BSP and Wingnut hit the LA County surf! New PB and some big fish

[bsp]

Wingnut and I had been talking for a while about getting a trip together, and today it finally came together. This wasn't going to be a normal surf assault though, since the plan wasn't to hit a lot of areas and start fishing at gray light. Instead, Arthur showed up at my place at a normal hour (8:30am) and we hit two spots that were close together. In my opinion, it payed off nicely.

Conditions: Mostly sunny in the high 60s. Water temp was low 60s. Moderate waves right when we arrived at the spot, which then died off after 30 minutes. Crystal clear water, with no baitfish present.

Gear used: Me- Phenix x-10 crankbait rod with Luna 203 and 10lb Seaguar InvizX. Dad- Phenix 76M Dropshot rod with Stradic 2500 and 8lb InvizX. Wingnut- Carrot Stix Golds with Shimano Stella 3000 (8lb InvizX) and Calcutta DC 250.

Lures: Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 110s in assorted colors got all the bites today. My dad's 3in swimbait got nothing.

Basically, we got down to the spot and it was on fire. 2 casts into it and Arthur goes bendo!

25in flattie.

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Here's the first of the big fish lost stories. As soon as Arthur releases his 25in, I go out and cast into the same general area. 4 cranks into it and thunk! Swing, set, and awesome, I'm on! She immediately makes a run to the kelp, but I manage to get her head turned. After about five more minutes of this I get her close enough in, and she is BIG but only has 1 treble in here mouth! I yell for the Boga grip, and Arthur rushes over to get her. This halibut did not like the Boga and immediately goes nuts in the waves. There's a huge spray of water, and I see Arthur go WWF on the fish with a full on body slam. All of sudden Arthur yells, and my line goes slack. Arthur stands up, waders full of water, and there blood all over his hand. No halibut or Boga grip in sight, and my LC only has one treble now. Arthur can fill in exactly what happened since it was his experience, but suffice to say that he will do anything for a friend. We estimate her to be around at 28 to 30in.

All of this happened in the first 15 minutes of getting to the spot. Immediately I tie on a new LC, and get back to fishing.

Literally 5 minutes later, Arthur yells that he is on to another good fish again. It makes some runs, goes for the kelp, Arthur turns its head, and a fat 24in halibut hits the sand.

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To give you an idea of how aggressive the fish were, this one coughed up a perch when Arthur beached it.

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After this, Arthur sticks a few more shorts. No pics of those guys, but 2 were around 20in, and 2 were pancakes.

Now the pressure is on for me since I couldn't let myself get out fished at my own spot..... well, actually I did in numbers today. But, I did nail my (landed) PB and big fish of the day with this 26in!

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This is the second big fish story of the day. After the initial hour and half or so where we land 7 out of the 8 halibut for the day in addition to the lost monster and a lot of other hits, I get stopped cold on the retrieve. The fish is heavy makes and makes a slow, but determined run into the nearest kelp. At this point, I think it's a snag, and walk up the beach to free it. 5 minutes of determined tugging later, and my line is now parallel to the beach and nowhere near where I originally snagged it. It is a fish! I run down the beach following it, and it instantly beelines about 60yds off the beach into yet another kelp paddy. Now the 3 of us realize that it's a fish, and after some more tugging we see that it's not coming out of the kelp. We talk it over, and decide that since I am in board shorts and a wet suit jacket that I should be the one to go and try to free it. I wade out, see the fish, and immediately yell OH *%!$! Tangled up in the middle of the kelp is a 3ft minimum WSB. I was in the worst possible situation for dealing with this, and I knew it. This fish was pissed, and immediately shook it's head and dove deeper into the kelp whenever it saw me. I was in 5'6" of water, and when the swells came I had to tread water since I couldn't stand. After working on it for 30 min, it looks like it's about to come free when the WSB gives a huge head shake, gets tail wrapped in the line, and takes off leaving the LC behind in the kelp. &%*# IT! I make my way back in, shaking from the adrenaline let down, and sit on the beach.

We all fish the area for 45min with nothing to show, and decide to make the short move to spot two. Spot two wasn't too productive, I only managed one short. Arthur has his own big fish story for this spot though.

After spot two, we decide to see if spot one is producing again. It wasn't and we decide to end a fantastic day on the water.

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Arthur, thanks once again for joining my dad and I today. We landed some great fish, hooked some big ones that got away, and had a lot of fun. This was my best surf trip in a long time, and I look forward to fishing with you again once school is over.

