S.W.A.T. "Iron Chef" Mission 6/22/11. Plus SEVEN BONUS Reports!

[Wingnut]

Had plans to drive South this morning to fish with a future S.W.A.T. recruit prospect, Justin Oceanside had some great intel to share and wanted to show me a spot in his backyard.
So we arranged a meeting spot on the beach and started the mission countdown. The thought did briefly cross my mind to abort and instead, head back to the A.O. where I was fishing with John (Klocked) yesterday when he nailed a beautiful White Sea Bass (check out his report!).
Not a chance, even if the Yellowtails were running in the surf in that area, a commitment was made and will be kept.

Arrived at the A.O. a bit too early, geared up and walked down to the sand while it was still dark. Walked along the edge of the water for a few minutes to survey the conditions.
Overcast skies, light on-shore wind. Swept my hand through the surf... wow, the water feels warm, probably at least 65 degrees, they should be stirring out there I thought to myself. Moderate amount of salad on the sand at the edge of the surf tells me that there will be a good amount of it in the water as well. Indeed it was, moderate to heavy salad condition made working the LC a bit frustrating at times today. Outgoing, slow receding tide. Swells 2-3 feet, a bit high, but at slow intervals. Too dark to see if there was any baitfish presence. But recent intel suggested that this area had a heavy concentration of Grunion during the run last week. Made my choice of what to throw easy, just enough light now... I tie on a MJ Herring LC, a nice Grunion look-a-like and let it fly.

Mission duration = 5:15am - 9:00am
Arsenal = Various S.W.A.T. issued Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 110SP

Only about 4-5 casts into the session and I get a solid grab, the drag ran for a couple of seconds, felt solid with a few headshakes and then nothing... Damn, I hate it when that happens.
I whispered to myself, this had better not be one of those days... Then the cup is half full side of me kicks in and I thought... hey, that's a good start, they are here. Where there's one, there are bound to be others.
5:20am, where is Justin...? I look down the beach and see a dark figure walking towards me in the distance. That must be Justin... come show me what you got buddy.

Justin walks up behind me and I kid you not, I turn my head to greet him and the LC gets hit...
I laughed and said to him, "Dude, you're good luck!"
Only a short Hali, but confirmed that indeed, they are here!

This is NO exaggeration, Justin can attest to this. I proceeded to nail & land three Flatties on three consecutive casts, only 10 minutes into it and while it was still dark.
Gotta love it!
Here are the three, all in order...

Cast #1


Short Hali 20"


Cast #2
Short Hali, probably around 16"


Cast #3
Legal Hali! 23" (Released) This fish is lucky that I caught it so early in the session and didn't want to drag it around with me all morning.
Hope I can get another one later for the "Iron Chef".








Then Justin goes bendo...


But crap, a Flat fish of the WRONG kind, Frisco hooked.
Instead of being upset, Justin said to me, "Hey, the Skunk is off!" I like that attitude Justin.


Fast forward a few hours... Nothing but a bunch of short Flatties a few Perch for the longest time.
Justin caught 4 or five and I got 8 or 9, all shorts with a few Perch mixed in.

Here are a few pics...
















Then... tragedy. It hurts me to even write about this so I can only imagine how disappointed Justin must be.

We were both throwing to a nice trough at an outer break when Justin goes bendo. I looked over and saw a nice bend in his rod and a ton of headshakes. Looks like a nice Hali. He fought the fish for about a minute and just before it was about to show color so we can see what it was... the LC comes flying back at him.
I yelled "SH*T!" and Justin just shakes his head, checked his hooks and recast to the same spot.

I couldn't believe it, a couple of casts later, he goes MAJOR bendo AGAIN!
His drag was screaming and I can tell that this fish is stronger than the last and was working him pretty good, taking him to the right. I fast cranked in my LC and stood behind him and snapped a pic.
This fish was taking straight drag and running parallel to the beach.


This time, after 2 or 3 strong runs, the fish broke him off... LC and all.
Unbelievable, my heart sank and I tried my best to console Justin as I can see the disappointment in his eyes.
But I knew that nothing I can say will make him feel better, until he put another quality fish on the sand.
Pure power and speed... we concluded that it was probably a big White Sea Bass.
One that is now dragging 50 yards of line and a Metallic Sardine LC hanging from its mouth.

Well, now it was almost 9:00 o'clock and Justin have to leave for work so we started working our way down the beach going back towards the car.
Somewhere in that short stretch, I said to Justin, "I guess the Iron Chef won't get her Halibut today..."

I spoke a little too soon...






After I landed the fish, I checked my wader pocket for the measuring tape and found that I forgot to zip it up and the tape was gone. But it was a pretty safe guess that this was a legal fish, even when figuring in the shrinkage.
When I got home and measured her, she taped out at 27 inches.
Maybe I'll post up some dinner pics later...






