My friend Ben Cantrell (check out his blog here) moved from Illinois to San Diego in mid-2017 and after some strategic discussions we decided I would visit him there in March, 2018. The timing gave me respite from what had been a long northern Michigan winter, and with rockfish season opener on March 1 it worked well from a species-hunting perspective. Additionally, the San Diego Half-marathon happened to be in mid-March, which sealed the deal. I flew out of Detroit on a direct flight to San Diego, where Ben picked me up from the airport after 10pm. We warmed up a delicious plate of some homemade Chinese leftovers before getting some sleep.
Thursday, March 8, 2018
Ben worked a half day so I spent the morning in running shoes exploring his neighborhood. I had put in 190 miles of running so far in 2018, all outside and most of it in snow and sub-freezing temperatures, and it was glorious to run in shorts, sans jacket. At the tail end of my run I stopped at Señor Taquero and picked up the best breakfast burritos I’ve ever eaten. They were loaded with substantial quantities of eggs, bacon, sausage and cheese and incredibly inexpensive. After Ben and I devoured our burritos I discovered that the 32-ounce crowler from Snowbelt Brewing Company that I’d brought as a gift to Ben had leaked all over my checked bag. I cleaned up the mess, tied some dropper rigs, and then we headed out for an afternoon of fishing aboard the New Seaforth charter boat. After a stop at Squidco for bait and 6 to 10 oz. sinkers we parked at the marina and boarded the fishing boat. Binh, of the local anglers Ben knew, also joined in for some fishing.
Our fishing trip was 12:30-5:30p. With the ride out to the fishing grounds and back that left about four hours to fish. We fished in the 150 to 250-foot depth range most of the trip, which was at that time the deepest I had ever fished. With the heavy sinkers and good fishing action I was glad I brought my heavier Nomad travel rod. We dropped hooks baited with squid and the bites generally came quickly after our rigs reached the bottom. My first catch was one of the most common yet coveted species (from a culinary perspective), the Vermilion Rockfish. It spiked me good with a dorsal spine, right in the joint of my middle finger, which stung for a good while. That finger would stay slightly swollen for a few days. We reeled up several Vermilion Rockfish and Ben pulled in a Greenstriped Rockfish from the first spot. The larger fish went in burlap bags with our numbers on them, to be filleted and returned to us to take home for dinner.
After every couple of drops the deckhands would have us reel up our lines and we would move a few hundred yards to try a new rocky spot. Vermilion Rockfish were the most abundant catch (we took home about ten of them) but I was fortunate enough to get some variety. I landed a Longfin Sanddab, a more elusive catch than the more common Pacific Sanddab. I also caught a Calico Rockfish, a pair of Halfbanded Rockfish, a Honeycomb Rockfish, my own Greenstriped Rockfish, and a Squarespot Rockfish that Ben would envy for years until he finally got one. At one point the captain pointed out that a thresher shark had surfaced, which I missed before it dove deep. There were plenty of seagulls and pelicans around, and the sun shone through some hazy clouds and reflected off the relatively calm water, making it a scenic afternoon on the ocean.
When the deckhands asked us to reel up for the final time I had tallied seven new species. Unfortunately, Ben wasn’t able to add to his lifelist that day, but we left with a bag full of rockfish fillets. After returning to the marina we chucked Megabait Lures toward a beautiful sunset off the rocks at Quivira Point. It was a pleasant twenty minutes, but we didn’t hook into any fish. Hunger set in and we made a stop at Alesmith Brewing Company for some Speedway Stout and food-truck Pierogis to go.
Friday, March 9, 2018
Ben worked another half-day Friday morning, so I had a pretty leisurely morning sipping coffee, eating avocado toast and editing and sorting photos from the previous day. Ben had the doors open and more than one hummingbird ventured inside the house and then struggled to find the way out again. He had to catch a couple of them and release them outside. I told Ben I’d be right back, and went to the nearby 7/11 store. A half an hour later he texted me wondering where I was and I sent him a picture from the top of the mountain behind his apartment complex. I just felt like running the trail up to the top, and it was well worth the views. But Ben was wrapping up work, so I ran back down and we loaded up the kayaks and fishing gear.
