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Ghost Fever...
Well, it's that time of year again as we transition from sixty-five degrees and sunny everyday to seventy three degrees and sunny everyday...spring is here. The water temp is holding right around sixty, but you can just feel the change in the air. The first wave of Barricuda has showed up with what seems like a new wave of life. I'm still hopeful we'll get that last big Northwest swell, but the way most of the winter went I'm glad I have fishing to keep my mind off the swells that never came. That said, I'm thankful we had a lackluster surf season because the fishing from last fall through the colder months has been spectacular. I'm not saying you could just plop yourself in front of the condo with a dead-stick iron or simply drag around some Mackerel to no avail, but for those who pay attention to the ever changing patterns and willing to hunt, the stock of fish in La Jolla is thriving. As of late I could see beautiful bird piles outside that would of had me pedaling as fast as I could two weeks ago, but Yellowtail are available year round and I try to prioratize my trophy hunts. This is the time of year to put that fresh spectra on. Maybe spend a little more time with the weighted carolina rigs along the kelp and hunt for that elusive fish who might take you years to catch. White Seabass are the Bluefin Tuna of kayak fishing, equally annoying as they are beautiful. Fishing for them reminds me of when I was a deckhand on private boats with Bluefin jumping all around the boat and boiling on all the Anchovies I threw in the water, but wouldn't even touch 15 lb flourocarbon...smart fish. White Seabass are much smarter than most will ever know. Sure, during a squid-bite in water over a hundred feet, with live squid on the bottom and a limited amount of light in the early morning hours, your chances go up a notch. But, for those who have spent years waking up at 4:00 a.m. and trolling the kelp until they're blue in the face with nothing to show, you probably get the Bluefin analogy.
Some people tend to confuse the amount of White Seabass swimming around by the small number of them caught. We all know the stock of these fish has been on the rise since the gill nets have been pulled, but the hard work from the awesome people at Hubbs is obviously working. Being a sight fisherman, trust me, over the years I'm blown away by the increasing numbers of fish I see swimming below. White Seabass in particular are so damn smart, even with the skilled divers who have quite the advantage over the guys with spectra and patience, their numbers are without a doubt destined to explode in the years to come. Even if we didn't close one inch of precious coastline from "the only people who really care about this fishery", the fisherman themselves. Here's a fish who let his guard down for a split second, the question is will you be there for that moment in time? http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall.../500/j3_1_.jpg A local angler who I respect for more than his fishing skills recently mentioned the proposal of a possible plan B, maybe focusing on the legal route to save our precious fishery from the obviously corrupt, over funded bias jury we face. I know quite a few anglers who'd be willing to donate a healthy chunk to something that made us feel like we have a shot. From what I've gathered we have plenty of evidence from investors who would qualify as having a "conflict of interest". Not to take away anything from what our great representatives are doing for the kayak community now, but a battlefield has many fronts to cover. Paul you cover the front, we'll flank them from the back. Here's a fish of a lifetime that even though they're in great numbers most will never see one attached to their hook. http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegall..._released_.JPG Released to fight another day...probably paired up by now with an attractive male. I'm well aware of the survival rate of these fish, even though supposedly properly handled with circle-hooks, netted and carefully taken to large fish tanks a percentage of them don't survive. Some will say "you see, even if you let them go they will die". My opinion is if you take a magnificent, brilliant fish, away from their home with the schools of fish they consider family I'm surprised any of the larger smarter fish survive the shock of relocating to a confined tank. I'm very thankful to the awesome people at Hubbs for the obvious effect they've had on the current White Seabass stock. The fish that are relocated to tanks are responsible for more fish being put back into the system than a whole school in the wild if you consider the quantum leap advantage they have by taking away the predators during the formative years the fingerlings face. I'm in no way saying you should lift a big White Seabass out of the water for a photo opportunity, especially if you haven't handled thousands of fish before. This fish was brought to the surface in a minute, hooked in the corner of the mouth, dragged with oxygen rich water for a couple of minutes, then carefully lifted for a super quick photo opportunity. This fish had a giant belly that I would of loved to show off with a lifted pose, but notice that belly is fully supported by my leg and hidden. If done properly and quickly it's possible to slide the fish up and over your leg with a tiny fraction of their weight and less stress on the fish. I've heard the crap about "oh she came to the surface belly-up, I had to take her", but so do Black Seabass even if brought to the surface in a couple of minutes from 30' of water. I think it's the instinct of playing Opossum as much as it could be fatigue. I've released countless Black Seabass without ever having to puncture the air bladder (a big no-no due to the probability of infection) and plenty of trophy White Seabass over the years. I'm confident that any white Seabass who didn't have to endure baby-drag for an extended period of time will release just fine with proper handling. Especially if caught from shallow water and dragged for a while with fresh oxygen over the gills. Here's video of the best possible feeling derived from a fishing adventure, a feeling most will never let themselves enjoy. http://larryl.com/images/WhiteSeabas...Spring2009.wmv |
You da man!
