I See Your Legal Halibut... and Raise You a Legal White Sea Bass! Sunday 8/3/08
I've been alternating between the fresh & salt for the past month or so with some good results. I always try to set-up my fishing schedule according to the tide chart, full moon, grunion run and a few other factors. A combination of these factors determines where I will end up on any given weekend. It does pay to do your homework.
I had today (Sunday) on my calendar for over a month now to hit the surf. Incoming tide and two days after the Grunion run... perfect. I hit the surf today with Roy (Q3Fishboy), a friend whom I met a few months back while fishing the Northern coastline. Roy is a very talented young fisherman and I find myself picking up a thing or two from him every time that we fish together.
We drove quite a long way up the coast today. Conditions was tough pretty much everywhere that we went. The combination of a strong incoming surge and the constant heavy presence of vegetation made fishing conditions difficult. On top of that the water was quite murky in most places.
I pulled out enough salad from the surf this morning to have a Kimchi breakfast, lunch & dinner.But persistence eventually paid off and in a big way.
We hit our first low tide location around 7:00am and found overcast skies with a light drizzle. The "all you can eat" salad bar was open early for business. On just about every cast, we has to clean off the LC's... very frustrating, but we kept at it and were rewarded with a handful of Flatties. In two hours, I managed four short and one legal Flat Boys. With the legal Butt today, I ran my streak to nine consecutive trips to the surf with at least one or more legal Butts.
Check out the "Exclusive" Team 57 FNN Members Forum if you qualify to have access later. I will post some detailed information on the factory & custom Lucky Craft arsenal that I take with me every time that I hit the surf.
Roy (Q3Fishboy) He was fishing with a wetsuit underneath... now that's a good idea.I can probably wade up to my neck doing that.
Some pics of the short Butts.
My lone legal Butt of the day. I asked Roy if he wanted it and Roy says "Let it go." So I released it right there in the surf. Remember to enjoy the fruit of your success in moderation.I did keep one fish today!
This one was only half an inch from being legal.
Oh yeah... got a couple of these feisty BSP's today also.
After two hours of constant aggravation dealing with the vegetation, we decided to take off and head further North towards Gaviota. Haven't been this far North in quite a while so I thought we perform a little reconnaissance mission just for the heck of it.Turned out to be a great decision.
Not much better conditions farther North.Gloomy skies, foggy conditions, strong surf and there was quite a bit of salad here too.
Paid the parking fee and hit the surf anyways. We drove all this way, may as well give it an honest effort. We worked our way down the stretch of beach for about a mile when I spotted some boiler rocks in the distance. It was a formation of about half a dozen medium to large rocks just under the surface and barely visible in the incoming surf. Our first few casts resulted in heavy kelp resistance. After about ten minutes working the area we decided that we had enough and was about to pack up and walk back to the car when Poseidon says, "Not so fast!"
I was on my last few casts before calling it quits when my "Frankenfish" LC was met with a violent strike. By violent, I mean savage like and with no mercy... my rod tip actually touched the water with the bite. No need to set the hook, the fight was on! I caught a glimpse of a silver flash and the tail as it briefly came to the surface and knew immediately that it wasn't a Halibut. I yelled to Roy, "I think it's a White Sea Bass!" I also thought that it might be a YFC, but when the fish took off on a solid ten second drag burning run, I knew that it was no YFC either. Roy saw the helpless look on my face as the fish took line at will. I said to Roy that I can't do anything until the fish finish its first run. Most fish will exert the majority of their energy during the first one or two solid early runs. Don't panic, even if it takes 1/2 of the line in your spool, don't be tempted to crank the reel handle when it is still running, thumb the spool, play with the drag or try to turn it too soon. Be patient and let the game play out. We do have the advantage... most of the time.
What a strong fish! Drag set pretty tight and bracing myself during the first run.
Starting to turn a little...
The moment that I've been waiting for... got the fish turned and gaining back precious line.
A few minutes later... the fish streaked across the surf in close proximity, giving visual confirmation that it was indeed a WSB. Now I'm really excited!
The prize! My first legal White Sea Bass from the surf!
Beautiful fish. I hooked it so good with all three trebles on the LC embedded. The second hook was under the gill plate and in the gills of the fish. Making its survival chance bleak at best... I will have to enjoy this gift from Poseidon.
We headed home not long afterwards. Stuck it out under tough conditions, made the best of it and went home HAPPY! Never, ever... give up!
Thanks Roy for joining me in the surf today. I'm heading back to the fresh next Sunday, but I'll be back in the surf the following weekend... right in line with the Grunion schedule.
Hope everybody had a great weekend fishing. I can't wait to see you all at the Legends II FNN Team 57 event on the 23rd! Don't miss out and have to read about it, it's gonna be one BIG PARTY!!! Come out to show your support for FNN & Team 57.
Until the next adventure... peace!
Arthur (Wingnut)
"A baby is God's way of saying that the world can go on..."
Extras:
Dead Sea Dog.Looked like it had gunshot wounds.
Weapons - Daiwa Luna 103/203/253 on E21 BD Carrot Stix
I never hit the surf without my "Deadly Dozen".
Left row (100%) factory - Right row (Factory "Enhanced").
Visit the Exclusive FNN Team 57 members forum for more details.
Total mileage.
Miscellaneous gear.
Parting shot.
Be cool out there people!
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Originally Posted by Wingnut
