Getting to know the Salty Bass

By Alex Cady

Most of the time when people think about bass fishing they will think about Largemouth, Smallmouth or even Striped Bass. But there is another type of bass fishing that should really be given a chance. That’s Sea Bass or the better name is “Salty Bass.” There are three sub species that we really like to fish for in California. The Calico, Sand and Spotted Bay Bass.

Calico Bass (Kelp Bass)

Calico Bass is the most popular of the all the bass species. They are a staple of our sport fishing industry in Southern California and even have a tournament series devoted to targeting them. For good reason, they are one of the more aggressive salty bass species swimming along the California Coast. They are hard fighting fish that can pull an angler around like a tractor. It’s not a long drawn out battle, but they will put every ounce of their strength into the first run as they try to get back to the structure with which they came out of.

This fish prefer structure like Kelp, Grass, Drop offs, or Rocks. All of these spots are places that the Calico Bass call home. Most of the time anglers can find these fish in 5 to 200 feet of water from Northern California down to Baja. When anglers are targeting the normal ½ to 3 pound Calico bass a 7 or 8 weight salt water rod can handle these fish. The beauty of the southern California Coast is that we have some true trophy Calico bass fishing along Catalina Island and the Long Beach City Wall. For these fisheries larger rods like a 9 or a 10 weight and 25 pound test is required because of their brute strength and desire to run into cover. I like to say that every pound that you put on these fish is another 10% chance that the fish will pull you into the structure. Maybe that’s why nobody has landed a 10lb plus Calico on the fly to my knowledge.

Sand Bass (Barred Sand Bass)

The lesser known sibling of the Calico Bass is the Sand Bass or Sandy. As the name state, Sand Bass love sand and mud bottoms close to a structure. They can be found in both in the open ocean and bays unlike the Calico Bass. The true big fish are out in the coastal structures and it’s not uncommon to get both Sand and Calico Bass in the same area.

Spotted Bay Bass (Spotted Sand Bass)

The smallest of the Salty Bass but one of my favorite species that I fish for in San Diego is the Spotted Bay Bass or Spotty as well call them in Southern California. The big reason is they are one of the most aggressive species I have ever come across. It’s not uncommon to have 20, 30, 40 even 100 fish days when the tide and food is right. Unlike like the other two species the Spotties lives almost exclusively in the bays and estuaries next to Eel grass, docks and drop offs. All of this makes them very easily accessed by fly anglers from boat, kayak, float tube or wading. While in the bay you can also get over 10 other species including Halibut, Corvina, Croaker and even a Bonefish. This can make for a great day on the water

In other blogs I will dive deeper into each species gear, techniques and locations. Good luck guys and girls

Capt. Alex Cady