Another Stillwater report 5/8

I was flyfishing as usual. Landed 11, kept 2. One of my catches was a ling ~18" who "posed" nicely for one photo but wasn't so eager for the "dental hygienist" version! Flashtail clouser was the magic fly. Surf candy typically works but not yesterday. Conditions were pretty much as predicted, as others have posted. Totally cool to see the water this clear, right up the beach.

I landed several of the rockfish pictured here. Typically I don't catch too many of these - not sure what they are. I've got to look them up.

Watched a cormorant chasing something thru the kelp but don't know what it was. Fun to watch though. Also saw about 8 or 9 little harbor seals - looked to be about 2 months old. Very cute guys.

For me at least a bit better start to the season than last year.

Word of warning on Pebble Beach: big tourney June 17-20, so plan on being elsewhere.
Bill

Missed the throat shot.

Water looks great! Thanks for the report! I think those fish you are reffering to are olives....

the top one looks like an olive rockfish but the light is bad. The bottom looks like a widow rockfish (if it's all gold).  Widows run deep though, so odds are it's not.  Thanks for sharing.

Nice work!!

Thanks for the great report and beautiful pictures!!

Sincerely,

Jim

nice little ling on the fly, i am still trying for one on the fly, you throwing sinking or floating line, thanks for the pics and report, cameron

Inspiring photos and report--thanks very much cameron.  I agree they look like olive rockfish to me.  They run smaller than other rockfish and they are much softer to the touch--kind of trout-like in a way.  Seem to school mid-column like blues and blacks.  Good eating but soft flesh--bleed, gut & ice asap.

Tight lines, loose women... 

Very cool great report

I agree with you Bill. Sometimes, it's hard to identify the fish and when having the doubt, I just release them.

I think we should have a game called "Name that Fish".

I guess it will save us from trouble and have us enjoy our fishing more.

How about it guys? Who's gonna start it?

Danny

Looking at my books, could be a juvenile widow. Books say that young widows live in kelp in shallower water. Possibly a kelp rockfish also.

They were all tinged with a goldish yellow. Kind of medium to light overall color impression. One was quite fat - outweighed the olive that I kept that was ~13".

Of the two dead ones, the larger top one was a brown rockfish, the smaller bottom one was an olive (4 distinct white spots along both sides of dorsal fin).

Here's another photo of one of the ones I'm trying to ID.
Bill

Nice catch i believe its a grass cod but its really hard to see. Good eats thou!
 

nice
thanks for the report

Bill - Thanks for your report, I was paddling by you at one time.  The Olives seem to scarce there this year.  I am guessing its because of the lack of kelp.

Great report and valuable info, Bill. I was hoping you'd be back this season (because I'm inspired to bring a flyrod out there after seeing it last year). Those mystery fish are either grass RF or kelp RF. My vote is for kelp RF, especially if they were bulging fat w/eggs or milt. They certainly c/b grass RF too. But my vote is kelp rockies.

Im... confused?  How do you catch a ling on a fly??? 

Thanks for the report, i'm intrigued!!!