PlaneKraZ
11-19-2012, 08:30 PM
I've been fortunate to have SP Dan as my neighbor, and I can credit him for getting into
this fascinating sport. Up until recently, I've fished with fairly inconsistent results, getting
a few pancakes here and there, but no legals. Of course Dan reports regularly on his
humongous catches so i was wondering when/if I'd ever get my first legal hali.
I went out to my favorite AO on Saturday Nov 10th, early afternoon, and as some may recall,
it was ferociously windy that day. The weather service reported 20 mph steady with gusts up to
30 and I believe it. It was actually very impressive to see how the wind was resculpturing the
sand dunes, and to see small clouds of dust racing along more or less like snow showers in colder
climates. Tides were receding and salad was somewhat of a problem but more of a nuisance.
I was prepared with an LC (Flash Minnow) with which I had caught pancakes in the past, as well as a dropshot rig. For this outing though, I dotted the LC's sides with red enamel after reading Wingnut's sticky on modifying factory LCs. Did that make a difference? The lure looked good in the water with its red spots and I was relieved when I avoided the Skunk by catching a 14" flattie. I fished on, alternating stretches between the LC and the dropshot, without any action. Making one last run down the beach with the dropshot, the soft plastic lure got damaged so I decided to switch back to the LC and as the sun was setting, WHAM! I felt the characteristic headshake of a hali and a strong one at that. Working carefully, I eased him out of the water and he taped out at 23 3/4", a "no doubt" legal, my first and a real thrill.
Long story short, I returned to the AO on Friday the 16th and Sunday the 18th and caught two more legals with the same LC, 23" and 24".
So, in one week's span, I caught my first legal and added two more -- beginner's luck for sure and perhaps Wingnut's customizing tips helped? For sure, though, fishing with SP Dan has really taught me a lot as he's a terrific source of knowledge and encouragement. Now if he'd only tell me where he caught those really big ones.....
PlaneKraZ
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/Hali1-1.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/Hali2.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/Hali3.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/Hali4.jpg
this fascinating sport. Up until recently, I've fished with fairly inconsistent results, getting
a few pancakes here and there, but no legals. Of course Dan reports regularly on his
humongous catches so i was wondering when/if I'd ever get my first legal hali.
I went out to my favorite AO on Saturday Nov 10th, early afternoon, and as some may recall,
it was ferociously windy that day. The weather service reported 20 mph steady with gusts up to
30 and I believe it. It was actually very impressive to see how the wind was resculpturing the
sand dunes, and to see small clouds of dust racing along more or less like snow showers in colder
climates. Tides were receding and salad was somewhat of a problem but more of a nuisance.
I was prepared with an LC (Flash Minnow) with which I had caught pancakes in the past, as well as a dropshot rig. For this outing though, I dotted the LC's sides with red enamel after reading Wingnut's sticky on modifying factory LCs. Did that make a difference? The lure looked good in the water with its red spots and I was relieved when I avoided the Skunk by catching a 14" flattie. I fished on, alternating stretches between the LC and the dropshot, without any action. Making one last run down the beach with the dropshot, the soft plastic lure got damaged so I decided to switch back to the LC and as the sun was setting, WHAM! I felt the characteristic headshake of a hali and a strong one at that. Working carefully, I eased him out of the water and he taped out at 23 3/4", a "no doubt" legal, my first and a real thrill.
Long story short, I returned to the AO on Friday the 16th and Sunday the 18th and caught two more legals with the same LC, 23" and 24".
So, in one week's span, I caught my first legal and added two more -- beginner's luck for sure and perhaps Wingnut's customizing tips helped? For sure, though, fishing with SP Dan has really taught me a lot as he's a terrific source of knowledge and encouragement. Now if he'd only tell me where he caught those really big ones.....
PlaneKraZ
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/Hali1-1.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/Hali2.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/Hali3.jpg
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r135/Wingnut32566/Wingnut%208/Wingnut%2010/Wingnut%2011/Hali4.jpg