Saltwater Fish of the week 7/6/04

[tubeN2]

Kelp Bass (Calico)

BASS, KELP (CALICO) Paralabrax clathratus. Other names: calico bass, California kelp bass, rock bass, rock sea bass, sand bass, bull bass, kelp salmon, cabrilla; Spanish: cabrilla alguera.

One of a large number of sea basses found in the eastern Pacific, the kelp bass is one of the most popular sportfish in southern California as a mainstay of party boat trips to northern Baja. Because it is a powerful fighter and an excellent food fish, it is highly sought by anglers; as a result of this and the fact that the kelp bass does not migrate, the fish population can be easily exhausted by overfishing.

Identification. A hardy fish with the characteristic elongate and compressed bass shape, the kelp bass has a notch between its spiny and dorsal fins with the longest spines in the first dorsal longer than any of the rays in the second dorsal. It appears brown to olive green with pale blotches on the back and lighter coloring on the belly.

Kelp bass can be easily distinguished from various sand basses by its third, fourth, and fifth dorsal spines, which are about the same length; the sand basses have a third dorsal spine that is much longer than the fourth and fifth. Kelp bass also superficially resemble freshwater black bass, except that their dorsal spines are longer and much heavier, and their overall appearance is rougher.

Size/Age. Kelp bass grow slowly, taking 5 to 6 years to reach a size of 12 inches when they are capable of spawning; fish weighing 8 to 10 pounds may be 15 to 20 years old. The largest kelp bass are said to exceed 15 pounds, although the largest fish caught was only 14 pounds 7 ounces. They can grow up to 1" feet long.

Distribution. Found along the central and southern California coast and northeastern Baja, kelp bass range from the Columbia River, Washington, to Magdalena Bay, Baja California.

Habitat. Kelp bass are usually found in or near kelp beds, over reefs, around rock jetties and breakwaters or structures in shallow water; larger fish are found in deeper water to about 150 feet.

Life History/Behavior. Spawning occurs from May to through September with a peak in July; kelp bass do not migrate and instead tend to be territorial.

Food and Feeding Habits. An omnivorous feeder, kelp bass feed on assorted fish and small shrimp-like crustaceans when young. Adults consume anchovies, small surfperch, and other small fish.
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[JapanRon]

Hi there TubeN2,

Thanks for the fish! I caught 43 of them today! Another aside is that unlike popular assumption, the California state record for a calico (15lb and change) is greater than that of the sand bass(barred sand bass) (11lb and change).

They are structure hugging creatures that love plastics which makes me love them!

JapanRon
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[tubeN2]

I think the Calicos should be on the Sprite commercials. They love that lemon lime so much.(plastics) My son caught an 18inch last week. He still hasn't posted his report yet.[crazy]
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[TuBemPhO]

heyy whitenamese when get hitting the boat again i'm really for them sandy and barrie.?
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[WFBRadio]

[size 1]"Calicos love that lemon lime plastic" [/size]

[size 1]I like the 4" halloween pattern for calicos never tryed the lime green maybe for Sandies. W[/size][size 1]ill give it a try[][/size]
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[JapanRon]

Hi TubeN2,

You hit it right on the money(as usual). Any green, that is especially lime green (light or dark)w/black back will get the bass... hands down.

Comment on a reply to your post.... I wonder what color plastic is whitenamese or is it whitenamesse? Sounds like a great color. Something I may wonder about for weeks. Then again......

JapanRon
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[tubeN2]

Hey JR! Do you remember saying that you like to experiment when the bite is too good?? I was doing just that. I was using some lemon-lime plastics on the good ole TD road runners and nailing them. I also hooked live bait to the road runers. Bam. More of them. Road runners and a chovy looking plastic started to bring in the Barries. Even the DH crew was going nuts on the way I was bringing them in on stuff they have never seen.
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[tubeN2]

Hey WFB. Some of the areas that I have been to around the Shoe, the Cat and MDR have resulted in some good takes with the Lemon-lime Fish Traps in both the regular swim bait shapes as well as the little baitfish shaped ones. I have not tried the holloween pattern yet. Occasionally I will change of to a clear with red speckles or even a rootbeer color big hammer.

It seems like the fish have different likings in different areas of the coast.

I can use one color out of Newport. Something different out of Redondo. Something else at the Shoe. Even Malibu will differ at times. Over all, some of the best results have been on the lemon-lime.
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[tubeN2]

Hey TuBemPho, I'll see you at the Pursuit on Saturday. I hooked up with the Captain of the boat and he put BFT stickers all over the boat. You'll see it on Sat. Don't forget to bring some plastics.
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[JapanRon]

Hi there TubeN2,

I tried some of TD's roadrunners in the kelp stringers and did pretty good. Unfortunately, the RR's don't bounce off the stringers like I had hoped they would. Those guys are too valuable to loose when fishys can be caught just as well with 15 cent plastics or bait.

Still it was a cool try.

Japanron
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[tubeN2]

The plastics are much cheaper by far. I only pull out the RRs in open areas. I have some that glow in the dark as well. They are awesome at night time. The glow is green on some and blue on others. He even made some with the glowing thread. Those kill the Barries on the night runs.
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[gvanzant]

tubeN2: Try throwing those large barracuda type lures, at the crack of dawn,into the white water around the Palos Verde peninsula.We painted them dark brown or solid black and threw them into depths of two feet along the shoreline. The really big 6-10 pounders are in there looking for something to eat. They bite only til the sun peeks over the horizon. Unfortunately you have to use heavy, heavy tackle to keep them from the rocks.
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[tubeN2]

I'm looking around for a boat now. I hope to be able to get to some of the prime spots as I need to.

It's understandable about the Barries in the early morning. They will see almost any dark object as a quick and easy breakfast. I have some of those Megabait live jigs as well.

The Chovy and Mack patterns work real well too. I even like the Mack pattern of the Krocodiles.
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[DH_tubinjoe]

oh boy! going on the pursuit huh??? [crazy][crazy][crazy]

i'm just giving you a hard time. its a great boat!

haven't seen any BFT stickers though.


joe[pirate]
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[tubeN2]

Hey Joe, it was fun fishing on your boat today. They tried to put the stickers on the Pursuit while it was wet. They wouldn't stick too well.

Maybe the Monte Carlo would like to compete with the Pursuit on BFT stickers. See if you can talk your Capt into allowing a couple of them to be placed there.
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[DH_tubinjoe]

haha...i won't even ask! i'll just stick one on the window on the back of the wheelhouse[cool]



joe
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[tubeN2]

That's the way to do it!! I'm sure he won't mind.
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