Bight & BiteSoCal sportfishing desk

The 182

Published · Researched 2026-09-20

  • Type: Offshore high spot/bank (named for 182 fathoms on the charts)
  • County: San Diego County (offshore waters)
  • Nearest city: San Diego (Point Loma landings)
  • Target species: yellowtail, bluefin tuna, dorado, calico/kelp bass
  • Best season / months: Summer–fall kelp-paddy season (by analogy with the 181 and neighboring banks — see UNVERIFIED)
  • Access / parking: Boat-only — private boats or sportboats from Point Loma. Fished the same way as the 181: paddy-hopping and high-spot drifts.
  • Bait / lure tips: Same kelp-paddy program as the 181: live sardines, surface iron (Tady 45, Salas 6X), yo-yo iron, trolling X-Raps around paddies. The bait knowledge is general offshore consensus (yellowtail species file, Mar 31 2026 Facebook iron thread), not 182-specific reports.

Social consensus (platform + group context)

  • Facebook: zero on-topic hits. Recorded as a gap.
  • The Log Newspaper (San Diego offshore reports): the only location-specific source found, and it is a real one. The Log's San Diego-area reports have repeatedly named the "182 Spot" as a productive local zone: a report on bluefin/yellowfin/yellowtail/bonito/dorado action lists the 182 Spot "(located outside of San Diego)" as the northern edge of the zone running down to the Upper 500 Bank off Ensenada (https://thelog.com/bluefin-yellowfin-yellowtail-bonito-and-dorado-biting-offshore/); a later San Diego region roundup names the 182 Spot alongside the 224 Spot, the 302 Spot and the Upper Hidden Bank for mixed-bag fishing (bluefin, yellowfin, dorado, yellowtail) (https://thelog.com/bluefin-yellowfin-dorado-yellowtail-and-marlin-biting-offshore/); a 2021 season report lists the 182 Spot among areas producing bluefin and kelp-paddy species (https://thelog.com/bluefin-yellowfin-yellowtail-doroado-and-striped-marlin-biting-in-local-offshore-waters/). These reports are older (2021–2022) but establish the 182 as a real, named, productive local bank — not just a chart rumor.
  • Phase 2 yellowtail species file: names the-181/the-182 as SoCal yellowtail areas.
  • Threads: searched; results were a missing-person post and "San Diego pictures?" — no fishing evidence. Recorded honestly.
  • Instagram: no on-topic results. Recorded as a gap.

Validation tier

Tier C — press-confirmed named spot, no angler-level detail. The Log reports establish the 182 Spot as a real productive local bank (2021–2022), but no 2026 angler reports, bait specifics, or exact coordinates were found.

UNVERIFIED points

  • UNVERIFIED: Technique/bait advice in this file is analogized from the 181/Nine Mile Bank or borrowed from general offshore consensus — flagged honestly above.
  • UNVERIFIED: no 182-specific catch reports, bait reports, or 2026 conditions found. The Log mentions are 2021–2022 area roundups, not dedicated 182 trip reports.
  • UNVERIFIED: exact coordinates not verified against current charts.

Images

All six images verified as real JPEG photographs (checked with file), minimum 480 px, and globally unique by MD5 across the project. Descriptions below are from manual visual review. Original publication dates are not available from the manifests — listed as unknown with the retrieval date.

Spearfishermen holding dorado (nearby-substitute: San Diego offshore spearfishing)
Spearfishermen holding dorado (nearby-substitute: San Diego offshore spearfishing)
Two anglers holding bluefin tuna at the dock (nearby-substitute: San Diego offshore angling)
Two anglers holding bluefin tuna at the dock (nearby-substitute: San Diego offshore angling)
Angler holding a large bluefin tuna on a boat (nearby-substitute: San Diego offshore angling)
Angler holding a large bluefin tuna on a boat (nearby-substitute: San Diego offshore angling)
‘Tuna Jihad’ sportboat from San Diego (nearby-substitute: San Diego offshore fleet)
‘Tuna Jihad’ sportboat from San Diego (nearby-substitute: San Diego offshore fleet)
Angler holding a yellowfin tuna on a boat (nearby-substitute: San Diego offshore angling)
Angler holding a yellowfin tuna on a boat (nearby-substitute: San Diego offshore angling)
Bluefin tuna on a boat deck with a San Diego County guide map (nearby-substitute; manual curation)
Bluefin tuna on a boat deck with a San Diego County guide map (nearby-substitute; manual curation)

Sources