Species: Jack Mackerel (Trachurus symmetricus) Location: Russell Municipal Wharf, Bay of Islands, Northland, New Zealand Date: February 19, 2014 New Zealand’s Bay of Islands was undoubtedly the coolest place I’d visited at the time — it remains one of the coolest to this day. After a solid first day of sea kayaking and getting the…
Species: Australasian Snapper (Pagrus auratus) Location: Paihia, Bay of Islands, Northland, New Zealand Date: February 14, 2014 Love was in the air. It was Valentine’s Day, and I was joined for the romantic holiday with the love of my life: fishing. To make the holiday even more romantic, I was living out a lifelong fantasy:…
Species: Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Location: Puget Sound, Seattle, WA Date: July 23, 2013 Washington has some tremendous fisheries. For that reason, it’s strange that I spent so long without fishing this state. In fact, when I left on this trip in my newly-purchased 2002 Honda CR-V with my friends Ben Blanchard and his then-girlfriend…
Species: Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis) Location: San Pablo Bay, San Francisco, CA Date: March 25, 2012 This is the fifth and final story in succession and ties in with the other species I caught on the same day, and you’re best reading them in order: First and Second and Third and Fourth. The California Delta is famous…
Species: Leopard Shark (Triakis semifasciata) Location: San Pablo Bay, San Francisco, CA Date: March 25, 2012 This is the fourth story in succession and ties in with the other species I caught on the same day, and you’re best reading them in order: First and Second and Third. *** It was so long ago; the memory…
Species: Striped Seaperch (Embiotoca lateralis) Location: Chetco River North Jetty, Brookings-Harbor, OR Date: September 14, 2011 I first saw Striped Seaperch as a kid. The beautiful, coppery iridescence paired with stunning cerulean lines made the cooler full of these beautiful fish stand out in stark contrast to the muted colors of the rockfish, salmon, lingcod…
Species: Spiny Dogfish (Squalus acanthias) Location: San Pablo Bay, San Francisco, CA Date: March 25, 2012 This is the third story in succession and ties in with the other species I caught on the same day, and you’re best reading them in order: First and Second. In the United States, Atlantic Cod is the fish…
Species: Bat Ray (Myliobatis californica) Location: San Pablo Bay, San Francisco, CA Date: March 25, 2012 If you didn’t read the last entry, be sure to catch up here or you’ll be missing out. They tie together. *** I’ve fished the salt a lot in the past 15 years. Not anywhere near as much as…
Species: Brown Smoothhound (Mustelus henlei) Location: San Pablo Bay, San Francisco, CA Date: March 25, 2012 Shark Week isn’t for a few months. I desperately wish I could’ve timed this to release then, but I didn’t want my readers to wait around for months and lose interest. I’ve already had enough women lose interest in…
Species: Grass Rockfish (Sebastes rastrelliger) Location: Mill Beach, Brookings-Harbor, OR Date: July 14, 2012 Over the years, I’ve been admittedly quite blessed when it comes to fishing. I’ve captured rare species, rare color morphs, rare body types, and frankly, I can’t complain. One such catch was a Grass Rockfish, and I caught it on a trip…
