Sunday Mixed Bag 12/17/23

[Salty]

Up early and paddled out with my buddy Anthony(Blackflag Fishing). Got a great sunrise and a mixed bag. Conditions were glassy and smooth just about all day. Got the sandbass and bonito first thing in the morning, then got some rockfish outside the 50-fathom curve after. Apparently, with the new regs, once you have any rockfish on board, you can't deploy any fishing gear shoreward of the curve. So once I had a few rockfish, I wrapped it up and called it a day. I've never kept sand bass in the past, but my GF said she wanted to try it since I catch them all the time. This one was decent size too at 21". I also kept a slightly smaller one as well to test the rumor that the smaller legal sizes are better tasting than the larger models. We'll see!

Also, tried out mounting the Reliable kill bag at the stern of the kayak instead of the bow. Used some small tiedowns to lock down each corner. It was solid! Didn't budge an inch and kept the bow nice and open. It fit perfectly behind the livewell and rod holders. Even with all my rods/net/gaff in the way, it was still pretty easy to get fish into it. I admit it would be a bit more awkward to get a bigger fish into, but that would be a great problem to have anyway!

[dorado123]

very nice

Thanks for the report , sand bass taste not bad, my family like them

[JohnMckroidJr]

Nice photos! I am a big fan of keeping the fishbag on the stern. By keeping more weight on the back end of the kayak, The kayak is trimmed by the stern which makes it directionally stable(easy to steer straight). On my outback, I set up rod holders along the sides so that I don't have to use the ones on the live well, as they do make it hard to access the bag. Thanks for the report!

[daperrin]

Looks like a great day on the water. Thanks for the report.

[Salty]

@daperrin- Hard to complain when it's 70 degrees and glassy in the middle of December!

@JohnMckroidJr- Thanks! And you're right, I'd prefer to be stern-heavy than bow-heavy. We'll see how it performs when it's loaded down with yellowtail this season... ;P Also, I tried to do the same and line the rods up along the port-side rodholders so it was easier to turn to my right and get the fish in the bag. really had no problems doing it at all.

@dorado123- Thanks! Haven't had a chance to do anything with the sand bass yet, but it's been vacuum-sealed since Sunday and ready to use. I'll report back with her review and how she cooked it. If you have any suggestions on how to prepare it best, I'd love to hear them.

[vincentek9]

nice going out there. Glad that you knew about the 50fa rule and the rule about not fishing shoreward of the 50fa curve once you possess a rockfish.

I have caught 1000's of sand bass and have kept about 5 in my life. We just mainly hunted pelagics on the boat and didn't want to use part of our limit on a sand bass. With kayak fishing however, I would be willing to keep them for a fresh caught dinner.

tasted really great when lightly floured and fried with butter
tasted amazing when cut into slices and used in tom yum style hot pot
not the greatest IMO for deep fried fish tacos. Its hard to beat cod and sculpin for that.

[Oolie]

21" is the nice grade, it's superior taco meat.


Bisquick and beer batter fry at 325F, and always brine, dry and flour prior to batter.


I prefer cabbage, you may prefer iceberg. A little chipotle sauce, corn torts, pico and lime wedges.


They're almost as good as spotties.