First WSB and a bunch of recon.. upon forgetting gear

[tacklejunkie]

Had another weird day at the beach today!

Woke up at 3am from not smoking cigs which seems to be normal lately.
Decided by 4am to get some stuff together last minute and give the beach a shot. Threw a bunch of gear in the vehicle and headed out the door by 4:20 or so. :Wink:

Get there a bit early about 5:50. Screw walking, I'll pay the $15 even though I'll only be there an hour haha. See if I care, the fee is good at several beaches all day long.

Anyways, bagged a couple butts, a croaker and my first WSB. Then moved on to a couple other spots. Also found a new body of water to launch my tube in today and got some inside tips on a hot spot for next time. Time on the water not only pays off, but you can also learn info from others :Secret:

Since I did bring the tube I was about to jump in when I found out I forgot my booties and waders in my last minute stupor of gathering equipment while heading out the door.

Ended up driving to NPH afterwards to try for a spottie. Got one little guy on the drop shot and missed 3 more on big hammers. Makes it a 4 species day for me. Woulda probably caught a bunch more fish if I didn't forget my waders though. Kinda sucked and killed half my day.

Also, upon parking in NPH...
I exited my vehicle to find that I stepped out the door on to a fresh pile of dog sh*t. The people on bolboa have no yards, so they make their dogs crap in the street and in the gutter where you park your cars. Disgusting. I view NPH in a new light now.. for those bastards to leave crap all over their yards like that. As I walked around balboa I began to notice it more and more all over the street in the gutters.

Needless to say exiting your vehicle straight into a heaping pile of dog loaf isn't very pleasant. I left my shoes right there in the sh*t so that whoever sees it will see WTF happened and hopefully feel like an ***. :Angry:

After that, I went scouting for some more areas to add to my ever expanding spot list. Definitely some promising areas to spy on next time
Just you wait! :Wink::Cool::Surprised:

Here's some pics of what I did manage.
I ended up with like 10 short butts but didn't photograph many of them.
One of them was super thick and fought like a legal at first but came up short too. Couple on the LC and couple on the drop shot. Pretty stoked about my first WSB too! He faught really good on 6lb. When I saw color I knew instantly what it was and a big smile came over my face. I've been after one of those for a while.

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/surf%209-10-09/surf9-10-09007.jpg

Cangler's Croaker
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/surf%209-10-09/surf9-10-09008.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/surf%209-10-09/surf9-10-09006.jpg

Here was the thick one. I call him a "double stack"
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/surf%209-10-09/surf9-10-09005.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/surf%209-10-09/surf9-10-09009.jpg

Drop Shot Butt
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/surf%209-10-09/surf9-10-09004.jpg

Here's my first WSB :Cool: Made my day after all the crap I've gone through lately on top of the frustrations of quitting smoking.
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/surf%209-10-09/surf9-10-09010.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/surf%209-10-09/surf9-10-09001.jpg

Dink spottie I caught in between my recon mission after stepping in dog doo
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff280/tacklejunkie/surf%209-10-09/surf9-10-09002.jpg

Few more hali's caught than pictured. Enjoy the pics. They might be out of order or messed up cause they came off a phone.
I'll be back down soon.
-TJ

[Justl1keRaven]

Yes, congratulations in qutting smoking!

[Hometown]

cong. on the good fishing and first wsb but mostly on quitting the cigs.

[fisherman from long beach]

congrats on the wsb,also on all the lil butts,you should of atleast kept your socks on clip those damn toe nails.lol.

[tacklejunkie]

congrats on the wsb,also on all the lil butts,you should of atleast kept your socks on clip those damn toe nails.lol.
Haha they could be worse mang. I've seen much worse. hahaha
That'll teach me to go a week or two without clipping. Lose your shoes and learn right quick.

All in good fun. I figured I'd take a comment about that. :LOL:

[bsp]

Everybody seems to be sticking WSB from the shore lately. That's a good sign that the fishery is recovering, and soon the legal models will show up. Congrats on it man, you deserve it!

TJ, you should have just waded out in NPH. I see plenty of people swimming there, and the water isn't that cold. Just sting ray shuffle and you'll be fine.

[fisherman from long beach]

thats all it is all in good fun.lol

[tacklejunkie]

The WSB had a really huge mouth. Like a largemouth bass. Opened up much bigger than it looked like it would.

By the time I felt the bite (6' insensitive walmart Abu spinning rod) he already inhaled it. I'm not sure where exactly the hook ended up in the fish, as I was not sure where to hold the fish without being hurt or hurting the fish. Maybe somone can advise me on how to properly handle a WSB. :???: I still need a boga grip.

Couldn't find the hook with the pliers and didn't want to stress it out. I had to cut the line at the lips and release. Kinda sucked. He made it off OK so I hope the hook drops out quick. I handled him least amount possible.