Our first stop was a beach along Mission Bay, where we met up with a nature enthusiast named Christian that wanted to tag along, capture some photos and catch a few fish. We went down to the water not with fishing rods but with a PVC plunger specifically designed for pumping ghost shrimp out of their burrows. We waded the shallows, with one person pumping the burrows and squirting the mud and water mixture into the shallows and the other two picking up any ghost shrimp that got sucked up and shot out. We took turns pumping until we had collected an ample amount of ghost shrimp to serve as bait for bonefish later in the day. We all went to Wendy’s for a quick lunch, and then Ben and I launched our kayaks along a channel at Liberty Station. Christian fished from shore while we paddled out into San Diego Bay. We trolled along the way, and Ben got an early hit but missed the fish. In the bay, we dropped squid and ghost shrimp to the bottom and drifted around in 20-30 feet of water. We both caught California Lizardfish, but it wasn’t a new species for either of us (I’d caught them in Long Beach during a previous trip to California in June 2014). The boat traffic was relatively light, but we did need to mind the wake when larger boats passed. It was a pretty epic afternoon to be on the bay, despite the slow fishing, as we got to watch some dark clouds roll over Point Loma and saw a huge aircraft carrier.
At around 3:00p we paddled back to where Christian was fishing. Unfortunately, he hadn’t caught anything but John Snow was there with him on the shore and waved hello as we paddled up. I resisted the urge to shout “you know nothing, Jon Snow” and said hello back. Among other things, John crafted and curates the website mexican-fish.com/, which features an excellent collection of photos and information about fish found in Mexican waters, as well as a variety of other organisms. It’s a very useful resource for identifying Mexican fish and learning about their life histories. John was in a hurry to beat rush hour traffic so we didn’t get to talk long.
Ben, Christian and I moved up the channel to a spot where we could catch Cortez Bonefish. Christian and I cast out ghost shrimp from shore for bonefish while Ben trolled a lure as he paddled up and down the channel in hopes of catching a Shortfin Corvina. Christian succeeded in catching his first bonefish before heading out to meet up with his girlfriend. I had a few bites, and got my bait stolen, but failed to hook a bonefish. I left shore and paddled into the channel to drop a chunk of cut mackerel that Ben caught trolling, thinking I might have a shot at a ray of some sort. I fished a ghost shrimp on a second line and left the heavier rig in the kayak’s rod holder. All of a sudden I heard line peeling off the heavy reel as something took the mackerel. I switched rods and set the hook into something that put up a good fight but did not feel at all like a ray. In the greenish, semi-clear water I saw the silver flash of a feisty little shark. I pulled it alongside the kayak, grabbed it with my free hand, and deposited it in the bottom of the kayak between my legs. It was a Gray Smoothhound, an unexpected new species! Fortunately, they don’t have sharp teeth, so I was able to take some good photos from my kayak seat without the danger of an injurious bite.
While I was photographing the shark, I hooked up with a fish on the light line. I suspected it might be a bonefish, but I reeled in to find a Barred Sand Bass on the end of the line. It was another species I had previously caught on my 2014 California trip. I released the fish just as Ben paddled up with a big grin on his face. He saw the grin on mine, too, and we exchanged stories of our new lifers. He showed off his first Shortfin Corvina. It was species #497 for Ben…getting close to that 500 milestone!
The sun was setting so we trolled as we paddled back to the launch and packed up for the day. We swung downtown to Broadway Pier to pick up our half-marathon bibs and swag bags on the way back to his apartment.
Saturday, March 10, 2018
We got up early Saturday and met Eli (follow his adventures on his blog) at the marina in Mission Bay at 6am. Eli is one of three people I know that’s caught more than 1,000 species of fish on hook and line (the others being George Brinkman and Steve Wozniak (1000fish’s blog)). We hired a private boat for the day, which Eli captained. Our first stop was the bait barge, where we filled the livewell with sardines. Then we headed out to deep water off the shores of La Jolla (it drops off very quick so we found water >1,000 feet deep not all that far from the shore) in pursuit of obscure flatfish species, Sablefish, and other denizens of the deep. On the passage out we pensively perceived a preposterously populous pod of particularly playful Pacific porpoises positioned port-side, progressing south to north.