F work:mad:! Next time I leave my phone in the car.
Paul |
Way to push the Limits!
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Very cool vid. Thanks for sharing.
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Awesome video!
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Great Video... especially the end :cheers1:
Jim |
double!
:wsb::wsb: :notworthy: Well done!
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Nice fish Josh. Just amazing to watch.
Better Quality Remix - http://larryl.com/images/WhiteSeabas...Spring2009.wmv Well, it was like a dream to watch her swim away like that. Happy. Obviously I got to witness this unique event, and the timing is perfect. I'm looking forward to presenting three Kayak White Seabass Seminars at the Fred Hall Show, Del Mar, this weekend. Show times are this Friday at 5:30 pm, Saturday at 12:30 pm and Sunday at 12:30 pm Lots of great speakers and information, new kayaks and gear, I encourage everyone to come join the fun. (Waterboarding is strictly prohibited, I actually saw nothing.) :wsb: It's time. Larry |
Very cool photos and video!
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Very cool stuff right there Sir!!!!!!!!!!:you_rock:
JP |
Thank you for filming and posting that video! Feels like I was there!:)
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Insane! Nice Release Josh! I got's to get me one of them this year. 45# is my biggest. Absolutely Fish Porn....:sifone:
Moyer |
Blumpkin, reasoning was probably that he was helping friends catch bait,
and got bit reeling the bait in. I seen it. :sifone: [Josh fwiw don't take the bait, act like a WSB] |
Nice feeesh there Josh...:wsb:see ya soon...
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Well Josh, doesn't need to take the bait. The fish was released and swam off just fine. I know Josh and will hands down say he is one of the most ethical fisherman I know plain and simple. Larry was there and just testified to what happened 'nuff said. :cheers1:
OH YEAH NICE FISH, BETTER THAN THE DINNER I WENT TOO!!! |
So that's what i missed out on. I should of just dealt with the wind and gone for it and met you at the spot. WOW! catch and release - the fish Gods are smiling. Thanks for helping me hook up my first 50 lb WSB last Wednesday. Did you like the way i realeased it?:proud: im sure it survived to live another day. Your fishing techniques are very methodical and definetly not main stream. Which for me now makes the WSB, and in the words of Hemingway, "elusive but quite attainable"!
ps - My wife says that I need to keep the next one I catch because she loves WSB. |
:luxhello::wsb::cheers1:
way to go Josh... you should think about starting a guide service...i am just saying and the video was cool thanks blackcloud9 i could not get the first link to work |
Magnificent! Thanks for taking time to present such a thoughtful post with video & photos.
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:you_rock:what a day ...I hope to get to come down and play again soon...
the fish will just have to wait for the work to get done... great story and awesome release... two years ago... the fish in my avatar was a result of an epic two week bite... I had the good fortune to experience some C&R on some nice WSB.. what a great feeling...thank you for reminding me of my experience... can't wait for the day I get to release a 40lb yellow... 'cause if I do, it'll mean the freezer's full.... |
That's amazing work with precision of a surgeon. Awesome!!:luxhello::notworthy:
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Good show of Sportsmanship Josh.
Watching her swim away in that Vid was awesome. |
Great post Josh,
The feeling of releasing a beautiful large fish like that one is definitely a good one. I think that you bring up a very good point on the catch and release front. The MLPA's are looking to close La Jolla and much more of our local coastline (No fishing what so ever!), but I wish our representatives who are arguing for us would bring up a catch and release proposal. I would release every fish that I caught in the future if I could still fish La Jolla instead of having it shut down. As long as you handle the fish like you described in your post I am sure that they survive. Another option would be slot limits like they have on the east coast... Don't shut us down, there are other options. Anyways man, good job on bringing that to light and congrats on those awesome fish. |
I think you missed the point.