Random stuff:

Me announcing the secret spot

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Some friendly competition outside of fishing... my lizard was bigger.

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Totals:

Me-1 28-30in halibut lost, 1 26in landed, 1 20in landed, 1 3ft WSB lost
Arthur: 1 24in, 1 25in, 2 20in, 2 pancakes, and 1 big mystery fish lost (Big calico or maybe another WSB?)
Dad- skunk... although he actually could have caught some if he had come into the area Arthur and I were fishing. To give you an idea of what a great guy my dad is, he said he was content to watch us enjoy ourselves instead of joining us like we wanted him to. He'll get the big one next time though.

[1MORECAST]

:Smile: Looked like a nice, sunny, calm day!

[bones]

Congrats on a fine day there fellas. I got a call from Arthur while he was still licking his wounds from the day but he had a great time with you and your dad there. Keep up the good work!
That "secret spot" is a sweet one at that but I have a little secret myself.....PM sent!

[greg]

Nice job on the 'butts! I'm headed out to San Clemente for da morning bite...

[Wingnut]

Marc, I thoroughly enjoyed my surf experience today with you & your dad. Thank you very much for the personal guided trip to your spot. It was the best outing I've had in awhile. You are an outstanding young man and a fantastic fisherman and your dad is one of the nicest and most generous people I have ever met. We will do this again soon, you can count on that! :Wink:

Again, I have to apologize for not being able to help you land that monster Hali. I’m sure that it was a 30 inch fish, if not very close to it. This was the second such incident for me in so many days. I also lost a huge Striper yesterday at Castaic while on net duty for my buddy Anthony. I hope that Poseidon has had enough fun with me and pick on somebody else. :LOL:

Here’s my account of what happened… I rushed over with my Boga Grip in hand trying to help Marc land the monster Flat Boy. I was standing in knee deep surf when I saw the big fish gliding towards me with it’s huge mouth open… waiting for the Boga Grip. I reach down to set the clip and at the very last second the fish flopped violently and knocked the Boga Grip out of my hand and it dropped into the surf (I should have had the strap around my wrist). At that moment, the treble hooks on Marc's LC broke off and the fish was laying there suspended in the surf temporarily stunned. I reached down and grabbed its massive tail and it was so big that it slipped out of my hand like a bar of soap. The fish started fluttering and without thinking I stuck my other hand in the Hali’s mouth… at that instant, the jaws snapped down on my fingers. I dropped down to the surf trying to grab the beast with both arms, but with a thrust of its tail… she was gone. I stayed down on my knees in the surf, stunned and in complete disbelief at what just happened. Completely wet and my waders full of water. I didn’t noticed until Marc's dad told me that I was bleeding. I looked down and saw blood streaming from my fingers. I sat on the sand for ten minutes with a towel wrapped around my hand… it took about ten minutes for the bleeding to finally stop. Sometimes the fish wins… and this was the case. :Neutral:

After the bleeding stopped, it was uncomfortable but I continued the surf assault. After awhile, the salt water cleaned out and numbed the wound and I couldn’t really feel it anymore. I need to wrap it up nicely before going back to the battle field tomorrow. :Twisted: It's throbbing pretty good right now.

Too bad you didn’t land that big WSB… that would have been a stellar accomplishment and an epic report. Congrats on the PB Hali and I’m sure you will top that very soon.
As for my fish story at the second spot, I think that it was a big Calico that took me into the kelp and broke me off. I think that braided line might be a good bet to use in this area.

Thanks again for a fabulous and very memorable day in the surf.
BTW - Your Bluebelly Lizard was bigger than mine… but, you caught yours with a noose and I caught mine bare handed. :Wink: As competitive as ever… your friend, Arthur.

Collateral damage... deep cuts & puncture wounds. :mad: Finally closed up, no stitches needed... yay!
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[BIGRED KILLA]

Very nice fish you guys landed and some nicer models to sucks about the WSB and hali but you will get another one soon enough was that the same place Mike and I fished. Hey Arthur put some super glue on your fingers it works good to close the cuts i am also glad the lc hooks did not go into your fingers.




Bigred

[Astrolux]

Great report boys. Looks like a great day in the surf.


P.S.
I think its about time you get those golden hands of yours insured Arthur.