Ben and Eli had stout rods and conventional reels spooled with adequate line to fish depths well below 1,000 feet. Our deepest drops hit over 1,400. To avoid tangles, we limited ourselves to two rods at a time and Ben and I took turns dropping. Ben and Eli had made their own deep drop rigs, and Ben went all out with his customized “Bedazzle Drop” rig featuring colored beads, a bait cage stuffed with squid and sardines, and even an electronic mini-disco ball that emitted different colors of light. The hooks were baited with a mix of shrimp and live sardines.
Unfortunately, we had no action at all in the very deep water. I took the opportunity to nap in the cabin, and to eat sandwiches and granola bars. We progressively worked our way shallower, but still nothing bit until we reached legal rockfish depths, at which time we switched to more conventional rigs and began using a third rod. I landed my first Greenspotted Rockfish and Pacific Sanddab in 350 feet of water, and Ben caught some Pacific Mackerel that we saved for bait.
The best action came in the 100-120 foot depth range, and we started getting immediate bites on every drop. Most of the fish were Ocean Whitefish (another repeat from my previous trip to California). I brought what would have been my lifer Kelp Rockfish to the surface, only to have the hook pull free and I lost the fish. Fortunately, I got a second chance and boated one later. I also got a chunky Gopher Rockfish and a couple of Olive Rockfish. By this time, light sprinkles had turned to a solid drizzle and the wind picked up. I was chilled, even in a Patagonia fleece and rain jacket. Ben hadn’t brought a jacket and was soaked and cold, but he was hammering fish on a red and gold Megabait Lure tipped with bait. Ben caught the only three California Scorpionfish (AKA “Sculpin”) of the trip and hauled up several mackerel. Eli got a steady mix of mackerel, ocean whitefish and sanddabs.
The big fish came in the last hour of fishing. Ben hooked into a something heavy on the same Megabait he’d been using all afternoon. It didn’t take a long time to pull to the surface, but it was certainly a nice fish and the biggest catch of the trip up to that point. At first glimpse, seeing a broad brown shape appear from the depths, my mind went to ray. But we quickly identified it as a California Halibut. It measured out at 27.5 inches and was a new personal best for Ben. Within 15 minutes, Eli eclipsed that fish with a 35.25 inch, 19 pound halibut. I not-so-subtly reeled in my squid-baited hook and added a whole live sardine. But as the boat rocked in the wind, driving drizzle into us and chilling our bones (I thought I had escaped Michigan to be warm!) our drift speed increased and the bite cooled off too. It was time to head back in and return the boat. I didn’t get a big halibut, but it would not have been a new species for me and I was satisfied with the 13 species I’d accumulated so far on my San Diego vacation.
We returned to the marina, cleaned up the boat, and bid farewell to Eli. Back at Ben’s place we enjoyed a breaded-chicken meal with delicious creamy barley, topped off with cream-cheese Danishes for dessert. Ben filleted both halibut, which yielded a significant amount of meat… enough so that his food-saver unit overheated before he could vacuum seal it all for the freezer. We didn’t stay up late. Not only was our half-marathon the next morning, we’d be losing an hour of sleep due to daylight saving time.
Sunday, March 11, 2018
The start line of the San Diego Half-marathon was in downtown San Diego, near Petco Park – home of the San Diego Padres major league baseball team. The finish line was inside Petco Park, after entering the tunnel in left field and following the third-base line to home plate. Ben and I ran the whole race together. It was a great course, following the waterfront for the first several miles, with some great views of the city skyline. There was one tough hill around mile 9, but otherwise it was a fairly easy course for a half. We finished in about 2 hours 19 minutes and took some finisher photos in the stadium and drank chocolate milk. We walked through town and found a restaurant where Ben and I engulfed a couple of burgers and coffee.
After lunch we went back to the apartment and napped. Later we noticed a nasty smell was emanating from the garage, which after some investigation turned out to be a container of squid and ghost shrimp that had rolled forgotten behind a kayak seat and leaked. We hosed it down several times with soap and cleaned up and reorganized our gear, but did not end up fishing that day. Ben and I teamed up to deliver a tasty fish taco dinner that evening, using our recent rockfish fillets and some Ocean Whitefish that Ben had on hand.
