A fisherman aboard a boat that launched from Dana Point reeled in an enormous white seabass near the end of a nine-hour voyage on Monday.
The fish was caught by Jared Donahoe, an angler on the ship Clemente, about 3 miles off the coast of Oceanside.
At first, his fellow fishermen thought Donahoe had a shark on the line, according to Capt. Chase Moore.
“It was very long and gray and it was pretty confused. Then it got a little higher in the water column and we could see it better, and as soon as we see a fish like that, it’s just a panic to run for the gaffs and get it on board as quickly as possible,” Moore said.
The 45-pound fish was caught in conditions and in a proximity to shore that make it a “certainly once-in-a-lifetime” catch, Moore added.
“They’re known as ghosts. They’re very shy to loud noise, there’s not a whole lot of them and they can be very finnicky,” he said.
Donahoe could not be reached for comment.