Well, I got a call at work that the BIG bugs were going off in San Diego Bay, complete with detailed intel on the hot spot. Scott couldn't get his boat out, so naturally he started twisting my arm with promises of giant cucarachas.
Knowing a storm was rolling in Wednesday, or at least some serious wind, I finally gave in and said, "Let's do it."
We worked out a plan pretty quickly. Scott's buddies had been on the water earlier and had fresh tuna and wahoo trimmings, so bait was covered. I told him that if he brought his nets and cages it would make life a lot easier. Plus, I could hit the self-serve car wash on the way home afterward and at least have a clean deck to spray down. Deal made.
As soon as I got home from work, I got the boat ready and headed out.
There were a TON of 20+ foot boats coming back from offshore. It seemed like everybody and their brother had taken the day off to fish the Coronado Canyon for wahoo. The parking lot was packed, the tide was high, and the harbor was buzzing.
We got to the numbers with high hopes and dropped a perfect spread of ten nets loaded with premium bait.
Then it was time to pull...
After burning through five nets and hauling 474 lobsters the previous Saturday, I probably should have known this was going to be one of those nights.
The first few pulls were brutal.
I didn't keep an exact count, but after three sets I think we had maybe a dozen shorts and only four legals. Talk about a buzzkill.
We tried another spot on the way in and even managed to lose a hoop, which most likely floated off in the ripping current.
At least we each ended up with two keepers, but man, it was a grind. San Diego Bay has never been especially consistent for me. When it's good, it's really good. When it's not... well, nights like this happen.
Even so, it was great getting out with Scott. I picked up a lot more intel on the wahoo bite that I need to explore. Unfortunately, my boat isn't exactly set up to run down to where the biomass is, and Coronado Canyon is about as far offshore as I'm willing to push it.
Still, I can't complain too much. I've got a decent pile of bugs in the freezer now to get me through surgery recovery. Maybe one or two more trips and I'll have enough lobster to make it all the way to the New Year!
Thanks for reading, and good luck out there!
I hear buoy 18 and 20 is a good spot in SD Bay, on The Coronado side ;)