San Diego Fishing Adventures

Gentner, Brad

Thursday, March 20, 2008

The fishing day with Brad Gentner and Heather Bowen started just before light with a rare visit from a nocturnal Green Heron. I have read that these birds are hard to find and can be very skittish. I have seen them in the past and they rarely stick around long enough for you to get a photo. But for some reason this Green Heron allowed me to get about 10 feet away and take a quick picture. Even the flash didn’t spook him!

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Since it was a weekday in March, San Diego Bay was very calm and quite. The first area we fished produced a good count of both Sand Bass and Spotted Bay Bass with Brad landing the biggest Sand Bass of the day. Here is Brad doing some light tackle fish battling.

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Unfortunately we did not get a picture of the bigger Sand Bass since it was one of his first fish of the day, if not his first of the day. As we drifted near some pilings Heather continuously hooked up Spotties and quickly turned herself into the hot stick of the day! In the mean time, Brad hooked up twice to something large that broke him almost instantly. With the site of a clean cut on his line our best guess was a very large Halibut had inhaled his bait and it’s sharp teeth instantly cut the light 6lb test that we were fishing with. One break off was hard enough, but twice was a bit of a heart break for Brad. When fishing 6lb line you have to hook the Halibut in the corner of it’s mouth so the lure is sticking out a bit and the line never has the chance of touching their sharp teeth.

Once the bite started to slow a bit we headed out into the channel more to see if we could find the bigger Sand Bass that often cruise the deeper water. Unfortunately we didn’t find the bigger ones, but we did find some fish. Here is Brad with a typical sized Sand Bass from San Diego Bay.

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After working over the channel a bit we decided to head back over to the first area we were fishing to see if the bite had picked back up again. Once again Heather showed us who had the hot stick with another bag of Spotties caught and released. All of these fish were caught with Reebs plastics and some fresh Uni Goop scent! No live bait was used the entire day.

With the half day coming near an end we decided to head to the other side of the channel to see if we couldn’t end the great day with a big Sand Bass. We tried some long line drifts and still did not find the bigger Sandies. As the clock was winding down Heather hooked into what we thought was the big Sand Bass that we were looking for! After battling the fish for a bit we realized there was a good chance that she had a nice Halibut on the end of her line. Despite having 6lb line, Heather fought the fish with patience and determination which allowed her to successfully catch and release a beautiful Halibut. This fish was way over legal size but was happily returned back to the water to help conserve the amazing fishery that lies beneath San Diego Bay. Here is Heather with her catch of the day!

And a shot of those friendly teeth and the lucky Reebs lure that got the fish the bite.

Overall it was a great day on the water with Brad and Heather! Some of the species that the caught were Spotted Bay Bass, Sand Bass, Halibut, Mackerel and even some oversized Lizard fish. Heather definitely took the diversity award for the day...and the largest fish of the day...oh, and the most fish of the day! But Brad came in with a very close second! But for most men, the best catch of the day is to see a fish at the end of their womans line and a smile on their face!
The day ended at the dock with Brad and Heather enjoying a cold adult beverage and telling some great East coast fish stories!
Until next time Brad and Heather,
Captain Peter Hamann

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