5/10 SWAT - Putting one on the board for the young guns

[midgettosser1]

Knew I needed to stick it to the old-timers with all the texts we've been recieving from Wingnut about their catches. And I knew I had to go big.
Headed out to the surf this morning before work armed with a Rapala CD-26 in mackerel color tied to a Penn Torque 300, which was clamped on a Seeker Ulua 93h-9 1/4' rod.
Straight 80lb braid, cuz again, I wasn't messing around.
Decided to hit one of my old favorite spots.
Feet were on the sand at gray light, and I began fan-casting a section that I know has good structure.
On about my 8th cast, I feel a bump. Went to set the hook but missed it. Damn. Felt like a good fish.
Kept attacking the area with the CD-26, and about 10 more casts later... FISH ON!!!!
This thing immediately started ripping drag like nothing I'd ever experienced before.... and on the buttoned down Torque 300 at that!!
It took me up and down the beach about 100 yards each way. Twice getting catching me up in kelp. Thankfully the 80lb braid cut right through and kept me in the action.
Finally it seemed to start easing up, and I was able to put some line back on the reel. Managed to get it in the surf line and noticed a big gray/silvery looking body. Sweet! I'm thinking I had a 50+ white seabass on the line. Unfortunately, it spooked once it hit the surf and ran straight out to sea, taking back every inch of line I had made up in what had to be 30 minutes of fighting. I thought to myself "weird.... I've caught WSB's from the surf before but never had one take a straight run off shore." Maybe it was how the bigger models fought. Who knows. I continue to focus on gaining line back, but its a struggle. Every inch I get, it takes a 10 yards.
Finally, after what had to be another 30 minutes of fighting, I can feel this behemoth starting to get tired.
Slowly, but surely my spool starts to fill back up with the 80lb braid. Man, these Torque reels really live up to their names. High speed retrievel without losing any grinding power.
Another 15 minutes pass, and I can see this monster splashing around in the surf line. At this point, I knew it was mine. I slowly starting to back up onto the beach (at this point, you can imagine the crowd that was surrounding me) in order to slide this thing gently up onto the sand with the push of the waves. There was no way I was letting this one get away.
Finally, FINALLY!!!!! I beach it. As the crowd rushes in, I hand one of the bystanders my camera to capture this moment on film (or digital media I guess).
Here it is, the fruits of my labor......
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My first EVER.....
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/HTB/fish/dolphin.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/HTB/media/fish/dolphin.jpg.html)
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/HTB/fish/dolphin4.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/HTB/media/fish/dolphin4.jpg.html)
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Baby dolphin
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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/HTB/fish/dolphin1.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/HTB/media/fish/dolphin1.jpg.html)

Snapped a few pics, then sent it back on its way.


And the release....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v516/HTB/fish/dolphin2.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/HTB/media/fish/dolphin2.jpg.html)



Thanks everyone for reading.
And Old-timers..... SUCKIT!!!!

Young Guns Rule!!!!

XOXO
Mike

[Wingnut]

Wow, the length these Rookies and Young Guns will go, just to get a few points... :LOL:

May I remind you the rules of engagement... we are trying to catch "FISH", not "Mammals". :Shocked:
Penalty: Deduct 50 points from Team Rookies and Young Whippersnappers! :ROFL:

Current scoring as of today 5/10
Team Veterans = 35 Points
Team Rookies = 15 Points

Thanks for the nice laugh to start my morning, Jedi Mind Tricks doesn't work on me, lol

Flying back in a couple of hours... my turn in the surf this weekend. :Twisted:

XOXO :Neener Neener:
Arthur

[bachiboy]

Holy flippers Batman!:EyePop::OMG!: I'm sitting here reading this thinkin..."okay, he's breaking out a Torque and an Ulua for the surf. He's going DEEEEEPPPP! Then through you're story I'm figuring it's gotta be a ghost. Now that is one for the books. Great job on the release! Not sure how to score that bad boy.:LOL:

Nice goin' youngin!
Don

[skunked4life]

HOLY?!?!?!

Seriously? Was it foul hooked? Great job! I think that counts as 100 points and a super exotic!

[onekrzyboi]

This is such an insane catch! LOL! I don't think I have ever even thought about the possibility of landing a dolphin before! :LOL:
I guess anything really is possible. That's gotta be a first! Congrats on the epic fight and catch!

-Danny

[Nipple Twister]

Hahahahahahahaha.........Now deduct 50 more points from the youngins for bullshitting!

[A W Root Beer]

Congratulations!

Fish Story of a Lifetime!

[catfishkid1]

Great catch, and even moreso,,,, what a great (sittin on the edge of your seat) story!!!

I'm thinking small shark for sure:Fishing Catch::Neener Neener::Popcorn: then as the pictures come up, I'm thinking medium shark,,,,,,,,,but to all our suprise...........:Bug Eyes::EyePop: you bring damn FLIPPER back from the grave!! Great release wtg!!!!

[bbqsushi]

Daaayyyyum dude, that was SUPER impressive, and totally freaky at the same time. Definitely a story for the books and a lifetime, with pics to prove it!! Thanks for sharing the report, and I hope the little guy is ok, and found his mommy again.

Nate

[peanutbutter]

WOW:EyePop:
i was not expecting that

[MikesOcean]

In all the long range trips I have done, I don't think anyone I heard of caught a dolphin! CRAZY!! Nice Share. Dunno if that catch helped you, or hurt you. But one hellava story!!