[Badbeat]

Any multi legals butt days are good days! Haven't seen too many of those lately. Sacrificing your hand for a friend, very commendable Arthur, glad it wasn't worse and you didn't need stitches. :Cool: Looks like a killer spot. :Wink:

[jerryG]

I've been bit and hooked by halibut. I don't what's worse having a big halibut clamp down on the fingers with their razor sharp teeth as they start thrashing violently or having the front hook of a lucky craft pierce the hand an fingers while the other two hooks remain in the halibut as it thrashes violently. It seems when they bite the wound really stings. May be it's from the bacteria in their mouth. Not really sure but I do remember that stinging pain. Horrible.. Sorry to hear about that...Hope your feeling bettter.


Jerryg

[Liteweight]

Very detailed report. Makes me miss surf fishing. Haven't been out in a few years. I used to fish barred surf perch and corbina in the spring pretty often. I need to find a spot like yours, never had a spot produce hali's like that.
R.

[Liteweight]

Ooppps!!! Sorry forgot to mention...Wingnut hope your finger feels better. Had a few of those in the past. Just the pic of the finger reminds me...YIKES!!!
R.

[TroutOnly]

THE SALTWATER IS GREAT FOR CUTS,,,LOL,,,ART GREAT WORK AS ALWAYS,,,,t/o

[Tesserz]

Wow, great job on the super huge flatties! What a story. Sorry about the lost fish bsp, but you still did awesome out there. And sorry about your fingers Wingnut, yipes! Hope they feel better soon. Never caught a hali off the surf before... you guys make me want to try. Not too sure if Jason would dive into the water to grab my fish like that though, LOL.

[Beans77]

I'd say Wingnut is having a decent Holiday weekend of fishing so far!

Remember when we were talking about those butt's biting fingers on T.O's boat Sat? Maybe we jinxed ourselves, we'll see after I hit the surf today...

Excellent report and butt's, the fish tacos were great last night!!

[FISHINGBEE]

Nice Butts. But yah know i kind of wanted the pic of the WSB.

FISHINGBEE

[Santa Fe Eric]

BSP! Nice work on your Hali! I see you got a little flair and style of your own! It's great to be a good fisherman and get flair and style points!

There you have it! Any thoughts about Wingnut being soft just because he coordinates his gear and his uniform needs to come to a halt! This dude jammed his hand into a Hali's mouth! :Razz:
Arthur! Sue has got nothing on you! You got your wounds while fighting the fish! She got hers from cutting the fish!:Razz:

Deanhall! You better think twice about reaching through the screen and trying to push him into the water! This dude is an OG!:Razz:

Finally, I'm not trying to "wash you up" too good, but all I kept thinking about was the Boga Grip! Way to give it up to help a friend get a Beast of a fish!

Wingnut! Wingnut!
He might have dropped his Boga Grip!
This dude don't give a ish!
He'll grab that 30" Hali by it's freakin' lip
To all ya'll that think I'm on his jock
You bet not even trip
He's Glady's Knight of the Surf fool,
You ain't even ready to be a Pip!:Cool:

[Jaysuuun]

bsp, sorry to hear about the lost hali and wsb, but at least you still ended up with a nice legal. Sorry, to hear about Dad's skunko. Couldn't anyone hook a brutha up with an LC? LOL

Wingnut, you are HARDCORE dude! I would've done a sumo splash or maybe even an elbow drop, but attempting to lip a butt!? :Bug Eyes:

Great surf report guys! You guys had more excitement out there than most fisherman can ask for. Keep it up. :Cool:

[DEADROOTS]

Sorry to hear about the WSB BSP. Man you guy's did some damage.
Good times!:Beer Toast:

[CAPT'N]

Great report, great fishing!

Arthur, glad that all that butt got was a taste of you, it could have been so much worse.

capt'n

[Nhatster]

Geez, that is one eventful surf trip. :Shocked:
BSP, a loss WSB and a monster Hali in one trip???? I feel your pain man.
Arthur, don't be doing the Hali lip maneuver anymore ok? :Twisted: You need fingers to fish.

[blackwater]

Oh man, Poseidon id sure having fun with you guys on this trip. He gives and he taketh away. :Wink: Very nice legals that you guys caught there. Arthur, spilling a little blood is good for you, builds character. :Twisted:

[tacklejunkie]

Awesome fish and report guys!
Good work on the PB hali, bsp!

