ErikAllen17
11-16-2013, 09:28 PM
I've had a long week this week, but still managed to wet a line on 3 separate occasions. This past weekend, my kids were sick and the wife had to work. I was tasked with taking care of all 3 on my own... no easy task when they're healthy, but extra hard when they're sick. Then Monday rolled around and school was closed. My wife had to work, and it was my day to work from home, so guess who had all 3 (sick) kids on Monday as well... yep! So when the wife got home around 3pm, she said to take a break and go fishing if I wanted to. Before she could finish her sentence, I was already in the garage packing up my gear in the Tahoe.
MONDAY
I decided to try Leo again... hadn't fished there since HG5, but figured it was worth another shot. I put on my new waders/boots/jacket and was in the water just before 4pm. I threw the LC for about 40 min with no luck, but then got slammed. My reel started peeling line, and then just stopped about 5 seconds later. Something was definitely still on the line, but it wasn't moving an inch. I kept the line really tight for about 30 seconds, and then tried reeling it in. Still wasn't budging... then all of a sudden, my 25lb braided line snapped. DAMNIT!!! Another LC gone... that's the 4th one so far! Not sure what it was, but whatever it is, it's now got $25 worth of bling attached to it! If someone catches a fish with an LC in it's face, please ship it back to me. HAHAHA.
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/LeoCarrillo_11-11-2013_01.jpg
I fished until I couldn't see any more, then packed up and left around 6:30pm. Asked the wife if I could go an get some dinner or if she needed me home... she said to enjoy my night. I ended up at one of my favorite watering holes, enjoying a beer (actually 3) with a fellow angler of mine who happened to be there watching football. Even though I got skunked... it was a good break from real life.
THURSDAY
The week had progressed and the kids were healthy... however, the wife and I were not. We caught whatever they did and the wife and I took a day off to recover. We rested, had breakfast together, played some cards and rested some more. It was gorgeous outside, so she asked if we can go somewhere. I mentioned that a sunset on the beach would be nice... so when we picked the kids up from school, we headed down PCH and decided to try out Sycamore. The kids had a blast playing in the sand, while I rigged up a dropper loop with a huge chunk of squid and staked one pole while throwing the LC with another. I only got to fish for about 30 minutes, but what an exciting 30 minutes it was. My bait and wait ended up getting completely dunked and lost in the surf for about 3 minutes. I was frantically searching and luckily found it. I staked it way up the beach this time and continued to throw the LC. I hooked onto a couple of small perch, but they unbuttoned fairly quickly. Then as I was heading back towards the kids, I went to reel in the bait and wait. As soon as I started reeling, I knew it was in trouble... I could hear sand grinding in the gears with every turn. I was pissed... but when the line got a little closer, there was definitely something on the other end. I ended up reeling in this beautiful little leopard shark who was perfectly mouth hooked (thanks circle hooks)! My 8-year old daughter was the first to come over and start petting it. Then my son and then my 4 year old girl. Even the wife, who HATES sharks, had to touch it. She was repulsed, but you could still see a twinkle of wonder in her eye as well. We snapped a couple pics and sent little leo on his way. Packed up the gear and headed home.
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/Sycamore_11-14-2013_01.jpg
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/Sycamore_11-14-2013_02.jpg
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/Sycamore_11-14-2013_03.jpg
FRIDAY
After dropping off the kids at school, I packed up my rig and headed out to try a new AO. My kayak fishing buddies all tell me that Deer Creek is the place to fish. Structure everywhere, boilers and kelp beds are a plenty! So I suited up, donned the skully and headed out for what I hoped was some insane fishing and a new AO. I threw from 9:30am until around 12:30... tried the LC for the first 2 hours and then a C-rig for that last hour. NOTHING! A big fat skunk! It blew my mind, because the beach was everything they said it was. Just no fish. Great rocks, boilers, outgoing tide, kelp forest almost within reach of casting distance and tons of structure. The waves were a little larger than I would've liked and there was alot of eel grass, but it just wasn't meant to be. I have it on good authority that there are fish to be had there... so I will be back. When I got home, I grabbed a frosted mug and drew a tall Sam Adams from my kegerator... "skunk what"? No worries...
