White SeaBass Fishing

White seabass or white weakfish, is a species of croaker that is a highly prized fish to target due to their size, and delicious meat. They are also sometimes referred to as King Croaker. Their meat has a firm texture, with moist flakes when it’s cooked, making it a favorite fish for many. Contents 1. White SeaBass Description 2. Where To Find White SeaBass 3. How To Fish For White SeaBass 4. Bait Fishing 5. Lure Fishing 6. Glazed White SeaBass Recipe

White SeaBass Description

The body of the white seabass is long, and somewhat compressed, with a pointed head and a large mouth that has a lower jaw that is slightly projected. It is bluish gray with with dark speckling. Young offspring have several dark vertical bars. It is closely related to the California corbina, but much larger as their weight typically far exceeds 20 pounds in weight, to the tune of the record fish being over five feet long weighing just over 93 pounds. White seabass like to eat other fish like anchovies, sardines, mackerel, and squid. The average size of the White SeaBass is about five years of age, and weighing in at about seven and a half pounds.

Where To Find White SeaBass

White SeaBass can be found from Magdalena Bay, Baja California, all the way up to Juneau, Alaska. They typically travel in schools over deep rocky bottoms, as well as frequently travel in and out of kelp beds. White seabass can be purchased in stores, as well as online seafood markets. They are typically packaged as fish fillets. It is available year round, though the price is lower during the summer months.

How To Fish For White SeaBass

You can catch White SeaBass with live bait, and artificial lures. The top fishing live bait that fishermen use to fish for them is Live Squid. Other top favorite live baits are large anchovies, medium sized sardines, and large live pacific mackerel. You will need to check your state’s fish and wildlife fishing regulations, but at the time of this writing, the California Fish and Wildlilfe requires that they can only be kept if they are 28 inches or larger. The minimum size limit is in the regulations, and there is also a maximum bag limit for how many you can keep, so check with your states fish and wildlife website so that you know specifically what you can and cannot keep.

California Fish and Wildlife White SeaBass Fishing Regulations

Subject to change, need to validate what the current regulations are before fishing. Minimum size: 28 inches total length, or 20.5 inches alternate length. Season: Open all year. Limit: 3, except that only one fish may be taken in waters south of Pt. Conception between March 15 and June 15.

White SeaBass Fishing Guides and Charter Boats

There are many different fishing guides that offer guided fishing trips for white seabass, and pretty much any other fish that you may want to target. FishingBooker is a service of local guides that you can choose from and schedule your next guided fishing trip, charter boat, or fishing party boat. Book yourself a White SeaBass Fishing Guide Today!

World Record Biggest White SeaBass

The biggest world record sized White SeaBass ever caught, as per the International Game Fish Association, was caught in Mexico, in San Felipe, in 1953 by Lyal Baumgardner, and it weighed in at 83 lb 12 oz. However, as mentioned earlier in this article, there is word of a 93 pounder though it has not be included in the IGFA record search as of the time this article was written.

White SeaBass Fishing Techniques

There are several techniques that you can use to catch White SeaBass. They can be caught by drift fishing or still fishing with live baits or by slow trolling, jigging, or casting with flashy lures. White SeaBass are typically found near shore in deeper water over sandy bottoms, or around and near kelp beds. They can also be found in shallow surf. They are most plentiful from about May through the end of September. They can be found in just many different types of coastal waters around baitfish patches, jetties and breakwaters, bays and estuaries, deep shore water, kelp forests, kelp beds, and above a rocky sea floor. Night fishing is the most productive, but they can be caught pretty much any time a person can get time to get out and fish.

Fishing Rod and Reel For White SeaBass Fishing

A nice and heavy duty spinning rod and reel combo is the perfect setup to use for fishing for White SeaBass. If you are going to be bait fishing, you can also use a baitcasting rod and reel combo. These are big fish, and they fight hard, so a nice sturdy rod with a reel with the strength to pull them in is the best bet.

Bait Fishing For White SeaBass

Bait fishing for both live bait, and fresh or frozen dead bait, is pretty similar where the same types of bait will work. Your technique will change based on water conditions or where the fish are holding up. Follow the seagulls, if they are attacking the surface in large numbers, there’s a good chance there is some bait balled up and surfacing, which means big fish are below them eating up the easy meal. The best bets for bait fishing is to use sardines, anchovies, squid, mackerel, and crustaceans. B ait fish for White SeaBass with live or dead bait while drift fishing, bait casting, spin casting, bottom bouncing, or fly fishing. Fishermen tend to do very well fishing at night using natural baits soaked near the bottom.

Lure Fishing For White SeaBass

Fishing for White SeaBass with lures really depends on whether you like to use hard bait lures, or soft bait lures. The best bets for soft bait lures are tube baits, zoom flukes, keitech lures, imitation squid, and swimbaits. The best bets for hard bait lures are large spoons, Kastmasters, jigs, hard imitation squids, and stickbaits. Fish for White SeaBass with lures while drift fishing, bottom bouncing, jigging, casting while drifting over a baitfish patch.

Glazed White SeaBass Recipe

White SeaBass has a soft textured, flaky meat. This glazed recipe gives it just the right amount of flavor mixture of sweet, sour, and spicy. A quick and easy recipe that is unique and perfect. Ingredients 2 Pounds of White SeaBass or similar fish cut into serving size pieces 3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce ½ Cup Rice Vinegar 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar ¼ Cup Sesame Oil 2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic ¼ Teaspoon Minced Ginger ¼ Cup Butter 1 Tablespoon Coarse Ground Black Pepper 1 Tablespoon Ground Red Pepper Juice and Zest of 1 Lemon Lemon Slices for Garnish In a medium sized bowl, mix together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, minced garlic, butter, black pepper, red pepper, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Spread mixture all over fish and place in covered container and regrigerate for one to two hours until ready to cook. Set pellet grill to 450 degrees. Grill until the fish gets flaky tender, which will be about 15 minutes. Turning once at the 7 or 8 minute mark, depending on the thickness of the fish. Plate, and add lemon slices on top of each serving for garnish. For more recipes check out our recipes page. About The Author Mike Mendenhall is the the founder of Mendenhall Outdoors. This website is an extension of the Mendenhall family’s lifestyle and passion for the great outdoors. Everything that they learn, and experience, along the way that they find may be valuable to our website visitors is on the site for you to enjoy. We highlight products and services that you might find interesting. We frequently receive free products from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. If you click a link on this page, then go on to make a purchase, we might receive a commission – at no extra cost to you, and does not impact the purchase price of any products that you may purchase.