San Diego Bay Report - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

fishinkid2010 · 07-11-2009, 08:52 PM

As of lately I have been fishing the bays quite a bit. Yesterday was no exception. I started out by fishing near the Point Loma Fuel Depot. I only managed one Sand Bass on a swimbait. After spending a while there I decided to get a kayak scoop of sardines and try for a Halibut for a second week in a row. After getting my scoop I peddled back to the boats moored in front of Shelter Island. I began my drift at the furthest boat from the Beach, that resulted in an assortment of bass. As I drifted past the "Mollyhawk II" I hooked into what I wanted. At first I thought I was hung up in some eel grass, but since hook sets are free I gave it a swing. As soon as I set the hook the drag began peeling. It turned out to be a legal Halibut. 6.2 lbs and just over 26 inches.

The rest of the day resulted in lots of Sandies and Spotties.

I even managed several doubles throughout the day.

I also caught five more Halibut, all too short to be kept, three Corvina, and a juvenile White Seabass (I'm fairly sure it wasn't another Corvina, It had no fangs, a whiteish colored mouth and had a slight light purple stripe on its sides). Is there any good way to tell between the two when they are small, especially if their teeth get broken off?
I got fish on everything from live bait, swimbaits, grubs, Gulp, to crankbaits.
I also caught a small shark. It was about two feet long, rough sandpaper like skin, grey, and a rough molar like mouth. Does anyone know what species it is?

Weather was very nice, and until the later part of the day the water wasn't very crowded.

DOGHOUSE26 · 07-11-2009, 09:47 PM

Nice catch on the butt; if you ever get anything close be careful as the DFG measures with the mouth closed which could cost you 1-1.5" and a whole lot of money. Thanks for the report!

blitzburgh · 07-12-2009, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishinkid2010

I also caught a small shark. It was about two feet long, rough sandpaper like skin, grey, and a rough molar like mouth. Does anyone know what species it is?

You most likely caught a 'Gray Smoothhound' shark.

I have caught them many times in the bay. They can put up a great fight too! Great report!

taggermike · 07-12-2009, 10:28 AM

Thanks for posting the excellent report. Teeth, color, and stripes are helpful for telling the white sea bass from the short fin corvina but the go to never fail way is to look at the belly. The WSB will have a zipper or slightly raised seam running along the belly but the short fin never will. Hope that helps. Mike

07-11-2009, 08:52 PM	#1
fishinkid2010 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: La Mesa Posts: 386	San Diego Bay Report As of lately I have been fishing the bays quite a bit. Yesterday was no exception. I started out by fishing near the Point Loma Fuel Depot. I only managed one Sand Bass on a swimbait. After spending a while there I decided to get a kayak scoop of sardines and try for a Halibut for a second week in a row. After getting my scoop I peddled back to the boats moored in front of Shelter Island. I began my drift at the furthest boat from the Beach, that resulted in an assortment of bass. As I drifted past the "Mollyhawk II" I hooked into what I wanted. At first I thought I was hung up in some eel grass, but since hook sets are free I gave it a swing. As soon as I set the hook the drag began peeling. It turned out to be a legal Halibut. 6.2 lbs and just over 26 inches. The rest of the day resulted in lots of Sandies and Spotties. I even managed several doubles throughout the day. I also caught five more Halibut, all too short to be kept, three Corvina, and a juvenile White Seabass (I'm fairly sure it wasn't another Corvina, It had no fangs, a whiteish colored mouth and had a slight light purple stripe on its sides). Is there any good way to tell between the two when they are small, especially if their teeth get broken off? I got fish on everything from live bait, swimbaits, grubs, Gulp, to crankbaits. I also caught a small shark. It was about two feet long, rough sandpaper like skin, grey, and a rough molar like mouth. Does anyone know what species it is? Weather was very nice, and until the later part of the day the water wasn't very crowded.

07-11-2009, 09:47 PM	#2
DOGHOUSE26 Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Escondido Posts: 36	Nice catch on the butt; if you ever get anything close be careful as the DFG measures with the mouth closed which could cost you 1-1.5" and a whole lot of money. Thanks for the report!

07-12-2009, 10:28 AM	#4
taggermike Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Chula Vista Posts: 1,589	Thanks for posting the excellent report. Teeth, color, and stripes are helpful for telling the white sea bass from the short fin corvina but the go to never fail way is to look at the belly. The WSB will have a zipper or slightly raised seam running along the belly but the short fin never will. Hope that helps. Mike