White Sea Bass - DOTY

I did not see any entries in DOTY for these.  Are they hard to find or what.  I looked up a few videos on the Internet and most spear fisherman went out on boats not kayaks.  I saw one where the fish wrapped line around the diver while he was underwater.  I bet his life flashed in front of him on that one. 

At first glance I think they look like king salmon underwater. 

I wondered about that too. There's no WSB entries for AOTY either.

Amadeo (ab10) shot one up here last year...

But he gutted it before taking the picture so we had to DQ it. 

Broke my heart to do that...

Actually, he just took it down, but I REALLY wanted that fish to be posted cuz it would have been the first WSB on DOTY!

People get them shore diving, off kayaks, off SUPs etc in certain areas up here in NorCal...

They are just VERY hush hush about it.

I know a guy playing DOTY this year has been out stalking them for awhile this year...maybe we'll get lucky and see one posted soon!

 

 

Sincerely,

Jim

ps...I had a big salmon swim under me earlier this year when I was diving on my birthday...at first I thought it might be a WSB but then I saw the spots and knew it was a salmon so took my finger off trigger. 

I wondered about that too. There's no WSB entries for AOTY either.

Not this year, but in previous years the guys were slaying them...just keep your eyes open for GHOST reports and skip work and get out there when they are in....

 

http://aoty.norcalkayakanglers.com/speciesleaders/list_by_species/14

 

Sincerely,

Jim

Will my 70cm RB Allen work with these or should I get a bigger gun for WSB and large halibut.  Not sure if longer spear/line helps. 

Amadeo (ab10) shot one up here last year...

But he gutted it before taking the picture so we had to DQ it. 

Broke my heart to do that...

Why is this even a rule?

A Rules is a Rule.  Same as Mouth Closed.  Keeps the playing field even with less room for interpretation.

I think he meant because if it was cleaned I don't think it gets larger.  Does it?  If so then it would make sense. 

Amadeo (ab10) shot one up here last year...

But he gutted it before taking the picture so we had to DQ it. 

Broke my heart to do that...

Why is this even a rule?

To prove it wasn't purchased whole (like from royal seafoods on Monterey wharf). And you could potentially add an inch or two by gutting & gilling it.

A Rules is a Rule.  Same as Mouth Closed.  Keeps the playing field even with less room for interpretation.

That's your answer?
Why havnt most of my fish in AOTY been disqualified the?.  One of the first things I do when I decide to keep a fish is cut the gills to start the bleeding, then I tear and pull the guts out so my meat doesn't  get infested with more worms and to have a cleaner higher quality of meat.  Gutting it the way I do, doesn't have any effect on the size if anything it may shrink it slightly on some fish.  Since there is almost  always a small piece of guts that I couldn't remove then it's still within the rediculous rules.

You have every right to question the rules ... by all means.  In the end ... it is what it is.  Take it, leave it, no worries to me.  You asked the question, I think you have received the answer.

Pat, I believe, has given the AOTY explination of this.

I did not think gutting would increase fish size but buying at market makes more sense.  Not everyone has high integrity and fair is fair.  If I plan on gutting I will just bring measuring device and camera and snap a pic first.  Thanks for taking the time to answer questions.  And I think suggestions are welcomed to change rules occasionally but not if no one has problems with them. 

Rob,

The gutting rule is primarily in place for the same reason the mouth closed rule is in place.

If you gut and gill a fish you can stretch it and get extra length.

The idea is to TRY and minimize bickering/whining/drama about so and so got an extra 1/2 inch of points cuz mouth was open or it was gutted with neck ripped and head stretched out etc.

Rule is there for both AOTY and DOTY.

I generally gut and scale all my fish before paddling in, except for those that I need DOTY pics of.

It's a trade off for sure. But I then gut as soon as I snap my pic. Not that big of a deal. 

You know I like you and have a ton of respect for you dude, but your repeated bashing of AOTY and the "rediculous rules" does get old after awhile.

I can't change anything that happened in the past, but am doing my very best to make the game as fun and fair and accessible to those that want to play as possible.

If you are gutting your fish before taking AOTY pics you're doing a pretty good job of having it not show:

http://aoty.norcalkayakanglers.com/leaderboard/list_by_angler/182

And if we knew they were gutted we would have to DQ them.

3. Photographic evidence of fish size (total length, except for Sturgeon which shall be measured according to CA DFG fork length) against a measuring device must be provided. Photographs must be clear, with measurements easily read. It is recommended to use a sharpie on measuring devices that are not clearly marked. All entries must be rounded down to the nearest quarter inch. The ENTIRE fish must show on the measuring device in at least 1 picture. Missing portions of the head or tail will result in a disqualification of the fish. Any fish that has the appearance of possibly being not qualified for entry (such as the appearance of an adipose fin from a non native retention body of water) will be disqualified. Participants are responsible for ensuring the pictures are of sufficient quality to demonstrate the legality of the catch as defined by the CA DFG. Fish may NOT be gutted, have their throat cut or ripped through, or manipulated in any way prior to photographs being taken. Cutting of gills is permitted. Tails may be pressed together or tilted. Mouths must be completely closed. If there is light showing between the lips then the mouth is not closed. If the mouth is not completely closed, the entry will be disqualified. No lip grippers or game clips or stringers can be in the mouth when picture is taken. The above methods are those used by the CA DFG fish measurers. All entries this year will have admin approval before appearing as official entries. There may be a few days lag between the time you post a picture and the time it appears on the AOTY site.

If you want to discuss this more offline, just shoot me a PM.

Anyway, regarding the WSB pic...fuzz and I texted Amadeo and asked if he had any pics from before gutting, he said no and took it down. No drama. Just a bummer (for us, not for Amadeo I don't think he cared at all  ) that the fish didn't get to stay on the DOTY board.

 

Sincerely,

Jim

ps..if people have other suggestions for rule changes etc, there is a whole thread for that 

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=58424.0

Rumor has it you can find wsb in tomles bay and out by lawson landing, I know of a few divers that get them out there, I know of one 40 pounder this year, like Jim said they are just hush hush about like trophy ab divers. The biggest tip is to be quite and I mean quite while hunting for them.

Are they hard to find or what. 

Uh, yeah, just a little.