[murrieta angler]

That is just too insane Mike!!! :EyePop:
In all my years fishing, I have never seen anyone hook up to a Dolphin and in a 5 week span, I see one caught on a boat ( down in San Quentin ) that a friend hooked up too
and now one from the surf, which is just crazy!!
I think I would have asked it, if it wanted some fish...:LOL:
You definately had me fooled...:Nut Kick:
Nice report,
Robert
<><

[saltman]

Mike

How that was a very cool report and to catch a Dolphin for the surf, that my friend is awesome.

Conrats.

Ramiro

[bones]

I guess NOW I'm not the strangest thing you have seen in the surf:ROFL:
Pretty much tops the pic you sent my on your IPhone when you were on the way to the emergency with a Flash Minnow pinned to your face:ROFL:

[DockRat]

WOW, That is a catch. How long was the fight ?
Major props :Applause:
DR

[midgettosser1]

Man... dont know what to tell you guys, but.....

May Fools!!!!

Such great feedback that I almost feel like a dick... almost. LOL.

It all started from a text convo with Wignut the other day.
I asked him if foul hooking or snagging was allowed for the young vs old battle, and told him I was gonna snag a dolphin.
Didnt think anyone would believe it after the Ulua, Torque 300, CD-26 part. Haha. That's quite the surf setup.


These pics are actually several years old. My buddy and I were on the beach inflating my raft to go fish the kelp for calicos. It was a super flat day out, and
there was a big pod of dolphins swimming about 30 yards off shore. One of the baby's was watching us set the raft up, and apparently got a little too curious.
As it got closer and closer to see what we were doing, a little wave rolled thru and pushed him up on the sand and beached him.

Spun him around and pushed him back in the water and he was right back on his way.
So glad I had a camera on me that day. Never leave home without one now.

As we were paddling out thru the pod to get to the kelp, one of the dolphins (I assume it was the mother) came near us and started slapping
the water with its tail. Pretty sure it didnt appreciate me messing with her baby.


Dont worry Bones, you still hold the title of Strangest Thing I've Seen in the Surf!

I blame this post on fishing withdrawals.

[midgettosser1]

I guess NOW I'm not the strangest thing you have seen in the surf:ROFL:
Pretty much tops the pic you sent my on your IPhone when you were on the way to the emergency with a Flash Minnow pinned to your face:ROFL:

How bout the pic a month later where I took an LC deep in my thumb? I catch all kinds of cool stuff.

[PTN]

:ROFL: When I first read this I couldn't stop laughing for 10 minutes. Then I texted Wingnut and told him how funny it was. The truth came out and I was thinking, "he really took his time for this story.":LOL: Both stories, false and real, are pretty cool though. Imagine if you really did catch a dolphin, the bystanders would probably be yelling at you for hooking the poor dolphin.

[PTN]

Man... dont know what to tell you guys, but.....


As we were paddling out thru the pod to get to the kelp, one of the dolphins (I assume it was the mother) came near us and started slapping
the water with its tail. Pretty sure it didnt appreciate me messing with her baby.




Maybe the mama was thanking you. I think if she was mad, she would have rammed the boat. :Cool:

[murrieta angler]

Well, my buddy DID catch a young dolphin, down in San Quentin.
We pulled up to a huge school of crashing birds, hoping for some yellowtail.
The Captain had said that a couple guys had caught some nice WSB the day before there.
So all 4 of us throw out our irons and Derrick gets somehting.
It pulled stright down and hard.
We all brought our lines in, cause we thought it was a WSB.
Wouldn't you know, a Dolphin.
My buddy Jeff, who has fished all over the world and was a first mate on a charter boat in Florida, said he had never seen that before either.
FUN TIMES!
Robert
<><

[MikesOcean]

WOW!!!! And here I am wondering why this story has not been on the news. I just spread a false story to all my friends and family!!! WTF!!

You got EVERYONE bro!! lol

[trail blazer]

WOW!!!!,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Although its all already been said,,,,,,,,,,Great job as far as im concerned ,,,great release too ,,,,,,,,,,took some skills to land that D,FIN for sure,WTG!

[trail blazer]

O,,WAIT,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Just read all the replys,,,,,,,,,,,,,,ya aint right,,lol

[Which Way Out]

Read this when it first came out and had a feeling that it was BS. Cool story either way..

WWO

[jinbow]

Never, ever would imagine to be a Dolphin, my lord....hahaha
It went for the Rapala, that dolphin was really, I mean, really close to shore then.
Happy to see the dolphin swim away. Actually the last two pictures kinda looked like Sea World or something.

Thanks for the report Mike, hope you catch a fish instead of a mammal next time. Hahaha.. tight lines!
ALbert (jinbow)

[dlmoo312]

LOL thanks for the good laugh
Awesome encounter though glad you were able to capture it on camera.


-Daniel

[Jaysuuun]

Damn! You had me fooled! At first I was thinking those pics were photoshopped and then I was like "That looks pretty damn real" LOL Too bad. We're in desperate need of some points! Good stuff

[Badbeat]

You had me there for a moment. :LOL:

[blackwater]

Damn, you had me at hello. :LOL:

[iLLest]

Dude, I JUST saw this thread and I cannot stop laughing!
A frikin baby dolphin!? REALLY!? lmao
How in the world did you manage to hook that thing?
Oh mannn, you take the cake Mike, I dont think Ive ever laughed so hard in my life.
Congrats on the frikin epic catch, too bad it doesnt count for anything but a good laugh, but man, what a laugh it is.

See ya soon man
-Frank