the point by day 5 that when I told my kids we need to get going they just ignored me. I couldn't blame them the pace we were going was frantic. I didn't bring my fishing stuff because I figured my schedule wouldn't allow it. My uncle and cousin are just as into fishing as I am. They were hoping to get me out at least one morning to fish off the coast. A friend invited us to use his boat and even though I was exhausted I felt like I couldn't pass up the opportunity. 

Riding out from the docks was amazing. San Diego really is a special place. While getting bait we watched seals swim hoping to get scraps and dolphins popped up here and there. It was a scene right out of a movie. The weather was an unusual clear morning. 

San Diego is known for its perfect weather but what most people don't know is the coast is clouded most of the time. The hot temperatures of the inland and desert block the cold air coming from the ocean creating a marine layer. This usually results in a cloud bank that often hangs out from the beach to 5-10miles inland. 

I was surprised at the number of boats that were out. You can see the boats in the distance and there were just as many surrounding the boat. If you hooked up some idiot would punch it as fast as they could to drop a line in your location. I had never seen such a lack of etiquette. I guess that was the norm because I seemed to be the only person that had major issues with it. 

We were tight lining live mackerel and waiting to feel a hit. It took me awhile to get the hang of it. I couldn't tell if the fish was just running or if a bigger fish had taken it. The seals and seagulls were constantly surrounding the boat. Several times seals took our bait and seagulls tried as well. It's crazy to see your line go from the ocean up into the air then you see a seagull stuck in flight. They usually dropped the mackerel which my uncle called relocating my bait. The seals made reeling in fish interesting. If you took to long you just gave the seal breakfast. Even with all the boats and other obstacles we managed to catch fish.

This fish looks similar to an albacore that is caught on the east coast. It's actually called a Bonito. Very hard fighting fish.  It put an L in my rod when I was bringing it in. I thought I had hooked a seal. 

We all had success catching calico bass, bonito and yellowtail. It was a special day and I'm glad I was able to spend it with family.