Get well soon Wingnut!
The fish won this time! :EyePop: That's not often! :Wink:

[Wingnut]

I've been bit and hooked by halibut. I don't what's worse having a big halibut clamp down on the fingers with their razor sharp teeth as they start thrashing violently or having the front hook of a lucky craft pierce the hand an fingers while the other two hooks remain in the halibut as it thrashes violently. It seems when they bite the wound really stings. May be it's from the bacteria in their mouth. Not really sure but I do remember that stinging pain. Horrible.. Sorry to hear about that...Hope your feeling bettter.

Jerryg

Thanks Jerry, I know that it could have been a lot worse. I told Marc that if it was my fish, I wouldn't even cared if it got away. But it was his fish, and I knew that it was going to be his PB, so I did whatever I could to try to help him land it. The wounds stung like hell for awhile... I washed it out pretty thoroughly in the saltwater and then put direct pressure on it for like ten minutes until it stopped bleeding. I couldn't care less about the minor injury or even the loss of the Boga Grip... it was truly a big Flattie and Marc deserved to land it.

Here is my fingers all bandaged up. I fished for a few hours this morning and it felt fine. It closed up nicely and the swelling has gone down. The wind and swells kicked up & the fishing sucked today, but we didn't get Skunked and had a lot of fun. :Cool: Just a few short Butts.
Thanks again everybody for your concern and for the PM's. Don't worry, it takes more than just a flesh wound to slow me down. :Wink:
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[Native Gal]

Congrats to ya on the Legal Butt outing, too bad about the WSB and monster Hali, you'll get em next time. Thanks for the great post and pix.
Hmmm, WN getting his XTREME fishing on with lipping the Hali, cool! Glad your dad had fun on the outing too.

NG
:Big Grin:

[yamafish]

Nice report and pics!

Wing - ouch....
Hey.. what model # Carrot stix is that? 6'-6" Fast?

Thanks,
yamafish - rodger

[Wingnut]

Nice report and pics!

Wing - ouch....
Hey.. what model # Carrot stix is that? 6'-6" Fast?

Thanks,
yamafish - rodger

Rodger, here's the info on the rod.

2009 Carrot Stix
Model# 21CRG701NH-F-C
7' Action: Fast Power: medium/heavy
Lure WT: 3/8-1 Line WT: 10-20

[gletemfeelsteelgary]

A huge congrats on those fine catches.....job well done guys...I tip my fishin hat to you..

Salute !

Sorry about those 2 lost fish, sounds like they were real fine fish but again as we've stated so many times in the past...once in a while the fish need to win and it appears on those particular instances they did...

You both still made some catches to be proud of...saweet !

Damn Aurthur, your pics of your fingers remind me of the very 1st Halibut I caught as a child....it was on Huntington Beach Pier, I was about 12-13 and it was about a 25 incher....I landed it and my brothers were nowhere around to help.....well...the young squirt I was, I took it upon myself to reach into his mouth bare handed to remove the hook..

As you know, halibut have that uncanny way of laying there real dosile and look almost dead and listless until those lightning quick mouth muscles trigger like fireworks…snapping with such verocious speed that it’s over before you know it’s occurred…PLUS….ones natural reaction is to pull away which results in those long slices that are pictured above..

Well I need not say what my fingers looked like after the incident and it was a bloody mess !

As bad as those pic and cuts look, I’m certain those pics don’t do them justice, I’ve been there and the slices are brutal….good thing the saltwater cauterizes the wounds otherwise you’d have had serious pain and possible infections.

We’ll enough of the novel, your pics of the cuts totally took me back many years down memory lane.

Great work on them Flatfish fellas.
Gary

[bsp]

Bones- Got the PM, and your secret is safe with me. Look forward to fishing with you sometime soon!

Wingnut: I am glad that you had such a good time. My dad and I were worried when we saw how large the waves were initially, but that turned out not to matter at all. We both really enjoyed fishing with you, and are eagerly awaiting the next trip! As I told you before, don't worry about the halibut. It was just a fish, and I'll break the 30in mark eventually. Your hand is way more important and I am glad to hear that it is healing. We'll land the big fish next time (maybe some 50lb braid is in order)... and touché on the lizards. Thanks for everything Arthur, and hope your hand gets better soon. Sorry again abut the Boga, and also that Monday's trip wasn't too great.

Bigred: Thanks for that, and losing the WSB did really suck. I was definitely under gunned for dealing with them. If they stick around I'll be ready next time. I don't know if that's where you and Mike were, but ask him about the area.