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Quote: <TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=6 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=alt2 style="BORDER-RIGHT: 1px inset; BORDER-TOP: 1px inset; BORDER-LEFT: 1px inset; BORDER-BOTTOM: 1px inset">Here's a fish of a lifetime that even though they're in great numbers most will never see one attached to their hook. </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE> The point in this sentence is that there are tons of these larger models around even though very few are caught (smart fish), as in the stock is doing well. I would gladly trade my next opportunity at one of these magnificent fish to someone who has been eluded for years. On a side note, the video has been edited to make your coffee taste that much better, enjoy! |
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I have been trying to put the Fishcatcher on one for years... I do agree with you though about the return of these fish. Many, many years ago, I was out fishing with a neighbor on my favorite spot (on a PB), using visual guides as to where my spot was. His boat had a GPS, and he kept asking me the coordinates. I lined up my view points at the spot where the best I had ever caught was a short WSB. He's working an iron, and hooks up with a 42 lb'er. Posts it on the radio, and people met us at Dana Landing to see the fish. Unheard of at that time. Hubbs is doing a very good job, I personally (not this year) have seen schools swim through the kelp...big 'uns. I have toured the facility, and through a biz contact, got to see what they are doing behind the scenes. Remarkable. I remember looking at the breeding tank with a 100 lb female, and then realized I was drooling. I personally think the limit should be 1 per day, period. Great write up. That is all. |
I was going to do a special video edit for showing at the Fred Hall show,
but goofed around on the PC last night and remixed it already. WSB Release Remix - http://larryl.com/images/WhiteSeabas...Spring2009.wmv Its better quality now because it's not compressed onto PhotoBucket. This was shot on an older, $120 Canon digital camera, still best viewed in a small window. It's 17 MB, so it takes a couple of minutes to download. |
Well said and well done Josh. Hubbs has done a wonderful thing for the WSB fishery. I too believe the numbers of WSB in La Jolla and all along the SoCal coast continue to rise based on the reports over the years. My brother while free diving on Saturday said he saw the largest school of WSB he has ever seen, 20+ fish all over 30lbs. I am still looking for my "fish of a lifetime" since releasing my last WSB, a ~35-40lb fish some ten years ago. After missing some epic bites while being involved with my daughters sports the last few years, I am in pursuit mode now for that true trophy.
Tom |
I've work with the Hubbs project on the SD Oceans side, helping with the fingerlings in the pens. The greatest feeling is watching those little guys swim free when we release them into the wild. I say to each scoop I drop into the bay "Go free little guy's, 'cuz I'm comin for ya"!
One of the originators of the WSB project had to wait almost 40 years for the good karma to catch up, and got his 1st white last year. Note to the fishermen, If you catch one, please take the head to a local bait shop in a bag. There are a few shops that participate, ask around to find wich ones, I always go to Dana Landing, that's one shop I know will take them. The head is then given back to Hubbs and scanned. We stick a little radio tag into each fish's head when they are little, and you'd be suprised the data we can get back from a mature fish's head. Some of our released fished have been caught ten years on, in Santa Barbara, Catalina, they get around! SD Oceans is all volunteer and could always use folks helping out the WSB project and others, if you are handy, or can dive and would like to help clean off the pens/nets, feed the fingerlings, or help with the release into the wild, it's a good feeling to help out. http://www.sdoceans.org/ They will have a booth at Fred Hall BTW, Great Post Josh. You inspire many more than you may realize Willy |
Wow. Two WSB:wsb::wsb:. Thats so cool:you_rock:
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Josh- The funny thing about fishing. In this last weeks WON there is an article by Bradon Hayward about WSB and I quote Allyn Watson owner and operator pf the six pack Dreamer "Watson likes to use 40 or 50# mono or spectra to a piece of heavy mono or floro; actually, Watson thinks Flirocarbon is a waste of money. He thinks that seabass are so stupid that it doesn't matter.
