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Corvina

dtbushpilot - 7-23-2010 at 03:06 PM

After a lengthy frustrating trip down the beach and back chasing huge roosters with no success I arrived back in front of my house and saw a small group of fish milling around that I didn't recognize. My first cast produced an immediate hook up and a nice corvina. I've never seen one here. I released him and went up and down the beach looking for his buddys but they were gone. I did manage to catch a nice dinner size pargo on the next cast.

b1 - 7-23-2010 at 03:47 PM

I ask out of curiosity where (generally) were you fishing that this is the first time for corvina there? thanks, b1

dtbushpilot - 7-23-2010 at 03:55 PM

I live in Buena Vista BCS. I caught the fish basically right in front of my house. I'm sure that they are around, this is just the first one I've caught or seen caught around here. I caught a nice snook a few months ago, first for me. Thought it was a rarity until I told the story and found that lots of people have caught them around here....same with halibut. Ya just never know what you might catch.....dt

[Edited on 7-23-2010 by dtbushpilot]

castaway$ - 7-23-2010 at 04:00 PM

Corvina are supposed to be pretty tasty aren't they?

here we go.....

woody with a view - 7-23-2010 at 04:05 PM

this is what we have always known as corb-vina. the down turned mouth and barb on the bottom lip are the give away.

i'm sure they must be related, but the mouth on yours is totally different. BTW, i've never caught one of mine on an artificial bait. always on sand crabs, ghost shrimp, or clam.

ceviche bound:

100_5556.jpg - 44kB

dtbushpilot - 7-23-2010 at 04:07 PM

They are fantastic eating. I caught one in the estero at Campo Rene and cooked it over a charcoal fire, it was delicious. Something about fresh caught fish on a camp fire that's special....

I would have kept him but I'm going to be leaving in a couple of days and didn't want to bother cleaning a fish. When I caught the pargo I considered it a "sign from God" that I was to eat fish tonight so I kept him. He and I will share a bottle of wine tonight....he's not going to get very much of the wine.....dt

dtbushpilot - 7-23-2010 at 04:12 PM

That's a nice pile of corBina woody AKA boca dulce. They are great tasting fish too, one of the best. I've seen pictures of Juan Arce with lure caught corbina but I've never caught one on a lure either.

We have yellowfin croaker here, a similar fish to the corbina.

b1 - 7-23-2010 at 04:14 PM

I believe they are "shortfin corvina". They are my favorite eating fish in Baja; Ceviche or cooked. The filets on even a smaller corvina produce a lot of useable meat. Most that I have caught have two very distinct front teeth. b1

Russ - 7-23-2010 at 04:17 PM

Nice catch! Always special to catch a new fish in an area.
woody with a view, Totally a different fish than your corBina. And that is a really nice BIG batch of corbina. CorVina don't have the barbel on the chin and in most ways resemble a white seabass.

woody with a view - 7-23-2010 at 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dtbushpilot
I would have kept him but I'm going to be leaving in a couple of days and didn't want to bother cleaning a fish. When I caught the pargo I considered it a "sign from God" that I was to eat fish tonight so I kept him. He and I will share a bottle of wine tonight....he's not going to get very much of the wine.....dt

all our best to you guys!

dtbushpilot - 7-23-2010 at 04:23 PM

Woody, you and Bia have a standing invite here if you ever get down this way....you too russ....dt

woody with a view - 7-23-2010 at 04:27 PM

THANKS! one of these days.....

Cochi - 7-23-2010 at 05:14 PM

I got a great surprise "Baja Catch" fishing recently which includes a first corvina catch with my favorite lure. Hooked a 10lber on my trout rod with a rebel fastrac....with the pink belly.

10lb corvina 0n trout rod 2.JPG - 40kB

David K - 7-23-2010 at 05:30 PM

CORBINA (what Woody shows) has mouth facing bottom with the barb... related to the CROAKER... they take bait right close to shore, sandy bottom.

They have a range from California's Pacific coast all the way down Baja and up to San Felipe!

CORVINA is what dt shows, mouth in front... they hit lures... They are native to the Gulf of California (San Felipe area), but can range up the Pacific coast, as well.

The problem naturally is the V and B in Spanish sound nearly identicle... Thus corBina and corVina get confused!

