Fishing near San Diego in January

I will be in San Diego in early January. Anyone have thoughts, contacts, ideas, ?? on getting a kayak and fly fishing the area? Figured I would ask this group first.

I will be in San Diego in early January. Anyone have thoughts, contacts, ideas, ?? on getting a kayak and fly fishing the area? Figured I would ask this group first.

If he doesn't chim in, shoot a PM to Rawkfish. I think he's busy with school but that's his old stomping grounds

There's always Fast lane Sail and Kayaks in San Diego. They should be able to rent you a kayak and steer you in the right direction. Ask for a guy named Jared if he's there. The guy knows a lot about kayak fishing in the area.

http://fastlanesailing.com

Thanks! I will PM Rawkfish as well.

Ha ha - just found this pic on their blog site!
http://wearefastlane.tumblr.com/


I think these guys are also responsible for some of the best YouTube kayak vids I've ever seen.

Was he surfing a PA?

In the winter months people like to yo-yo with irons for the home-guard yellowtail.  Yellowtail down there are kind of like salmon up here though.  You need to put your time in to figure them out. 

If you really want to get yer fly on, I suggest trying for cali-buts in the surf if the surf is mellow enough around Dog Beach or South Mission Beach.  That's the most popular way people fly fish down there.  The cool part about that is you don't even need a kayak, just a good pair of chest waders or a wetsuit and booties. 

If you get access to a kayak, I recommend hitting San Diego Bay for spotted bay bass, barred sand bass, the occasional calico bass (rockfish), and halibut.  Misson Bay can be good too.  In both of those bays, I like to work the areas towards the mouths and around bait barges.  Look for structure and cast away, focusing mostly on the bottom or just off the bottom around significant structure.  You could even use your fly rod in these places with bait fish patterns, but regular gear with swimbaits have always worked well for me.  If you fish around the bait barges and have line on your fly rod that can get you down to 20 or 30 feet, there are halibut all around the immediate area of the barges.  Use bait fish patterns that look like anchovies or sardines. 

Great! I am staying at Paradise Point in Mission Bay. I was there two years ago at the same time and saw a lot of people kayak fishing around the hotel and bay, mostly in Hobies (got so jazzed I almost bought a kayak and had it shipped home - learned a lot about shipping). I did not see many fly fishing but I figured it should work. I thought I would bring my 5 weight switch with a Skagit head and bunch of tips as well as a 7 weight with an intermediate clear tip and a T300 sinking tip for the surf. Overall, is fishing better on the incoming, slack or outgoing tide? I will run down some fly patterns. I have already sent an email to Fastlane (thanks Jammer!). I love the PA surfing shot on their blog.

That's a pretty cool area.  I launched my first ever kayak fishing voyage out of Dana Landing, just south of where you're staying.  If I were you I would spend my time in the areas to the south of Paradise Point.  Quivira Basin has a bait barge in it so what I mentioned earlier about bait barges applies here.  The West Mission Bay Drive Bridge has some deep holes underneath it which hold halibut and sand bass.  Work around boats that look like they've been sitting in the same place for a while for spotted bay bass (helluva fight!) as well as any grassy shelves if you can find them.  The south channel jetty is where I first started fishing in SD before I had a kayak - there's fish that hang out all along it.  Try to focus your efforts around just before, during, and after high slack, but you can really fish the area all day and catch fish.  The currents aren't anywhere near what the currents are like up here.  I'm not much of a fly fisherman, but I imagine anything that looks like a bait fish or a shrimp will get the attention of most species in the bay.  Good luck and let us know how you do!  Let me know if you have other questions.

In case you don't crab when you are down there, Point Loma Seafood has the BEST crab sandwiches!!!  Something about their pesto/tartar sauce and the freshness of the crab!

I hope to take a couple weeks in the spring and work my way down to San Diego for some Yellowfin!!!!

In case you don't crab when you are down there, Point Loma Seafood has the BEST crab sandwiches!!!  Something about their pesto/tartar sauce and the freshness of the crab!

I hope to take a couple weeks in the spring and work my way down to San Diego for some Yellowfin!!!!

There is no crabbing down there, but there are lobsters. +1 on Point Loma Seafood!  I like getting a pound or two of their smoked fish pieces.  You get a bunch of random pieces of smoked fish and the fun part is figuring out which one is which.  DAMN, are they tasty!  That place is worth the line that is usually there.  It's also right next to H&M Landing which has a pretty nice tackle shop that's worth checking out.

Great tips all around! I checked the tides and it looks like some mellow highs on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. I will post some POV vids if everything goes as planned, hopefully catching fish. If anyone thinks of other tips, I am definitely interested. If someone wants me to check on something, let me know and I will do my best. I am hoping to hear from Fastlane soon.

if you have nets for lobster Ill give you my best spots.. as well as a spot tha puts out corvina. if you don't know corvina, it's an awesome fish that puts up a hell of a fight. never tried but sure you can nail them on flies. down side is that its near Coronado which is about 15 or so minutes south of paradise point and only turns out on evening high tides.. and this time of year is usually around 10pm. but you can't beat grilled lobster and corvina!

other than that the best fishing in sd this time of year is bird rock kelp paddies or beds for sheephead which in my opinion is the best rockfish flat out. plenty of lings, whitefish, WHITE SEA BASS, etc. there's a ton of structure out there. just look for charter boats and head towards them. just don't get too close bc they're pretty territorial

other than that the best fishing in sd this time of year is bird rock kelp paddies or beds for sheephead which in my opinion is the best rockfish flat out. plenty of lings, whitefish, WHITE SEA BASS, etc. there's a ton of structure out there. just look for charter boats and head towards them. just don't get too close bc they're pretty territorial

Good tips!

Best bet for fly fishing would be southern end of SD Bay. Known for bonefish, short fin corvina, tons of small spotted bay bass, halibut and yellowfin croaker.  Mission bay would be a good second choice.