Lucky Lager
05-21-2012, 12:15 AM
the wife usually gives me the 3rd degree when i "waste" the gas money to head to the coast & hit the surf, so when she suggested taking the kids to carpinteria this weekend, i jumped at the opportunity :)
i tried talking her into getting the kids up early, but she was having none of that. we left the house at 0730 & i was in the sand at 0930 (only an hour & a half before high tide).
the kids wanted to collect some shells, and that sounded like mom's department, so i started tossing an LC ;)
worked north to the jetty with no love & ran into a father & son throwing some crack near the jetty. the father said that guys had been catching leos there, so i made my way to the jetty. there was a high spot out there, so i was able to get way out there & cast in all directions.
after a few minutes of 360 degree fan casting, i saw a few shadows lurking around...then a few more...then i noticed i was surrounded by leos. but, they wanted nothing to do with my LC...nomatter how i presented it to them.
so, i switched setups to my favorite spinner setup (my 2nd place prize from HG III), with a 3" BH & made a long cast at 45deg to the jetty. about 1/2 way back, i get stuck...then, ZZZZZZZZZ...fish on!
first big fish on that setup & i'm stoked. lovin' the way the reel was handling the fight & the extra long rod butt was pretty nice too.
after about 10min, i was able to confirm that it was in fact a leo. and within the next 10min, i was able to beach it.....but, not without disaster. right at the end of the fight, the 2nd extention of the rod snapped in half. i had tail hooked the fish & while it was in about 4" of water, it thrashed around while i was pulling it within grasping distance & SNAP!! my 9' clarus became a casualty of war :( i have a video of the last 5min of the fight (including the rod snap), but it was taking forever to upload. i'm going to edit it & cut some of the drag peeling out to shorten the length so it will upload faster.
probably my fault, but i decided to take revenge & bbq that fish for killing my rod, as long as it was a legal fish. had to pull out the tape, because it was to close to be sure. ended up taping out at 38", so he is now staked out & awaiting the bbq :)
35354
the kids were super excited to see it
35355
the fallen hero
3535635357
after that, my boy decided he wanted to fish. so i put the leo on ice & got his pole out.
35358
his first fish from the surf :)
http://youtu.be/JzVNvuMOj0I
he did really good, but he's not used to having to pay attention to his surroundings. he caught a couple waves while focusing on his catch.....like father, like son :)
he enjoyed it though, and i'm stoked about that. i'm going to have a solid fishing buddy in a few more years ;)
sorry for the lenghthy read, the next one will hopefully be shorter
LL
i tried talking her into getting the kids up early, but she was having none of that. we left the house at 0730 & i was in the sand at 0930 (only an hour & a half before high tide).
the kids wanted to collect some shells, and that sounded like mom's department, so i started tossing an LC ;)
worked north to the jetty with no love & ran into a father & son throwing some crack near the jetty. the father said that guys had been catching leos there, so i made my way to the jetty. there was a high spot out there, so i was able to get way out there & cast in all directions.
after a few minutes of 360 degree fan casting, i saw a few shadows lurking around...then a few more...then i noticed i was surrounded by leos. but, they wanted nothing to do with my LC...nomatter how i presented it to them.
so, i switched setups to my favorite spinner setup (my 2nd place prize from HG III), with a 3" BH & made a long cast at 45deg to the jetty. about 1/2 way back, i get stuck...then, ZZZZZZZZZ...fish on!
first big fish on that setup & i'm stoked. lovin' the way the reel was handling the fight & the extra long rod butt was pretty nice too.
after about 10min, i was able to confirm that it was in fact a leo. and within the next 10min, i was able to beach it.....but, not without disaster. right at the end of the fight, the 2nd extention of the rod snapped in half. i had tail hooked the fish & while it was in about 4" of water, it thrashed around while i was pulling it within grasping distance & SNAP!! my 9' clarus became a casualty of war :( i have a video of the last 5min of the fight (including the rod snap), but it was taking forever to upload. i'm going to edit it & cut some of the drag peeling out to shorten the length so it will upload faster.
probably my fault, but i decided to take revenge & bbq that fish for killing my rod, as long as it was a legal fish. had to pull out the tape, because it was to close to be sure. ended up taping out at 38", so he is now staked out & awaiting the bbq :)
35354
the kids were super excited to see it
35355
the fallen hero
3535635357
after that, my boy decided he wanted to fish. so i put the leo on ice & got his pole out.
35358
his first fish from the surf :)
http://youtu.be/JzVNvuMOj0I
he did really good, but he's not used to having to pay attention to his surroundings. he caught a couple waves while focusing on his catch.....like father, like son :)
he enjoyed it though, and i'm stoked about that. i'm going to have a solid fishing buddy in a few more years ;)
sorry for the lenghthy read, the next one will hopefully be shorter
LL