Cabrillo 4-16-11 - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

roby · 04-17-2011, 09:01 PM

Launched at 6am from Cabrillo and got bait - a mix of sardines and anchovies. There was a slight breeze, which made the day nice for a clear and sunny day. I dropped a sardine right away and started pounding the sand. High tide was around 8:30 so I had a couple of good hours to fish. In about 20 feet of water I get hooked up and bring in my biggest halibut of the day. It was around 17-18 inches.

I then work the area and hooked another halibut. While reeling it in, I get my line tangled with my dead stick, which then gets hooked on to my mirage drive. I have to untangle the mess and finally got a 12 inch halibut up. When I released my dead stick, I noticed the line didn't go with the drift. I picked the rod up and realized I had another fish on. This halibut was around 16 inches. I worked the area for another shorty and decided to take off to fish the breakwater. All the halibut caught came right before high tide. I got off the water by 11:45.

I saw alot of bait in the water - mainly anchovies. I dropped the chovies from the bait tank down, but they didn't get bit. Only the sardines got bit today.

DFG came by to check out the kayak and to see if I had a license. Lucky they didn't check for the three WSB I had in the hatch. There was also someone at the launch that was doing a survey - he wanted to know what I caught, where I caught it and some other info.

Finally, a cool picture of a midshipman (?). I caught this fishing at Redondo Beach for the Baytubers Tournament.

yaknewb · 04-17-2011, 09:19 PM

Yep thats a midshipman there kinda cool looking fish.

ericko · 04-17-2011, 10:27 PM

can you eat those midshipmen is there a legal size?

ericko · 04-17-2011, 10:31 PM

thanks for the post im thinking of going thursday or friday...im on sping break

swank · 04-17-2011, 11:26 PM

Those midshipmen sure are ugly buggers, and i swear they smell too. Only ever seen 2, and always in the harbor.

THE DARKHORSE · 04-17-2011, 11:44 PM

What the?

Some fish are prettier than others...

He was giving me a funny look here and muttered something about Hobie kayaks...

Personally, I'd never eat anything that ugly.

Fiskadoro · 04-18-2011, 10:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roby

Finally, a cool picture of a midshipman (?). I caught this fishing at Redondo Beach for the Baytubers Tournament.

Baytubers tournaments are a blast. I used to really enjoy the one in Redondo.

Quote:

Originally Posted by roby

That's actually a Sarcastic fringehead.

Quote:

Originally Posted by THE DARKHORSE

...and yet another sarcastic fringehead.

Pound for pound those things are the most agro fish in the ocean.

Weird little hyper aggressive fish that are always defending their territory. Let's just say I have had a few run ins with them as I see them often up at BKR. Fringeheads are more brightly colored then midshipmen with purples reds and even bright yellow markings. They like areas around rocks as they stake out little dens in holes, which they then defend viciously against anything that comes by. Kind of a big fish in their little den thing.

Here's a better view of their markings on a BKR Fringehead I got back about a decade ago.

Midshipmen are plainer, smaller and generally I find them in more muddy areas like harbors. Kind of a duller more slimy form of fringehead.

Both of them have teeth but are essentually harmless. Neither of them are worth anything. You can't really avoid them but I just shake them off when I run into them.

Cool report, congrats on the small butts keep working them and you'll get their bigger girlfriend.

Jim

WahooUSMA · 04-18-2011, 11:35 AM

These are the only midshipmen I have every know....LMAO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMKjDYKs994&feature=fvst

bus kid · 04-18-2011, 07:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WahooUSMA

These are the only midshipmen I have every know....LMAO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMKjDYKs994&feature=fvst

hahaha anchor clanking squids

bubblehide · 04-18-2011, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bus kid

hahaha anchor clanking squids

Yeah, we all know there are higher forms of Marine life, but were having a sarcastic discussion about Fingerheads and Midshipmen.

roby · 04-19-2011, 08:35 PM

I've been looking at pictures of sarcastic fringeheads and midshipmen for the last six hours and I have to agree with Jim. The fish I caught was a sarcastic fringehead. And yes, it fought like a 2lb trout.

Quote:

These are the only midshipmen I have every know....LMAO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMKjDYKs994&feature=fvst

Quote:

Originally Posted by bus kid

hahaha anchor clanking squids

Yeah, we all know there are higher forms of Marine life, but were having a sarcastic discussion about Fingerheads and Midshipmen.

