bbqsushi
06-04-2013, 12:44 AM
Greetings Kids. SWAT prospect Nate here with a weekend report. (because I FINALLY have something to report)
Long story short: I FINALLY landed a legal flattie from the sand. A first for me, and personal best! :Big Smile: (WOOO-FREAKING-HOOOO!!!) And even though it was juuuuust a 1/2" shy of an induction fish, it was points for the geriatrics!! :Thumbs Up:
Long story long:
Sunday June 2
AO: Classified
Tide: +1 Lowtide @ 11:30 +/- 1hr
Temp: Air 62/Water 64
Conditions: Wind from West @7kt, 2-4 swell @ 8-10 sec, Water clear, Weeds light
Gear: St Croix AVID 8'6" + Shimano Ci4 2500, 15lb Braid, 15lb Flouro tip, LC 110 Flashminnow W/ Bachiboy Series 1 Custom Paint (Thanks Don!!)
Much like Don and Ken, my monkeys are 4 and 5yrs old, so planning to go fishing for me, is first putting up the family (read:wife's) schedule, and comparing that calendar to the SoCal Tide chart, then cross-referencing the Swell Magnet surf report, Western Outdoor propaganda fish report, Dallas Rains weather report, and then going in to some prayer for low salad count. Getting a hall pass is the first hurdle, so if I can line up the first two charts, its ON! Having 3 or more is a planetary alignment. Fortunately, La Jefa had an event down in SD county this past weekend, so we traded kid duties, and I earned a Sunday outing. I got the AO intel from Don [Bachiboy] who had gotten it from the top brass. Don had also done some major damage at this spot last weekend. Problem was, that it was LOW tide spot, and low tide this past weekend was inconveniently midday. Bosslady gave the green light, and I'm on it!! I generously took the family "to the beach" on Saturday for a recon mission. The target, according to Bachi, is a boiler rock, that pokes its head out only at low tide. (JEEESUZ Don, you weren't kidding!! That sucker is 50yds out there!!). I mark it, and plan my attack for the next day.
Sunday, comes and I arrive an hour before low tide. Waders are not defiinitely NOT going to cut it on this mission. I busted out my wetsuit and made myself IPX7 rated. (submersible) If any of you have seen Wingnut fish, that dude goes all out, and he might as well go with scuba - this inspired me - I was going to go for it. I worked the spot for about 15min, diving under waves, and figuring out the timing of the intervals, when WHAM! A nice bite, but there's no weight to it. I quickly reel in what turns out to be a nice BSP around 12", but not what I was after. So I keep peppering that same area for the next 20 min. and now the tide is allowing me to cast out allllllmost out to the rock. Even at low tide, I actually had to swim several times, as surge pulled me in to the trough and the water is now about 6-8ft deep, way over head with waves coming in a annoyingly frequent intervals. So I'd swim back in till my feet can touch, jump up over the wave, cast and try to land back on the ledge. On this particular cast, I got pushed by a wave and it took a second for me to regain my footing, perhaps giving the lure a few seconds to settle. A few cranks later, BAM! I swing. Whoa!! This one's got the right head shake, and its got some weight to it!! YAH Baby!! I start walking backwards and after a few short minutes, got it through the skinny, and in to my hands as a few people gathered around to take a look. I tape it out at 25 1/2" Juuuuuust shy of being an induction, but I don't care - THIS was AWESOME!!! One of the bystanders asked if I was going to take him home, but I said, "no, this one was a gift, and I'm returning him home" And so I did. :Dancing Banana: Did the happy dance, geared back up, and stayed until I just couldn't cast out far enough, as the incoming tide pushed me back several yards. I was stoked. My first legal butt, Old-guy points, and personal best. A GREAT day.
