If Nobody Got Me, Sabiki Got Me // 600th Fish

    Ryan, Wenger, and I have been fishing together, and while we've been having a good time, we wanted to expand a little in location and species. So, we planned to head down to the keys to see if we could catch anything with more variety or substance. We drove down to the Channel 5 bridge, stopping off for live shrimp along the way. It was a sunny day with a few clouds, and we were eager to start fishing. However, the fish did not seem to cooperate for much of the day. We dropped our baits down, but, facing a lot of current and general lack of luck, we weren't able to hook up into much. We would feel nibbles at times, waiting for a bite, only to see that the fish had stolen our bait or the school moved away from our bait entirely. Clearly, something needed to change. I went to my backpack and pulled out one of my sabiki rigs, tying it to the end of my line and tipping the hooks with pieces of cut shrimp. Figuring the fish nibbling at our bait might have mouths too small for the hook, and the multiple hooks increasing chances of a fish in the school getting hooked, I thought it was worth a try. I dropped it down with a bank sinker attached to the bottom, jigged it for a bit, and a few seconds later the rod was bending over and bumping up and down quickly. I reeled it in, and we caught a Porkfish! Finally we caught a new species, and it was nice to catch a colorful reef fish while looking out over the patch reefs and corals you could see through the clear water. I then baited the hooks again and gave the rod to Ryan, who dropped it down and also immediately hooked up with a Mangrove Snapper. It wasn't a new species, but at least it got us on the board. On top of that, it was my 600th fish - I'm happy to finally reach the milestone and looking forward to surpass it. It does make me think, however, about how busy I've been with school, away from lots of water, and how little I've been able to fish recently. It makes me sad, but I still fish whenever I can, and look forward to many more fishing experiences to come.

    Surprisingly though, there wasn't much after that. We caught one more Mangrove Snapper before moving on to the Channel 2 Bridge. There, we found more of the same, although we did have lots of nibbles. There was one time in which I felt a tug and reeled up a big, white round fish that seemed to be on the hook but came off right as it reached the surface. This really hurt because it seemed to me to look like a Permit, which have been known to frequent these Keys bridges and are on my bucket list. I guess we'll never know, and the search continues. I never would have guessed that one would take a sabiki rig (although a juvenile would be more likely, as this one probably was). The search for a Permit continues. Anyways, after that, we left and went to Robbie's for lunch, enjoying the great day out, the water, and the time we had fishing. My girlfriend and some of her friends were coming down for a trip, so Wenger and Ryan dropped me off at Key Largo with a suitcase and my fishing gear. Of course, they would not be arriving for a other two hours, so I did some quick research and made my way to the Adams Cut bridge with the leftover ballyhoo we used in addition to the shrimp. On the bank of the waterway, I found a spot and dropped my bait. There were people from different parts of the country there with whom I talked, sharing fishing stories and knowledge. It was a good time, and I was able to catch about 4 more Mangrove Snappers after finding a hole by the bank that had fish. I used a small, weighted jighead with ballyhoo to keep the bait closer to the bottom, especially in the current. I would also sometimes use split shot sinkers or an egg sinker. Soon enough I packed up and was picked up to continue the getaway in Key Largo.

 

   

  

  

