White sea bass...

Aiala · July 01, 2018, 02:43:41 AM

37-lb WSB, caught off Point Eugenia during ROYAL STAR 7-day, using Pink Lady Seeker rod built for me by Dwight (Newell Nut).

~A~

David Hall · July 01, 2018, 02:46:34 AM

One of my most favorite eating fish. Very nice.

MarkT · July 01, 2018, 02:53:53 AM

Nice!

Swami805 · July 01, 2018, 04:21:36 AM

Nice fish! had some for dinner tonight. How was your trip?

Bill B · July 01, 2018, 04:29:38 AM

Great fish..... congrats. Bill

Vintage Offshore Tackle · July 01, 2018, 05:07:10 AM

Beautiful fish Aiala! Congrats.

Randy

Cor · July 01, 2018, 06:16:21 AM

Quote from: David Hall on July 01, 2018, 02:46:34 AM
One of my most favorite eating fish. Very nice.

Same here, except they have been completely caught out of our oceans, gone, a rarity to see one.

Alto Mare · July 01, 2018, 02:51:02 PM

Nice catch Aiala!...great pic!

Sal

Keta · July 01, 2018, 02:57:25 PM

Nice!

mo65 · July 01, 2018, 03:58:16 PM

Fantastic!

Jim Fujitani · July 01, 2018, 04:41:17 PM

Very nice!! One of only four fish that my wife will eat!

Where did you run into it?

We used to get them fishing at night off Isla Cedros, on our 7 day on the RS. The combined hearts of our charter sank when the government closed off Isla Cedros and Islas San Benitos to the LR fleet. Reduced chances of incidental catches of WSB and California Halibut on 7 day trips.

Big Tim · July 01, 2018, 06:00:55 PM

Nice WSB, congrats.

BT

Hardy Boy · July 02, 2018, 05:15:59 AM

Great fish ! Maybe one in the cards for Cedros ....... I hope. Nice pic.

Cheers:

Todd

xjchad · July 02, 2018, 03:29:25 PM

Congrats on a great catch!!

Aiala · July 02, 2018, 03:36:57 PM

Quote from: Jim Fujitani on July 01, 2018, 04:41:17 PM
Very nice!! Where did you run into it? We used to get them fishing at night off Isla Cedros, on our 7 day on the RS. The combined hearts of our charter sank when the government closed off Isla Cedros and Islas San Benitos to the LR fleet. Reduced chances of incidental catches of WSB and California Halibut on 7 day trips.

Thanks for the kind comments, gents... greatly appreciated.

I caught the WSB on the eastern edge of the kelp bed between Punta Eugenia and Isla Natividad. The guy next to me had just pulled up a big goat (sheephead) and I was hoping for one of those, when my sardine got hit like a freight train... amazing power, every bit as strong as the 40-lb Alijos YT I'd caught two days earlier. We were in relatively shallow water, so the battle didn't last very long. Needless to say, since this was my first ever keeper WSB, I was extremely stoked.

As for the Cedros/Benitos closure, I learned a couple of interesting things from Skipper extraordinaire Tim Ekstrom: First, it's highly unlikely that the ban will continue indefinitely... stay tuned. Second, the whole thing came about as a result of the usual toxic combination of avarice, bureaucracy, and incompetence, with the principal instigators being one of the two Cedros fly-in operations. (Tim didn't tell me which one, and I didn't ask.)

At any rate, it was one helluva trip. In my admittedly partial view, the ROYAL STAR offers incomparable service and professionalism in every way; it is truly an extraordinary operation. I can't wait for my next 7-day in December... Guadalupe or bust!!

~A~