S.W.A.T. Fresh & Salt Mission 8/12, 8/13 - Plus FOUR Bonus Reports!

[Karyn]

Great report! I love the doggie pillow... they look super happy- almost like they are smiling for the camera :)

[flyngby]

Arthur,

You continue to get the nice play days on the waters from here and way up there all while flying from your new project and back!

Nice morning session at "Pea Soup" to please the "Iron Chef" prior to heading to the northern waters with the "Fugitive Phoung" for some time on the waters with "Uncle Bob"

Phoung,

Great to see you out of solitary confinement but then you go out after the jailbirds??????

Steve

[SP Dan]

Hey Wingnut,
I missed reading your postings the last couple of weeks. You are truly an inspiration and a leader to myself and others who have read your reports. Your SWAT brothers have been doing a admirable job out there, engaging the enemy in the trenches and reporting back for all of us to read! Thank you SWAT team! Thanks also to you Wingnut for sharing your successful first day back in the trenches with all of us! What a great first day back in the trenches engaging the enemy! I hope to have such a report to share with other "Grass Hoppers" like myself some day! I still haven't caught my first legal Hali as of yet (21 1/2" PB). I get out there at dark each Sat and Sun and give it my best but I seem to be lacking something and I'm not quite able to put my finger on it. I do have plenty of enthusiasm and am willing to hike, walk, relocate to different spots (what ever) for better conditions. Hhmm! I'll even RECON locations the night before the assault to become familiar with the terrain. Do you have any suggestions that you could share with me? I realize that you would probably need to observe me while I was fishing in order to answer such a question lol
Good to have you back,
SP Dan <"))><

[bsp]

Arthur,

Even though you've got less time to fish than most of us, when you do fish you more than make up for it in the quality of your catches! Sorry to hear about the lost WSB, but I think another one will be waiting for you on your return. At least you got another legal halibut for the Iron Chef, and that's more than can be said of a lot of surf fishermen! Those stripers aren't too bad either!

Look forward to fishing with ya soon!

Marc

[Wingnut]

Nice, way to go on the 18th good meal.

-Drew

Didn't kill all 18... but more than I did the last 4 years combined.

Arthur,

Heck yes I think you got bit! That swimbait is tore up!

I have to agree with you Arthur, fishing is definitely the way I clear my nerves after a long week. There's nothing better than walking a beach throwing a lure in anticipation of a strike or tossing a big bait in anticipation of a big blue making a run.

You had an awesome day My Friend and although you didn't have anyone there with you I was wondering all day how you were doing and there are many of us who thoroughly enjoy your reports and seeing the majic you perform with rod and reel!

Thanks for the heads up report Friday evening. That was all I needed to get my head back in the game. If things go as planned I'll send you a report from the surf at the end of the week.

I'll be in touch soon Buddy.

btw.......looking forward to the San Antonio report!

Thanks Terry, nothing like a solid session on the surf to wash away the dust of everyday life.
Trying to clear my schedule so I can make it back into town later next week. Getting you on that legal Hali is "Priority 1" See ya soon buddy...

Arthur, glad to see that you were successful on your short trip home. Excellent report as usual. With all of your skill and dedication another WSB won't be far away. Thanks for the report and pics.

Thanks... you win some, you lose some, that's fishing. I never let a lost fish linger on my mind for too long. But I can't wait to get back out there to give it another shot.

No Doubt You have a nice huge WSB comimg to ya !!!

you catch halibut like some of us catch perch

Amazing

You're too kind Daniel, but how I wish that was true.

You never have a bad day just kidding but you dont have many

As long as the good days outnumber the bad days, I have no complaints.

Great, now all i'm going to hear all day at the shop tomorrow is Phuong talking about the trip. Maybe you'll invite me next time Art, been a LONG time since you and i fished with Uncle Bobby.
Oh yeah, that noodle soup looks sooooo good.

Vince, Phuong was telling us how he was going to rub it in your face at the office.
Yes, it's been a couple of years since you fished with me and Uncle Bob. Maybe we'll set something up soon bro.

Good report, as usual.

I think we'd all like to see some pics of you holding a Largemouth bass. *nudge*

LMB don't "float my boat."

