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We actually had a beautiful fall day in Washington today in the mid 60's. So I decided to head to Union after work to take a shot at what could be my last chance at Bass for the season. I started off throwing lipless, shallow, and deep diving cranks to see if I could trigger a reaction strike of any bass that may potentially be in the shallows and deeper water but that was a no go.

I switched to a drop shot and about 10 minutes into that I felt a few big bumps and I set the hook! It doesn't feel all that big but whatever it was felt dense and honestly I thought I had a dink smallmouth on. Boy was I wrong and in for the surprise of my life. I pulled out a Monster Sculpin. I am talking a straight up freak of nature freshwater Sculpin. Most of the annoying Sculpins that you catch range anywhere from an inch to maybe 2 or 3 at most. This Sculpin that I caught was just about 8 inches long. I didn't have a measuring tape but I know that the length from the tip of my middle finger to the start of my wrist is 8 inches. It was also very wide and thick. For a Sculpin it had massive girth and length, and was seriously a monster. I didn't even know that this particular species in fresh water could get that big.

A few minutes later, I get another bite and set the hook. I pulled in a dink Largemouth that was probably between 1/4 - 1/2 lb. But I was still happy just to catch a Largemouth because it could be my last one for the year.

I then switched spots and started off tossing a deep diving crank for a few minutes but quickly switched to a drop shot again. I fished for over an hour with no bites. As soon as the sun set, it got dark and super cold and the wind picked up. As I was about to reel in and call it a night, I get a huge bite and set the hook! Just judging by the fight, I immediately knew that it was a smallmouth. I didn't weigh it but I've caught enough to know that it was at least 3/4 lbs but just under 1 lb.

Neither the largemouth of smallmouth are really post worthy so the pictures are just of the Monster Sculpin. To be honest, I was happier catching that huge sculpin than I was catching the largemouth and smallmouth. I wish that I had a fish tank and could have legally kept it in there lol.

SculpinKing

10/19/2011 7:00:00 AM

Hah! It's been many years, but I think I've caught one or two that size when smallmouth or perch fishing in Lake Washington. They just nibble, nibble, nibble endlessly, don't they? Thanks for the pics, I feel like a fraud having this username and not catching a Sculpin since June.

The Quadfather

10/19/2011 7:28:00 AM

LOL... ya, I was wondering if the SculpinKing was going to get in on that report.

Elijah.Loves.Fishin

10/19/2011 10:00:00 AM

@ sculpinking - LOL at the fraud comment hahaha :D

islandbass

10/19/2011 11:28:00 PM

That is a nice sculpin! I caught one myself about the same size on a size 5 inline spinner last week targeting silvers in the Duwi. Thanks for sharing. Hope it isn't your last outing for bass this year.

Elijah.Loves.Fishin

10/19/2011 11:29:00 PM

wow! caught a big sculpin on a spinner in the river eh? that's nuts! :D

MotoBoat

10/20/2011 1:50:00 PM

E.LF. Glad you mentioned it. I caught a monster sculpin this last summer across the street from the "urban anglers" house. I was thinking: "I wonder if there is a catagory for state record sculpin"? And " I wonder if this is a state record sculpin"? I did not have a measuring tape either. But know my tennis shoes were 12 inched long and that fish laid along side for a measurement, was every bit of 9 inches. That was the first and last time a fish that I caught, entered and left my thought process as a possible State record. Ha!

Oh, it was caught on a watermelon 4" robo worm, wacky rigged!

rickydbasser

10/20/2011 2:34:00 PM

The main thing is to look at its color....Smallies love Sculpins, and lets match the hatch, and that has punkin pepper written all over it.

rickydbasser

10/20/2011 2:37:00 PM

Sculpins are carnivorous. I've caught sculpins while fishing plastic sculpins. And that is one big sculpin!!

Elijah.Loves.Fishin

10/20/2011 3:36:00 PM

@ motoboat - wow that's a huge one! i caught mine on a 4 inch drop shot bait that was nose hooked! i was also wondering if there was a state record and what the state record was if there was one.

Elijah.Loves.Fishin

10/20/2011 3:37:00 PM

@ riskydbasser - i agree, pumpkin pepper has always been a good color for me for largemouth, smallmouth, and rock bass, i like green pumpkins with different colored flake a lot too.

SculpinKing

10/21/2011 9:48:00 AM

There is a record kept for Prickly Sculpin. The dimensions aren't given, but it is apparently .41lbs.
http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/records/search.php?View=all

Not sure if this fish was landed in Washington or not, but it appears to be a freshwater sculpin and blows every fish in this thread out of the water:
http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=26175&ppuser=10262&sl=r

Elijah.Loves.Fishin

10/21/2011 10:11:00 AM

holy crap. if that's freshwater than it must have been intoxicated by a nuclear power plant because that fish is a freak! but you can also tell that he is totally long arming the fish in the photo to make it look bigger than it really is. i've caught some giant saltwater sculpin close to 2 lbs before but they were a different species than the one pictured.

SculpinKing

10/21/2011 2:00:00 PM

Yea, he's longarming it for sure, but you can see that compared to his hand it's still a monster. This thread is really making me want to catch some big sculpin. Maybe I'll head to Ebey slough when I get back into town. I've heard there are lots of sculpin there, and I'd be willing to bet they even get some saltwater ones that swim up the system.

Ralphd

11/19/2011 10:39:00 AM

Sculpin are really hard to catch....at least I have always thought so. Though we did fluke two down in the Keys with a charter.

Great days fishing out of Bud N Marys with Seahorse Private Charters.....great day and great beer too

http://www.whats-at-florida-keys.com/Bud-N-Marys.html

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