Going light yields a new species and a surprise...yay!

[iethinker]

This is a kayak fishing report for 9/6/2015 from South San Diego Bay

Having several months in a row now of exclusive ocean based fishing and considering the offshore swell forecast I decided to take a trip on the lighter side. Thus I grabbed some smaller gear, a new crankbait and made my way to Chula Vista for a first-light launch into South San Diego Bay.

The tranquility of the area was especially enjoyable. Have you ever dozed off for a while on your kayak? It was too easy with no swell a light AM breeze and only the sounds of nature to hear. I could hear fish surfacing and even see little fins out of the water.

Birds of San Diego Bay - I snapped this photo after heading out and before catching any fish:
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u425/mmillhiser/bacda39d-2bb3-4e52-bb18-7336849ff20e_zpsjejiq8tp.jpg (http://s1067.photobucket.com/user/mmillhiser/media/bacda39d-2bb3-4e52-bb18-7336849ff20e_zpsjejiq8tp.jpg.html)



My bait of choice for the day was a small Rapala X-Rap in Mackerel color. Two treble-hooks would normally be a challenge in the grassy bottomed flats of the area. Fortunately, not much grass was floating around and this lure is not a deep diving model.

Rapala X-Rap:
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u425/mmillhiser/299950ab-5de4-46bf-9688-2ab2184c784e_zps92n6urwe.jpg (http://s1067.photobucket.com/user/mmillhiser/media/299950ab-5de4-46bf-9688-2ab2184c784e_zps92n6urwe.jpg.html)



The first several fish I caught were Spotted Bass. Here is a picture of one of the bass. The others looked similar:
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u425/mmillhiser/IMG_20150906_075717727_zpsnewadtgq.jpg (http://s1067.photobucket.com/user/mmillhiser/media/IMG_20150906_075717727_zpsnewadtgq.jpg.html)


The next fish I hooked-up with provided a slightly better fight and turned out to be a Corvina. This is my first Corvina and it was over close to the Coronado Cays. I measured it at 19-inches.

Corvina from the Cays. I love those Vampire teeth! I wonder if these fish are related to Trout?
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u425/mmillhiser/IMG_20150906_095124335_HDR_zpssuisn2rp.jpg (http://s1067.photobucket.com/user/mmillhiser/media/IMG_20150906_095124335_HDR_zpssuisn2rp.jpg.html)



My last fish of the day also came from the area by the Cays. It did not fight as good as the Corvina or Bass from earlier. It was however a surprise to see a Needlefish strike a crankbait. This fish was was mouth-hooked for sure. I did not measure but estimate his length at about 26-inches. I caught one of these before (http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwevb/showthread.php?t=23165) in Huntington Harbor but not quite as big. I was reminded that I don't really care to catch these things as they stink a bit.

Needlefish on crankbait. This is as far back as I can hold it from the camera to fit it in. It's like a snake with a pair of scissors on the front:
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u425/mmillhiser/IMG_20150906_100016030_zpsxyikmiof.jpg (http://s1067.photobucket.com/user/mmillhiser/media/IMG_20150906_100016030_zpsxyikmiof.jpg.html)



Until next time,
Matt

[steveooo]

Cool report and nice variety!

[2-Stix]

Killer. I dig those Luckycraft and Rapala baits. Nice!

[Harry Hill]

I used to catch corvina at the Salton Sea, it's one of my favorite fish for eating, I never thought you could catch them in San Diego, I thought they are a fish of the gulf. Great report, I need to start fishing salt water.

[1morehobby]

The tranquility of the area was especially enjoyable.


You mean you didn't have to look over your shoulder to see if anything was circling you?

Sounds like you had a spectacular day. Awesome r&r. It's good to change it up. Sometimes with fishing, we get tunnel vision, go hard and chase the trophy to burnout. The place looks nice at daybreak. I need to spend some time there.

[summers in kuwait]

nice post and great mixed bag.
I love this shot. Reminds me of the wetlands up north.
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u425/mmillhiser/bacda39d-2bb3-4e52-bb18-7336849ff20e_zpsjejiq8tp.jpg

[taggermike]

Great report. South SD bay is a gem. A true 365 day a year light tackle fishery. Vina are a "trout' like speckled n grays on the east coast. Harry, the corvina we have here are short fin and don't get near as big as the orange mouth that, so sadly, used to live in the salton sea. Short fin are found all along the pacific side of Baja and in the gulf, I think. Orange mouth are limited to the northern part of the gulf. Mike

[Harry Hill]

Great report. South SD bay is a gem. A true 365 day a year light tackle fishery. Vina are a "trout' like speckled n grays on the east coast. Harry, the corvina we have here are short fin and don't get near as big as the orange mouth that, so sadly, used to live in the salton sea. Short fin are found all along the pacific side of Baja and in the gulf, I think. Orange mouth are limited to the northern part of the gulf. Mike

Mike, thanks for the clarification. Are they still good to eat? The orangemouth were great. That was a great report though and it gets me even more fired up to get on the salt. Mission Bay used to be a great place to catch sand dabs, another fish I love to eat. I hope to meet you on the water some day,
Harry

[taggermike]

The short fin corvina are good eating. Maybe not as good ad the orange mouth, but good. Mike