LuckyCraft420
09-25-2013, 03:10 PM
No more trolling on FNN frank, you are being put on blast right now, MAKE AN ACCOUNT AND REGISTER!
I recently met a guy at work that over heard me talking about float tubing and sparked up a conversation. He told me he had only tubed fresh water lakes prior, but wanted to try tubing in salt water and surf fishing.
Early last week we both had the same day off work, and decided to hit the surf. I took him to an AO a friend had recommended for larger model perch. It was his first surf trip, so I wanted to make sure he caught something. He got to the location around 9am, to find almost perfect fishing conditions. Water wasn't too cold, swells were small, and practically no wind. But there was kelp, seaweed, eel grass, and other vegetation getting caught on my LCs almost every cast. He was set up with a Carolina rigged and gulp sand worms. We covered a lot more beach than I had intended, but I was trying to find less weedy areas. After a solid hour of throwing the LC, I told frank to switch me poles so I could get the skunk out of the way. 5-10 minutes later I landed 2 perch, and went right back to throwing the LC. Needless to say those were my only fish of the day. Frank on the other hand had a nice first surf trip! His very first fish caught off the surf was 21' bean, which he then followed up with a handful of perch, 1 being 11"s.
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1077.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1077.jpg.html)
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1078.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1078.jpg.html)
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1081.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1081.jpg.html)
Yesterday 9/24
I really wanted to hit that same AO again and hope for less vegetation in the water, but I also wanted to float tube the open ocean before the water starts getting colder (I don't have waders yet). So I called a couple tubing buddies and thought we would have a handful of people out there. After some last minute cancellations, Frank and I were on the way with just the 2 of us. After talking to Daniel (fishshep) the night before, he mentioned some deep drop offs in the area, so I decided to try and find them. We launched about a mile and a half from the usual area, and wasn't sure which direction to head first. I wasnt even 30 feet off the shore line yet, and lizard fish were already nipping at the tails of our baits. Little did I know yet, that those lizard fish were going to follow me around all day. The first 2 hours go by when I realize Frank is out fishing me again, and again hes never done this kind of fishing before... Hes at about 6-7 pancakes and 2-3 lizard fish caught, while my fish count is 2 pancakes and 2 lizards. 20 mins or so by, and I finally get a solid hook up on something with a little weight. I know its a halibut right away, and I was hoping it was a legal. After a short strong fight I get it into my lap and measure it out... 19"s.
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1108.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1108.jpg.html)
At this point im not feeling as bad, Ive at least caught the biggest fish on this trip now. A few minutes go by when I hear Frank yell behind me, "I GOT A BIG 1, I THINK ITS A LEGAL!" So I paddle over as quickly as I can. I get there and can tell right away it wasn't a legal. But just for kicks we measured it anyway, 18"s
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1111.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1111.jpg.html)
We keep fishing and each catch a couple more pancakes (not photoed). After dealing with lizard fish nipping the tails of my baits all day, I managed to hook a smaller 1. I quickly took my swim bait off the lead head, and hooked the lizard fish onto it. I drop it straight down underneath me and start paddling. Less than 30 seconds goes by and the rod gets slammed. I somehow missed the hook set... I reel the lizard fish in to see its still barely alive, and drop it back down. 10-15 minutes goes by, and as im bouncing it off the bottom, I get slammed again! I set the hook as fast and hard as I could. Fish ON! It's directly underneath me, my 8'6 Clarus is 1/2 way bent over into the water, I tighten the drag a few clicks and start to reel. Apparently I didn't get the memo, cause I thought I was in charge of this fight. It starts to swim sporadically in small circles underneath me, then turns towards deeper water and takes off. Ive never had drag pulled like that on a baitcaster before... It was pulling drag like a large ray would, but there was a ton of head shakes, so I know it wasnt a ray. Im looking down at my reel in disbelief how quickly line is getting pulled out. After 30 seconds I see that nearly 1/2 my line is gone, and this fish isnt slowing down at all! I didnt want to get spooled, cause I didnt bring a back up rod or line with me. So I made a split seconds decision to put my thumb down on the reel in hopes that the fish will start to drag me around instead. But almost instantly after putting my thumb down, it felt like the hook got pulled from its mouth. I let out a loud F bomb that was probably heard a 1/2 mile in each direction, then reeled in the line to investigate. Lead head gone, and a clean cut on the 12# line. Im almost certain it was 1 of the many sharks in the area, but who knows... Especially after seeing Tess'es beastly WSB caught a few days prior. Looking back on it, I wish I had risked getting spooled to keep the fight going and at least catch a glimps of it... next time I know what I'll do.
