Species: Smoothhead Sculpin (Artedius lateralis) Location: Oregon Coast Date: June 20, 2018 Freshwater sculpins, especially the Cottus species, are among the most difficult-to-identify fish around. Marine sculpins aren’t quite as tough, especially with the odd Rosylip Sculpin or Buffalo Sculpin kicking around, but there are a lot of them with blurred edges. One such fish is the…
Species: Fluffy Sculpin (Oligocottus snyderi) Location: Oregon Coast Date: June 20, 2018 Do you believe in love at first sight? I’m not sure I did, but then I looked at a picture of a Fluffy Sculpin, the most beautiful little fish you ever did see. To further sell me on it, God made sure it comes in…
Species: Rosylip Sculpin (Ascelichthys rhodorus) Location: Oregon Coast Date: June 20, 2018 The nearshore saltwater species diversity in Oregon is pretty low. Excluding micros, there are only about 20 species you can catch from shore with any sort of realistic possibility. This sounds high, but when compared to southern California, Florida, or even the similarly temperate Puget…
Species: Tidepool Sculpin (Oligocottus maculosus) Location: Newport, Oregon Date: December 22, 2017 After discovering microfishing in the Willamette a few days earlier, I took my time staying with my brother, Gabe, during Christmas Break to expand my microfishing horizon. After finding about as much success fishing from the pier as I’ve found dating in my late 20s, I…
Species: Torrent Sculpin (Cottus rhotheus) Location: Corvallis, Oregon Date: December 18, 2017 This is post 3-of-4 that will just link to an article after providing some basic identification tips. Torrent Sculpin is the easiest sculpin species to identify in the Willamette River Basin. At least, in my opinion. Not only do they behave differently (they’re very skittish and…
Species: Prickly Sculpin (Cottus asper) Location: Corvallis, Oregon Date: December 18, 2017 Here’s another post that will just link to a story I’ve already written. Ideally, I’ll catch another Prickly Sculpin soon, so I can put it side-by-side with my Reticulate Sculpin to help with identification. Sadly, my only photo of a Prickly Sculpin (above), is terrible. I…
Species: Reticulate Sculpin (Cottus perplexus) Location: Corvallis, Oregon Date: December 18, 2017 I try to provide content on my blog independent of what I publish in newspapers and magazines, but if I’ve already told a story well, there’s no point retelling it. This is post 1-of-4 that will just link to an article after providing some basic identification…
Species: Slender Sculpin (Cottus tenuis) Location: Link River, Klamath Falls, OR Date: December 15, 2015 Some #SpeciesHunters only worry about fish caught in the mouth on hook and line. Disclaimer: I’m not one of them. There are numerous ways to fish, and snagging a fish, catching one by hand, shooting it with a bow, or spearfishing are…
Species: Buffalo Sculpin (Enophrys bison) Location: Chetco River South Jetty, Brookings-Harbor, OR Date: September 13, 2010 This is a story about misidentifying sculpins and feral cats and world records. Yes, you read that right. I’ll start with the record. Here’s the picture of my record-setting fish. My first saltwater All-Tackle World Record was for Buffalo Sculpin (2017), but…
Species: Pacific Staghorn Sculpin (Leptocottus armatus) Location: Chetco River South Jetty, Brookings-Harbor, OR Date: September 10, 2009 Rashomon Effect 6-of-6: My Hands The phone started beeping, and I fumbled for it in the blackness. My hand found it in the dark, but as I flipped it open with my thumb, the split at the base of the thumbnail cried…
