San Diego Offshore Fishing ReportWeek of Nov 2 · out of San Diego Bay Inlet

Weather first: Tuesday is NO-GO inshore. Light morning winds build to 16 knots northwest by evening, and the real problem is the sea state: 5-6 feet at 10-14 seconds with a south-southwest swell crossing a west-northwest wind wave. There is no comfortable heading in that. Wednesday and Thursday stay NO-GO on the same 5-6 foot seas, so do not plan an inshore trip inside this forecast window. Postpone until the swell drops, and treat what follows as a plan for the first fishable day.

The best inshore water right now is the modest temperature break at S 9 Mile. A moderate SST front runs through here with a 1.7°F break spread over 7 nm, warm side to the west, and the gradient peak sits right on top of it. The break was present yesterday, so it is holding rather than flashing. Surface water on the warm layer runs about 75.5°F down to 155 ft before the steepest drop between 155 and 255 ft takes it to 70°F. The current along the coast is pushing hard to the north here, and that flow sweeping across a temperature edge is what stacks anchovy. This is a Pacific bonito and yellowtail look: fly-line live anchovies or Pacific mackerel along the edge, working the slightly cooler water on the east side toward Point Loma where the predators have the visibility advantage. The spot sits in 63 fathoms with a wreck 2.4 nm away and submerged buoy obstructions 2.5 nm off, so when the surface bite stalls, a dropper loop baited with market squid on that structure is a sensible pivot for rockfish, subject to current groundfish depth rules. Five miles from the bay, this is the one spot you can fish on a half day the first morning the swell allows.

LJ 46 holds the warmest water in the whole analysis area, a 76.2°F warm anomaly sitting seven miles west-southwest of LJ 46 and seven miles southwest of the La Jolla Canyon. It was present yesterday as well. The warm layer here is deep, holding 76°F to 154 ft before the steepest drop between 155 and 255 ft takes it to 67.3°F. A moderate thermal front from the broader front analysis runs through this area about 8 nm off the beach, so the warm patch has a defined perimeter. At 76°F the center is too warm for most of our targets; the play is the perimeter, where the anomaly meets the surrounding 73°F inshore water. Yellowtail and Pacific bonito will work that cooler rim, and the northbound current along the coast should press bait against the inshore side of it. Troll feathers around the edge to locate, then stop and fly-line anchovies or mackerel.

South of the border, Rockpile sits on a modest CHL color break, a 1.8x shade change from 0.14 to 0.23 mg/m³ spread over 15 nm with the greener water to the east. That ratio is under the threshold for a hard edge, so this is not a line to run, but a gradual greening toward the Rockpile and the Coronado side that has held for two days. Surface water is 74.5°F on a warm layer to 151 ft with the steepest drop between 255 and 303 ft down to 66.7°F. A moderate thermal front from the front analysis runs through this area as well, about 4 nm off the coast. Yellowtail and Pacific bonito are the targets, and both tolerate the greener side, so work east from the spot toward the Rockpile itself with live mackerel. It is a 27 nm run from the bay and still an inshore-zone spot by distance from the coast, which matters because the inshore forecast point is still NO-GO here.

Off Catalina, 14 Mile sits on the sharper of the two CHL color breaks, still a modest 1.8x shade change from 0.13 to 0.24 mg/m³ but compressed into 10 nm, greener water to the northeast toward the island. It has held for two days, five miles west-northwest of the 14 Mile and seven miles east-northeast of Avalon Bank, with a wreck 2.7 nm away. A moderate thermal front from the front analysis runs about 8 nm off the island here. Surface water is 74.2°F to 137 ft with the steepest drop between 155 and 255 ft down to 66.2°F. Yellowtail and Pacific bonito will feed on the productive northeast side where the anchovy are; fish live mackerel and anchovies between the spot and the 14 Mile. At 63 nm from San Diego this is a Catalina-based or long-range day, not a quick trip.

Timing when it reopens: the moon is a thin waning crescent, so fish are not gorging overnight and the daytime bite should be steady. The strongest window is dawn through mid-morning, with a secondary push in the early afternoon.

