Anyone ever target and catch seabass in Morro Bay area with any consistency?
Not to my knowledge. The species that is common up there (we called them "croaker" or "kingfish") while they looked similar I am pretty sure are not related, and definitely not good table fare. Since also the stocking efforts of the state over the last 40 years or so have had a lot to do with the resurrection of the WSB fishery in SoCal, I "suspect" but do not know that they don't really exist north of Santa Barbara. I will have to check my textbook later tonight to be sure and will followup. - john
Seabass, for me anyway, are a species you catch while trying to catch something else!
They do target them in the Channel Islands though.
They get caught in SF Bay on Halibut Stripper combos, see my first sentence, so it makes sense they'd be around Morro Bay as well.?
They call the Ghost Fish for a reason!
Steve
Theres a charter out of MB that lists halibut/seabass combo trips I'm interested in. Seeing as how I've never caught either seems like a great charter to book so I can catch both. Although emailing with them they would want me sign up for a halibut/rockfish trip and put a note we'd like to target seabass which makes me seem like they are a bycatch like Steve said above....
Might book it anyway and see what happens....
There's been some good seabass fishing in Monterey in the past, some tankers. I've caught some short ones off cayucas several years ago on a washed out albacore trip. I'm thinking El Niño years push them up there.
Yes, white sea bass do come through the Central Coast every year. If you find the squid nests you have a good chance to find them. This was a commercial trip on the Phenix out of Avila a few years ago.
I have read that White Sea Bass are occasionally caught as far north as Juneau, Alaska. I have personally never caught one or actually heard of one being caught so I can't verify, but it would be great to think I might get one while fishing halibut or salmon.
I saw that a 13 yo caught a 63# WSB in Tomales Bay!
I finally checked my resource text (Certainly More Than You Want To Know About The Fishes of The Pacific Coast - A Postmodern Experience by Dr. Milton Love, a highly recommended book if you can find a copy) and in a nutshell: White Seabass Atractoscion Nobilis range all the way from SE Alaska to Mag Bay and the Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez. They are a highly mobile species and they are very temperature dependent. During big El Nino years (1957) they were being routinely caught as far north as British Columbia, and in the 1920s were common in large numbers in Bodega Bay. Currently, they are regularly found as far north as Monterey Bay. Love to be where squid are. The entire section was over 3 pages so this is just the skim points. For me personally, they are a "bucket list" fish, I have caught maybe 6 in my life but they have all been undersized (28" minimum I believe in Cali) and since there is a relatively robust stocking program from Scripps in SoCal/Catalina, the CDFG even has a way that you can ship them the heads of your catch and they scan for an implanted wire to help gain data. And yes they are tasty, unlike the common "White Croaker" that I have probably caught thousands of up in Morro Bay as a kid. Go get 'em PJ! - john
This is the charter I'm looking into booking....
https://www.centralcoastfishingcharter.com/
Quote from: Brewcrafter on August 21, 2025, 07:30:32 PMI finally checked my resource text (Certainly More Than You Want To Know About The Fishes of The Pacific Coast - A Postmodern Experience by Dr. Milton Love, a highly recommended book if you can find a copy) and in a nutshell: White Seabass Atractoscion Nobilis range all the way from SE Alaska to Mag Bay and the Gulf of California/Sea of Cortez. They are a highly mobile species and they are very temperature dependent. During big El Nino years (1957) they were being routinely caught as far north as British Columbia, and in the 1920s were common in large numbers in Bodega Bay. Currently, they are regularly found as far north as Monterey Bay. Love to be where squid are. The entire section was over 3 pages so this is just the skim points. For me personally, they are a "bucket list" fish, I have caught maybe 6 in my life but they have all been undersized (28" minimum I believe in Cali) and since there is a relatively robust stocking program from Scripps in SoCal/Catalina, the CDFG even has a way that you can ship them the heads of your catch and they scan for an implanted wire to help gain data. And yes they are tasty, unlike the common "White Croaker" that I have probably caught thousands of up in Morro Bay as a kid. Go get 'em PJ! - john
They also use the earstones (otoliths) to age the caught fish.
PJ, that looks like a 6 pack charter, hopefully you can get a few friends to join you.
Quote from: CI_Seawolf on August 22, 2025, 11:47:25 PMPJ, that looks like a 6 pack charter, hopefully you can get a few friends to join you.
Says 4 person max and I'm already checking around to see who's interested
It's a 22' boat, so four could get crowded at times.