December Tanker...

[Geno Machino]

Hit the water a little before 7am this morning, to a consistent 1-2' swell. Paddled out with no problems :luxhello: and hooked up my new Garmin echoMap 54. :cool: Wind was a brisk 5-10 mph off shore, with a water temp of about 65 degrees. Using the wind to my advantage, I stop peddling and started fooling around with the meter trying to dial it in. When I drifted past the reserve line, I started metering bait. The theme of the morning, plenty of bait everywhere but no biters. I made 2 Spanish and that was it for more than an hour. I ended up catching a nice calico on one Mac and got crushed on the other. Tried making more bait - but what's the theme of the morning...so I decided to give some whole squid on a dropper loop a try. While I was drifting, I kept metering bait balls and my sabiki (even with squid tipped hooks) would not entice any to bite.
Got antsy with the squid gig, so I decided to start yoyoing. It was getting to be about 9:30 by this time, with no breeze to speak of and the nice warm sun shining down on my face (not to mention the sweat dripping off my brow from yoyoing in 100' of water). I would peddle until I saw bait and drop. Nothing for about a half an hour or so. Peddle here - drop, peddle there and drop. Then it happened, I metered some bait close to the bottom with what looked like predator fish above them. I dropped my blue/white jig once again. It hits the bottom, and before I make a half a crank -- I,m on! Getting pulled around for a December sleigh ride - whowho! Thinking yellow all the way, about ten minutes into the fight I start gaining line and I short stroked it to a tell tale sign of dead weight and no fight all of a sudden. Two more pumps of the rod and what to my wondering eyes should appear -- C-bass!!!::wsb:

My first c-bass from a yak!

Not having much room in my Rev13, I,m trying to make sure this baby gets in the hatch and not back in the drink. A fellow kayaker (Tony, Big Thanks for the help!) sees me struggling with this (40#even) fish and comes over to help me stuff this Beautiful fish into my front hatch:sifone: But not before a quick couple of on the water pics. :cool::cool::cool:

And then Fishja showed up at the beach to get me a another couple of photos of this Big Beautiful local tanker!!!

Stopped by Tim's new shop in Oceanside 'O'side Dive and Kayak' to weigh her up. Met Denise from Hobie and Jim Salazar with Promar. Great meeting the both of you and thank you Tim for weighing my hard earned first WSB.

And what is soooo very nice about this wsb - is that it was caught around 10am on the yoyo and not on a squid bed at 2 or 3 in the morning:the_finger:
Like I told my fiancé Lori - I can't catch anything on the couch or behind a computer ...

Geno

[iethinker]

Way to go Geno!

[Iceman]

Right on Geno! nice fish:luxhello:

[spicolly]

Congrats!

[2-Stix]

bad ass!

[FISH11]

WOW Geno, congrats. This has been a great week for some trophy fish being caught in the middle of a slow period. Hope it's a sign that thing are changing around. Now if only making bait was as easy as it used to be. Finding and seeing bait but not getting them to bite, even with squid on the sabiki is getting old.

[steveooo]

So awesome! December So Cal c-bass is a pretty slim club.

:notworthy:

[Murray]

oh ya. that is what we are talking about. way to go on catching one of the tastiest fish in the ocean. enjoy the meal. see you on the water mate. way to go.

[Aaron&Julie]

Nicely done, congrats!

[fishja]

Geno! Super stoked for you bradda! Congrats on a chunker!

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/02/fe466a9cbe5659f01bb4a7cb802b9510.jpg





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[King Saba]

Stoked! Great report Geno and congrats to your first WSB on the yak.

[Cbad Mike]

Right on Geno!
Congratulations!
Nice report and great fish!

[MITCHELL]

Sweet....eats...

[Phishphood]

Way to go Geno! Looks like you don't need those 0 dark 30 trips after all

[MITCHELL]

Got my 60lb WSB first drop with a Spanish mac around 8pm just as the full moon was coming up in September on dropper loop

[summers in kuwait]

Beautiful fish Geno!

Congrats

[Geno Machino]

Thanks guys! I appreciate the positive support...

[SmokinBass]

Very nice!! Congrats!!:jig:

[Chuck D]

Nice fish Geno

[octico]

Congrats, Geno! I have yet to catch WSB. Thanks for the report.

[onetriphudson]

Thats epic! Man that just have been some fight!

[T12]

Hey Geno, was my pleasure helping you with that beautiful fish . Was nice meeting you , great job . Tony

[EastLosYaker]

Way to go! :jig:

[acorad]

Congrats man, that is some fish!

Andy

[blitzburgh]

F-N-A! Nice feeeeesh!

[Rambo]

Thanks for sharing, great way to end the year by catching one of these ghost. congrats on your first :wsb: envious of you and makes me wanna take a day off to just jump on the water to follow your footsteps. :luxhello:

[dmrides]

BADASS! On the :jig: Congrats!!!

