Tuna Bite Remains Inconsistent

Tuna fishing for Southern California anglers remained inconsistent this week with some great fishing at times followed by much slower action.

Scott Buchert, of Corona del Mar, headed 150 miles down the Baja coast on the boat First String, where he encountered tremendous yellowfin tuna fishing.

"It was easy to catch a limit (five tuna per angler in Mexico) and the action was crazy," Buchert said.

Joe Davis, of Newport Beach, headed to the same spot on a private boat and had a similar experience.

"You could watch the fish fighting for your bait," Davis said. "We had limits of 18- to 25-pound yellowfin tuna in less than two hours."

Closer to home—only 55 miles south of San Diego—many boats continued to fish . The weekends have been slow because of heavy boat pressure. By Wednesday morning, the Endeavor out of Seaforth Sportfishing called in by 8 a.m. with limits of bluefin tuna in wide-open action. Albacore were also being caught, giving rise to hopes there was still time for the prized longfin tuna to make a run.

The Toronado from Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach returned with 21 bluefin tuna on Wednesday. Most of the bluefin on the Toronado were caught after 3 p.m. Light line continued to be an important factor in getting the wily tuna to gobble up the bait. Fifteen-pound test line with a 20-pound test fluorocarbon leader seemed to be the most effective way to get a hook-up on these 12- to 40-pound tuna.

Quick bites

• Surf fishing action continued to improve on most beaches. Pete Thomas from Pete Thomas Outdoors has been spending his afternoons surf fishing near Solana Beach. Thomas has caught numerous nice corbina on sand crabs. Others are having luck off Seal Beach.

• Tremendous amounts of market squid continue to take up residence in the Santa Monica Bay. There have been squid near the Palos Verdes Peninsula, off Hermosa Beach and elsewhere. Market squid is often called "candy bait" because of its effectiveness on so many different species. Fishing in the bay has been good for a mix of calico bass, rockfish, perch, sheephead, and an occasional white sea bass or yellowtail.

• Assembly Bill 376, which bans the import, sale and possession of shark fins, passed the California legislature last week. "It's a great day for sharks in California," Michael Sutton, vice president of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, told the Washington Post. "They may now actually survive for another 450 million years."

• Yet another mom-and-pop tackle store is going out of business. Purfield's Pro Tackle near Venice is selling all inventories, including mounts on the wall through Sept. 24. Purfield's has been the go-to tackle shop in the area for decades, but it's closing its doors due to the economy and other factors. "I am really going to miss the special attention and service I've been getting here for over 20 years," said Will Ebersman, of Los Angeles.