Weird Catch at DP 1/18 - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

Salty · 01-20-2020, 04:35 PM

Launched out of the harbor in the morning and cruised around the buoy and headed north over to the kelp off Salt Creek, dropping my hookup bait every so often. Had a few really strong bites off the bottom that ran my line for a bit, but the hood wouldn't set. Before making it to the kelp, I feel some tugging on my line and assumed it was a small bass or something. When I got it to the side of the yak, was surprised to see this little guy (Pics below). I managed a saltwater aquarium shop for several years and I'm still in the industry, so I'm very familiar with these guys. But we usually only saw either the Peacock or Zebra mantis. This guy was MUCH bigger! I know they are out in the waters here, I've just never seen a native one up close! Needless to say I was surprised to hook one and even more so to hook one on a jig! Used extra-long pliers to get the hook upside-down and he was able to shake himself off with no damage. Pretty sure I saw him give me the finger on the way back to the bottom. Pretty new to kayak fishing, so maybe this is more common than I thought? Either way, it was just kind of cool.
After that, it was a pretty normal day. My buddy got a nice 19" calico, I got a small sandbass and a barracuda. There were some big 'cuda slamming my hookup bait, but not getting hooked. I could see them in the water below as they struck and they were attacking only the back of the bait, then running. So I switched to a colt sniper, but they had already lost interest and I couldn't find them again. Neither of us kept anything and all catches went back into the water pretty quickly.
Getting the mantis made me wonder though: You all have WAY more experience kayak fishing than myself. What are some of the weirdest or most unexpected things you've pulled up?

01-20-2020, 04:35 PM	#1
Salty Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2020 Location: Huntington Beach, CA Posts: 434	Weird Catch at DP 1/18 Launched out of the harbor in the morning and cruised around the buoy and headed north over to the kelp off Salt Creek, dropping my hookup bait every so often. Had a few really strong bites off the bottom that ran my line for a bit, but the hood wouldn't set. Before making it to the kelp, I feel some tugging on my line and assumed it was a small bass or something. When I got it to the side of the yak, was surprised to see this little guy (Pics below). I managed a saltwater aquarium shop for several years and I'm still in the industry, so I'm very familiar with these guys. But we usually only saw either the Peacock or Zebra mantis. This guy was MUCH bigger! I know they are out in the waters here, I've just never seen a native one up close! Needless to say I was surprised to hook one and even more so to hook one on a jig! Used extra-long pliers to get the hook upside-down and he was able to shake himself off with no damage. Pretty sure I saw him give me the finger on the way back to the bottom. Pretty new to kayak fishing, so maybe this is more common than I thought? Either way, it was just kind of cool. After that, it was a pretty normal day. My buddy got a nice 19" calico, I got a small sandbass and a barracuda. There were some big 'cuda slamming my hookup bait, but not getting hooked. I could see them in the water below as they struck and they were attacking only the back of the bait, then running. So I switched to a colt sniper, but they had already lost interest and I couldn't find them again. Neither of us kept anything and all catches went back into the water pretty quickly. Getting the mantis made me wonder though: You all have WAY more experience kayak fishing than myself. What are some of the weirdest or most unexpected things you've pulled up? Attached Images