Ghostbuster!

[Dennis]

Nice fish!

[acorad]

Best catching story of the year!

Andy

[GeauxFish]

Wow! That's a heck of a story and memory that will be told for many years to come! CONGRATS

[Whizz Bang]

I inferred from your post that you were CDFW....as in "California Department of Fish and Wildlife". You couldn't identify a WSB?
Aren't you the guys who ticket us when we F!^# up on our rockfish identification? Were you so clueless as to your own profession that you did not realize that WSB are lazy bitches and often go tits up after a run or two, belly up is not uncommon.
To me, anyways, the most offensive part is where you state that you cut the "BSB" free and let it float next to you for 5 minutes before checking it out and trying to revive it. Really? WTF?
Way to lead from the front.

[momo fish]

Ummm...

Originally Posted by Whizz Bang

I inferred from your post that you were CDFW....as in "California Department of Fish and Wildlife". You couldn't identify a WSB?

Aren't you the guys who ticket us when we F!^# up on our rockfish identification? Were you so clueless as to your own profession that you did not realize that WSB are lazy bitches and often go tits up after a run or two, belly up is not uncommon.

To me, anyways, the most offensive part is where you state that you cut the "BSB" free and let it float next to you for 5 minutes before checking it out and trying to revive it. Really? WTF?

Way to lead from the front.

[Harry Hill]

Originally Posted by Whizz Bang

I inferred from your post that you were CDFW....as in "California Department of Fish and Wildlife". You couldn't identify a WSB?
Aren't you the guys who ticket us when we F!^# up on our rockfish identification? Were you so clueless as to your own profession that you did not realize that WSB are lazy bitches and often go tits up after a run or two, belly up is not uncommon.
To me, anyways, the most offensive part is where you state that you cut the "BSB" free and let it float next to you for 5 minutes before checking it out and trying to revive it. Really? WTF?
Way to lead from the front.

I was wondering the same thing, who lets a fish float belly up for five minutes if they are releasing it. Seems to me the first thing you do is revive the fish. Then on to other things.

[Phishphood]

Whizz Bang
Harry Hill
jorluivil
GregAndrew

To these guys, going to try to post more individualized responses to your posts in a second as I write them. Three things to keep in mind please.
a) What I write is a reflection of me, myself and my knowledge, not any job/agency etc.
b) I truly appreciate your honest comments and criticism. I am learning as I go and will never stop learning. Despite latent anger and frustration at past actions of myself or others, I would greatly appreciate continuing on in a productive conversation.
c) I wrote down the events as I could remember in as much entirety as I could remember. They are not all of my proudest moments, but I feel that any information (including things done wrong) can benefit the community, especially newer anglers so they can learn not just from what I did, but what should have been done instead etc. I welcome any and all statements as long as we can try to keep it in line with (b) above.

[Phishphood]

Originally Posted by Whizz Bang

I inferred from your post that you were CDFW....as in "California Department of Fish and Wildlife". You couldn't identify a WSB?
Aren't you the guys who ticket us when we F!^# up on our rockfish identification? Were you so clueless as to your own profession that you did not realize that WSB are lazy bitches and often go tits up after a run or two, belly up is not uncommon.

Whizz
Yes, you inferred correctly. I got hired at CDFW two months ago as a SciAid (read:entry level) working on some lobster stuff and some sand bass/kelp bass projects. Please accept that I can ID those and at least several other species quite well. My experiene ID'ing WSB has been from photos posted of catches displayed proudly and already ID'd as such. While I felt comfortable from that point of view, I had never taken the time to look for definite characteristics/traits, like the raised line on the belly. Before this, I had just gone with a general gut feeling and it wasn't cutting it at the time especially as I was mostly viewing the fish upside down. I had only read a few blurbs about WSB coming up exhausted and didn't know how it compared to my only other first hand experience of a BSB coming up belly up. My preconceptions were that a WSB would come up with more energy left than that, and would look more 'slug-like' for lack of a better descriptor.

As far as rockfish go, I know a few, but not all. And my position doesn't require that I know them. Thankfully I am about as far away from the enforcement department as possible.

To me, anyways, the most offensive part is where you state that you cut the "BSB" free and let it float next to you for 5 minutes before checking it out and trying to revive it. Really? WTF?
Way to lead from the front.

This I fully agree with. Again, my comparison with my previous fish led me to think that maybe they all regain vigor fairly quickly and independently. My first fish was tail flipping before I managed to unhook it and headed to the bottom again like a dropped brick.

I stopped actively watching the fish while sorting out what was going on with my rods/lines. My spinning bait setup was just spread out on my yak over my paddle with more line out than would be preferred. That got organized and stowed in my single rod holder. Did a quick weight removal and windup on my main setup to get rid of loose line and got my paddle situated.

During this time I was aware of where the fish was and generally what, if anything it was doing. In addition to learning more about ID'ing, I should have just quickly situated rods/hooks so that I could safely paddle/balance and tended to the fish. I fully acknowledge my f*ck up here and urge anyone reading to remember that we should do our best to care for the fish's well being second only to our safety (debatable), not necessarily our comfort.

I attempt to lead no one, especially not from the front. I really hope that anyone who sees what I have done can learn from this.

[Dave Legacy]

I google'd that kayak and it's pretty neat! Can't say I have seen a whole lot of others like it.

[SorryCharlie]

"It is not our mistakes that define who we are; it is how we recover from those mistakes"

I would say you handled that much better than some other "posts gone wrong" on BWE have been handled..... We all live and learn.

[FullFlavorPike]

Dude, your boat looks like it's nothing but an empty hull!

Nice fat fish!

[spicolly]

YUM! Nice catch!

[Phishphood]

First: responding to these as they were posted.

Originally Posted by Chuck D

Crazy story! Now you know Nice fish bro.

Is that a trout stringer???

Yup. Only thing I had on hand besides the webbing and clip that you see on the other side. Definitely need to get a game clip as reaching my hand through the gills/mouth is not an experience I want to repeat.

Originally Posted by dos ballenas

Beautiful fish! Nice work! The yt and butts will be easy now!

Out of curiosity what do you do with the gonads for the CDFW?

Still working on that myself, let you know when I find out.

Originally Posted by FullFlavorPike

Dude, your boat looks like it's nothing but an empty hull!

Nice fat fish!

It essentially is. It's a discontinued Native (brand) Magic (model) kayak. Essentially if a canoe and SOT had a baby.

[FullFlavorPike]

Originally Posted by Phishphood

The big girl had an empty stomach and 1kg of eggs in her cavity.

You eat those eggs? I want to get my hands on some cbass roe so that I can try to fake up some botarga for my pasta. Yum.

[momo fish]

Voice of reason.. Matt for President!!

[Pinhead]

Phishphood - Well done presenting your case and not caving under all the cross-examination.

Your Sentence: Relax, Go kayak fishing, be safe and give the seals NOTHING!... and enjoy learning with the rest of us!

Closing Remarks: You're a stand-up fisherman, great attitude.

Case dismissed.

[2-Stix]

You sound like a stand up dude. You earned that fish more than ever now. Maybe if I was nicer I would get bigger fish. LOL. Way to go!