Back about 15 years ago, my friend's dad used to go to San Diego and come back with a big ice chest full of delicious fish. My wife and daughter (5 years old) love to fish, and would love to try it in the ocean, but I have no idea where to start. I Googled a little bit, but didn't really find much info that would help. I like the San Diego area, but I am open to suggestions. Are some seasons/months that are better than others? What should my budget be for a day or so of good fishing? I just want some good eats, although The Old Man and the Sea is a great story. Thanks!

A lot depends on where you want to go fishing, what you want to fish for, and how long you want to be on the water. For example, the 3/4 day boat out of Seaforth Landing in San Diego has been doing great on the yellowtail and rockfish. The cost is $145 and you'll need a passport though as they've been fishing the Coronado Islands. Or if you go out of Davey's Locker in Newport Beach you can get on their 3/4 day boat for $61. You'll probably fish Catalina where they've been catching yellowtail, calico bass, blue perch, barracuda, etc... What kind of trip were you thinking about?

That's cheaper than I expected. That sounds pretty good. I just want some fish that are good eating, I'm not a gourmet, but enjoy cooking. I figured we'd catch whatever we could, then research good recipes specific to what we ended up hauling home. Thanks for the advice, I'm going to check out Davey's Locker online and see what I can find.

Sounds good. There's a bunch of landings in the Newport and Long Beach area. For a while there were some Groupon offers too, so definitely check that out and you may be able to get even cheaper tickets. Let me know if you have any questions too.

http://www.channelislandssportfishing.com/


We went out on the Gentleman last weekend. They have a great website with daily fish counts. If you can, go during the week, less crowded. My buddy won the biggest fish pot with a 35 pound yellowtail

That's sweet! The wife, kid and I are going to go at the end of September for a half day one out of San Diego. We wanted to do a longer trip, but we want to see how my daughter will do and my wife's worried about getting sea-sick, as we've never spent much time on the ocean, just Lake Mead, Mohave and the Colorado River-quite a bit smaller. If this half day trip goes well, I want to do a longer one next year.

If you're worried about sea sickness I highly recommend Bonine. It's a little chewable pill that works wonders for me. Some people also swear by the patch that goes behind your ear. Either way you go definitely look into something. Nothing ruins a trip faster than puking all day.

Cool, I didn't know about either of those. We'll have some on hand for sure.

Pay extra for a limited load boat.  Cattle boats can be unfishable.

First, start with a 1/2 day boat.  If one of your party isn't happy or is experiencing sea sickness it best to have as short a day as possible.  

Don't buy any tackle, most boats or landing have rigs to rent.  

Try to understand the culture, and "do" listen to the deck hands.  When in doubt ask.  Most boats have a rotation along the stern to give all an equal chance.  But, and it's a big one, it seems every boat has one or two barnacles.  They are on the boat regularly (some times everyday) and they have "their" spot.  Ignore them and just enjoy the day.

With regard to sea sickness, Dramamine still works, but it must be taken before onset, and can make one drowsy.  There are new and better over the counter meds that will reduce the symptoms (sometime entirely) if taken after onset.  Honestly if it's your first time or your first time in a while, take it before.  Why take a chance on ruining a great day on the water.

Don't go out of Seaforth Brandon. I just went yesterday, and let me tell you it was a complete fucking joke. The entire boat stuck out, which sucks, but is fine and part of fishing. What really sucks is we had our hooks in the water less than 15 min the entire 18 hour boat ride. The captain would pull up to a spot and have his guys chum and we would all drop our hooks in. After 2-3 min with no bites, he told everyone to pull their hooks up and we would find another spot. in 18 hours, we dropped our hooks a total of 4 times. So I basically paid $150 for a shitty 18 hour boat ride, that was 3 hours late back to port. If you are going to San Diego, use H&M, Seaforth is complete crap.

Damn dude, that sucks. Good to know. We had to postpone the trip until next year, unfortunately. I was really looking forward to it, too.