Dennis Spike with a kayak fishing record 75# white sea bass landed in early May 2000. The big croaker was 2″ shy of 5 feet with a 32″ girth and taken a few hundred yards off the first point on the south end of Broad Beach in Malibu.  “Falcon and I were following the squid, looking for white sea bass.  I threw a small Krocodile and was busted off on a 12 pound test outfit.  Today, I use a heavier outfit than that for making bait!  Flylining a giant live sardine on a 20 pound leader with 25 pound line, I got picked up, hooked up and pulled about 1000 yards in 3 magnificent runs.  The fish was exhausted at the end and easily landed, lifted with a gaff hook under the lower jaw.  Following me on the initial run, Falcon got hooked up trolling a swimbait and eventually boated a 59 pounder.  The last thing I heard was a fading “You’re on your own” as he was pulled in another direction.  We’ve shared many epic days since.  We used the Tournament scale that isn’t licensed but is dead accurate.  Falcon’s fish was exactly 59#, one pound shy of the scale limit.  My fish was cut into 3 pieces with the belly contents bagged and weighed and scale recalculated and checked many times.  There was virtually no fluid loss in the process.  It is notable that the egg sack weighed 10#, was delicious and shared by many!”

seabass

Spike & Falcon near the end of an epic day on the water. Brian “Falcon” Campbell (on the left) of Newbury Park, California landed his 59 pounder.