The WSB

[Whizz Bang]

I am consumed by thoughts of Yellowtail and White Sea Bass. There are almost no lengths to which I will not go for these fish. Almost. I have tried a lot of techniques and toyed with a lot of different gimmicks in search of these fish. I even went through a phase where I believed camouflage to be necessary. I tried painting the bottom of my kayak like a kelp paddy with schooling bait fish on it and glued a bunch of cotton balls to my waders in an attempt to pass myself off as a bit of fog. Another time, I painted my kayak yellow, glued cardboard “turbo fins” to the bottom, and donned green waders, a collared shirt, black hat and white face paint…..the fish still did not bite. Nothing seemed to work. I eventually broke down and enlisted the help of the village Shaman. Yes, I have a Shaman, a witch doctor, a Bokor. He lives in a mud hut just down the street from me and his name is Earl. Earl is really a great guy, if you can get past the whole loincloth, bone in the nose, shrunken head for a necklace thing. Earl provided me with a special ritual, a small pot of honey and a garland of garlic were required among other things. That was months ago, and the Yellowtail have been coming. But the White Sea Bass did not. So, a couple of weeks ago I went back to Earl.

I should probably explain. You do not just walk up and knock on a Bokor’s front door. You would be risking a very real chance of disrupting some sensitive ritual and drawing the wrath of a man who can command the spirits of the ether….and shrink your head. What you actually have to do is wade into the bramble thicket he calls a yard with an offering, and you wait, quietly. If Earl comes out and takes your offering, it is permitted to follow him inside as this means that he has agreed to help you. This can take some time….sometimes a lot of time. I once saw an old man who was out there for about a day and a half before Earl summoned him. On the day I went to see him I got lucky, Earl was outside decorating his house for Christmas, although the holiday cheer brought about by garlands of animal bones is debatable. Earl seemed genuinely pleased when he saw the fruitcake I was holding and beckoned me in.

I squatted on my haunches in front of a small fire in the center of the room and took in my surroundings. The dirt floor of the hut was swept as smooth as concrete and I vaguely wondered if my witch doctor had a touch of OCD. The walls were decorated with primitive drawings and strange symbols which seemed to move and stretch as the flames danced in front of me. The effect was disorienting. Across the fire from me Earl also squatted, hugging his knees and rocking back and forth staring into the embers. After, what I felt was an uncomfortable silence I started to talk. I explained to Earl that although Yellowtail was special, there was indeed a more elusive fish that haunted the La Jolla area, the White Seabass. Its flesh was supposed to be amazing and I badly wanted one, my first, actually. As I explained all this, Earl simply stared at me uncomprehending, the bone in his nose occasionally twitching. I grabbed a stick and proceeded to go over it again, this time drawing it in the dirt. Earl’s eyes widened and he began to hop back and forth his loincloth flapping in a rather disturbing manner, excitement and agitation growing with his comprehension. Earl explained through a series of tongue clicks, broken English, pantomime, and baby gibberish, that he was indeed aware of such a fish and that he believed he could call upon the spirit of this fish to submit to my will. There would be a price to pay, however, Earl wanted a goat for such a fish, a live goat. I should probably tell you that while Earl had been successful in putting me on some smaller grade of Yellowtail over the course of the summer, he had also charged me 3 chickens for his services. I found the chickens at a feed store in Ramona, they were supposed to be some decent egg layers but I don’t know if they ever had the chance, there was certainly no sign of them now, and you don’t ask a whole lot of questions with someone who deals in livestock.

I left that night with much unanswered, where would I find a goat, how much would a goat cost, am I breaking any laws, what are the neighbors gonna think, etc. I could just imagine lying to some little old lady, telling her that her Winston the Third was going to be the star attraction in a very special petting zoo I was putting together. That he was going to be loved and adored, and most assuredly NOT passed off to a magic wielding pygmy with sinister plans just so I could catch some fish.

I took awhile to make my decision, mulling it over and even going so far as to peruse the livestock section of craigslist over my morning coffee. In the end, I just couldn’t do it. Which is just as well since shortly afterwards my wife got me a guided trip with Josh Pruitt for Christmas. This, incidentally, is the greatest gift I have ever received.

When I contacted Josh, I made it clear that this was about helping me become a better fisherman, breaking old habits, establishing new ones, and perhaps just the very beginning of an understanding of the amazing fishery we have, for now, in La Jolla. Catching a fish came a distant second to the desire to learn. As always, Josh delivered. He already knew much of what I was doing wrong, he had had ample opportunity to observe my poor technique on the water over the summer. For those of you who are on the fence or are just getting into the sport and wish to shorten the steep learning curve, the time and money spent on hiring Josh will pay dividends for the rest of your life…. Just do it, or perhaps buy a goat.


