When I moved from Santa Barbara which is just south of point conception to San Luis Obispo which is just north of point conception I lost one of the world's best halibut fisheries but I gained one of the world's best perch fisheries. That still left me wanting something. I knew striped bass would help to fill the void. A big surprise bite, I just live for it. The longer I have to fish for it the better. Just as long as I'm picking up dinner along the way.
So I started to zero in on the striped bass areas right away. I found all my local freshwater outlets and started fishing them to get familiar with the structure. I picked my favorite spot and fished it a dozen times with no success. Then I went fishing with Edward Tomilloso from Hook2Cook.
We hopped in Edward's truck and drove up the freeway to meet his friend Omar. Omar proceeded to guide us to his favorite spot and we started the day fishing there. Omar caught a slab perch and Edward caught a small striped bass but the bite was not very hot so we decided to move spots.
Edward and I drove north, walked down to the beach, and started casting. On my first cast I hooked up with my first striped bass here in San Luis Obispo. It was a 19-inch keeper and I couldn't have been more pleased. Caught on the Battlestar 115 glow white sardine.
I filleted the fish, froze the meat for a few weeks, and then made sashimi which I dipped in sesame seed oil and soy sauce, and hot sauce. Just thinking about it makes me want to get back out there and catch another striped bass. So stay tuned, because I have a feeling this year is gonna be a good one!
Edward and I got quesso birria tacos (my first time) and then finished the day at Oceano trying for perch, but the bite was dead. It's still turned into a really fun day of fishing and I was so happy to go home with a striped bass.
Thank you to Edward and Omar for helping me catch this fish.
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