Why I like to fish with Krocs in Malibu

At 6:00am met DummeVinnie and Leo to fish.  Looking for the flat kind.
First cast on my FishTrap I caught what I call a "Sugar Bass"

Didn't catch anything else on the FishTrap for the rest of the day.
I did have another rod set up with the Luhr Jensen 5/8 Chrome with Silver tape krocodile.
Caught a bass here and there, but was still looking for the flat kind.
All of the sudden, zzzzzzzzzzzz.  Fish was on!  We fought back and forth for over 5 minutes.  There are not many fish in Malibu that will take line out, so I'm thinking 'Halibut'.
I was so excited.  I looked in the water to see if I could see it.  It was big, just like a Halibut, but the color was off.  Finally brought it in.

What the??????

I never caught one this big



Earlier that day, I did a boo-boo.  Out of being just flat out lazy, I skipped charging my AA 2300mAh Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries.  So my camera was out of juice.  Caught other fish, all on the krocodile.
Came in around 10:15.  Good day on the ocean.

I can't name this fish.  What is it?
Pat

I am pretty sure that is a trigger fish. I caught a bunch of those in Texas. They are a real big bait stealer cause there mouths are real touch and real small. They can put up a decent fight though since they are so broad.

I'll bet you are right.  They eat crustaceans?  Should taste like cabezon?

Excellent fighter on light line.
The Trigger fish are mostly found in the Sea of Cortez(Baja).
This guy was peeling my line, I thought it was a halibut, but Nooooooooo.
Spent 5 minutes to bring the guy up for a look.


In Baja I was using something similar to my 5/8 oz kroc to catch these guys.  Really didn't taste that great, it was okay.  The meat is very firm.  Cabezon?  I don't think so.


Ever see this fish swim? Its pretty cool.

Last post was me

Triggers ARE everywhere in baja.  They do fight well for their size.  They make great cerviche, and they are the most prevalent "taco fish" served in baja.  When I am at the ranch there are always commercial pangas fishing for these.  Their skin is tough as hell, I have bent rapala hooks unhooking these things.

actually,  seabreeze' guess is pertty good.

from "the baja catch":

filescale triggerfish (there are several varieties of trigger)

...blah blah...
It has a slightly "chewy" texture like that of a lobster tail with a hint of crab flavor.
...blah blah...

I have caught trigger (grey) in the florida keys, and eaten it in baja. I think it tastes great. it's best to cut the skin from the inside after you get the point in. cutting from the outside is difficult as sean says.

I had no idea they came as far north as malibu.

great photos potto,  .  you should have used one of those new dymara spoons, I hear they work great on halibut.

potto, when you say cast you mean drop down in the kelp, or do you really mean cast? I'm always tempted to cast and it almost always gets me in trouble, hung up.

There are pockets in the kelp where you can cast, but don't go too far.  Never try this with a treble hook only do this on single because you will get tangled.

I had a trigger in a saltwater fish tank once and I used to feed it hairless baby mice. They will anything