More on these excellent eating fish at www.MexFish.com

woody with a view - 7-23-2010 at 07:43 PM

we love to fool these little buggers!

100_2712.jpg - 44kB

fishabductor - 7-23-2010 at 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
we love to fool these little buggers!

Yellowfin Croaker

dtbushpilot - 7-23-2010 at 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cochi
I got a great surprise "Baja Catch" fishing recently which includes a first corvina catch with my favorite lure. Hooked a 10lber on my trout rod with a rebel fastrac....with the pink belly.

Nice fish Cochi, where did you catch him?.....dt

dtbushpilot - 7-23-2010 at 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by fishabductor

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
we love to fool these little buggers!

Yellowfin Croaker

Yes, or corbina....or corvina......or boca dulce......or just plain fun and good eating..

I just finished eating "Juan Pargo" for dinner. As luck would have it he was a recovering alcoholic (like I should be) and he didn't want any wine :lol:

.......dt

Russ - 7-23-2010 at 08:31 PM

He's one of my neighbors and I think he was trolling close in a beach north of the camping beach? He also show me the hot spots around the hotel where I got into the toros. I noticed that you got your corvina with you curado setup. That's what I had the hour fight with the toro that I lost. But FUN!

dtbushpilot - 7-23-2010 at 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Russ
He's one of my neighbors and I think he was trolling close in a beach north of the camping beach? He also show me the hot spots around the hotel where I got into the toros. I noticed that you got your corvina with you curado setup. That's what I had the hour fight with the toro that I lost. But FUN!

I have 2 of them now, this is my lighter setup.

Earlier in the day I had a rooster of about 40lbs charge my lure with his dorsal fin up right to the beach at my feet before he turned and disappeared. It was exciting to say the least and I must say that I was a bit intimidated with the light outfit I was using. Would have been fun no matter how it turned out.

Udo - 7-23-2010 at 09:16 PM

Thanks for the first photo, DT, that shows the rod and lure you used.

Great stuff!

dtbushpilot - 7-23-2010 at 10:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Udo
Thanks for the first photo, DT, that shows the rod and lure you used.

Great stuff!

I always try to include the outfit and lure in the picture if I can. I'm usually by myself and trying to hurry and get the fish back in the water so my photos aren't usually "magazine quality". sometimes I get lucky and there will be someone else there to take the photo.

A while back there were some guys here from Colorado fly fishing. They were all guides (professional fisherman) back home and were learning "the ropes" of fly fishing the East cape. I think it was their last day here and I encountered one of the guys by himself and he had just hooked into a big toro. He asked me if I could get his camera out of his bag and get some pictures which, of course I was glad to do. I got the camera....a funny looking thing, and started to shoot pictures. I went in the water and shot back, I thought of all sorts of angles and shot pictures.

After a while the guy said "just leave it on"........as it turns out, it was a video camera.....all the while I thought I was taking still shots. I can only imagine what the video looked like with it starting and stopping at all the wrong times.

Late in the fight we saw a group of roosters headed toward us. He pointed them out to me in case I wanted to drop the camera and grab my rod. I told him "I live here, I can catch fish any time, you're on vacation, I'll get the video".....I also said "quit screwing around and reel him in, I gotta go home"....

It was a nice toro, about 20lbs caught on a fly. I hope he had some usable video.....or at least something he could make fun of the "dumb local" to his buddies with......dt

Russ - 7-24-2010 at 05:32 AM

dt, I curious about the lure. It doesn't look like a Kroc. Also want a light 20#+ short 6 1/2' to7' boat rod & reel that's no as heavy as my dorado gear. I've got a Calcutta & a Saltigo reel but they're heaver than I want. I need something with a heaver drag than the Curados. Any Ideas?
When I hooked the toro it just took be where ever it wanted to go like it wasn't hooked up. :?:

RnR - 7-24-2010 at 06:27 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K

The problem naturally is the V and B in Spanish sound nearly identicle... Thus corBina and corVina get confused!

Fishabductor: ... yellowfin croaker
Juan Arce: ... boca dulce

So now I'm really confused....

Obviously some of these names are in Spanish and some are in Engish. Is corBina and corVina the spanish or the english name? Seeing as I live near the East Cape, what are the local spanish names? I tried asking a local (Mexican) friend about the fish and I think that in my anglicized Spanish that the V and B were sounding exactly the same..... Hmmm.

baitcast - 7-24-2010 at 08:19 AM

A few tips fishing CorVina,most fisherman use shiny stuff and swimming plugs in the daytime"K/M,krocks and Rapala,all will work.

