santa ana river mouth 11/19

[Tubbytuba]

location- Huntington beach, between the Santa Ana river mouth and that small inlet, some one called it the Bolsa Chica inlet but im not sure.
setup- quantum casting combo throwing big hammers and my first LC 110 in metallic sardine. swim bait was on 8 pound floro, the LC was tied to 12 mono
i hit the beach around 645, and started fan casting the big hammers in a few colors but it didnt produce. i worked that entire section of beach between the river and the inlet with big hammers, and i told my self i'd work my way back with the LC. i got to the river mouth and wondered why i didnt just walk there first, man it looked so fishy. i could see the color change between deep and shallow water, there were sardines and anchovies around, there was a little current. i switched to my LC and picked my first cast to run right down the edge of the channel the river had cut out, i tossed it and fished my LC jerk bait style. two jerks in and WHAM! knew it was a hali right away, he takes a little drag, but not much. i beached him and CPR'd that bad boy, topped out at 19 inches- ish. a wave jacked up my tape and my camera work is a little shoddy i managed to cut off the last inch of his tail and my shadow is in the way) but this is my first halibut from the surf! ive caught them other places but never in the surf. i searched a ton of posts and seems that every lays their halis on the sand for a sec to snap a picture and get a tape on them, but does this remove their slime coating and eventually kil them? i know they often live in sand and they are though but i cant help but wonder. thanks for all of those helpful post everyone

[CrownTown]

Tried over by the wedge with the LC for two hours on Saturday and only managed a few perch and a small Leo. Maybe I will try a little further up by the SARJ next time and hopefully get a hali... Nice fish and thanks for the report

[dlmoo312]

Congrats on your first hali from the surf!
I think that as long as you are careful when handling them, keeping it to a minimum,
and are quick to get them back into the water, you should have a successful release.
Like you said, they are pretty tough and do spend most of their lives on the ocean floor.
Thanks for the report! :Thumbs Up:


-Daniel

[DockRat]

Good job on Hali. Great point on the CPR.


How the fish is handled will affect the survival rate. I personally DO NOT feel it is necessary to get a pic of every fish especially with a tape measure next to it. Does anybody really care if it is 16" or 18" ?

Most important is to release ASAP.

To drag a fish up then wait for it stop flopping around (as slime comes off),

Then look for someone to to take a picture of you with your catch,

Then get 3 pics with a tape,
1st pic, complete showing whole fish with tape,
2nd pic, close up showing the 18" mark at the nose or tail.
3rd pic, close up showing the other end.
All this takes time. Some of the vets can do this fast because they have done it many times and are prepared.

In regards to shorts
Is it necessary ? Why not just say ' Caught a pancake about 16" '
If it is clearly a short just let it go, your online buddies will believe you.
If people don't believe you or call it a fish story Who Cares.



i searched a ton of posts and seems that every lays their halis on the sand for a sec to snap a picture and get a tape on them, but does this remove their slime coating and eventually kil them? i know they often live in sand and they are though but i cant help but wonder.
Here is some info I dug up, thanks for your concern about CPR.
DR

Upon releasing a fish, most anglers figure that if it swims away, it’s just fine and will survive. Unfortunately, this isn’t necessarily true. In studies on hooking mortality, biologists hold fish for observation, usually for a number of days. What they’ve found is that a fish which appears all right at the time of release may have suffered trauma, injury from the hook or damage from handling, which leads to death later on. That the fish swims away under its own power doesn’t assure its survival.

In holding fish for longer periods of time biologists have been able to determine the factors that induce mortality. Which brings us to some undeniable hard information about catch and release: Fish that are hooked in the gills or in the gut have a much lower rate of survival than those hooked in the outer portions of the mouth. If you rupture a gill with a hook, a hemorrhage ensues and the fish bleeds to death. Gut hooked fish survive poorly for a number of reasons including bleeding, impaired feeding ability, infection, and disease.

Mortality is also affected by exhaustion. A big fish fought on ultra-light tackle can’t be forced to the boat until it’s totally gassed. This can stress your catch past the brink. Exhaustion creates extremely high levels of lactic acid – potentially fatal. Also, large fish have a problem with overheated muscles that actually begin to break down in the course of a long fight. An exhausted fish has a lot of problems avoiding predators after release.

Each second you keep a fish out of water decreases its chance of survival. In a Canadian study, rainbow trout kept out of the water for 30 seconds had more than double the mortality of those left in the water. Rainbows left out of the water for 60 seconds had 6 times the mortality of those kept in the water! Holding a fish up for a picture may be a death sentence.

Fish have a protective outer layer of slime. Handling them with dry hands can remove that slime and leave them prone to infection. Knotted nylon nets can have a similar effect. So, don’t net the fish, don’t lift them out of the water, don’t hold them up for mug shots with the camera. Keep them submerged, reach over with a hook-out and set them free.

Lastly, consider gills an internal organ. Reaching into the gill plate to hoist a fish for a photo or to get to a hook is not recommended. It can damage sensitive tissues, increase chances for infection, or induce hemorrhaging.


http://anglingunlimited.com/fishing/catch-release-properly/

[Tubbytuba]

haha thats pretty good thanks everyone. i fly fish a lot, and i know about getting your hands wet, keeping them in the water, avoid the gills and expedite! there wouldn't be all that many brown trout left in the santa ana river if i wasn't careful lol. my but was out of the water maybe 1 and 1/2 minutes, most of that was getting the hooks out. i was thinking about bringing a catch and release rubber net next time, im worried about tail fraying though. im gonna have to research that. thanks all!

[bloox8]

Congrats on your first halibut from the surf!:High Five:

[Nipple Twister]

Excellent job TT, nice looking fish........impressive fish handling on that CPR made it possible for ALL of us to enjoy. Great report, thanks for sharing..........I bet there will be many more, well done.
That channel is the Talbert Channel near the Santa Ana river mouth, nice selection, you choose well. That beach can be tough with ever changing bottom make it neccessary to recon the area often at low tide just to get a read on it but well timed can be rewarding...
From there to Long Beach is all open beach my friend........congrats on the Halibut,:Thumbs Up: Hunt On!

PS, if ya see a long haired dude down there smoking a cigar flinging an LC all over the place stop and say hello, I'll tell ya what I know about the place........

PSS, DR, nice hi-jack.........sheesh....:Rolls Eyes:

[Tubbytuba]

Thanks NT i'll make sure to stop by and say hi if i can ever get away from work again :mad:im glad some one cleared up my beach question, i thought the bolsa chica's beach looked like a good spot, thanks alot! good hunting!

[murrieta angler]

Nice first butt from the surf.
Keep it up and you will get a legal for sure..:Smile:
Thanks for sharing,
Robert
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