San Diego & SoCal Fishing Forums

Back at it at Mission Beach this morning. Better conditions and was getting more bites, although only two small guys made their way to shore. A tiny perch and (I think?) a baby croaker. Must’ve felt bad for my day yesterday so it humored me

See the yellow fins? A dead giveaway….Yellowfin Croaker. Next time put him up to your ear and you can hear them croaking.

Bendo wrote: Sun Aug 03, 2025 4:32 pm See the yellow fins? A dead giveaway….Yellowfin Croaker. Next time put him up to your ear and you can hear them croaking.

I’ve caught a couple bigger ones and have heard the croaking. Pretty cool! Definitely a unique sound to come out of a fish. The first time I caught one I quickly learned how they get their name

I’ve caught several huge ones. One on live Squid at Catalina, and a couple on Sardines while fishing for Halibut in Dana Point Harbor. All were bigger than 5 pounds, all were released. No I didn’t know the World Record was smaller than that at the time. The Capitan of the Clemente slowed his Boat down and complemented me on my Giant “Spotfin” and I said this is a Yellowfin Croaker. I saw him check me out with his Binoculars. He freaked when I threw it back….” Biggest one I ever saw” he yelled. Never could replicate.

8/3 Continued…

Spent the middle of the day at the Padres game with my son, felt like throwing lines into the ocean as the sun set while wife and daughter were off doing their own thing. Nice size perch were biting fast and furious… for me at least. Son could only watch, ha. No clue why they were choosing my sand crabs over his but sometimes a dad just has the touch.

Nice, rewarding way to end a relatively frustrating weekend of fishing.

It happened to all of us at one time or another. Bad vibe, bad smell, wrong way of standing, you be in wrong spot, who knows. Sometimes you just can’t buy a bite, and others , well it just gets embarrassing…can’t fight them off with a stick.

jwacky wrote: Sun Aug 03, 2025 8:14 pm 8/3 Continued…

Spent the middle of the day at the Padres game with my son,.

Sorry you had to spend the day at a Padre's game.... ... Just kidding, It sounded like you had a fantastic day... Fishing twice and a ball game in the middle with your son...
Butch

Bendo wrote: Mon Aug 04, 2025 9:29 am It happened to all of us at one time or another. Bad vibe, bad smell, wrong way of standing, who knows. Sometimes you just can’t buy a bite, and others , well it just gets embarrassing…can’t fight them off with a stick.

It makes no sense, lol. Just gotta learn to take the good days with bad... and without the bad days, the good ones wouldn't be as rewarding. There are certainly worse ways to spend a couple hours than being at the beach, fishing or otherwise!

I think I posted about once in a previous post, but my daughter (age 12) and I went out once and she out fished me and old Zebco 404 rod and reel combo and brittle line, which I didn't bother fixing up for her because I assumed she'd lose interest within 15 minutes. She was plucking perch out of the ocean like it was a carnival game, haha. She prefers the simplicity of the Zebco but it has nicer line now

I'm sure its not actually a thing, but vibe seems to be a factor for sure. Get tense and frustrated and no fish is gonna bite on that negative energy!!

jwacky wrote: Mon Aug 04, 2025 10:22 am ... vibe seems to be a factor for sure. Get tense and frustrated and no fish is gonna bite on that negative energy!!

I agree with this 100%! Attitude and intent matter.