Northern California Angler Releases 62 lb. Giant Sea Bass Back Into Bay

September 23, 2004
By Jayson Lira

More Articles By Jayson Lira

The giant sea bass, whose range extends throughout the Gulf of Mexico and from Cabo San Luca, Baja California, to Humboldt Bay, is a rare catch for Northern California anglers. This fish, of the family of Percichthyidae, is protected as an endangered species and is illegal to take or possess.

One Northern California angler, Rusty Nguyen of Concord, managed to hook and release a 62 pound seabass on a recent shark trip with Captain Mark Delnero to San Francisco Bay.

The giant sea bass, usually referred to by it's more common name, the black sea bass, reaches maturity after more than 10 years of life and can exceed weights of 50-60 pounds. The current record is 563 pounds and was taken off the Anacapa Islands in 1968, according to the Department of Fish & Game's web site.

Since they favor a deep rocky environment, the black/giant sea bass is typically mistaken for a black rockfish, but anglers beware. According to http://home.earthling.net/~kdocean "by the late 70's, biologists with the California DFG recognized that the local population of giant sea bass in Southern California waters was in decline. Actions were taken, resulting in protection from commercial and sport fishing that went into effect in 1981."

"I didn't know what we had once we got it to the boat," reported Captain Mark Delnero of Fin Addict Sportfishing, who put Nguyen onto the fish on August 29. "At first I thought it may be a really large black rockfish, but after careful examination and a few phone calls, we found out what type of fish we released,'

The day the big fish was caught, a group of anglers including Nguyen were fishing off Candlestick Point in South San Francisco Bay for leopard sharks in 40 feet of water. "After the guys got 'tired' of releasing sharks, I put six anchovies on a 10/0 hook and dropped the bait straight down the side of the boat," he said.

On the previous day, Delnero was catching salmon at Duxbury Reef along the Marin County coast and happened to have bait left over from the trip. "The guys had never caught a bat ray, so I told them we would try to catch a 'mud marlin', so I put the bait out and we had a bite fairly quickly," he recalled.

Unlike a bat ray, which fights like crazy and takes a long run once on the hook, the giant sea bass didn't do much but sit in the hole Nguyen was trying to pull it from. "At first we thought that we had hooked a monster halibut because it didn't fight," said Delnero. "It just sat there like dead weight, so we knew it wasn't a bat ray."

As the fish came to the surface, the anglers were amazed at the size of this fish that didn't put up much of a fight. After snapping a quick photo, Mark carefully released the beast back into the waters of the South Bay.

During the trip, the group of Rusty, Darren, Brandon, Mike, Anthony and Paul put 6 keeper leopard sharks in the box and released another half dozen sharks.

Delnero finished the remainder of his week at Duxbury Reef trolling for king salmon. At press time, Delnero reported averaging around one fish per rod, including some large chinooks.

For further information on the giant sea bass, visit the Department of Fish & Game web site at www.dfg.ca.gov - Remember, the giant sea bass may not be taken by recreational anglers. Incidental catches when fishing for other species must be immediately released back into the water.

If fishing deep water and you do accidentally catch a giant sea bass, takes steps to ensure the fish is released unharmed. One method described on the DFG web site is to carefully insert a hypodermic needle through the side of the fish into the gas bladder and allow the air to escape. Also, make sure the fish is revived before releasing.

To book a trip with Captain Mark Delnero of Fin Addict Sportfishing for leopard sharks in the South San Francisco Bay or outside of the Golden Gate for salmon, call (209) 367-4665 or visit his website at FinAddictSportfishing.com. For other boats booking salmon and shark trips, review the saltwater section of the print edition of The Fish Sniffer or check our salmon page.