:cheers1:

[WARRIORMIKE]

Very cool :you_rock:

[Dirty Curti]

Way to go bro! It's great having you on the team and representing with great success!

Great post!:wsb:

[Geno Machino]

Just did my do diligence, and turned her head into Sea World's Hubbs research center up here in Carlsbad...no micro chip in this one. Was informed by Eric, she was around 14-15 years old. Having the stones sent back to me after they get there info from the head.

[GregAndrew]

Schweeeet. Xmas came early this year.

[katchfish]

Well done!

[Deamon]

Freaking animal! Way to go Geno! :paddleersmilie:

Jim

[kjsdad619]

Yyyeeeaaaahhh Geno! Congrats, that's my next fish!

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[nickc5]

Sick


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[surfisher]

Congrats again GENO! Time to come find one up here haha !

[Starsky]

Wow awesome fish Geno, congrats and great report to read!

[GBCbad]

Excellent work Geno.....congrats. The smile on your face says it all!

[T-Rex]

Congrats on a nice :wsb:!

[Saba Slayer]

Nice job on your first kayak WSB.

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegallery/data/500/IMG_6542.JPG

...and thanks for turning in that head for a scan.

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegallery/data/500/PC010168.JPG

A little "thread jack" here....
The CCA hatchery committee just spent two days in meetings with the Hubbs folks and the DFW to try and understand the program and to see how we can fit in to get back up to where United Anglers had the program.
The CCA CAL is trying to revive the program for turning in WSB heads for scanning. When we get our fish at the growout pens, Hubbs has already inserted tags into the head of the baby WSB. It's a very important part of the growouts to prove that it is a successful viable program to the Coastal Commission and the DFW.
So... PLEASE TURN IN YOUR WSB HEADS FOR SCANNING.
Jim/DEAMON have you done your part...?... you WSB Killer...!

[Deamon]

Nice job on your first kayak WSB.

So... PLEASE TURN IN YOUR WSB HEADS FOR SCANNING.
Jim/DEAMON have you done your part...?... you WSB Killer...!

I haven't been catching WSB...my fish have been identified at Eastern Pacific Silver Drum. Okay seriously Jim S...I'm hit or miss on the head turning in thing. I've turned in my share but have been leaning towards gifting them to my Asian peeps.

Yeah, I could lie about it but when every Jap (only we can use this term!), Filipino or Thai person ALWAYS asks for the head...I'm like "why the head?". The response is ALWAYS, "it's the best part!". So I struggle. If only the head could be checked for the tag AND consumed by the people...

Here are the other deal(s)...
Hubbs has never been open for me to meet "Eric" (I'm a weekend warrior). If I get greeted, it's "the freezer is outside, drop it there...or go across the street and drop it off at Dana Tackle...oh by the way, give all the info on date, location, etc...to the guys at Dana too.
I've made requests to be notified if/if not this is a tagged fish...I ask for the drum bones...a mere acknowledgement that I did my part, but no. The responses have been near ZERO. I have never been told one of these fish are tagged...

I don't want to throw rocks but someone's not respecting the effort required to get the head down to Hubbs/Dana Tackle...I'm just saying.

Jim

[erinoo]

I haven't been catching WSB...my fish have been identified at Eastern Pacific Silver Drum. Okay seriously Jim S...I'm hit or miss on the head turning in thing. I've turned in my share but have been leaning towards gifting them to my Asian peeps.

Yeah, I could lie about it but when every Jap (only we can use this term!), Filipino or Thai person ALWAYS asks for the head...I'm like "why the head?". The response is ALWAYS, "it's the best part!". So I struggle. If only the head could be checked for the tag AND consumed by the people...

Here are the other deal(s)...
Hubbs has never been open for me to meet "Eric" (I'm a weekend warrior). If I get greeted, it's "the freezer is outside, drop it there...or go across the street and drop it off at Dana Tackle...oh by the way, give all the info on date, location, etc...to the guys at Dana too.
I've made requests to be notified if/if not this is a tagged fish...I ask for the drum bones...a mere acknowledgement that I did my part, but no. The responses have been near ZERO. I have never been told one of these fish are tagged...

I don't want to throw rocks but someone's not respecting the effort required to get the head down to Hubbs/Dana Tackle...I'm just saying.

Jim

Same experience for me in the past Jim..Right with ya.