Liteweight: Get out and explore! That's how I found this, and a few other spots. If you want some help getting into surf fishing again, feel free to PM me any questions you have.

SFE: Thanks for the compliment, coming from you it means a lot! It was something else watching Arthur go after that halibut, and it shows what a great guy he is that he'd do that for a friend.

Jaysuuun: It was a great trip, and my dad really doesn't mind the skunk. We tried to give him an LC, but he kept turning me and Arthur down. He was beat from work, so he was just happy to relax I think.

Nhatster: I couldn't believe it either, but at least I got to see both of them instead of having them be more mystery fish.

Gary: I am hoping that I have paid my dues now that I lost those two fish, and that the next few monsters I hook will be a little more willing to be photographed :LOL:. I am glad that I broke my PB with that 26in though!

To all the people I didn't respond to specifically: Thanks!

[sansou]

Just got around to reading this gem....

Wow! You guys did well! As far as I'm concerned, any legal size from the surf constitutes a "excellent day" in my book!!! Very nice report!

Bummer on the seabass though, but at least you got a little excitement out of it.

Wingnut: Are you crazy??? Big fish = big teeth brother!!! LOL

[ToadsToadsOnly]

Nice slay session guys

[Wingnut]

Marc, you're the best kid... don't ever change. :Cool:

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut4/Picture018-14.jpg

[olfishergal]

Very cool report guys.......looks like you had a blast.......OFG

[kgselect]

Great report and awesome fish. Those are some really nice fish. Sorry for the biggies that got away, but, big fish are not only tough but lucky also.

[FishNFurious]

Omg, the flatties finally got sweet revenge on wingnut. :Twisted:
I bet poseidon and crew are laughing their butts off. :ROFL:
Sorry about the loss monsters BSP, you'll get them next time.

[fishshep]

Great adventure stories,
and great catchin on those
hali's :Big Grin:

[flyngby]

Glad you all got to get out in the surf with Arthur! As if he needs another tip to find the Flatties in the surf!

Arthur told me of your great couple of hours in the surf together! He was still licking his wounds!!!

Sorry about the bigger model that got away but at least there was Arthur doing his best and paying the price for it to help a friend !!

Hope to meet you in the surf someday!

Steve

[fish_sauce]

Great report guys!

I'm lovin' the pictures, the drama! the respones! and most of all, the great read...

bsp...too bad on the lost fish bro, but looks like you had a blast! summer is just 'round the corner, and there will be lots more opportunity to hook that 30+ incher :Wink:

wingnut...anybody who knowingly and willingly and uhm...conciously sticks his bare hands into a 30+inchers mouth to try and land a buddy's fish is "All right" in my book! :Beer Toast: My first legal was landed not from my skills or luck, but it was landed because my buddy (who was fishing with me at the time) dropped everything when he saw that the fish was comming unbuttoned...and literally jumped into the water from a rock piling to grab and attempted to lip it with his bare hands :ROFL:

andrew

[bsp]

Great adventure stories,
and great catchin on those
hali's :Big Grin:

Thanks Fishshep, it was a great trip. I just read your report, looks like you got into a good fish too!


Glad you all got to get out in the surf with Arthur! As if he needs another tip to find the Flatties in the surf!

Arthur told me of your great couple of hours in the surf together! He was still licking his wounds!!!

Sorry about the bigger model that got away but at least there was Arthur doing his best and paying the price for it to help a friend !!

Hope to meet you in the surf someday!

Steve

What was especially fun about fishing with Arthur is that he is a truly good guy no matter what. I was really worried because the conditions looked bad when we first got there, but he said he didn't mind if we caught something or not. Not many guys will say that and actually mean it (I know a lot of my friends don't. lol). Seeing the fish was a rush, and I wasn't upset that we lost it. I was more worried about Arthur's hand and the Boga Grip!

Same here, hope we'll see each other soon!


Great report guys!

I'm lovin' the pictures, the drama! the respones! and most of all, the great read...

bsp...too bad on the lost fish bro, but looks like you had a blast! summer is just 'round the corner, and there will be lots more opportunity to hook that 30+ incher :Wink:

andrew

Yeah just 2 more weeks and I can go out again! That trip was exactly what I needed before the next few weeks, and it'll keep me happy until I am done with school. It was the best trip I have had in a while, and that 30in is waiting for me once I am finished with exams.

[klocked]

Nice session there you guys!! BSP, sorry to hear about the biggest one that got away. I hope your hand is doing better Arthur...ouch!!