The inshore region between Rosarito Beach and San Quintin is fortunate to be blessed with numerous, thick concentrations of kelp; home to calico bass, one of our region’s most prized gamefish. Members of this species will viciously attack a well presented, live anchovy, sardine or lure, and have a reputation for hiding behind the cover of kelp strands so that they can lie in wait for unsuspecting prey as it swims by.

The calico bass, Paralabrax clathratus, is a prime target of coastal anglers because of its great fighting spirit, as well as for the quality table fare that it provides. Although most likely to weigh in between 1 to 4 pounds, these fish can occasionally reach a weight of 12 to 13 pounds when living in their natural, kelp bed habitat.

In addition to the kelp, calico bass also inhabit areas near shallow reefs, breakwaters or ‘boiler’ rocks as well as just about any other inshore spot with submerged structure. They are also occasionally found in bays and harbors adjacent to docks and moorings, which provide a suitable shelter from which they can ambush baitfish.

These popular gamesters will readily inhale most live forage species, particularly anchovies, sardines and smelt. They are also extremely fond of smaller live squid, although this bait is rather difficult to predictably obtain. Luckily, they will also eagerly gobble up pieces of cut squid. Most experienced calico anglers with the luxury of access to live bait prefer to simply ‘flyline’ their weightless offering around the edges of the kelp so that it can swim freely and attract the attention of nearby predators.

When fishing for calicos in the kelp using artificial plastic baits, try starting out with colors that incorporate brown and golden hues with hologram or metal flake. Large plastic grubs, and either single or double Scampi-style tails often work well. These colors most closely emulate the appearance of juvenile kelp bass, which are regularly cannibalized by larger members of their own species. Classic swimbaits also work well but, because you must continually cast and retrieve them, plastic artificials are not always the best choice for the lazy angler.

The fact remains that, if you work them properly, plastic swimbaits can mimic the movements of a live baitfish with uncanny accuracy and sometimes end up catching more fish than live bait. 5-inch swimbaits are one of the best sizes to use when targeting calico bass in ocean waters. Once again, the most productive colors near the kelp are brown, olive or gold with orange bellies. In open water and near rocky structure, I prefer using an anchovy or sardine pattern to try and provoke a strike.

Let the lure sink all the way down, then crank it back about a dozen times. Immediately throw your reel into free spool and let the lure sink back to the bottom. This system works well at anchor, but even better if you drift to cover more territory. When your line starts to slowly peel off, kick your reel into gear while winding as fast as possible to tighten the line and set the hook. If the fish swims into the kelp, put your reel back into free spool and wait about minute before attempting to reel the fish in again. Often, it will have already swum back out from between the kelp strands on its own.

The colder the water temperature, the more likely it is that your lure will be attacked as flutters down through the water column. While it is possible to catch calicos throughout the year, the best action takes place in spring and continues on through late summer.

During the warmest months, calico bass will often feed near surface bait schools, and even bigger fish can be taken using a ‘surface iron’ lure, which might normally be used to catch species such as yellowtail, or big barracuda. For some, this may be challenging technique to master; but there’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when a huge, trophy-sized calico bass smashes through the surface with your iron jig in its mouth.

Fish weighing between 1 to 3 pounds are prolific, provide delightfully delicate fillets and can be enjoyed without making as much of a negative impact on the resource. Of course, responsible anglers never keep more fish than they can use.

Because they are both territorial and delicious, populations of calico bass have diminished drastically during the past few decades, particularly in southern California. Unless anglers in Baja practice great restraint, the same thing could happen south of the border.

One simple practice could change all of that. When you catch a kelp bass over 5 pounds, it is very important to release it unharmed. It’s a known fact that large, female calicos are able to contribute millions more juveniles to rebuild their population than can smaller bass.

In recent fishing activity, Orange County resident, Brandon Cotton, a brief hiatus from his job and managed to squeeze out a few days of panga fishing with this reporter last week. After a few hours of catching lingcod and other bottom species just south of Ensenada, Capt. Beto Zamora moved the Vonny’s Fleet panga inshore for a wide variety of species, which included calico bass, sand bass, barracuda, white sea bass and halibut.

Further south, in Bahia San Quintin, Pete Hillis of Pedro’s Pangas reports that even though there were winds and rain off and on during the week, the bad weather had either slowed down or had stopped completely by Saturday morning.  As a result, limits of rock cod and ling cod and a few giant squid were brought in.  Hillis indicated that there has also been good bass fishing locally, with an exceptionally large count of large johnny bass being taken.