Monday, March 12, 2018
Ben had to work Monday, so I hopped a Lyft ride downtown. I spent several hours exploring the San Diego Zoo. After checking out nearly every exhibit I did the Skyfari, an air tram that transports riders over the zoo from one end to the other. I was hungry, so I jogged to the nearest Poké Go (definitely not to be confused with Pokémon Go) and had a poke bowl: rice, chunks of raw tuna, seaweed, and vegetables. It’s hard (impossible?) to find good seafood in northern Michigan, and I needed my fix! I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around in Balboa Park, a large greenspace adjacent to the zoo. The park features towering trees, myriad walking paths, neat architecture, gardens, fountains, pools, tourists, performing artists, museums, eateries, and gift shops. Strolling through the park was a relaxed and worthwhile use of my time on a sunny afternoon. At around 4:30p I caught a Lyft ride back to the apartment because Ben and I had plans to do some night surf-fishing for sharks.
Ben and I geared up for the big fish and hit the road before dusk. After loading up on Taco Bell take-out we reached a beach access site and met another local angler and shark fishing enthusiast Tom (check out prehistoricsoul.com). Surfers were leaving the beach as we descended the trail to the water. Ben lent me his 13’ surf rod and pre-made shark leaders, and I’d brought along a sufficient reel spooled with good line to go with it. We used one rod each, with colored glow sticks fastened to each rod tip so we could see them in the dark. Tom’s was blue, mine green, Ben’s red. We used heavy spider weights and baited our hooks with mackerel halves. To cast our lines we waded belly-deep into the rolling surf and lobbed the baits as far out as we could. Ben and Tom had chest waders. I did not. Instead, I wore board shorts and water shoes, and two layers of fleece Patagonia shirts with a waterproof jacket over. I used a belt and cinched it as tight as I could around my waist, over my rain jacket, in a mostly successful attempt to keep my upper body warm and dry. I stayed more comfortable during our four hours of night surf-fishing than I had expected.
It didn’t take long for Ben to get a nice hit. His fish ran to the left, toward my line, and ended up getting tangled with mine, but he was able to land a decent Tope Shark (AKA “Soupfin Shark”). It was not a new species for him, and it left me envious. Due to the tangled rigs I had to cut my line and re-rig, but I cast a new bait out soon after and got some light bights that may have been lobsters, which tended to pick away at our baits. Tom actually landed a lobster later in the night.
Maybe an hour after the first shark, Ben got another hook-up and this time I reeled in my line to get it out of the way. After a longer battle, we identified the fish in the breaking waves as a Broadnose Sevengill Shark, the species Ben wanted most (and a species I of course would have loved to catch!). We slid the shark onto the beach and I took photos and video clips while Tom unhooked the gray and black-speckled shark and measured it (81 inches long!). Ben posed for a few quick pics and then pulled the shark out past the breaking waves by the tail to release it. We shone our lights to make sure it swam off alright, and then reset our lines. I would get many light bites, which may have just been lobsters or could possibly have been sharks toying with the bait, but by 11:00p I had not caught anything and I was ready to call it a night. It was not to be my night for a California surf shark. At least I got one shark species, my Gray Smoothhound, during my trip and I ended up with a total of 13 new species. Coming into the trip had had a goal of 10-12 species in mind so I was content with the results. Ben, Tom and I packed down the rods and Ben and I headed back to the apartment.
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
I had a 10:30a flight out of San Diego and Ben gave me a ride to the airport. As we were leaving his apartment he noticed the garage door was slightly open, about 18 inches, at the same time I opened the passenger side door in his car and saw the glove box open and stuff on the seat. We both came to the quick and shitty realization that someone had invaded the car during the night. Only his Garmin GPS unit was gone (excluding the power cord…), and Ben didn’t notice anything else missing. The scariest part was knowing the perpetrator could have accessed the inside of the house via the garage while we were asleep. The spare car key was sitting on the car seat too…perhaps the car would’ve been stolen if it wasn’t a manual…
I had a three-hour layover in Las Vegas on my return trip, so I grabbed some pizza and a beer and brushed up on my Spanish using the Duolingo app to pass the time. On the Vegas to Detroit flight I watched Thor: Ragnarok and after landing I completed the four-hour drive to Gaylord, arriving home around 2:00a. The next morning came quickly. Hopefully, my next exciting adventure does too…