Morning Arturo,
Glad to see you got on some quality fish up at Lake San Antonio. When you had called me, at "0" Dark Thirty, I thought you had said Bob was with you. Now I know you said Phuong!
Good to see him get out and have some bonding time with a friends.
You were right about the early bite. First 2 catss produced 2 small butts, lost 1, then caught another shorty, then lost 3 more small ones. I wish I was there 1/2 an hour earlier. DARN LANE CLOSURES!!!
The rest of my Saturday was okay except for the traffic. I actullay spent close to 5 hours of driving in traffic to get around that day.
I ended up getting a decent sandie, a small butt, and a couple of YFC's at San "O".
After I finished up there, I went to Carlsbad to check water conditions, still quite a bit of salad in the water but clear to 4 feet down.
Thanks for the report Brother and I will see you in a couple of weeks.
Robert
<><

That was cool... S.W.A.T. was hitting them from both fresh & salt that day.
You drive further and fish harder than anyone I know Roberto... and you were rewarded handsomely with that beautiful WSB. See ya soon my friend.

Man, I miss fishing with Uncle Bob. My turn next time.
My best day Striper fishing ever was with you and Bob last year at that lake.
We got 20 Stripers between 8-15 lbs.
Nice topwater Striper Art, glad you had a nice weekend of fishing in before heading back out. As always, you kick major Butts in the surf.

You got it Binh, I'll give you a call the next time I head out with Uncle Bobby.
We were talking about that epic day last year. We seriously killed it up there, remember the huge fish fry we had the next day? Awesome!
Hope you guys killed them camping at Skinner this weekend bro.

sup Buddy,

You were right on about the morning bite and flat conditions, Rob spent no time in catching the shorties, while I spent my time farming them We had to abort WSB territory quickly, tide got pretty strong real quick. At about 9am, conditions went to crap. Its crazy how fast they changed.

Nice frikin striper. Thats a nice slab of feesh right there. Good stuff. You shoulda thrown the 130 and see what your luck was!

Thanks Frank, maybe we'll get together and fish sometimes next weekend when I get back bro.
Catching Striper is fun, but getting one on topwater is pure BLISS!

Good report. I need to get me one of those LC's. Seems you get them just about every time you go out & do a report. Is there a certain pattern you would recommend since I only have money to buy one? Could you narrow it down for a newbie? Minnow pattern? There like $22.00 right? Thanks Wingnut.

The Flash Minnow 110SP is the one to get. Any patterns with a certain amount of flash is ideal. I throw so many different patterns and have so many favorites. But if I had only a couple to choose from, it would probably be the old school Metallic Sardine, the MS Anchovy or my all-time favorite Metallic Ayu. Search Flashminnow 110 on Ebay, there's a seller called "I Love Hard Baits." They have a good selection, decent pricing and free shipping when you buy three or more lures.

Nice job on the Flatties!! Tough break on the WSB. Hopefully that striper on a surface plug helps ease the pain. Nothing like watching a fish blow up on a surface plug!

That lost WSB is already a distant memory...
Yes, I agree... seeing a big Striper blow up on the topwater really gets your adrenaline going. This particular fish blew up on it THREE times before finally getting stuck!

Man, that bowl of canh chua looks great! I had my mom cooked us up a batch with the Stripers too, good eats!!! Had a great time fishing with you and Bob again Art. Thanks to the both of you for working me into your schedules. Bob, we made the best of it during the full moon. That thing was ultra bright as Art and I were driving through the night to get to the lake. We got some quality fish and the company was awesome, can't wait to do it again. Glad to hear that your new business venture is going well Art, if you need anything, I'm only a phone call away bro.

Oh yeah, and you didn't tell the story about how close you came to losing your Blackberry. I can't believe that thing didn't go into the lake. Somebody upstairs was looking out for you buddy.

Really good fishing with you again Phuong, been to long.
I can't believe my Blackberry didn't go in the water either. I put my Blackberry on top of the cooler and forgot that it was there. I flip the lid open to get a drink and the phone went airborn. It sailed through the air and hit the edge of the railing on the boat. Instead of bouncing forward and going into the water, somehow, it bounced backwards back into the boat. I couldn't do that again in a hundred tries... Damn LUCKY!

Hey bro I always carry a hook sharpener it's part of my ritual along with my new knots ,it gives me piece of mind not so easy on the lcs but the jig heads are pretty easy

The fish didn't come off because the hook was dull... It just wasn't a solid hookset and it as in the softer part of the mouth. It happens... I'm over it, kinda.

Thanks for the report Arthur. Very nice halibut and stripers. How big are those? Looks like some solid 8-9 pounders.

Thanks Dylan. Yeah, the Stripers were in the 8 lbs range.
Hope you've been fishing.

