Season-End Bugging - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

FISHIONADO · 03-19-2009, 07:21 AM

Got out for the first time this season, didn't find any keepers at La Jolla, just lots of shorts, crabs, eels, and a friendly shark or something that looked like a shark.

I launched about 5:00pm and paddled out to catch lobster bait, no problem loading up with greenbacks and spanish macks. I noticed the kelp has the same parasite that killed off so much of it a couple years ago. Strong uphill current tonight.

After the sun went down I dropped my hoops and had a beer. First pull gave me a good feeling, no keepers but very close.

Every pull had bugs, just not big enough

Crabby Patty

So many that were less than 1/8" short

I hate these things.

Some type of huge fish kept checking me out when I was pulling my hoops, I think attracted to my green light sticks. It had a big rounded head, I don't think it had a dorsal fin, and an upswept tail similar to a thresher. It was not concerned about me and bumped my kayak several times.

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Iceman · 03-19-2009, 08:14 AM

F'n eel!

I wish I had made it out one last time, now I gotta dump that bait in my freezer.

FISHIONADO · 03-19-2009, 08:51 AM

If there wasn't a picture of the eel I would have claimed it was 6' long.

But that freaking weird fish really was 6 or 7' long. Any ideas? Big round head, no dorsal, upswept tail, all gray. I'll look up later to confirm. At first I almost freaked but when I saw no dorsal and it seemed interested in my buoys and head lamp I was able to relax. I hung around for about 30 minutes but didn't cooperate for a better picture.

That one photo looks like a legal bug but it is not, there was about 1/16" slop on the gauge.

Geoffkoop · 03-19-2009, 09:45 AM

Out in the dark with something that big bumping the kayak would of scared the heck out of me... Wonder what it was?

-scallywag- · 03-19-2009, 10:10 AM

cool pics!! that shark looks and acts like a nurse shark, but those DO have a dorsal, its just small and further down the back near the tale...anyway thanks for the squid, the makrels ate it all, then i met up with the infamous johnny ceviche in the fog, he shouted "come'on, lets go catch some WSB!!!" so i pinned on the biggest spanish i could find, we trolled the macs to the corner and back for nada....all in all an awsome evening in the fog and no wind!!! thanks johnny & fishionado!!!

KennyHill · 03-19-2009, 02:33 PM

Cool report...Your crazy for sitting out there in the dark!! Its one thing when you no the sun will be up in alittle bit. But after it gose down is nuts haha. I would have had to leave and change my shorts after bumping into that shark or whatever it was.

Fiskadoro · 03-19-2009, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FISHIONADO

Got out for the first time this season, didn't find any keepers at La Jolla, just lots of shorts, crabs, eels, and a friendly shark or something that looked like a shark.

Great report!!!

That was a bluntnose six gill shark.

All I can say is wow!!! I would of loved to have seen that.

They are extremely rare and are usually found to the north and very deep like 3000 feet down. They are one of the most primitive sharks from a group that is mostly extinct and has not changed much for 200 million years. That's just a pup as I think they get up to over twenty feet in length.

This is such a rare sighting that you may want to contact Scripps. I've never heard of one doing what you described on the surface, and it was probably attracted to your lights because it feeds on deep water fish that are bioluminescent.

One more thing those sharks though slow are aggressive carnivores, if you had fallen overboard it would not surprised me at all if that shark would of taken your hand off.

Jim

FISHIONADO · 03-19-2009, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Day

That was a bluntnose six gill shark.

Thanks! I googled it and that is exactly what it looked like. Are they good to eat? Just kidding!

Fiskadoro · 03-19-2009, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FISHIONADO

Thanks! I googled it and that is exactly what it looked like. Are they good to eat? Just kidding!

I don't know but all I know is I have always wanted to catch one....LOL

Your a better man then me I would of baited the sucker.

I contacted a friend of mine who knows some shark Guru's in fisheries. He said they definitely would be interested in your story and pics.

He's going to send me some E-mails if you want them, or you can send the pics to me and I'll just pass them on.