Weather first: Tuesday is NO-GO midshore. A 6-7 foot west swell runs all day and builds to over 7 feet by night, with northwest wind rising to 15-16 knots and gusts to 24 in the evening. Wednesday is worse, 16-19 knots gusting 26 with 7.5-8 foot seas, and Thursday's light wind does not help against a 6-7.5 foot swell that only eases slightly after dark. There is no window for a 12-hour trip on any of the three days. Postpone the midshore run; this is the plan for when the swell finally drops.

The midshore feature to watch is the Midshore Warming Gradient 26 nm out of the bay. This is a broad SST color break with a 3.5°F step across it spread over 13 nm, warm side to the east. Because it is spread that wide, do not think of it as an edge to troll; it is a gradual warming from the cooler outer water toward the coast. What makes it fishable is everything else stacked on it: it has held position for two days, a 0.8 kt current sets due north through it, and a moderate thermal front from the broader front analysis runs through this part of the midshore about 29 nm off the coast. The warm layer here is shallow, only 87 ft at 72.6°F, with the steepest drop between 155 and 255 ft down to 61.8°F, so the water column is cooler and more compressed than inshore. At roughly 72°F on the surface this is the top of the bluefin tuna range and solid yellowtail water. Fish the cooler western side of the warming where sight-feeders have the visibility edge, and look for anchovy marks on the meter in the upper 90 ft above the warm layer. Troll to locate, then fly-line live anchovies or drop weighted mackerel through the 155-255 ft drop where bluefin will hold during the day. A sub-surface instrument mooring sits 2.9 nm off; it is worth a pass as it holds bait, but do not foul it.

Cortez Bank marks a current convergence of about 0.5 kt setting east-southeast, ten miles southeast of Cortez Bank and 92 nm from port. This is the coolest water in the analysis area, a 66.1°F warm layer to 103 ft with the steepest drop between 155 and 255 ft down to 58.6°F, in very clean water around 0.1 mg/m³. That temperature and water clarity are squarely in bluefin tuna range and still within albacore tuna range, and offshore convergence like this is where Pacific saury and anchovy collect. It is a single-signal spot with no persistence record and a long run; on a flat multi-day window it is a good first stop before working up onto the bank itself, but it is not where you point the bow on the first marginal morning.

NW Midshore Temp Gradient at the far northwest corner of the area, 106 nm from San Diego, is a broad SST color break with a 2.1°F step spread over 14 nm that has held for two days, with a weak 0.4 kt westward current. Like the inner gradient, it is a gradual change rather than an edge. Surface water on the warm layer is 73.5°F to 85 ft, with the steepest drop between 155 and 255 ft down to 63.2°F. Bluefin tuna on the cooler side of the warming and yellowtail on the warmer side are the targets, but with the distance and this week's forecast it is context only.

Timing when it reopens: the waning crescent moon favors a consistent daytime bite with the strongest window from dawn through mid-morning, which lines up well with a pre-dawn departure to the 26 nm gradient.

Weather first: Tuesday is NO-GO offshore, with wind building to 16-18 knots and gusts to 24 by afternoon on top of 7-8 foot west-northwest seas. Wednesday reaches 20 knots gusting 27 with seas near 9 feet, and Thursday's light wind does nothing against a 7-8.7 foot swell. There is no safe window for a long-range trip on any day in this forecast. Postpone.

There are no qualifying spots beyond 60 nm from the coast. The water out here is uniform, running 69-71°F on the surface with very clean chlorophyll readings around 0.1 mg/m³, and a moderate thermal front from the broader front analysis sits well to the southwest about 94 nm off the coast. That is bluefin tuna and albacore tuna temperature in clean water, but without a color change, a current edge, or a temperature break to anchor the effort, there is nothing out here that beats the midshore gradient 26 nm from the bay. When conditions allow, long-range boats should work Pacific saury and anchovy marks around the thermocline, which starts shallow at roughly 79 ft out here, and watch for any edge developing on the cool outer water west of the banks.