At this point I started getting a head ache from skipping breakfast and not having my caffeine, so I decided to give it another 30 minutes then head out. Once again I hear frank yelling from a distance, "I GOT A HUGE 1, THIS THING IS A LEGAL FOR SURE!!!" So I think to myself, "Ive already heard that 1 today." But I started paddling over to him anyway encase he needed a hand. It took me a minute or 2 to get there, but when I got there, knew that hali well more than legal. He has it on the top of the water, but Im in a bad position to grab it. So I i start to reposition myself. Before I get a chance to grab it, I see Frank go for it. But he grabs the lead head hanging out of the Hali's mouth, and starts to lift the fish out of the water and onto his lap. It was like straight out of the movies. Time slowed down as I yelled,"Nooooooooo!" But before I even finished all the O's, the halibut gave a quick body jerk and slipped right off the hook! Somehow it lands half way of franks lap. He tries to grab it, but the halibut starts flipping around like crazy. Frank lunges both his arms out, catches it, and pulled it in for a tight bear hug. Unfortunately that fish was too slippery and strong, and wiggled its way out, and splashed back in the water... Gone! His halibut was easy 25"s if not 26-27"s. We kept fishing for another 15 minutes and decided to call it a day.
Today 9/25
I wanted to get in 1 more quick perch session before HG5 since I really havent fished for perch since HG4, lol. It was nothing special... I didnt even think it would be fishable upon arriving. Strong winds and big swells made it hard, but I was still able to keep my line in front of me. Only fished from 10am to noon, and caught 5 hand sized BSP.
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1080.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1080.jpg.html)
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1114.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1114.jpg.html)
I recently met a guy at work that over heard me talking about float tubing and sparked up a conversation. He told me he had only tubed fresh water lakes prior, but wanted to try tubing in salt water and surf fishing.
Early last week we both had the same day off work, and decided to hit the surf. I took him to an AO a friend had recommended for larger model perch. It was his first surf trip, so I wanted to make sure he caught something. He got to the location around 9am, to find almost perfect fishing conditions. Water wasn't too cold, swells were small, and practically no wind. But there was kelp, seaweed, eel grass, and other vegetation getting caught on my LCs almost every cast. He was set up with a Carolina rigged and gulp sand worms. We covered a lot more beach than I had intended, but I was trying to find less weedy areas. After a solid hour of throwing the LC, I told frank to switch me poles so I could get the skunk out of the way. 5-10 minutes later I landed 2 perch, and went right back to throwing the LC. Needless to say those were my only fish of the day. Frank on the other hand had a nice first surf trip! His very first fish caught off the surf was 21' bean, which he then followed up with a handful of perch, 1 being 11"s.
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1077.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1077.jpg.html)
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1078.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1078.jpg.html)
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1081.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1081.jpg.html)
Yesterday 9/24
I really wanted to hit that same AO again and hope for less vegetation in the water, but I also wanted to float tube the open ocean before the water starts getting colder (I don't have waders yet). So I called a couple tubing buddies and thought we would have a handful of people out there. After some last minute cancellations, Frank and I were on the way with just the 2 of us. After talking to Daniel (fishshep) the night before, he mentioned some deep drop offs in the area, so I decided to try and find them. We launched about a mile and a half from the usual area, and wasn't sure which direction to head first. I wasnt even 30 feet off the shore line yet, and lizard fish were already nipping at the tails of our baits. Little did I know yet, that those lizard fish were going to follow me around all day. The first 2 hours go by when I realize Frank is out fishing me again, and again hes never done this kind of fishing before... Hes at about 6-7 pancakes and 2-3 lizard fish caught, while my fish count is 2 pancakes and 2 lizards. 20 mins or so by, and I finally get a solid hook up on something with a little weight. I know its a halibut right away, and I was hoping it was a legal. After a short strong fight I get it into my lap and measure it out... 19"s.
