Species: Klamath Marbled Sculpin (Cottus klamathensis) Location: Klamath Falls, OR Date: March 10, 2018 My entire life, I’d known sculpins existed in the Klamath Basin. I’d seen them in the stomachs of the trout I’d occasionally kept, dead along the shoreline, and darting in and out of the shadows when I’d return from a last-light wade-fishing…
Species: Padded Sculpin (Artedius fenestralis) Location: Newport, OR Date: February 24, 2018 The first micro sculpin I’ve ever caught using non-micro gear was the Padded Sculpin. I spent most of the night throwing little crappie jigs for juvenile rockfish. I slayed the Black Rockfish and Brown Rockfish, the latter being a surprise given their relative rarity…
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: Chiselmouth (Acrocheilus alutaceus) Location: Newport, Oregon Date: December 22, 2017 Trout fishing, specifically walking and casting the shoreline with spinning gear, remains my favorite type of fishing. I also love fishing for bass with topwaters, chasing staging crappie and sunfish with ultralight tackle, tossing streamers for hungry perch It’s pretty rare to catch any sort of…
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: Frillfin Goby (Bathygobius soporator) Location: Graffiti Bridge, Pensacola, FL Date: August 1, 2017 This is likely the most aggressive fish I’ve ever caught. I buy frozen shrimp as bait, allowing a few pieces at a time to slowly defrost in the water to achieve that perfect, almost-frozen-but-not-quite texture that best allows them to stay on a…
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: Fathead Minnow (Pimephales promelas) Location: Klamath Lake, Klamath Falls, OR Date: January 15, 2015 I’m writing this post just hours after guiding The Species King, Steve Wozniak, to his first Fathead Minnow, so it’s particularly apropos that my own written species progression puts me here at this time. Read about that trip here. I…