Incidentally, this is the first fish taken out of LJ for 2010 taken New Years Day.....early. Happy New Year everyone.

[dsafety]

Congratulations Eric, on catching the first big fish of the decade. That’s a record that cannot be broken. Unfortunately for me, I do not have a shaman in the neighborhood, but on the plus side, I have also spent a bit of time with Josh.

I arrived a little late to the launch on New Year’s Day. As I peddled past Eric with his beautiful WSB strapped to the back of his kayak, I was encouraged and hopeful that my day might end up in a similar fashion. I had not been on the water for more than a month and had missed the big bite that occurred in mid December. Based on all the chatter I had picked up, I figured that my best chance for success on this day would be yo-yoing some iron. So that is what I did. No love.

About an hour in, I ran across the Darkhorse, making bait. I asked him if he was planning to fish with bait. His typically cryptic response was that he wanted to have some bait on hand, “just in case”. That seemed reasonable to me so I decided to do the same. My first fish of the year was a 6” Spanish mackerel. Would this be my largest catch of the day? At least I was catching something so I filled the tank with a dozen or so macks, including a few greenies.

By this time most of the dawn patrol had given up and gone in empty handed. There were only a couple of us remaining along with several PBs. The weather was spectacular as I watched a couple gray whales cruise through the fishing grounds. I pinned on one of the greenies along with a slip sinker and sent my bait to the bottom.

After about 15 minutes of slow trolling, my bait started getting nervous. There was a bump, then another and then suddenly my line started peeling off the reel. I put the reel in gear and was rewarded. FISH ON! I knew that it was big, but what kind?

This fish fought hard. At first there were some very strong runs with a few angry head shakes thrown in. There were many minutes where we were at a stand-off. The fish was no longer taking line but I could not gain any ground either. About fifteen minutes into the battle, I was able to start making headway and retrieving some line. It started slowly but then became easier. At times, it felt like I was hauling up dead weight, like a big chunk of kelp.

Suddenly, the fish got new life. The reel was screaming as this thing headed for the bottom again. Then, just as suddenly the run stopped and I was reeling up dead weight again. What in the world had I hooked? We played this game a couple more times until about twenty minutes into the fight, I saw color. It was big. Easily the biggest fish I had ever hooked. Could I land it?

All of a sudden, there was hardly any resistance. I could still see the fish was still hooked but the fight was over. I quickly reeled in the last 25 feet and when the fish came to the surface, it rolled belly up. Catching a fish this big is new to me but I was fairly certain that in most cases getting the fish to the boat was only half the battle. I would have to carefully aim my gaff strike and hope that the fish would stunned enough so I could haul it onto my kayak. Not this time.


As Jay, the lone other kayker in the area closed in to check out the action, I simply grabbed this beauty by the gills and lifted it onto my lap. There was no need to use the gaff or even a club. I had landed my first White Sea Bass.

With Jay’s help, we secured the fish to the game clip and strapped it to the back of my Revo. I have no idea how I would have been able to accomplish this by myself. Thanks Jay for coming to my rescue and for the great photos.


This fish tipped the scales at 38 pounds. It was not only my first WSB but the largest fish I have ever caught. For a few short hours, it was probably the largest fish caught this decade in La Jolla. As I peddled in, I noticed that the Darkhorse was still out there fishing so I am sure that this record did not last very long.




What a way to start off the new year.
Bob

[wade]

NICE 1's!!
Double Ghosts!

[yakrider]

very entertaining stories
and great fish!

[467echo]

Good Job guys! Save one for me!

[1Flatfish]

Nice fish also Whizz Bang! Sorry. You started the thread. I just happen to know Bob and was excited for him. I'm happy for you too!

[1Flatfish]

Nice going Bob! I would have been there with you, but my wife really wanted to fish Oceanside. We did OK, but nothing like THAT! We still gotta get the North County's together. Can I come over and get some?

Wayne

[Tman]

Now that is a fish tale worth reading...very entertaining, well done.

...and nice to both of you guys...

[young mola]

western outdoor news gave the title of first wsb of 2010 to a dude who caught on off cat on the 2nd. too funny

[Whizz Bang]

That guy was a day late, his was maybe the third or 4th considering I saw another fish taken on the second. LMFAO.

[dsafety]

We kayak fishermen are the Rodney Dangerfields of the fishing world. We just don't get any respect.

Oh well Eric, at least we know the truth.

Bob

[Matt]

Great fish and a great tale! But learn how to use the tab key and please use proper spacing..... The English major in me shuddered in horror due to your poor punctuation! Hahaha. Just kidding man that was both a funny and great read!