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1108.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1108.jpg.html)
At this point im not feeling as bad, Ive at least caught the biggest fish on this trip now. A few minutes go by when I hear Frank yell behind me, "I GOT A BIG 1, I THINK ITS A LEGAL!" So I paddle over as quickly as I can. I get there and can tell right away it wasn't a legal. But just for kicks we measured it anyway, 18"s
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1111.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1111.jpg.html)
We keep fishing and each catch a couple more pancakes (not photoed). After dealing with lizard fish nipping the tails of my baits all day, I managed to hook a smaller 1. I quickly took my swim bait off the lead head, and hooked the lizard fish onto it. I drop it straight down underneath me and start paddling. Less than 30 seconds goes by and the rod gets slammed. I somehow missed the hook set... I reel the lizard fish in to see its still barely alive, and drop it back down. 10-15 minutes goes by, and as im bouncing it off the bottom, I get slammed again! I set the hook as fast and hard as I could. Fish ON! It's directly underneath me, my 8'6 Clarus is 1/2 way bent over into the water, I tighten the drag a few clicks and start to reel. Apparently I didn't get the memo, cause I thought I was in charge of this fight. It starts to swim sporadically in small circles underneath me, then turns towards deeper water and takes off. Ive never had drag pulled like that on a baitcaster before... It was pulling drag like a large ray would, but there was a ton of head shakes, so I know it wasnt a ray. Im looking down at my reel in disbelief how quickly line is getting pulled out. After 30 seconds I see that nearly 1/2 my line is gone, and this fish isnt slowing down at all! I didnt want to get spooled, cause I didnt bring a back up rod or line with me. So I made a split seconds decision to put my thumb down on the reel in hopes that the fish will start to drag me around instead. But almost instantly after putting my thumb down, it felt like the hook got pulled from its mouth. I let out a loud F bomb that was probably heard a 1/2 mile in each direction, then reeled in the line to investigate. Lead head gone, and a clean cut on the 12# line. Im almost certain it was 1 of the many sharks in the area, but who knows... Especially after seeing Tess'es beastly WSB caught a few days prior. Looking back on it, I wish I had risked getting spooled to keep the fight going and at least catch a glimps of it... next time I know what I'll do.
At this point I started getting a head ache from skipping breakfast and not having my caffeine, so I decided to give it another 30 minutes then head out. Once again I hear frank yelling from a distance, "I GOT A HUGE 1, THIS THING IS A LEGAL FOR SURE!!!" So I think to myself, "Ive already heard that 1 today." But I started paddling over to him anyway encase he needed a hand. It took me a minute or 2 to get there, but when I got there, knew that hali well more than legal. He has it on the top of the water, but Im in a bad position to grab it. So I i start to reposition myself. Before I get a chance to grab it, I see Frank go for it. But he grabs the lead head hanging out of the Hali's mouth, and starts to lift the fish out of the water and onto his lap. It was like straight out of the movies. Time slowed down as I yelled,"Nooooooooo!" But before I even finished all the O's, the halibut gave a quick body jerk and slipped right off the hook! Somehow it lands half way of franks lap. He tries to grab it, but the halibut starts flipping around like crazy. Frank lunges both his arms out, catches it, and pulled it in for a tight bear hug. Unfortunately that fish was too slippery and strong, and wiggled its way out, and splashed back in the water... Gone! His halibut was easy 25"s if not 26-27"s. We kept fishing for another 15 minutes and decided to call it a day.
Today 9/25
I wanted to get in 1 more quick perch session before HG5 since I really havent fished for perch since HG4, lol. It was nothing special... I didnt even think it would be fishable upon arriving. Strong winds and big swells made it hard, but I was still able to keep my line in front of me. Only fished from 10am to noon, and caught 5 hand sized BSP.
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1080.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1080.jpg.html)
http://i758.photobucket.com/albums/xx221/nim_ken/IMG_1114.jpg (http://s758.photobucket.com/user/nim_ken/media/IMG_1114.jpg.html)