White SeaBass are one of the most prized fish in California. They are also nicknamed Ghosts for their ability to appear and disappear in a heartbeat, and for how difficult they can be to find…

In 2022 I dedicated more time than any year before to hunting these elusive, spooky fish in the kelp beds off our beautiful coast…

My search for these fish involved countless solo trips paddling out before sunrise into the cold and grey dawn…slipping silently off my kayak and creeping slowly through the spooky, gloomy, murky dark and green waters in, under, and around the matted and twisted kelp forests…

While hunting these fish I made a ton of dumb mistakes, got skunked a bunch, and missed a lot of opportunities…but somehow I still managed to bring home some of these amazing, haunting fish.

My trusty Kraken helped out tremendously with the surf launches and landings, got me safely to and from the kelp beds, and gave me the best chance of success possible…

This year’s fish weighed between 47 and 59 pounds with only one under 50…I took my time processing them, getting as much meat as possible off of each one, and all of it was devoured by my immediate and extended family members and multiple friends.

I am very grateful for these special fish, I learned a lot from the experiences, and hopefully will get a chance to take some more in future years.

Here is a video of some of the highlights, and a few of my favorite pictures.