Species: Ladyfish (Elops saurus) Location: Titusville, Florida Date: July 9, 2018 Though Ladyfish can grow quite large, none of the 20 or so I caught while chasing tarpon were. I did manage to hook into one pushing 30 inches in length, but it spit the hook almost immediately. I was fishing a stretch of Florida brackish swamp…
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: 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: Pacific Herring (Clupea pallasii) Location: Newport, OR Date: February 24, 2018 I’ve had plenty of 100-plus-fish days. As of February 2019, my best day was 312 fish. But as of February 2018, I’d never done it with saltwater fish. Though I’ve now caught 100 or more specimens of the same species a total of 13 times,…
Species: Garibaldi (Hypsypops rubicundus) Location: Dana Point Marina, Dana Point, CA Date: August 9, 2017 *climbs onto soapbox* California. It’s a…special place full of…special people. Proposition 65 In case you weren’t aware, lead is harmful. Good ‘ol Pb has all manner of damaging effects to humans, and for this reason, it has been banned in most household goods, including…
Species: Largemouth Blenny (Labrisomus xanti) Location: Dana Point Marina, Dana Point, CA Date: August 9, 2017 Sculpins are awesome. Greenling are awesome. Blennies, which sort of look like a cross between the two, are also awesome. Few fish will try to bite you, but blennies, found in warmer temperate and tropical waters all over the world, are one…
Species: Salema (Xenistius californiensis) Location: Dana Point Marina, Dana Point, CA Date: August 9, 2017 If an advertising team were to market the Salema, they’d describe it as a bite-sized, “Tropical Flavors” version of the Striped Bass. It truly looks like a tiny striper with slightly more vivid coloration. It even feeds like one on a tiny scale,…
Species: Opaleye (Girella nigricans) Location: Dana Point Marina, Dana Point, CA Date: August 9, 2017 After a long day on a boat in the taxing summer heat of Southern California, the last thing most people would do is go fishing again, but as we’ve established, my judgment is impaired when it comes to fishing. As my cousin, Will…
