What a whopper! Mendocino angler reels in 10.25-lb. canary rockfish, likely setting record

Brendan Walsh was already missing fishing, knowing trips out from Albion River Harbor on the Mendocino Coast would be unlikely once winter storms hit. A house painter by trade, the 26-year-old had asked his parents, Deirdre Lamb and Will Walsh, if he could have one of his Christmas presents early. He hoped he might get in one last angling adventure before January hit, and he knew his present would come in handy.

Last Tuesday, he and his dad went to pull their boat, the Betty, up for the week. “We can only pull it when there’s a lot of water,” Walsh explained. “Our home port is Albion, and the Betty is my dad’s sports boat. We converted a lake boat into an ocean boat, but we can only go out when it’s flat, weather permitting.”