Which boats from which landings are running?

February 24, 2026

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HERE’S THE 26 POUNDER in the top position for February’s prize in the Dana Wharf Halibut Tournament PHOTO COURTESY OF DANA WHARF SPORTFISHING

BY MERIT McCREA

It’s the off-season for the partyboat fleet, but which boats are fishing and for what? Starting in the north, it remains pretty quiet. However the 4-pack Sunny Day out of Patriots in Avila is trying to get folks together for a consistent halibut bite that has continued to go on. In Morro Bay the Black Pearl was back from the boat yard looking great.

Out of Santa Barbara their newest youngest captain, Mathew Diamond, has run his first trip as skipper and loaded his anglers up on whitefish aboard the Stardust. In the past few days it’s been the Coral Sea running an island ¾-day trip during the weather windows. Just 13 anglers limited out on those nice ocean whitefish and added a dozen big halibut fishing them with the flukes.

Kind of on the same track the Gentleman and Speed Twin are running as demand and weather indicates. Whitefish were the top catch with some decent bass numbers, but when sand dabs were the target the numbers came in at over 200 per angler. The Gent was out post-rain and scored limits of whitefish plus some bass and a pile of perch for 15 anglers.

CAPT GABE’S 41.9 POUNDER aboard the ¾-day Native Sun fishing local waters out of 22nd Street Landing. PHOTO BY CAPT. AARON GRAHAM.

Out of San Diego Bay all three landings had local boats fishing over the weekend after the rain and boom! The sand bass are biting! We were seeing 3 keepers per-rod on some trips and 2-per-rod standard. The second most noteworthy catch was sculpin in similar numbers in the bags. All three landings had ½-day trips fishing. However, H&M also had a Mexican waters ¾-day aboard the Malihini on-line which Sunday put on close to 9 fish per angler with a combination of 2-per on the reds and mostly other rockfish with a few whitefish, some sheephead and sculpin filling out the rest. Also in the catch were 7 lings, so if you’re Jonesing for cods on a local run, H&M is your landing.

No trips ran this past weekend but these landings also have Colonet trips available fishing 1.5-day over the weekend departing Friday evening. The sure bet on these runs has been loads of big reds and other rockfish, and outstanding lingcod fishing. But the big hope always is for those yo-yo yellowtail to join the fray.