Deering Estate Kayaks

    Being back home for winter break, Wenger invited me and Ryan as well as another friend, Zach Valdes, to come down to South Miami and take some paddleboards and kayaks out to a secluded spot he knew by Deering Estate. Most of my experience with Biscayne Bay is in the northern part of it north of Miami, where I live. However, I do enjoy being further down south where the bay, protected by Biscayne National Park, widens up and is home to many more species with more abundance. After sleeping over at his place the night before, we woke up early to head to the bait shop for some live shrimp and then went to Deering Point with two paddleboards tied to the top of the car. When we got to the kayak put out, we encountered some very strong winds and waves. We first tried loading up the paddleboards with the cooler, bait bucket, rods, and two people each, but it seemed to be too much to stay afloat, especially with the heavy current and waves. Instead, luckily there was a PADL station right at the launch point, so we rented two kayaks and loaded everything up before setting out. Once we were all on the water, we paddled north through and past some mangroves and past the big estate until Wenger pointed out a mangrove after which we were instructed to turn left. Bending around it, we could see a small passageway through the mangroves we went through until we got to a wooden bridge. Further down it had work being done on it, but until it is finished, it is simply a small isolated wooden bridge over a channel in the mangroves. We pulled our kayaks up under the bridge and walked through the roots (which wasn't particularly pleasant; mangrove roots stick up from the ground and can hurt to walk on) until we we were able to climb up with our gear onto the bridge. There we got settled and began fishing. Ryan and Wenger started fishing right away while I helped get Valdes set up with one of my rods. I put a shrimp on for him and told him how to drop the line down and where to cast it. Ryan started off catching with a small Mangrove Snapper, quickly followed by one from Wenger. Valdes, however, was having a rough time catching them. He would get some bites, but the fish wouldn't take the bait enough to get hooked, and the bait would soon drift out of the optimal spot. He would switch spots, and Wenger would go right to where Valdes struggled and immediately catch fish. After a bit, I decided to take over, casting my bait a bit further into the current to see if anything would happen. About a second after I reeled in the slack, I felt a bite and reeled in a Snapper. It was pretty funny to see how the three of us were catching while Valdes, despite his efforts, was unable to get one, but we were determined to put him on. I reaffirmed that he needed to be patient, and helped him a bit more with fishing. Sure enough, after a little while longer, Valdes started getting nibbles and hooked up on a fish. He reeled it up and was overjoyed at the sight of his first fish, a Mangrove Snapper, on the end of his line. We dehooked the fish and threw it back. In total we spent around 2 hours fishing on the bridge, hoping to catch enough to keep. While the mangroves are certainly a nursery for juvenile fish, and the majority of fish we caught were too small, about 3 of the 12 total fish we caught were keepers (over 10 inches). I caught 3 in total. Unfortunately, on our way back to the dock, Valdes and I had a kayaking incident in which my rod fell off. Here's a reminder to be very careful when kayaking with precious cargo like that! It was my first time kayaking with fishing gear, so consider it a lesson learned. All in all it was a fun, chill day heading to Wenger's hidden spot, just catching some fish with some friends.

   

   

  

  

 

Marina Del Rey Rockfishing

The first thing Jakes and I did when we got back to Los Angeles for the summer was plan out a fishing trip with Dod Shlome. After looking around at different fish counts around southern California ports and available boats, we decided to go with a 3/4 day trip on the Spitfire out of Marina Del Rey. We woke up early and drove over to the dock before sunrise, eager to head out for what seemed like was about to be a really fun day on the water. We rented our gear and boarded the boat soon after first light. The skies were very clear. As normal on these boats, it was colder and windier towards the beginning of the day on the way out before heating up as it got deeper into the morning. We saw multiple Ocean Sunfish near the surface of the water as we made our way west to the first spot, which ended up being off the shore of Malibu. This time, we were able to use live squid, a bait supplied on the boat that I do not recall trying before. Jakes and Dod Shlome were the first to hook up, reeling in some rockfish. That would set the tone for most of the rest of the day, as we would double up on fish at times and reel in fish after fish. Most of the rockfish we would catch would be Salmon Grouper or Vermillion Rockfish. The Vermillion Rockfish were so abundant, in fact, that after a few hours of catching them the captain moved us to a different spot since everyone had caught their limits of the fish. One distinct species of rockfish we caught was the Halfbanded Rockfish. Although small, its black bands and white spots contrasted by a red body makes it distinct. The next spot was not as productive for us, with Dod Shlome catching the only fish there between the three of us. However, it was a species I hadn't seen in a while: a California Sculpin - a different, very interesting red colored rockfish with poisonous spikes on its back. Next to me, a fisherman using the same bait as me (live squid drifting on the bottom) caught a solid Pacific Halibut, which you could differentiate from flounder because of their diamond-like, more pointed fin/body shape. We made our way back at around 2:30 after a nice morning of fishing and full bags. By the end, we had about 12 fish total, 6 of which were caught by me. The drive back in was beautiful, with perfect, sunny weather and views of Hollywood, Santa Monica, Downtown LA, the Santa Monica Mountains, and more areas of LA that I go to often but have never seen from such an angle. We went home and started cooking fish tacos, as we had all anticipated since we booked the trip. It was all around a great day of keeping the annual tradition on the water alive with Dod Shlome.