El Niño, marine heat wave fuels yellowtail frenzy off local waters

John Blum pulled and yanked and raced around the boat to follow his line, the large fish on the other end putting up a fight.

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“I see color! It’s a yellow!” Blum shouted the moment he got a glimpse of the hefty fish under the water’s surface as he reeled it closer to the Helena, anchored just a few miles off the coastline at the border of Laguna Beach and Dana Point.

Sweat dripped down Blum’s face, the rod anchored in his armpit for stability as he fought for 10 minutes: reel in, pull up on the rod, reel in more. Everyone on the boat watched with eager anticipation, moving out of his way as he navigated the ship to keep up with the big game pulling his line.

“Whooo hooo!” he screamed out as the 30-pound fish was brought onto the boat’s deck.

The scene on the Dana Wharf Sportfishing boat is one that has played out for the past few weeks as yellowtail have moved into the Southern California region due to the unseasonably warm water, creating a buzz that has brought anglers out in droves hoping to nab the tasty fish typically found further offshore.

“It’s a rare opportunity to come out here on a half-day (charter) and catch a yellowtail. I’m thankful for the opportunity and for the El Niño season and the warm water,” said Blum, who has caught an estimated 50 yellowtail so far this summer. His catch that day was his largest yet.

Some 30 boats were parked off Salt Creek in Dana Point on that recent day hoping to get a bite from a yellowtail, enjoying fishing conditions longtime anglers say they haven’t seen since the last El Niño rolled into the region a decade ago.

Typically, anglers have to head toward Catalina Island or San Clemente Island or as far down as Mexico for a shot at yellowtail. Also adding to the anglers’ excitement are dorado and yellowfin tuna, though less frequent so far this season.

Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching Capt. Sam Rose, of Laguna Niguel, said it was about a week ago word got out on the yellowtail close to shore. He recalled pulling up around the Dana Point headlands, taken aback by the sea of lights coming from boats before the sun came up.

“You can take a paddleboard out here, you’re right there,” Rose said of the proximity of the fish to the coast. “This is just the perfect scenario, anyone has a chance. There’s a lot of fish … it makes it pretty fun.”

Recent south swells and warm-weather systems push the species up from Mexico, he explained.

“Clearly the right things happened with this weather that it moved up a good chunk of fish,” he said. “Not just to stay here for a day, but clearly there’s enough microorganisms or bait or something to keep these fish really wanting to stay.”

While Blum was the only one to nab a big yellowtail on that half-day Dana Wharf charter, some boats are coming back to dock with 10, sometimes 15 yellowtails.

Capt. Jack Spangler called it a “very, very special season,” with three yellowtails caught one night during a twilight boat charter.

“For the inner-coastal like this, it’s just rare,” he said.

Dana Wharf Sportsfishing manager Donna Kalez said yellowfin tuna, which can get up to 40 pounds, are also showing up, but are still about 30 miles offshore.

With the yellowtail close to the harbor, that’s what the fleets are focusing on, for now. Last time the yellowtail showed up in big numbers locally, more than 6,000 were caught in 2014, then up to 8,713 in 2015, according to Dana Wharf stats.

So far this year, there’s been 1,689 yellowtail caught, and the season is just now kicking off. That’s a huge surge from last year’s 234 caught during Dana Wharf charters.

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“Thank god for  El Niño, we are having the best season of fishing right before our business relocates into a trailer for 15 months,” she said of the harbor renovations underway.

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According to Scripps Institution of Oceanography, water temps are six degrees above normal for this time of year, hitting 74 degrees in the Santa Monica Bay on Aug. 25, a new daily record. At Torrey Pines in San Diego, water temps hit 77 degrees, also six degrees higher than the 23-year average.

“The fishing has been really, really good, so I’m trying to go as much as possible,” said Ireland Bloem, of San Juan Capistrano, who found a love for fishing as a kid during outings with her dad. She’s reeled in four yellowtail in recent weeks. “The main thing is the fight. It’s a good 30 minutes, using all the strength you have, especially if you’re a small woman like me.”

Her best bit of advice is to just ask the crew, who are there to help land you fish.

“They will help you with anything and they want you to do well and catch good fish,” she said. “They are the best.”

Bloem’s husband, who gets seasick, is in charge of handling the fish when she gets home with the fresh catch.

“I harvest, he cooks,” she said.

The yellowtail is fueling business around the coastal towns, with a long line of boats waiting for fresh sardines at the bait shop,  Everingham Bros. Bait Co., in the Dana Point Harbor before sunrise.

The bounty of fish is also bringing excitement to local restaurants, with chefs taking advantage of the fresh catch.

Chef Blake Mellgren, owner of Craft House in Dana Point, teamed up with Harbor Fish Co., a sustainable fishery that only uses rod and reel, to create a special menu of yellowtail and to host a weekly “Buy Catch” fresh fish market, selling out 60 pounds of the fish in 20 minutes last week.

“It makes it fun,” Mellgren said of the yellowtail, which he has used to make poke, ceviche and grilled dishes for customers. “People have been flocking to it.”

“I think it’s one of the most versatile fish – it’s great on the grill, in the pan and raw,” he added. “And the fact that the bite has been so great this year, it makes my job a lot easier. It’s just something different.”

Richard Calliston, of Granada Hills, nabbed a 13-pound yellowtail on a recent day during a quick morning trip.

“There’s opportunities year-round, but to get opportunities like this, and quantity like this, it’s few and far between,” he said. “I feel like it’s just getting good now, I think it’s going to get better in the next two months.”

That’s what anglers and boat captains are hoping, too, based on past El Niños that have driven the big catch close to shore.

Capt. Chase Moore, of San Clemente, said the last time fishing was this good was in 2014, the last warm-water “blob” to expand in the region. He expects the stellar fishing to stick around.

“We’ve seen awesome fishing we haven’t seen for some time, and I think it’s only going to get better as more hurricanes come in, south swells pushing more and more up the coast,” Moore said. “I don’t think it’s peaking right now; it’s only building. We’re going to see more and more offshore here, into September and October.”

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