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/DeerCreek_11-15-2013_01.jpg
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/DeerCreek_11-15-2013_02.jpg
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/DeerCreek_11-15-2013_03.jpg
MONDAY
I decided to try Leo again... hadn't fished there since HG5, but figured it was worth another shot. I put on my new waders/boots/jacket and was in the water just before 4pm. I threw the LC for about 40 min with no luck, but then got slammed. My reel started peeling line, and then just stopped about 5 seconds later. Something was definitely still on the line, but it wasn't moving an inch. I kept the line really tight for about 30 seconds, and then tried reeling it in. Still wasn't budging... then all of a sudden, my 25lb braided line snapped. DAMNIT!!! Another LC gone... that's the 4th one so far! Not sure what it was, but whatever it is, it's now got $25 worth of bling attached to it! If someone catches a fish with an LC in it's face, please ship it back to me. HAHAHA.
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/LeoCarrillo_11-11-2013_01.jpg
I fished until I couldn't see any more, then packed up and left around 6:30pm. Asked the wife if I could go an get some dinner or if she needed me home... she said to enjoy my night. I ended up at one of my favorite watering holes, enjoying a beer (actually 3) with a fellow angler of mine who happened to be there watching football. Even though I got skunked... it was a good break from real life.
THURSDAY
The week had progressed and the kids were healthy... however, the wife and I were not. We caught whatever they did and the wife and I took a day off to recover. We rested, had breakfast together, played some cards and rested some more. It was gorgeous outside, so she asked if we can go somewhere. I mentioned that a sunset on the beach would be nice... so when we picked the kids up from school, we headed down PCH and decided to try out Sycamore. The kids had a blast playing in the sand, while I rigged up a dropper loop with a huge chunk of squid and staked one pole while throwing the LC with another. I only got to fish for about 30 minutes, but what an exciting 30 minutes it was. My bait and wait ended up getting completely dunked and lost in the surf for about 3 minutes. I was frantically searching and luckily found it. I staked it way up the beach this time and continued to throw the LC. I hooked onto a couple of small perch, but they unbuttoned fairly quickly. Then as I was heading back towards the kids, I went to reel in the bait and wait. As soon as I started reeling, I knew it was in trouble... I could hear sand grinding in the gears with every turn. I was pissed... but when the line got a little closer, there was definitely something on the other end. I ended up reeling in this beautiful little leopard shark who was perfectly mouth hooked (thanks circle hooks)! My 8-year old daughter was the first to come over and start petting it. Then my son and then my 4 year old girl. Even the wife, who HATES sharks, had to touch it. She was repulsed, but you could still see a twinkle of wonder in her eye as well. We snapped a couple pics and sent little leo on his way. Packed up the gear and headed home.
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/Sycamore_11-14-2013_01.jpg
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/Sycamore_11-14-2013_02.jpg
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/Sycamore_11-14-2013_03.jpg
FRIDAY
After dropping off the kids at school, I packed up my rig and headed out to try a new AO. My kayak fishing buddies all tell me that Deer Creek is the place to fish. Structure everywhere, boilers and kelp beds are a plenty! So I suited up, donned the skully and headed out for what I hoped was some insane fishing and a new AO. I threw from 9:30am until around 12:30... tried the LC for the first 2 hours and then a C-rig for that last hour. NOTHING! A big fat skunk! It blew my mind, because the beach was everything they said it was. Just no fish. Great rocks, boilers, outgoing tide, kelp forest almost within reach of casting distance and tons of structure. The waves were a little larger than I would've liked and there was alot of eel grass, but it just wasn't meant to be. I have it on good authority that there are fish to be had there... so I will be back. When I got home, I grabbed a frosted mug and drew a tall Sam Adams from my kegerator... "skunk what"? No worries...
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/DeerCreek_11-15-2013_01.jpg
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/DeerCreek_11-15-2013_02.jpg
http://www.allenpix.com/erik/boards/fishing/DeerCreek_11-15-2013_03.jpg