Black sea bass caught off Southern California must be released by law.
When the skipper of the mother ship that had taken a group of kayak-fishing enthusiasts to San Clemente Island, off the Southern California coast, noticed three yaks had strayed a mile offshore, he figured something was up.
In a report posted April 26, Phillip Friedman says that after a call on the VHF brought no response, Capt. Ricky Perez on the Black Pearl__ figured something was up. When he ran out in a Zodiac to check, he spotted angler Anthony Pinner’s Hobie Outback being towed farther out at a steady clip, his rod bent double.
Eventually Pinner brought up what he hollered out was the biggest white seabass he’d ever seen. Perez corrected him: It was a giant black sea bass, a very different fish, and protected by law.
Once photos were taken of the fish, Pinner released it.