But when most people call it a day and retire with a few beers this is the time to chase CorVina,nite time is the best time,they will feed heavy and come in very close chasing bait,some of the best I,ve had was on a full moon

anf the best baits were dark Zara-Spooks and a variety of poppers with the Pop-R and the Rapala Skeeter-Pop being the best.

While fishing these things you will get an explosion from time to time because dark nites bring in all kinds of larger fish that need more cover.

This fish was caught at at Bola where CorVina has never been great but I have always done pretty well at nite on Spooks even at La Gringa :biggrin:

Skipjack Joe - 7-24-2010 at 08:23 AM

Rnr,

Boca Dulce = Yellowfin Croaker

I couldn't google up Mexican common names for corvina and corbina. In South America white seabass are sold in the markets as 'Corvina'.

Night time fishing:

A few years ago we met a bunch of guys on the pacific side that fished the surf at night with miner hat lights on top. The fish were at your feet. The boca dulce could be caught with 20' casts and they were everywhere.

How late at night did you fish for those corvina, baitcast? Thought I would try it too.

[Edited on 7-24-2010 by Skipjack Joe]

fishabductor - 7-24-2010 at 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RnR

Quote:

Originally posted by David K

The problem naturally is the V and B in Spanish sound nearly identicle... Thus corBina and corVina get confused!

Local name on the eastcape is blandita. or at least that my family calls them. they like small silver spoons in 2/5-3/5oz. if anyone is interested in these lures I am a distributer for RVRFSHR lures out of WA State. They are online. I can get large orders sent down.

These lures work great on steelheading gear. I got 10 in 10 casts this past winter.

fishabductor - 7-24-2010 at 08:32 AM

I fished one night a few years back at night, using bait. When we rebaited we would turn on the trucks headlights for light. the lights would shine out in the water. Every line in the water would get hit when the lights were on.

Cochi - 7-24-2010 at 08:52 AM

dt,sorry for the delay. Yes, I am fishing close to shore, and caught the 31 incher in front of Woods house in the late afternoon(hint:Russ is a neighbor) We used to run by this spot on our way to chase the nonexistent dodos.Russ you are torturing me with your pics. Went to Squidco and bought em out of the rebels. Are the walleye runners workin and are they heavy enuf?

baitcast - 7-24-2010 at 08:58 AM

Forgot to mention when using topwater condition of the water means alot,if there is a chop on the water a Spook does not work so hot thats the time to change to a popper.

When using a Spook and they seem to be missing it alot change the cadence faster or slower if they keep missing changeto the popper,in the dark you will hear the take before you feel it try and wait till you feel it,hard to do tho :lol:

Rob

dtbushpilot - 7-24-2010 at 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by fishabductor
I fished one night a few years back at night, using bait. When we rebaited we would turn on the trucks headlights for light. the lights would shine out in the water. Every line in the water would get hit when the lights were on.

Of course, they were able to see the bait when the lights were on :lol:

.......dt

dtbushpilot - 7-24-2010 at 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Russ
dt, I curious about the lure. It doesn't look like a Kroc. Also want a light 20#+ short 6 1/2' to7' boat rod & reel that's no as heavy as my dorado gear. I've got a Calcutta & a Saltigo reel but they're heaver than I want. I need something with a heaver drag than the Curados. Any Ideas?
When I hooked the toro it just took be where ever it wanted to go like it wasn't hooked up. :?:

The lure is a Subwalk Rapala. It's my "go to" lure. I have been casting lures from the beach all week with no success, Krocks, Deadly Dicks, Salas jigs all resulted in nothing. I went back to the Rapala and immediately started getting action. I catch a lot of fish with it.

