Opening Bolsa Chica

Up until a few days ago, much of Bolsa Chica was closed off to the public, so when I heard that they had opened it up I went to go check it out. The water under the bridge is murkier because the water is now able to get into and out of the estuary a bit easier, now that they have widened the opening to the ocean. You can already see a difference.

We saw about 6 stingrays in different places, all within a 30 minute span. This one seems to be missing his tail.

Something was scaring all of the smelt, and we couldn’t quite make it out. Whatever it was, it was just shy of 2 feet long.

Upon careful inspection, it turns out to be a white sea bass! I have never seen these in Bolsa Chica before. And there were a bunch of them munching on the the smelt!
A few days ago, a school of bonita came up next to the docks in Newport and attacked the smelt as I was teaching a class. The frenzy only lasted 10 seconds, and when it was finished, there were a bunch of baitfish flopping around on the dock. This was exactly how it was in Catalina last weekend, except I have never seen this happen in front of the Sea Base or Sailing Center in the 10 years that I’ve been around this area.
I’m taking these unusual sightings as a good omen for the fisheries along the coast. It looks like things are starting to recover. It’s about time.