[Saba Slayer]

Hey Guys...quite your whining and get those heads in...I'm not sure if you 2 guys were fishing WSB when United Anglers was around but the program was a lot more successful and easier to work with.
Jim...if those heads are that important to your friends...I'll make a few calls and find out who has a wand to wave magically over your heads to determine if they have a tag...hell, if they are only using them for stock or soup...freeze em and get them checked at your convience.
Really...?..."Hubbs has never been open for me to meet "Eric" (I'm a weekend warrior). If I get greeted, it's "the freezer is outside, drop it there...or go across the street and drop it off at Dana Tackle...oh by the way, give all the info on date, location, etc...to the guys at Dana too.
I've made requests to be notified if/if not this is a tagged fish...I ask for the drum bones...a mere acknowledgement that I did my part, but no. The responses have been near ZERO. I have never been told one of these fish are tagged..."
They say that Hubbs will return the stones if you ask...but I guess that hasn't happened? Can I help you recover them?
And...perhaps the fish didn't have a tag...so you weren't notified...I doubt if they call and tell each individual that it was a negative on the scan. I didn't see any of your fish as recovered tagged fish on the report that Hubbs gave at the AFTCO meeting on Wednesday. They actually have a report on every one of the recovered fish, with size, age, release area, and the area caught and who caught them.
I'm sorry Jim... but I think your asking for personalized service from a group that is operating on a shoestring budget. I know that they were cut 20% this year on their budget.
As I said in the earlier post...CCA is just getting involved in the WSB head return game and we intend to get it back up to the standards that UA had set it at for years...please bear with it and don't give up the effort to see if your heads are tagged. Freeze em and I'll work with you on finding a wand....it's valuable data...especially now as the WSB project is going through a scientific review and the proven sucess of the program determines if it will continue in future years. Please continue to be patient and work with us.
Thanks

http://www.bigwatersedge.com/bwegallery/data/500/CCA_White_SeaBass_Sticker_CMYK-2.jpg

[wolfman]

As the guy that formally did the necropsies at Hubbs mission bay I can assure you that ALL heads are scanned and individually measured and documented. If you want to keep the head, come in during open hours and have it scanned. You can keep it frozen until it's convenient. There simply isn't time to notify everybody that doesn't have a tag but that being said if you take the time to fill out the little white forms, I ALWAYS sent the otoliths!
The odds of catching a White Sea Bass with a tag are remote but I caught one at La jolla. It was approximately 8 years old and was released from the Carlsbad hatchery. If you think it's hard to catch White Sea Bass now imagine what it would be like without the 2 million fish Hubbs has released on the pacific coast so far!

[Deamon]

Hey Guys...quite your whining and get those heads in...I'm not sure if you 2 guys were fishing WSB when United Anglers was around but the program was a lot more successful and easier to work with.


Hey Jim-man...whining, really? Definitely don't know the program's details enough but let's just go there...I only got into the inshore kayak stuff a few years ago but ALWAYS had a boat. We didn't fish inshore much back then because, well, it usually sucked unless the squid were around. A 25# WSB or butt was big time.

Along with the WSB's return, came the big beautiful halibut's return. There was no restocking program on them, only the gillnet ban. I appreciate everyone's sincere efforts and passion on the WSB stocking program. I just haven't seen the data that suggests real success due to that specific program. Peace brotha.

Jim

[Saba Slayer]

Hey...everyone is entitled to their own opinion...that's what makes this crazy world go round...!
Funny you should mention Halibut, as that's one of the next species they are looking at to help replenish the stock...it's pretty amazing how many fishermen have never caught a legal Butt or a Ghost.
Let me know if a tour of the facility and some science will change your mind Jim.

[Geno Machino]

Between the gill net ban, 3 miles from shore, and the Hubb's restocking program is what (IMHO and educated one as well) has allowed sport fisherman the successes as we enjoyed in the '50&60's, now. Going to a 3 fish limit and 1 in spawning season(even for the commercial guys) was huge, also. I've been around this game a very long time and anything I can do to help with my chances of catching a 60-70 pounder & help with the substantion of the species for the future fisherman/fisherwoman -- I'm all in! Even this 40#'der is an awesome catch! It would of made the cover of WON back in the days when I see was growing up. Now a days, it is almost an average sized catch...
I worked at the 'Harbor Fish Market' in Oceanside, in the early through late '70's. I witness the only ones catching large c-bass and huge halibut on a daily basis, where the gill netters...
I haven't caught as many Cbass as of late, however the ones I have the good fortune to catch, I take to Hubb's. There facility is fascinating and so cool. I encourage anyone who hasn't taken a tour - to do so!

Tight Lines,
Geno

[jorluivil]

Tis the season to be jolly
Fa la la la la la la la la

[ful-rac]

Ooooh this is interesting....


Tell us more....

[jorluivil]

This one doesn't need popcorn



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[Flyak13]

Seabass heads work great for lobster bait

[Flyak13]

This one doesn't need popcorn



This one needs
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I like your style

[fishthebreak]

Awesome job! Good eating right there!

[TheToxicJon]

Great report and great fish. The yoyo is killing it on the ghost right now

[Harry Hill]

why is malibu so mad?

[momo fish]

What happened to all the wsb porn,, guess just like ghosts they disappear...


http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/12/08/af1a548766c87f7550a948bca9bc5104.jpg

[LakersFan]

Nice job geno machino! :wsb::jig: