Anybody know what this is?

Caught with a cast net in Newport Beach.



More importantly can it be used as bait?

Thanks!

I believe it is a juvenile smelt. Which is a great bait for halibut, lingcod. Not sure if a striper will take it.
http://ts3.mm.bing.net/th?id=JN.fgr%2fwwImWJZIYi3yCY8LFw&pid=15.1&P=0

Alex

Striper would Definetly eat that.

looks like a sure smelt or a night smelt is it high tide ? tasty little fish and not oily. did you catch more than one ?

Yeah we caught about 25 or so.. Before stopping

not sure anymore but limit used to be 25 pounds or about a five gallon bucket. swimmin on large waves to spawn in the sand and return with wave . usually got north of Fort Bragg with a frame nets but I've seen them caught as far south as Bodega Bay. preferred spawning beaches are coarse .black sand. usually spawn in later summer months but with this strange weather who knows.

Grunion.......more common to find them on the shores of del monte beach

Not sure about legalities of using them for bait.....if you can't run down to a tackle shop and snag a couple lucky craft pointers and plug the area you found it.  Halibut will follow me in to feed.

to the best of my knowledge it is illegal to catch grunion with any type of net only by hand. correct me if I'm mistaken is that I have never went grunion fishing

Careful, I think it's also illegal to use castnets down south.

was under the impression that during a grunion run wave rowls in and back out leaving grunion stuck in the sand like a pencil. next wave rolls in and take them back out ?

Sorry my tread got away from me.  Grunion season is closed April and May.  Sportfisherman by hand only, no nets, pits dug in sand.  Earlier comment was scheduled spawning hours.  Moon and tides right for sex on the beach.

Delta smelt...the last 25 of the species!

Delta smelt...the last 25 of the species!

Last time I boated on the Delta, late summer, backwater, it smelt.

I've caught tons of those... Great bait


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, did you say Newport? No castnets south of Pt Conception...but I think they're considering changing that rule next year.