California bluewater hunters prize the elusive and tasty white seabass more than any other local gamefish. Seeming to appear from nowhere, these fish require a skillful approach. The key to hunting them is learning just how close you can get before they bolt, disappearing in a blur.
The California Fish and Game Department limit is three fish daily except for the period March 15 through June 15, when the limit is one. White seabass populations have been on the decline, but there is now good news for white seabass fishermen. State and sportsmen-supported propagation and grow-out facilities, coupled with the ban on commercial nearshore gill nets, should help ensure increasing numbers of fish.
Baby white seabass live behind the surf-line in drift algae. Older fish (over 4 inches) occupy bays and shallow coastal waters. From there they mature in deeper coastal waters, usually not more than 350 feet deep. Some fish reach five feet in length and live for 20 years. A 28-inch fish (the legal length for possession) is about 5 years old. Spending the winter months hunting squid in deeper water, spawning fish move into the kelp beds between March and October. The peak months are May, June and July.
Divers usually find white seabass in and around kelp beds and in bays free of kelp and over deep-water pinnacles. Whites have even been reported many miles offshore under floating kelp paddies. They frequent kelp beds in the early morning and early evening, generally descending deeper during midday. Periods of slack current are good also because the fish tend to school higher in the water at that time. A lucky diver will sometimes find one "sleeping," its nose nestled behind a kelp stalk 10- to 45-feet deep.
One of the best locations for whites is the up-current end of a kelp bed or reef, where they can be found swimming into the current or patrolling the bluewater edge of the underlying reef. When the current changes and the kelp rises to the surface, they'll be swimming along the kelp bed toward the new up-current end. With mild current changes, they may stay at the down-current end of the kelp. Another favorite location is a bluewater opening into the kelp forest overlying a sand channel. Some specific kelp beds will have no fish in clear water with a current, but will hold fish as the current slackens and the water visibility drops below 25 feet. They are often near bait schools of mackerel, sardines and blacksmith. Catalina Island pole fishermen report that their most effective bait is blacksmith fish.
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