Proceeded to Cholla Bay around 11am to launch the yak and was turned down by Port Captain Villa "el bandito. The wind was 15 to 20 out of the south and the bay was fairly calm. Via wouldnt budge and since I cant do it on my own we had to scratch the YAK and settle for a little old fashioned tailgate fishing. My intention was to bottom fish for some Flounder/Halibut (can someone please clarify which it is in RP) out of the yak so I stuck with that and rigged up with a drop shot tipped with shrimp. After about 20 minutes I go BENDO on about a 3 to 5lb Halibut. Turned out to be a good day, got a little windy towards the late afternoon so I packed it up and left. Wanted to fish Sunday however severe rain and flooding made it impossible and the new focus was survival and making it out of town before every street was 3 feet under.
Honestly, without counting fin rays and gill rakers, it is near impossible to tell a Speckled Flounder from a juvenile California or Cortez Halibut. All of them are scientifically classified as "flounders" (family Paralichthyidae). True Pacific Halibut are the big, diamond shaped flatfish that are caught along the northern Pacific coast.
The flounders all have similar light/dark spots, and all will lighten/darken their background coloration based on what type of bottom they are laying over.
I've always called the smaller ones caught nearshore Flounder, and that is a very nice one, Joe.
I do not condone the use of shrimp for fish bait for that very reason.
Using a substance of superior taste, texture, and culinary delight in the pursuit of inferior grade seafood is completely irrational. :)
However- one time I tried to explain/justify exactly why spending 400 bucks on a tank of boat gas, in order to spend a day fighting sunburn and seasickness, all for the chance that I MIGHT catch a fish, was a better alternative than simply buying 50 pounds of shrimp and clams and throwing a huge beach party...
In the end, all I could do was blame my own incoherence on the beer we were drinking.
Proceeded to Cholla Bay around 11am to launch the yak and was turned down by Port Captain Villa "el bandito. The wind was 15 to 20 out of the south and the bay was fairly calm. Via wouldnt budge and since I cant do it on my own we had to scratch the YAK and settle for a little old fashioned tailgate fishing. My intention was to bottom fish for some Flounder/Halibut (can someone please clarify which it is in RP) out of the yak so I stuck with that and rigged up with a drop shot tipped with shrimp. After about 20 minutes I go BENDO on about a 3 to 5lb Halibut. Turned out to be a good day, got a little windy towards the late afternoon so I packed it up and left. Wanted to fish Sunday however severe rain and flooding made it impossible and the new focus was survival and making it out of town before every street was 3 feet under.
Nice, you were fishing to the right of me and my dad, he was in the white car and I was in the silver truck, we cleaned house off the reef on the southside on Friday, caught about 15, and caught 5 or 6 when we were fishing next to you saturday.
Proceeded to Cholla Bay around 11am to launch the yak and was turned down by Port Captain Villa "el bandito. The wind was 15 to 20 out of the south and the bay was fairly calm. Via wouldnt budge and since I cant do it on my own we had to scratch the YAK and settle for a little old fashioned tailgate fishing. My intention was to bottom fish for some Flounder/Halibut (can someone please clarify which it is in RP) out of the yak so I stuck with that and rigged up with a drop shot tipped with shrimp. After about 20 minutes I go BENDO on about a 3 to 5lb Halibut. Turned out to be a good day, got a little windy towards the late afternoon so I packed it up and left. Wanted to fish Sunday however severe rain and flooding made it impossible and the new focus was survival and making it out of town before every street was 3 feet under.
Nice, you were fishing to the right of me and my dad, he was in the white car and I was in the silver truck, we cleaned house off the reef on the southside on Friday, caught about 15, and caught 5 or 6 when we were fishing next to you saturday.
Yes that was me. My options are limited if I cant launch the kayak so that was basically the only place I could fish. Thats why I say ol fashioned tailgate fishing.