Too cool... I would of loved to seen that one. I'll tell you though you got some balls hanging out there with that thing bumping your yak, what if Moma had showed up

Jim

FISHIONADO · 03-19-2009, 03:48 PM

No problem, feel free to forward. I'd be happy to talk more about it also. I wish I would have gotten a better photo, it would usually surface just as I was getting my hoop up to the side of the kayak then be gone by the time I got my camera ready. In the photo posted you can see it is swimming under my paddle and leash, what looks like an ear is the splash ring on the paddle, you can see some text on the paddle itself on the other side of the shark. It bumped my kayak at least three separate times as I was pulling hoops. A very gentle "I love you" type bump.

forefrazier · 03-19-2009, 04:41 PM

Great job getting out and catching them bugs on the final night. I think you just got the BIG BRASS ONES award for being out in the dark with an unknown sea creature bumpin' the 'yak!. Cool post. Thanks!

Fiskadoro · 03-19-2009, 03:28 PM

From your description I'm pretty sure you saw a sixgill but here's some pics..

Here's another small one, a four footer whose picture was taken by divers in Puget sound.

They describe the encounter as extremely rare with only one previous sighting in shallow water.

Adult down deep.

Another adult down deep;

Drawing showing the fin layout

Too F'n cool.

Jim

Fiskadoro · 03-19-2009, 11:40 PM

I got an email from someone with a lot more expertise then I. They said it was probably a seven gill not a six gill. As sevens are more common in shallow water then sixs.

Did it have spots? Sevens have spots

Jim

FISHIONADO · 03-20-2009, 07:28 AM

I don't recall seeing any spots. Hard to tell in the photo because of condensation on the lens. When I saw the tail I thought Leopard, then noticed it didn't have the Leopard pattern or spots, I only remember all gray. But memory is a funny thing, when the brain feels threatened it focuses on "fight or flight". There was a 10 second period where my heart beat could have powered San Diego and I could have ran across the water to shore. After the second pass I relaxed and started trying to get a photo.

Thanks for all the info.

MalibuJohnny · 03-20-2009, 09:17 AM

Very cool!

sbsyncro · 03-21-2009, 08:52 AM

It sounds like a six gill from the description, and the proximity to the Canyon makes it plausible - according to a reference book I have, they are believed to undertake nightly "vertical migrations" into shallower water for feeding. This is typically seen in areas where deep water abuts shallower water (like Monterey, Puget Sound, etc).

Very cool sighting!

I've had seven gill sharks steal fish from my stringer while fishing the kelp beds during the day (including chomping off a 35" WSB right behind the gills in one bite), and that is scary enough - I can only imagine having it happen at night repeatedly!

fasha · 03-21-2009, 09:26 AM

I was scuba diving off the point last year when I came across a fairly large six gill, 10+feet and very girthy. Gave me a pretty good adrenalin rush being face to face with a large shark that I couldn't identify at the time. He circled me and my buddy twice then swam off.

03-19-2009, 07:21 AM	#1
FISHIONADO Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 698	Season-End Bugging Got out for the first time this season, didn't find any keepers at La Jolla, just lots of shorts, crabs, eels, and a friendly shark or something that looked like a shark. I launched about 5:00pm and paddled out to catch lobster bait, no problem loading up with greenbacks and spanish macks. I noticed the kelp has the same parasite that killed off so much of it a couple years ago. Strong uphill current tonight. After the sun went down I dropped my hoops and had a beer. First pull gave me a good feeling, no keepers but very close. Every pull had bugs, just not big enough Crabby Patty So many that were less than 1/8" short I hate these things. Some type of huge fish kept checking me out when I was pulling my hoops, I think attracted to my green light sticks. It had a big rounded head, I don't think it had a dorsal fin, and an upswept tail similar to a thresher. It was not concerned about me and bumped my kayak several times. >>

03-19-2009, 08:14 AM	#2
Iceman Administrator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: 1-2 miles off the point Posts: 6,948	F'n eel! I wish I had made it out one last time, now I gotta dump that bait in my freezer. __________________

03-19-2009, 03:48 PM	#10
FISHIONADO Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 698	No problem, feel free to forward. I'd be happy to talk more about it also. I wish I would have gotten a better photo, it would usually surface just as I was getting my hoop up to the side of the kayak then be gone by the time I got my camera ready. In the photo posted you can see it is swimming under my paddle and leash, what looks like an ear is the splash ring on the paddle, you can see some text on the paddle itself on the other side of the shark. It bumped my kayak at least three separate times as I was pulling hoops. A very gentle "I love you" type bump. Last edited by FISHIONADO; 03-19-2009 at 06:21 PM.

