Yellowtail Fishing Guide

The California yellowtail (Seriola lalandi), called 'hamachi' when young and farmed in Japan and 'buri' when adult and wild, is the premier inshore-offshore game fish of Southern California — a tackle-testing, high-speed predator that tests both skill and gear. Southern California yellowtail are a seasonal fish — arriving in spring and summer as offshore water warms, most abundant from San Diego to Catalina Island. They are associated with kelp paddies and floating debris offshore and with rocky reefs and kelp beds inshore, creating a fishery accessible to small boats and larger sportfishing party boats alike. Fishing reports noting 'yellows at the kelp' drive some of the most intense recreational fishing activity in the entire West Coast fishery. This species is distinct from yellowtail snapper (a tropical Atlantic snapper), despite the similar name.

Yellowtail is a saltwater species.

Habitat

Eastern Pacific from Alaska to Chile; in US waters, most abundant seasonally off Southern California from Point Conception south and around the Channel Islands. Found from the surface to 200+ feet over kelp beds, rocky reefs, and open water; offshore fish associate with kelp paddies (floating kelp mats) and current lines.

Diet

Anchovy, sardines, squid, and mackerel. Yellowtail are high-speed pursuit predators that herd and slash through bait schools — live bait fishing with a scrambled (agitated) anchovy or sardine near a kelp paddy is the iconic SoCal technique.

Fishing Techniques

• Fly-lining live sardines
• Iron (metal jigs) casting to surface feeding fish
• Slow-trolling live bait
• Popping surface irons when fish are crashing bait
• Jigging knife jigs

Best Seasons

Summer, Fall

Size & Records

Average weight: 10 lbs. World record: 78 lbs (Adraga, Portugal (1964) — Atlantic amberjack hybrid; CA yellowtail: 78 lbs Baja (unofficial)).