I was thinking the same thing. Lots of WSB around this year in reports. Really cool! I hear it from other fisherman as well. Regulars have caught several this year already. Looks like I got a lucky late start. This fish was tight to the pilings.

A legal WSB would be an awesome battle on 6lb! I couldn't quite tell what I had on the line when I hooked it. Knew it was something nice though right away.

[sansou]

TJ,

Nice job on the "catching", and even better on the "quitting"! I should smarten-up and follow your example on the latter...




Everybody seems to be sticking WSB from the shore lately. That's a good sign that the fishery is recovering, and soon the legal models will show up. Congrats on it man, you deserve it!

TJ, you should have just waded out in NPH. I see plenty of people swimming there, and the water isn't that cold. Just sting ray shuffle and you'll be fine.

Is the mainland coastal WSB fishery recovering? Really? On the basis of shore anglers catching juvy WSB? (of which I speculate is a cultured fish released from Hubbs, and a common catch for months after they let them go) Hate to be the dark cloud, but I wouldn't count your chicken till they hatch.

[tacklejunkie]

Sansou,
The GF has been taking quite a bit of the grunt amongst other people.
I feel terrible about it when I realize I've become a monster. Hopefully everyone doesn't hate me.

It's not easy dude. I'm catching myself go off on crazy tangents lately for no reason half the time. I won't be the same for a while. Quitting and gaining cig addictions changes you in big ways. :Confused:

Hard just to stand there and shake the drop shot without the craving to smoke while you fish. That was probably the only real time I did like smoking. Nothing calms your rush down like a cig after a good fish or when you just get down to business on your favorite bodies of water.

[Troutman65]

TJ, Nice going on your day out fishing. That sucks about your shoe.:Shocked:

Glad your still not smoking . Its been 115 days for me.:Big Grin:

[bsp]

Is the mainland coastal WSB fishery recovering? Really? On the basis of shore anglers catching juvy WSB? (of which I speculate is a cultured fish released from Hubbs, and a common catch for months after they let them go) Hate to be the dark cloud, but I wouldn't count your chicken till they hatch.

No problem Sansou. I agree it's completely an optimistic view point, but from my very non scientific observations it seems as if there have been more and more WSB caught by shore anglers this year than others.

I'll admit that they are probably hatchery fish, but that should be an event to be happy about anyway as it shows that the hatchery fish are surviving. It may be that shore anglers are discovering more WSB spots (I know I have), or we may just have run into a migratory year class of fish that came close to shore this year.

Since you are a lawyer, like my dad, I know that it will take actual data and not just conjecture to prove my point to you. Until I find the data, which I suspect will show an upward trend in WSB catches leading to the present day, I think the best course of action is for me to back down. I have no desire to try to out argue a lawyer again, but once I have the data I think you'll change your mind.

Qu'est-ce que vous pensez de ça mon ami?

TJ: http://www.tackletour.net/TTForums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=42679
You should do this to your Fuego spinner. It'd be awesome.

[tacklejunkie]

TJ, Nice going on your day out fishing. That sucks about your shoe.:Shocked:

Glad your still not smoking . Its been 115 days for me.:Big Grin:

Keep it up bro I'm right behind you. We don't need it! I know the cig companies need it though to keep the lights on and machines rolling!



TJ: http://www.tackletour.net/TTForums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=42679
You should do this to your Fuego spinner. It'd be awesome.
Hmmm, not bad at all!
Yeah the silver is already wearing off on the reel foot where it rides in my third grip all the time. I suppose I'll wait for a few more scratches before stripping her. That does look pretty snazzy.. Thanks for the link! :Cool:

[Wingnut]

Nice sess there Casey... poop can be washed off, been there, done that. :LOL: Congrats on your first WSB, time now to get a legal one! :Wink:
See you in a couple of weeks. :Cool:

[YakN'Surf]

Nice sea bass. That would make my day for sure.

[fishmounter]

TJ... You take such nice pics of your fish, where's the shot of your shoe in the goo? Ha!

[El Weirdo]

right on tj...less money for smokes = more money for tackle..

LOL

[tacklejunkie]

Haha
You'd think so but the GF figured out less smoking means I spend less on cigarettes now. :Head Bang:

I've come to the realization that nobody really wins anything in life. lol

Gain freedom of smoking lose ability to spend that smoking money every day. :LOL:

What if I really could imply and prove an addiction to tackle? Should I then be able to purchase a "$500 Combo" per day with justification as does a smoker purchase his pack of cigs daily?

[Cangler]

YAY !!

Thank you !

[victor101]

Wow! Congrats on your first WSB TJ! Those are some good lookin butts too... well done at "the spot"