DP 2023-01-02

[PapaDave]

Friend and I hit the water out of Dana Point yesterday.

Weather was a tad choppy at the start of the day but calmed down to hardly a breeze by 12pm. Bait was great once more, 3-5 inch and healthy. Water was clear, you could see down a ways.

Headed north this time but nothing seemed to want to bite. Came in closer to shore, caught a couple of short halibuts and a couple of short bass. Friend did about the same. I did catch a first though, a Cabazon, looked like a mix between a sculpin and a ling cod, was blue also. Too short to keep, but it was an unusual, and new, catch for me.

[JohnMckroidJr]

Originally Posted by PapaDave

Friend and I hit the water out of Dana Point yesterday.

Weather was a tad choppy at the start of the day but calmed down to hardly a breeze by 12pm. Bait was great once more, 3-5 inch and healthy. Water was clear, you could see down a ways.

Headed north this time but nothing seemed to want to bite. Came in closer to shore, caught a couple of short halibuts and a couple of short bass. Friend did about the same. I did catch a first though, a Cabazon, looked like a mix between a sculpin and a ling cod, was blue also. Too short to keep, but it was an unusual, and new, catch for me.

Congratulations on your first Cabazon. I would catch them as a kid while surf fishing for Opaleye off the rocks in PV. They can vary much in color. The more oxygenated the water, the more colorful. They have an interesting diet. I would find big abalone and crab remnants in their stomachs.

[daperrin]

Thats the fun of fishing. You never know what you might catch. I have caught 1 or 2 of them up around Cambria. Personally I don't like them as they have too many bones for me.