77 replies to this topic

[Chasmodes]

Looks like fun!  Pretty good fight and dinner too!

[BenCantrell]

Happy New Year everyone!  Nothing new for my lifelist in this post, but I caught a few tidepool fish that are worth sharing.

 

Opaleye

 

Woolly Sculpin

 

Spotted Kelpfish

 

The honey hole.  I caught all 3 of the above species in this pool as well as rockpool blenny.

 

Ocean Beach Pier to the north.  You can triangulate my position if you want to poach the spot.

[ShadetreeIchthyologist]

That Woolly Sculpin looks pretty cool. Are you still doing your blog?

[Chasmodes]

Very cool!  I bet all four species would make for an interesting biotope aquarium depending on how big a tank.  What, no blenny pic?     (I'm a bit biased...OK, I guess the kelpfish is close enough)

[BenCantrell]

Very cool!  I bet all four species would make for an interesting biotope aquarium depending on how big a tank.  What, no blenny pic?

 

Agreed on the biotope aquarium.  Someday when I grow up and own my own home I'd like to set up something like that.

 

I don't know why I didn't photograph one of the blennies.  And I caught 3 of them!

[mattknepley]

Wooooly Sculpiiiin! Wooly Sculpin! Wooly Sculpin! Watch it now, watch it now!

Cool stuff, as always, Ben!

[BenCantrell]

Checking in with some recent catches!

 

First off, here is the #1 live bait for most of the fish in the bays in Socal.

 

Ghost Shrimp

 

Their burrows are easy to find at low tide in sandy/muddy areas.

 

 

To collect them you use a length of PVC with a rubber stopper and a handle that can be pulled up to create a vacuum and then dump the contents on the sand.  It doesn't take long to catch your limit.

 

 

These ghost shrimp were the key to catching my first bonefish.

 

Cortez Bonefish

 

 

 

 

Ghost shrimp also attract croakers, stingrays, and small spotted sand bass.

 

Spotfin Croaker

[MtFallsTodd]

Neat looking bait, is it a type of pistol shrimp?

[Chasmodes]

That is a very interesting collecting technique for those shrimp.  The bonefish is quite beautiful in a subtle way.

[gerald]

Yes - Ben's photo really captures the essence of the bonefish's elegant design

That is a very interesting collecting technique for those shrimp.  The bonefish is quite beautiful in a subtle way.

[BenCantrell]

I've been getting into kayak fishing this year.  Isn't hadn't produced any new species for me so far, but it opens up a lot of water for me to explore.  I'm expecting good things in the future!

 

No one in California uses a sit-in fishing kayak except for me.    This is the $350 one I brought with me from Illinois.

 

Spotted Sand Bass

 

Kelp Bass

 

A fellow kayak angler's fantail sole.

 

And his specklefin midshipman.  I was pretty jealous.

 

 

And finally his shortfin corvina (his pic not mine).

 

Pacific chub mackerel.

 

California halibut.

 

 

My big goal this year is to fish offshore in a kayak and catch a new species that I wouldn't be able to catch from shore.  I'll probably need to borrow or rent a larger sit-on-top style kayak for that.

[mattknepley]

Maaaa! Bennie got a slurp gun!!!
And then he gets the fishes!
I wonder about slurp guns for snorkeling and collecting fish that have holed up in difficult to reach spots. Does anyone use 'em for fish out there, or just stuff buried in the mud?

And as always, great pictures, Ben!

[elting44]

Just checked out this thread; very, very cool.  I had never even heard of a guitarfish prior to reading through this, and the Thornback is awesome!!

 

What size hooks are you using for the micros? (i.e the Opaleye from 1/18)

 

I am going to try my luck at micro-fishing and or ultra-light/micro-light fishing this spring.  I have spent the last few years targeting Blue Catfish so it is going to be quite the gear shift.  I have some ultralight rods and small spinning reels, its the terminal side of the rig I am trying to figure out.

[BenCantrell]

Just checked out this thread; very, very cool.  I had never even heard of a guitarfish prior to reading through this, and the Thornback is awesome!!

 

What size hooks are you using for the micros? (i.e the Opaleye from 1/18)

 

I am going to try my luck at micro-fishing and or ultra-light/micro-light fishing this spring.  I have spent the last few years targeting Blue Catfish so it is going to be quite the gear shift.  I have some ultralight rods and small spinning reels, its the terminal side of the rig I am trying to figure out.

 

Thanks!  Owner New Half Moon Tanago hooks from http://www.tenkarabum.com/micro-fishing-hooks.html. Make sure to get presnelled.

[elting44]

Thanks, just got some ordered, they were the ones I was looking at.  I am also thinking about getting some size 22 or 20 hooks as well for targeting sunfish.

 

Do you (or have you) fished Tenkara style with a fixed length of line and telescopic rod without a reel or do you use spinning or casting gear.

 

I like the idea of being able to fit everything in my Chair-pak including my rod (with or without a reel)

 

Between having a new tank cycling and learning new fishing methods, I have cabin fever as bad as I can remember

[BenCantrell]

I have this rod:

http://www.tenkarabu...e-kiyotaki.html

 

It's really nice, but you can catch fish with pretty much the same success rate with a cheap spinning combo.  Most of the time when I'm hunting small stuff in saltwater I take a medium-lite rod with 2000 size reel and 6 lb fluoro.

 

Honestly I would bump up your hook size to around #14 for sunfish.  With too small of a hook you risk them swallowing it.

[elting44]

I have this rod:

http://www.tenkarabu...e-kiyotaki.html

 

It's really nice, but you can catch fish with pretty much the same success rate with a cheap spinning combo.  Most of the time when I'm hunting small stuff in saltwater I take a medium-lite rod with 2000 size reel and 6 lb fluoro.

 

Honestly I would bump up your hook size to around #14 for sunfish.  With too small of a hook you risk them swallowing it.

 

I will give them a look. I think I will buy a cheap Tenkara rod and then use a telescopic spinning rod for my 1000 series Shimano Spirex and give that a shot.  That way I can keep some Tenkara rigs tied up and ready but still have spinning rig to fall back on.  The wind in Kansas may very well make days where Tenkara style fishing is viable few and far between.

 

Thanks for all of your help, the more I read about microfishing the more your name is popping up. I appreciate the advice

[Chasmodes]

Very cool stuff.  That midshipman is cool!  I bet he'd be fun to catch at night!