03-20-2009, 09:17 AM	#15
MalibuJohnny Senior Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Lahina (I Wish) Posts: 272	Multi Gill Shark Very cool! __________________ Malibu Johnny must catch fish

03-21-2009, 09:26 AM	#17
fasha Fasha Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 3	six gill in La Jolla I was scuba diving off the point last year when I came across a fairly large six gill, 10+feet and very girthy. Gave me a pretty good adrenalin rush being face to face with a large shark that I couldn't identify at the time. He circled me and my buddy twice then swam off.

03-19-2009, 08:51 AM	#3
FISHIONADO Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 698	If there wasn't a picture of the eel I would have claimed it was 6' long. But that freaking weird fish really was 6 or 7' long. Any ideas? Big round head, no dorsal, upswept tail, all gray. I'll look up later to confirm. At first I almost freaked but when I saw no dorsal and it seemed interested in my buoys and head lamp I was able to relax. I hung around for about 30 minutes but didn't cooperate for a better picture. That one photo looks like a legal bug but it is not, there was about 1/16" slop on the gauge.

03-19-2009, 09:45 AM	#4
Geoffkoop Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: So. Orange County Posts: 302	Out in the dark with something that big bumping the kayak would of scared the heck out of me... Wonder what it was?

03-19-2009, 10:10 AM	#5
-scallywag- Banned Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: on the road... Posts: 598	cool pics!! that shark looks and acts like a nurse shark, but those DO have a dorsal, its just small and further down the back near the tale...anyway thanks for the squid, the makrels ate it all, then i met up with the infamous johnny ceviche in the fog, he shouted "come'on, lets go catch some WSB!!!" so i pinned on the biggest spanish i could find, we trolled the macs to the corner and back for nada....all in all an awsome evening in the fog and no wind!!! thanks johnny & fishionado!!!

03-19-2009, 02:33 PM	#6
KennyHill Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Temecula CA. Posts: 117	Cool report...Your crazy for sitting out there in the dark!! Its one thing when you no the sun will be up in alittle bit. But after it gose down is nuts haha. I would have had to leave and change my shorts after bumping into that shark or whatever it was.

03-19-2009, 04:41 PM	#11
forefrazier Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: OC Posts: 397	Great job getting out and catching them bugs on the final night. I think you just got the BIG BRASS ONES award for being out in the dark with an unknown sea creature bumpin' the 'yak!. Cool post. Thanks!

03-19-2009, 03:28 PM	#12
Fiskadoro ....... Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,509	From your description I'm pretty sure you saw a sixgill but here's some pics.. Here's another small one, a four footer whose picture was taken by divers in Puget sound. They describe the encounter as extremely rare with only one previous sighting in shallow water. Adult down deep. Another adult down deep; Drawing showing the fin layout Too F'n cool. Jim

03-19-2009, 11:40 PM	#13
Fiskadoro ....... Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 1,509	I got an email from someone with a lot more expertise then I. They said it was probably a seven gill not a six gill. As sevens are more common in shallow water then sixs. Did it have spots? Sevens have spots Jim

03-20-2009, 07:28 AM	#14
FISHIONADO Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 698	I don't recall seeing any spots. Hard to tell in the photo because of condensation on the lens. When I saw the tail I thought Leopard, then noticed it didn't have the Leopard pattern or spots, I only remember all gray. But memory is a funny thing, when the brain feels threatened it focuses on "fight or flight". There was a 10 second period where my heart beat could have powered San Diego and I could have ran across the water to shore. After the second pass I relaxed and started trying to get a photo. Thanks for all the info.

03-21-2009, 08:52 AM	#16
sbsyncro Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Santa Barbara, CA Posts: 80	It sounds like a six gill from the description, and the proximity to the Canyon makes it plausible - according to a reference book I have, they are believed to undertake nightly "vertical migrations" into shallower water for feeding. This is typically seen in areas where deep water abuts shallower water (like Monterey, Puget Sound, etc). Very cool sighting! I've had seven gill sharks steal fish from my stringer while fishing the kelp beds during the day (including chomping off a 35" WSB right behind the gills in one bite), and that is scary enough - I can only imagine having it happen at night repeatedly!