Wicked!






Traffic sucks...


Justin, thank you for inviting me to come down and fish with you. I know that you are undoubtedly still disappointed, but that's fishing... sometimes the fish wins. Believe me, when you put the next monster on the sand, what happened today will be a distant memory.
You definitely got what it takes to fish with the Brotherhood... Looking forward to hitting the surf with you again soon. We have to start working on that project that you and I were talking about. You work on getting the clearance, I'll put aTeam together.

Thanks for tuning in to this S.W.A.T program everybody... until next time, go out there and get yours!

Arthur (Wingnut)



"Be where you are; otherwise you will miss your life."



Parting shot.
Not sure if fish are a part of the dietary requirement for healthy Pugs...lol
"Hurry up and cook this sucker, we're hungry!"




Update: Dinner pics!

Appetizer - Baked Butternut Squash stuffed with Halibut.


Flash broiled Halibut steaks in olive & sesame oil.

[keepemlo]

That was a great trip I've been showing everybody at work those halicabobs ..everyone loves the way it looks..so all day sat I frankenstiened my lcs so look forward to a report this weekend ...I love fishing

[klocked]

Yeah Buddy!! Rub it in!!
Oh how I wished I could of been there!!
Good job you guys!

Justin, your time for a really fantastic fish is coming soon, reeeel sooon!!!
You have an awesome fishery down there!

Arthur, nothing stops you brotha!! NOTHING!!! Way to go!!

[iLLest]

Awesome job guys!
You guys are making me get that get out and fish ASAP feeling.
Nice fish for the both of you, and way to clutch out dinner Arthur.
That sucks that you lost those quality fish but no worries, if theyre there, its only a matter of time before u get em.
It looks nice and fishy there
I think the WSB are definitely here!

[Tesserz]

Wowee what an epic day!! Nice job out there boys, that's how it's done! Flattie after flattie, I love it!

Justin, I wish that spot was in my backyard. You made a wise decision in sharing your intel with the Commander... it will pay off tenfold. About the lost fish.. I feel your pain. Those kinds of memories still haunt me in my dreams. But I have no doubt you will make up for it really soon... esp. being a future S.W.A.T. recruit prospect.

Arthur, awesome report as usual. You will always and forever be the Commander, so don't even joke.

Thanks for the pre-post info... I couldn't concentrate at work after reading Jason's fwds and your texts.

[FishinLBC]

nice job guys. srry about the one that got away

[justin oceanside]

Even with the two TRAGEDIES I still had a great time. I caught some fish, had good company and learned a few things.
I have AT LEAST a dozen excuses for those two fish getting off...so I will list them...number one: just kidding.....only me to blame..but I AM DUE!!
I will attest to the three cast - three fish. Unbelievable!! Kinda puts the pressure on to walk up and wave to see fish on - take a pic - fish on - take a pic - fish on....three casts!!! You kept saying that you were "lucky", I think, it has more to do with Karma - good for good....

Project is a go, just need to talk about the logistics ;)

Thanks again for making the trek, looking forward to doing it again soon!

It was a good day in the surf....

Justin


Justin

[Jaysuuun]

EPIC DAY! Arthur, I was getting ansy at work after I got your text. Kept thinking about water conditions, swells, water temp, tide etc. I thought for sure you'd be at the same spot the day before hunting for the ghosts.

Awesome day and the perfect ending to your outing with a nice legal for your Iron Chef.

Justin, sorry to hear about the lost fish, but the season is still young and I predict you'll be putting a quality fish on the sand in no time.

[Which Way Out]

I just don't know what to say.

Arthur when I first read a post you wrote I thought, ah this guys is just lucky. Little did I know you are a Master, a PHd, a fishing god for sure.

Justin I am sure was blown away on the 3 for 3 and to get a kicker on the way back to car. Heck I am. If I were him I would be scratching my head about what you were able to pull off in such a short time as much as the loss he experienced. Sucks when that happens.

Justin, thanks for sharing. Keep up the good work and always post the fun with pic's.
Arthur, I hope to throw down a big fish report Thursday night. Won't be surf report. Hoping on a boat Wish me luck, I need some about now.

Thursday- No report from me other than I think I broke my big toe :(

[flyngby]

The Planets must be in alignment or the world is coming to an end! NOT!

I thought you were going to be to busy to fish according to a corporate memo you posted a while back! It seems like you are getting out more than ever.

My bosses are getting pissed at me as I keep requesting to change my days off. I'll take Sun/Mon, No Fri/Sat, No Mon/Tue, No Tue/Wed, to be able to fish with the SWAT Crew!

Congrats on another great day in the surf working with the new recruit!

Justin,

It looks like a fun day out there! Don't let Arthur intimidate you on your home turf!

Steve