My wife use to love that song; she really enjoyed the video...haha

Fiskadoro · 04-20-2011, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roby

I've been looking at pictures of sarcastic fringeheads and midshipmen for the last six hours and I have to agree with Jim.

Yep I know my fringeheads sarcastic or otherwise...

Amish Ed · 04-20-2011, 10:56 PM

Cool video Jim. Didn't know they could open their mouths so wide. To me the Sarcastic Fringehead has the best name ever. I always look for them at aquariums, just because of the name. I've caught a midshipman at Spanish Landing. The feature that the Fringehead seems to lack is the bioluminescent spots. That's what I noticed in Roby's pic.

roby · 04-20-2011, 11:00 PM

Very cool video...below is some info taken from Wikipedia.

"The sarcastic fringehead (Neoclinus blanchardi) is a ferocious fish which has a large mouth and aggressive territorial behaviour. When two fringeheads have a territorial battle, they wrestle by pressing their distended mouths against each other, as if they were kissing. This allows them to determine which is the larger fish, which establishes dominance. ^[1]"

04-17-2011, 09:01 PM	#1
roby CEO of Team Roby Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 905	Cabrillo 4-16-11 Launched at 6am from Cabrillo and got bait - a mix of sardines and anchovies. There was a slight breeze, which made the day nice for a clear and sunny day. I dropped a sardine right away and started pounding the sand. High tide was around 8:30 so I had a couple of good hours to fish. In about 20 feet of water I get hooked up and bring in my biggest halibut of the day. It was around 17-18 inches. I then work the area and hooked another halibut. While reeling it in, I get my line tangled with my dead stick, which then gets hooked on to my mirage drive. I have to untangle the mess and finally got a 12 inch halibut up. When I released my dead stick, I noticed the line didn't go with the drift. I picked the rod up and realized I had another fish on. This halibut was around 16 inches. I worked the area for another shorty and decided to take off to fish the breakwater. All the halibut caught came right before high tide. I got off the water by 11:45. I saw alot of bait in the water - mainly anchovies. I dropped the chovies from the bait tank down, but they didn't get bit. Only the sardines got bit today. DFG came by to check out the kayak and to see if I had a license. Lucky they didn't check for the three WSB I had in the hatch. There was also someone at the launch that was doing a survey - he wanted to know what I caught, where I caught it and some other info. Finally, a cool picture of a midshipman (?). I caught this fishing at Redondo Beach for the Baytubers Tournament.

04-17-2011, 11:44 PM	#6
THE DARKHORSE Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Seven minutes from the launch! Posts: 987	Agressive little buggers! What the? Some fish are prettier than others... He was giving me a funny look here and muttered something about Hobie kayaks... Personally, I'd never eat anything that ugly. __________________

04-18-2011, 11:35 AM	#8
WahooUSMA Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Rancho Cucamonga Posts: 753	Real Midshipmen These are the only midshipmen I have every know....LMAO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMKjDYKs994&feature=fvst __________________ GO ARMY BEAT NAVY! Bad decisions make great stories!

04-20-2011, 10:56 PM	#13
Amish Ed Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Grants Pass, OR Posts: 1,906	Cool video Jim. Didn't know they could open their mouths so wide. To me the Sarcastic Fringehead has the best name ever. I always look for them at aquariums, just because of the name. I've caught a midshipman at Spanish Landing. The feature that the Fringehead seems to lack is the bioluminescent spots. That's what I noticed in Roby's pic. __________________ Amish Ed You can't catch it again if it's dead!

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04-17-2011, 09:19 PM	#2
yaknewb Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Posts: 143	Yep thats a midshipman there kinda cool looking fish.

04-17-2011, 10:27 PM	#3
ericko Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Huntington beach Posts: 594	can you eat those midshipmen is there a legal size?

04-17-2011, 10:31 PM	#4
ericko Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Huntington beach Posts: 594	thanks for the post im thinking of going thursday or friday...im on sping break

04-17-2011, 11:26 PM	#5
swank Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: The I.E Posts: 92	Those midshipmen sure are ugly buggers, and i swear they smell too. Only ever seen 2, and always in the harbor.

04-20-2011, 11:00 PM	#14
roby CEO of Team Roby Join Date: Sep 2010 Posts: 905	Very cool video...below is some info taken from Wikipedia. "The sarcastic fringehead (Neoclinus blanchardi) is a ferocious fish which has a large mouth and aggressive territorial behaviour. When two fringeheads have a territorial battle, they wrestle by pressing their distended mouths against each other, as if they were kissing. This allows them to determine which is the larger fish, which establishes dominance. ^[1]"