Spitfire 2/12/11

[Ifishtoolittle]

Went on another 3/4 day aboard the Spitfire with my Uncle. Fishing today was pretty consistent. Let's see the boat had a light load of 14 people, everyone had limit Sculpin, loads of huge Sand dabs( 12"+), 18 or so Sand bass, some of them quite large, and a Calico which I did not see flying over the rail. The most interesting part of the day was that one guy hooked up on a TOAD goat while fishing right over structure on live squid.

My count: 1 Huge Turd(about 4lbs), limit on small sculpin, bout' a dozen Sand dabs in the 12"+ category

My CPRed fish: 2 respectable sized brown rockfish, several blacksmiths, a dink Calico, and a dink Sheephead all caught on a 1oz butterfly on 10lb. This type of set-up was hella fun!

My Uncle's count: 2 NIOCE Turds, limit Sculpin, and also a good bag of 12"+ Dabs

Pics of the 15lb Goat!
http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu337/Ifishtoolittle/DSCF3050.jpg

http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu337/Ifishtoolittle/DSCF3051.jpg

http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu337/Ifishtoolittle/DSCF3052.jpg

Sculpin!
http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu337/Ifishtoolittle/DSCF3053.jpg
http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu337/Ifishtoolittle/DSCF3054.jpg

One big ##### Turd!
http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu337/Ifishtoolittle/DSCF3055.jpg[/IMG]

Dabs, the pic doesn't any justice, but the dabs were fricken huge!
http://i661.photobucket.com/albums/uu337/Ifishtoolittle/DSCF3057.jpg
Was watching my uncle muscle 3 in on a circle hook, and 2 on one Lucanus.:D

Oh boy I had a great day and man I'm beat. I hope everyone had a great day of fishing.

-IF2L

[DockRat]

Thanks for the report. Those are huge Sand Dabs. How deep were the Dabs ? Out by the Oil Rigs ?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYq1t_sZi6g

What is the history of the sanddab? Where is it caught and when is the season?

As with all fish, you get a different answer depending on whom you ask. Alan Davidson, author of The Oxford Companion to Food and one of the world's foremost authorities on seafood, refers to the sand dab as a European fish, found in the North Atlantic. It is a flatfish, with a brown back, and can reach 16 inches in length, although is often closer to 10. He says it is "a good fish, with a pleasing flavour, well suited to being fried."

Davidson says that English colonists conferred the name dab on other species that they found in their travels that appeared similar to the original dab. So a dab becomes a lot less specific on this side of the Atlantic. There is a species of sand dab found in the Pacific Ocean from California to Alaska, with a market weight of 4 to 12 ounces. There is another flatfish found in the Atlantic, with a market weight of 2 to 3 pounds, that is known as the sand dab, but is more correctly named American plaice. The plaice has also been called a flounder and a sole, although Davidson says its scientific name (hypoglossoides platessoides) suggests it is a relative of the halibut. So you are likely to find various varieties of flatfish being referred to a dabs or sand dabs.

Dabs caught in the spring and those that lived on a sandy seabed (as opposed to mud) are said to have the best flavor. They are best poached, fried, or grilled.

[JapanRon]

Hi Ifishtoolittle,

Nice trip. Sandabs taste good for sure. Lots of nice Goats .... only to be released.

Excellent report and pics,

JapanRon

[Ifishtoolittle]

Thanks DR and JapanRon.

@DR: All of my dabs' were caught in the SM bay around 120-150' of water, most of them hung out with the Sculpin.

@JapanRon: Yeah Sand dabs are great, just panfried some right now. Mmmm.

[JapanRon]

Hi DockRat,

Nice followup info on a fish that I would not usually have an interest in knowing about in detail. Ya got me ... that's some cool stuff !!

thanks,

JapanRon

[Tunaslam]

There seems to be an unreal amount of Sculpin in the Bay, good job guys!

[murrieta angler]

Hey IFTL,
Good job getting all the fish.
I tried sand dabs for the first time last year and enjoy them very much.
The ones that had the crabs though tasted a little funny.
Thanks for the report and pictures,
Robert
<><

[Ifishtoolittle]

Thanks all.

@murrieta angler: Practically every single Dab' I caught had those parasites in them, but they taste okay to me. Then again I like some fishiness in my fish.