Freak Fish

I was fishing plastics in the river mouth at Seal Beach, and found 3 fish washed up on the sand, each semi-alive.


This is a lizardfish. It is super slimy and prehistoric looking. Some people where trying to convince me that it was a catfish, but I knew better. Catfish (even the saltwater variety) have a fu manchu like this:
The other fish, below, is one that used to annoy me at Newport Dunes. It is a needlefish, although I have never seen one as big as the one washed up on the beach.

The fish probably could not handle the bathwater type temperatures that the powerplant creates as it cools its generators. I put them out of their misery and used them for bait, fishing for sharks or bat rays.

Fishing Report: LB Breakwater 7/19/09

After receiving the "you need to get a job" talk with my parents, I needed to take my dad fishing and share some of the good life with him. I wanted to make it as easy as possible, so got his reel restrung with some 15lb test and cleaned it. The boat was ready in the water with gas, and all the tackle and tools were ready to go. We had a party at my cousins' house last night, so we went to bed easily when we got home. We left the dock at 5:45am.

Anchovies again and straight to the weather side of the breakwater. My dad pulled in a big sand bass on his first anchovy, and not too much later I pulled in a small calico bass.

My dad landed a big cabezon with an octopus in its mouth. After setting it free, he hooked up the octopus and had a huge hit from probably another rock fish but "farmed" it. My dad said that growing up being called a farmer on the water was a serious putdown.


We then shifted spots and I wanted to fish plastics, so I tossed a color that I have never used before, all red and speckled. I worked 4 calicos into the boat on the red lure.


The live bait was bringing in the bigger fish, but fishing plastics is super fun. Today was the best day of fishing that I have ever had with my dad. It was constant action on different kinds of bait and excellent conditions. I had some fish leftover from lunch on Friday, so we are gonna eat 8 fish tonight.

Keeper Kount brought to you by the folks at Mackerel Hunter:
4 Sand Bass
1 Calico Bass (and 3 released legals)

Fishing Report: HB Flats 7/15/09

Went out to HB Flats by the two oil rigs off Bolsa Chica/Huntington Cliffs. At least ten 1/2 day boats and about 20 private boats were working the area past the rigs. We stayed inside by the platforms and had a consistent action. The 1/2 dayers never held a position and we could see that they were not doing well. Barracuda were in the area the day before, but none today.

Picked up sardines from the bait dock with some squid. The live bait did not do well for a couple reasons:

• No Pump, only buckets of water
• Sardines were a month old
• Too much bait
  
• Mixing varieties
  

Got bait in the water at about 5:20. First sardine hooked a calico withing a minute. Saw color and the calico spit the bait. It was possibly legal sized.

We were plagued the whole day by fighting fish to the boat and as soon as they saw it they spit the bait. We are gonna try again tomorrow with live anchovies. We are hoping to set the hook with some smaller bait that can easily be swallowed.

I snagged a 12 inche halibut jigging a squid head on the white/glow iron by one of the rigs. I got the Tady blue/chrome and worked the surface every now and then. No action on the blue/chrome.



My legal sand bass was caught on fresh dead squid hooked on a 1/4 ounce lead head.

I landed a short sand bass on fresh dead squid.

Sand bass seen but not landed, roughly 5, were all in the possible legal range and all sand bass on either squid or live anchovies.

I filleted my sand bass at home and cooked it on the stove with 1 part olive oil, 1 part butter, and 1 part white wine with bay leaves. It was some of the best fish I have had in a while.

We are heading out tomorrow at about 5am probably back to the flats with frozen squid and live anchovies or small sardines. Hopefully the bite will open up and we can catch our 10 fish limit.