I'm not a SWAT member yet, but I get it. Sharing knowledge was the key to catching this fish. Fishing with others, observing, learning, asking, BS-ing, is all a part of being at the right place, at the right time, with the right gear, and right techniques. Getting a hall pass from the Boss? Well, that's a whole different forum to read up on I suppose. Thanks for reading - pic below...
http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q761/BBQSushi/Flattie1_zps1240592d.jpg (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/BBQSushi/media/Flattie1_zps1240592d.jpg.html)
http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q761/BBQSushi/Flattie2_zpsda4dd7e2.jpg (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/BBQSushi/media/Flattie2_zpsda4dd7e2.jpg.html)
Long story short: I FINALLY landed a legal flattie from the sand. A first for me, and personal best! :Big Smile: (WOOO-FREAKING-HOOOO!!!) And even though it was juuuuust a 1/2" shy of an induction fish, it was points for the geriatrics!! :Thumbs Up:
Long story long:
Sunday June 2
AO: Classified
Tide: +1 Lowtide @ 11:30 +/- 1hr
Temp: Air 62/Water 64
Conditions: Wind from West @7kt, 2-4 swell @ 8-10 sec, Water clear, Weeds light
Gear: St Croix AVID 8'6" + Shimano Ci4 2500, 15lb Braid, 15lb Flouro tip, LC 110 Flashminnow W/ Bachiboy Series 1 Custom Paint (Thanks Don!!)
Much like Don and Ken, my monkeys are 4 and 5yrs old, so planning to go fishing for me, is first putting up the family (read:wife's) schedule, and comparing that calendar to the SoCal Tide chart, then cross-referencing the Swell Magnet surf report, Western Outdoor propaganda fish report, Dallas Rains weather report, and then going in to some prayer for low salad count. Getting a hall pass is the first hurdle, so if I can line up the first two charts, its ON! Having 3 or more is a planetary alignment. Fortunately, La Jefa had an event down in SD county this past weekend, so we traded kid duties, and I earned a Sunday outing. I got the AO intel from Don [Bachiboy] who had gotten it from the top brass. Don had also done some major damage at this spot last weekend. Problem was, that it was LOW tide spot, and low tide this past weekend was inconveniently midday. Bosslady gave the green light, and I'm on it!! I generously took the family "to the beach" on Saturday for a recon mission. The target, according to Bachi, is a boiler rock, that pokes its head out only at low tide. (JEEESUZ Don, you weren't kidding!! That sucker is 50yds out there!!). I mark it, and plan my attack for the next day.
Sunday, comes and I arrive an hour before low tide. Waders are not defiinitely NOT going to cut it on this mission. I busted out my wetsuit and made myself IPX7 rated. (submersible) If any of you have seen Wingnut fish, that dude goes all out, and he might as well go with scuba - this inspired me - I was going to go for it. I worked the spot for about 15min, diving under waves, and figuring out the timing of the intervals, when WHAM! A nice bite, but there's no weight to it. I quickly reel in what turns out to be a nice BSP around 12", but not what I was after. So I keep peppering that same area for the next 20 min. and now the tide is allowing me to cast out allllllmost out to the rock. Even at low tide, I actually had to swim several times, as surge pulled me in to the trough and the water is now about 6-8ft deep, way over head with waves coming in a annoyingly frequent intervals. So I'd swim back in till my feet can touch, jump up over the wave, cast and try to land back on the ledge. On this particular cast, I got pushed by a wave and it took a second for me to regain my footing, perhaps giving the lure a few seconds to settle. A few cranks later, BAM! I swing. Whoa!! This one's got the right head shake, and its got some weight to it!! YAH Baby!! I start walking backwards and after a few short minutes, got it through the skinny, and in to my hands as a few people gathered around to take a look. I tape it out at 25 1/2" Juuuuuust shy of being an induction, but I don't care - THIS was AWESOME!!! One of the bystanders asked if I was going to take him home, but I said, "no, this one was a gift, and I'm returning him home" And so I did. :Dancing Banana: Did the happy dance, geared back up, and stayed until I just couldn't cast out far enough, as the incoming tide pushed me back several yards. I was stoked. My first legal butt, Old-guy points, and personal best. A GREAT day.
I'm not a SWAT member yet, but I get it. Sharing knowledge was the key to catching this fish. Fishing with others, observing, learning, asking, BS-ing, is all a part of being at the right place, at the right time, with the right gear, and right techniques. Getting a hall pass from the Boss? Well, that's a whole different forum to read up on I suppose. Thanks for reading - pic below...
http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q761/BBQSushi/Flattie1_zps1240592d.jpg (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/BBQSushi/media/Flattie1_zps1240592d.jpg.html)
http://i1358.photobucket.com/albums/q761/BBQSushi/Flattie2_zpsda4dd7e2.jpg (http://s1358.photobucket.com/user/BBQSushi/media/Flattie2_zpsda4dd7e2.jpg.html)