11-3-10, new, barely legal, species from the surf

[midgettosser1]

Decided to take the day off to study for a final. Figured there was no sense in wasting a morning, so I set my alarm for 5:30am with plans on hitting malibu for a bit. Didn't let the high surf advisories on the news disuade me.
Waves were 1-2 feet on Tuesday but said to be kicking up to head high today.

On the road at 5:45. Got to the spot a little after 6:00am.
Incoming 6ft high tide, set to peak at 7:30.
Fairly flat conditions with some larger sized waves rolling in occasionally.


WTF???? As I'm typing this, some random-*** country sounding music just played out of my speakers. This is the only page open. Is there a musical ad on here somewhere?


Anyways, loaded with lucky crafts I hit the beach in the dark. Weapon this time was the 110FM in baby croaker.
Fancasted a small section of the beach and within the first 30 minutes.... thump... swiiiiiing. fish on.
Headshakes, headshakes, and more headshakes. I knew I had what I was looking for. Didn't make a whole lot of runs, so i was able to make pretty quick work of it. Took me to the left 10 yards, then to the right 10 yards. Some of the bigger waves rolling in were definitely on my side during the fight.
Figured it wasn't even near legal due to how quick I got it in. Did my best to get it unhooked, measured, pictured, and released. Unfortunately, during the madness, my measuring tape wasn't quite up to its nose when I took the pics. But the top end of the caudal fin still hit the 28" mark. And had I slided the tape over a bit more, I mighta gotten a fraction of an inch more out of it. I took the modest route as well, and laid the tape flat on the sand rather than over the fish.

Got the fish back into the water. The release took much longer than the fight, but it finally swam away strong. The gray light window seemed pretty short today, so by the time I was geared back up and ready to go, it was already pretty light out.

Fished a bit longer, then called it quits around 8:30. By that time heavier sets were rolling in anyways.

[midgettosser1]

On the way home I sent the text to Bones to rub it in a little since he couldn't join me. Then shortly after, I got the congratulatory text from Wingnut... as well as an invite to join the distinguished gentlemen of S.W.A.T.


Speaking of whom.... Arthur, any reason why I can't edit my posts any more? Haven't been able to do that for a while.

[fishinone]

Congrats on the WSB from the surf.

That's the way to hit those books.:LOL:

[Wingnut]

Awesome Mike, I knew that it was just a matter of time until you nail a quality fish! You fish it hard like we do. :Twisted: Bones was indeed kicking himself... :Wink:

Welcome to the S.W.A.T. Academy! :Cool:

[loungingtoad]

right on! nice fish.

[bones]

Awesome job Mike !!

I was really debating but with only one good eye and short on time due to taking monday off I had to decline the invite. Besides.....The way it's been going there has only been ONE WSB that is hungry at greylight there.
You deserved the shot at her dude! I only wish I was there to see your face when you put her on the sand.
Don't think for a second that I won't be on the hunt tomorrow though....mmmm....
or maybe friday....LOL

I gotta feeling in my BONEZ and it's not arthritus :ROFL:

Once again Mike.......You have what it takes....determination and persistance....Great job!

[exfactor]

Not thread jacking, but boats are getting 1-5 seabass a day at the local reef. Fish are 40-65 pounders! I want one of those out of the surf.

[Fire Ball]

Gotta love those WSB out of the surf! Congrats! :Twisted:

[jerryG]

Well Done Mike congratulations on your catch and welcome to SWAT.. Many successful missions to come my friend. I'm thinking Bones (Mike) will probably be out there in the dark tomorrow morning looking for seabastion.

Hey Mikey I want one too... I've dreamed about catching a big seabass from the beach for years. I've seen a few nice seabass come out of waters along the coast which were well within casting distance from shore.

JerryG

[troutdog]

Speaking of whom.... Arthur, any reason why I can't edit my posts any more? Haven't been able to do that for a while.


