Species: Longear Sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) Location: Brackenridge Park, San Antonio, Texas Date: August 14, 2018 These fish are so awesome that I already wrote a story saying how awesome they are. But since you’re here, you might as well look as all of the phenotypes of this gorgeous fish I’ve caught. Read the original story by…
Species:Northern Kahawai (Arripis xylabion) Location: Kuaotunu River, Kuaotunu, Coromandel, New Zealand Date: February 25, 2014 Fishing in New Zealand is all about trout. At least, that’s what we’re told. In reality, throughout most of the North Island, saltwater fishing is king. Snapper, Kingfish, and Kahawai are the big three for anglers in the brine, and…
Species: European Perch (Perca fluviatilis) Location: Lake Pupuke, Auckland, New Zealand Date: February 19, 2014 New Zealand is famous for its trout fishing. It’s also well-known for its freshwater eels. What it is not renowned for is perch. So when I caught a perch in the small, urban lake at the heart of Auckland, I…
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: 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…
Species: Deacon Rockfish (Sebastes diaconus) Location: Off the coast of Brookings-Harbor, OR Date: September 14, 2011 My last entry featured a Red Irish Lord. I noted this was the last “new species” I’d recorded in my paper fishing journals, and as of the time those journals were written, that was true. But as of August 27, 2015,…
Species: Calico Surfperch (Ampistichus koelzi) Location: Chetco River South Jetty, Brookings-Harbor, OR Date: September 12, 2011 Misidentification is to fishing what the New England Patriots are to football: an unfortunate everyday reality that can’t be ignored. Fortunately, just like tonight’s Patriots’ Super Bowl loss, good can get a foothold in the fight against evil and make that unfortunate…
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: Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii) Location: Big Butte Creek, Butte Falls, OR Date: August 14, 2010 I debated how to record this species. The reason being that there are 10-to-14 living subspecies of Cutthroat Trout (depends whom you ask), and many anglers document and note each subspecies separately. Obviously I do. And while I’d like them to be…