I recently bought a Trinidad TN14 and an 8' Teramar rod for casting lures from the beach or boat. It's good stuff but a pain in the a$$ to operate. I really miss the level wind feature. I would have suggested a Calcutta. Are you sure your drag is working properly on the Curado? I've caught some big toros with mine although it was with a bit heavier rod than the one in the corvina picture.

shari - 7-24-2010 at 09:52 AM

Our boca dulce (yellowfin coraker) take 4" krocodiles all the time! an insanely yummy, moist fish that can be just thrown on a fire and cooked like that...easy and deliciosa.

fishabductor - 7-24-2010 at 09:53 AM

I love my calcutta 200. I even fought a 200# marlin on it for 2 hrs with 30# braid, I almost got him too.

baitcast - 7-24-2010 at 10:12 AM

A Coleman lantern works great as a fish magnet on the beach,place some foil on the back side so it won,t you blind you and point it out,bait will zero in on it if there are squid around they will be all over the place now you have your own chum line,the CorVina will hang right on the outer limints of light.

This setup will attract sharks as well we caught a number of T-Sharks this way,which is a hell of a lot of fun as well as good eating.
Rob

David K - 7-24-2010 at 10:20 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by RnR

Quote:

Originally posted by David K

The problem naturally is the V and B in Spanish sound nearly identicle... Thus corBina and corVina get confused!

More fish... A Yellowfin Croaker (and the related Spotfin Croaker) are different fish than the Corbina... But, all three are bottom feeders and have the downward facing mouth. Croakers can make a croaking or pig grunting sound out of the water, have the yelow fins or a dark spot. Corbinas do not... I never heard the term Boca Dulce applied to the Yellowfin Croaker until Shari began posting on Nomad and told us that was what Juan called it, when a Yellowfin Croaker photo was posted here.

From Ray Cannon's 'How to Fish the Pacific Coast':

Spotfin Croaker: Roncandor stearnsi
Yellowfin Croaker: Umbrina roncandor
California Corbina: Menticirrbus undulatus
(The Corbina is the "MOST highly esteemed fish by surf anglers south of Pt. Conception".)

The 'Corvina' is not in the book, except as another name used for the Corbina.. as is 'California Whiting' and 'Surf Fish'.

In Tom Miller's 'Angler's Guide to Baja California', he shows the three varieties that Ray Cannon shows (above), plus three varieties of Corvina:

Orangemouth Corvina: Cynoscion xanthulus
Gulf Corvina: Cynoscion othonopterus
Shortfin Corvina: Cynoscion parvipinnis

(all three are rated as 'excellent eating')

The Totuava (Cynoscion macdonaldi) and White Seabass (Cynoscian nobilis and also called Corvina Blanca) are both related to the Corvina...

Here, it is easier for me to share the page from Tom Miller's book that covers the Corvinas, Croakers and Corbina:

baitcast - 7-24-2010 at 10:24 AM

And speaking of CorVina check out this guy

and believe it or not they have been catching Shortfin Corvina in Mission Bay San Diego for several years and nobody knows how they got there?
Rob

Russ - 7-24-2010 at 11:00 AM

dt "Are you sure your drag is working properly on the Curado? I've caught some big toros with mine although it was with a bit heavier rod than the one in the corvina picture."
Maybe not? I have 15# top shot and had the drag really tight and the line just played out. Of course I didn't want to break it off either so I didn't try to tighten it any further. I loosen the drag after each outing so I just figured it was good.

Skipjack Joe - 7-24-2010 at 12:37 PM

A couple of notes:

1. The first picture in this thread is of a shortfin corvina.

2. The first time I heard Mexicans refer to a yellowfin croaker (at Abreojos 20 yrs ago) they called them 'barbitos'. Due to the appendage below the mouth that looks a small beard.

Oh yes, and #3. I think spotfin croakers are more highly esteemed than corbina these days. I'm sure Woody would agree. Ray Cannon wrote for California anglers. Baja is a different world. As you move sothward you get pompano, jack crevalle, sierra, roosters, and snook in the surf - all more highly esteemed than the croakers.

[Edited on 7-24-2010 by Skipjack Joe]

i wood argee!

woody with a view - 7-24-2010 at 01:32 PM

biggun.jpg - 44kB

chicks dig the big ones!

woody with a view - 7-24-2010 at 01:35 PM

this is Kristy. this is Kristy's first fish EVER!

the chicks were out-fishing us guys all week long. i guess it's okay since they keep wanting to go back for more! :light:

BajaBruno - 7-24-2010 at 05:56 PM

Congratulations, Kristy. That beats a 4 ounce trout as a first fish.

David K - 7-25-2010 at 10:21 AM

That is a nice Corbina!