This just shows you that every angler has there own opinion! My opinion is: Whatever helps you catch fish. I for one think like Josh. I believe that WSB are intelligent and are very sensitive to noise and vibrations. Therefore, I never run my bait tank or my depth finder while fishing for these ghost. Take what you need and throw the rest back:cheers1: TL-Matt |
what a great read Josh. Very well deserved catch, even better of you to release such a handsome fish! Thank you for the awesome read and video
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The Dreamer makes it's money chartering Seabass trips, sometimes a little mythology amoung the masses is good for business. Anyone can pull up to a wide open bite and catch fish, the trick is getting them to bite when they are not wide open. When they are around, whether they are being stupid or not. Someone gave me a hard time about posting a reference to Josh's fish on another smaller Kayak website, saying that the report would put a hundred boats on "the bite" and they would cut off all the kayakers fish. My thought was: "How Naive!!!" First off if a hundred boats showed up they would not stay long as they could never get bit in the current conditions. Second the kayakers fishing around the boats would be fishing the wrong area, and never get bit as well. Ultimately fishing is a game, a thinking process. Those who don't think may get some fish at times doing what they have always done, or what everyone else does. Those that take the time to read the situation, and figure out what's really going on can catch fish when others can not. No doubt you have heard the saying: "If a tree falls in the forest, and no-one is there to hear it does it make a sound?" Well if the Seabass move into the kelp in a prespawn pattern and no-one sees them or better yet figures out how to catch them are they really there? Well I would say definitely so, and the guy who figures out they are there, and on top of that figures out to get them to bite when no-one else can using the standard methods.... well that guy is going to catch fish even if others can't. The truth is right now there are hundreds of thousands of seabass up and down the coast holding in their prespwn pattern in kelp beds from Conception to Loma. They are not actively feeding, they are waiting for the temp to rise a few degrees and trigger the spawn. If the temp rise matches a squid spawn outside the kelp at a given location You'll see a traditional epic bite outside that kelp. That's a crap shoot, and even if it happens it will only last a few days. The deal is all those fish are out there in the kelp right now even if they are not wide open on squid, and they will be there until the temp get's up to the right temp to trigger thier spawn. It's a prime opportunity for those who can figure out how to get them to bite, and your not going to see that in the western outdoor news. There is a difference between finding the bite, and getting the fish too bite, and that is lost on most anglers. One thing I like about kayaking is it teaches you to fish for the fish that are there rather then running all over the place burning tons of fuel, looking for fish that are just being stupid to begin with. If you can get them when they are not stupid, you can get them anywhere. Jim |
Wow...
Very cool video, and great C&R.
Hey Yak Rider you forgot one other way you will be releasing a 40lb yellow, cause you already had your limit (5) would be the other reason to let em go! Besides you could always get a bigger freezer! |
I think Jim covered it all quite well.
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Especially in this sentence. : " The Dreamer makes it's money chartering Seabass trips, sometimes a little mythology amoung the masses is good for business." If fishing with live squid during a feeding frenzy at greylight, another story. No doubt, Allyn Watson runs a top notch White Seabass six-pack outfit, great captain, awesome overnight boat. But, there's a reason you don't see that boat parked off the La Jolla kelp. I'm not into mythology, so let me save some of you a few years of experimentation. Your line choice is a critical variable when fishing for large White Seabass, I'll leave it at that. |
Caught 4 big ones 2 years ago on my standard 20 lb stren high impact walmart $ 5.99 cheep line. Stronger than you can imagine. Bait presentation is my theory to success. None last year though - although I pulled the hook on one at the gaff.
Nice job on the fish! |
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Personally, I'm in favor of C&R - these days I'm a bass guy, virutally every one of them swims away healthy. And there is a proposal with limited C&R in it, the package submitted by UASC. Great! We'll all get to see how the science team and DFG rule makers score it. I don't expect it to do well. The SAT will likely determine that anything with C&R provides low ecosystem protection. The DFG will say C&R is an enforcement nightmare. Now don't throw darts at me - these aren't my rules. Here's something to keep in mind. The MLPA stands apart from traditional fisheries management, where slot limits and other regulations come into play. This thing is a habitat protection program. As an aside, yellowtail and WSB are not considered likely to benefit greatly from MLPA closures. Why? Neither can be contained within a 9, 15, or even 18 sq mile reserve. That means there is a chance you'll see some MPAs that don't allow bottom fishing, but for YT and WSB, it'll be game on as normal. |
Josh,
Congrats on the fish! I don't post to many comments on here. I myself have pulled many seabass both whites and blacks. All released. I have 5 kids from 1yrs. to 13yrs. I would like for them and there kids to be able to catch fish like I have. The stories we all heard about when our dads and grandfathers of how good it was. We all can make a difference. I don't want anyone to be able to tell me that I can't fish here, because this place has been over fished. Thanks for the video Josh, its a great start! Its even more rewarding to see them swim away. :cheers1: |
Oh shoot I guess I've all been "poaching" Black Seabass, bocaccio, short
calicos and halibut and small white seabass "illegally" too all of these years, and then releasing them carefully. Yawn. And oh crap, the secret's out on the mysterious objects. Could it be the bread he was using to chum up the mighty breadball eating bait (hint hint), or, just dinner, or maybe a sponge? You decide. Watch the video again. The truth is I know plenty of guys who would've been yelling "who wants a 42 pounder" while they were still reeling. Josh didn't flinch. Listen to the video. |
FUNNY STUFF BOYS!!!! All these people lobbing insults and insinuating things don't seem to have real names.......wow way to stand by your convictions! If your gonna lob insults, insinuate nasty things, call people names, be mean...etc....at least have the courage to stand up and be a MAN. Put your name down! Don't hide behind anonimity, stand by those convictions! Don't create a fake account, post a inflammatory post and then hide......
MY REAL NAME IS MATTHEW FALLON |
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