Congrats on the legal wsb, wtg on that catch...sure beat studying! :Wink:

You need to hit the "go advanced tab" in order to edit posts.


TD

[DockRat]

Figured it wasn't even near legal due to how quick I got it in. Did my best to get it unhooked, measured, pictured, and released. Unfortunately, during the madness, my measuring tape wasn't quite up to its nose when I took the pics. But the top end of the caudal fin still hit the 28" mark. And had I slided the tape over a bit more, I mighta gotten a fraction of an inch more out of it. I took the modest route as well, and laid the tape flat on the sand rather than over the fish.

Got the fish back into the water. The release took much longer than the fight, but it finally swam away strong.

Nice catch. WSB don't always release well.
A good release is more important than a good pic.
I jacked ones mouth up in Pedro that didn't swim away to good @ 14" baby.

Other names—Catalina salmon, white corvina, corvina blanca, white weakfish, weakfish, king croaker; French: acoupa blanc; Spanish: corvinata bronzeada.

A member of the Sciaenidae family, the white seabass belongs to the grouping of weakfish or corvina and is not a true bass or sea bass. The name “weakfish” refers to the tender, easily torn mouth tissue characteristic of these fish, and not their fighting ability. “Seabass” is a misnomer for the Atractoscion species, not related to bass.

The white seabass is a fish that has been much sought after commercially and by anglers. Its flesh is white and tender and highly valued, but it spoils quickly without proper care. White seabass stocks have struggled due to overfishing by commercial gillnets, which are now illegal in California for this species. Attempts have been made to assist white seabass stocks through hatchery means and by raising newly hatched fish in enclosed marine grow-out facilities until they are large enough to be released; the results have been encouraging.

http://www.gofishn.com/content/white-seabass

Post-release mortality

Post-release mortality has been linked to a number of factors (i.e., fight time, handling methods, water temperature, hook type); however, it is apparent that hook location is among the most critical affecting survival. A local study investigating survivorship of juvenile white seabass revealed an overall post-release mortality rate of 10 percent and found that all observed mortalities were associated with hook damage to the visceral (gut) region. Gut hooking not only tears visceral tissue during the fight, but it can also cause osmoregulatory imbalance following the intrusion of seawater into the gut cavity. Additional tearing to the esophagus may also occur when deeply embedded hooks are removed by the angler; therefore, it is highly recommended that the angler simply cut the line close to the hook rather than attempt to remove it with pliers.

In juvenile white seabass, survivorship was increased when deeply embedded hooks were left in place (60 percent survival) rather than being removed from the visceral tissue (35 percent survival). For this reason, if you cannot see the hook directly in the lip of the fish, it is good practice to simply cut the line as close to the mouth as possible, preferably while the fish is still in the water.



http://www.pcsportfishing.com/article/23

[murrieta angler]

Congrats on your "first" legal WSB Mike!
Enjoyed the report and pictures, oh, by the way, congrats on joining the S.W.A.T. Brigade.
Robert

[the killa fish taco]

Nice catch man!!!! Yummy fish tacos!!!!

[bsp]

Nice job Mike, and welcome to the SWAT crew! It's a great group of guys and you are guaranteed to have a great day on the water even if fishing isn't that great, but fortunately that doesn't seem to happen too often. I've been chasing a WSB from the beach for a while, and the fact that several other SWAT members have gotten them in the past month or so is great news. Definitely a fish to be proud of, and congrats on the release! Not many people would do that.

Look forward to meeting and fishing with you sometime,

Marc

[Jaysuuun]

Wow, WSB's gone wild! I need to get out there soon. Congrats

[flyngby]

Mike,

Congrats on a very nice WSB from the surf!

Welcome Aboard!

[blackwater]

Nice legal WSB Mike, well done. :Envious:
Welcome to S.W.A.T. the "Best of the Best" :Cool:

[midgettosser1]

Thanks guys. I'll be back at it tomorrow morning before work. If theres anything to report... it will be up tomorrow.