Species: Emerald Shiner (Notropis atherinoides) Location: Buffalo, New York Date: July 18, 2018 Microfishing is still relatively new to me, and the newness of it all is partially why I love it so much. This method has yet to hit the mainstream, but microfishing is a gem. In combination, the ability to sight fish, to actually…
Species: Rock Bass (Ambloplites rupestris) Location: Buffalo, New York Date: July 18, 2018 People always look to be exceptional. They long for that place where they stick out, are the exception to the rule. Alas, I’m no different. My first Rock Bass, pictured above, was obviously a Rock Bass. I caught it in a park-like slough…
Species: Freshwater Drum (Aplodinotus grunniens) Location: Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada Date: July 17, 2018 I’ve always been a little different. I was blessed with some great individual friends, but I was never in a clique, nor was I the cool kid. I felt like I hit my stride just off of everyone around me, the flam…
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: Gaftopsail Catfish (Bagre marinus) Location: Bayou Texar, Houston, TX Date: August 2, 2017 Houston was a bit disappointing. I mean, this place gave me my 100th Species, and it was a dirty catfish. Houston is a mudflat stretching for miles in every direction, and I ended up going down a toll road for miles without knowing…
Species: White Catfish (Ameiurus catus) Location: Cosca Lake, Washington, D.C. Date: July 16, 2015 For most people, a visit to D.C. means history and tours and American nationalism. It meant all of those things to me, too, but it also meant fishing. After spending a good chunk of time researching where to fish within a reasonable distance…
Species: Estuarine Triplefin (Forsterygion nigripenne) Location: Kuaotunu River, Kuaotunu, Coromandel, New Zealand Date: February 25, 2014 Mystery is a genre I love to read but fail to write much of. Even investigative journalism is a reach for me, and I’ve spent five years as a journalist. The investigative process of which coffee shop makes the…
Species: Pacific Sardine (Sardinops sagax) Location: Brookings-Harbor Marina, OR Date: September 10, 2009 Rashomon Effect 4-of-6: My Eyes Black. I rubbed them. Gray. I rubbed them again. Rheumy, blurry darkness. I blinked a few times and then fumbled in the darkness for my glasses. Rheumy, clear darkness. I shuffled through the cold morning fog to the shower, the…