WOW that was some good fishing trips right there . and that soup looks awesome good.

Not a great trip, but we did catch some quality fish. Yeah, that soup really hit the spot.

Well done my friend. Sorry for the late response but with three kids back to school.....Two birthdays this week and work.....This is the first time I have had to breath and think about fishing for a break. Looks like grandpa Bob is still guiding strong but I bet you guys would have done better during the moon cycle comming up. I never have done very well during the full moon cycle when hunting stripers but you always seem to be blessed with lady luck brotha!
As far as the SW attack at "Pea Soup"......I have to laugh at your comment "Didn't take pics of all of the garbage fish"....LOL
Most anglers would take your trash and call it a GOOD day
It's also good to see you get your best friend back on the water so he could get the cobwebs out of his brain and put some fish on the deck.....good job Phuong!
As for me...It looks like I'm going to be back in the saddle again on friday with my 15yo son Luke but we havn't decided where we are going to fish. Damn......He is growing up too quick. Seems like just yesterday I was teaching him how to lip bass.
Keep up the great work Arthur and get in touch with me a few days before you come back into town so we can tear it up dude!

Mike

Mike, Bob says the next time he sees you, he's gonna smack you upside the head with a 10 lbs Striper... LOL
Yeah, it was good to fish with Phuong again. No broken bones this time...
Hope you had fun fishing with Luke this weekend.
I'll give ya a call later in the week. Putting Terry on his first legal Hali is priority ONE!

That's some great therapy there, Arthur!!! Works for me!

Plus some soup to boot...

-- Greg --

Thanks Greg, hope you've been doing well out there buddy.

Looked like you had a great morning session at Pea Soup. Nice mixed bag of fish you had there, even with all the garbage fish.

That swimbait got annihilated! Very cool pic! Sorry to hear you lost some quality fish, but you still had a pretty epic solo session.

I used to live a couple of hours from San Antonio, but never knew there were quality stripers in there. Looked like you all had a good time out there. WTG

No big deal Jason, losing fish comes with the territory.
Lake San Antonio is a really nice lake to fish and the Striper action there can be pretty epic at times. Hope to fish with you & Tess soon.

Great report! I love the doggie pillow... they look super happy- almost like they are smiling for the camera :)

Thanks... hope to see some of your successful surf fishing trips soon.
The Pugs loves the camera, almost as much as they love food.

Arthur,

You continue to get the nice play days on the waters from here and way up there all while flying from your new project and back!

Nice morning session at "Pea Soup" to please the "Iron Chef" prior to heading to the northern waters with the "Fugitive Phoung" for some time on the waters with "Uncle Bob"

Phoung,

Great to see you out of solitary confinement but then you go out after the jailbirds??????

Steve

Hey Steve, we need to fish buddy! I'll get in touch with you later next week buddy.
I've been pretty lucky so far with my schedule allowing me to fish every couple of weeks right now.
Won't last long though, it's going to get pretty tight here heading into the fourth quarter.
Hope all is well me friend and I'll talk to ya soon.

Hey Wingnut,
I missed reading your postings the last couple of weeks. You are truly an inspiration and a leader to myself and others who have read your reports. Your SWAT brothers have been doing a admirable job out there, engaging the enemy in the trenches and reporting back for all of us to read! Thank you SWAT team! Thanks also to you Wingnut for sharing your successful first day back in the trenches with all of us! What a great first day back in the trenches engaging the enemy! I hope to have such a report to share with other "Grass Hoppers" like myself some day! I still haven't caught my first legal Hali as of yet (21 1/2" PB). I get out there at dark each Sat and Sun and give it my best but I seem to be lacking something and I'm not quite able to put my finger on it. I do have plenty of enthusiasm and am willing to hike, walk, relocate to different spots (what ever) for better conditions. Hhmm! I'll even RECON locations the night before the assault to become familiar with the terrain. Do you have any suggestions that you could share with me? I realize that you would probably need to observe me while I was fishing in order to answer such a question lol
Good to have you back,
SP Dan <"))><

Wow Dan, thanks for the kind words... we appreciate that very much, PM sent.
Yes, my S.W.A.T. Brothers are doing a great job out there.
Looks like you have what it takes to be successful out there. Sounds like you're doing all the right things. Continue to be patient, you will be rewarded with that legal Halibut before you know it.

Arthur,

Even though you've got less time to fish than most of us, when you do fish you more than make up for it in the quality of your catches! Sorry to hear about the lost WSB, but I think another one will be waiting for you on your return. At least you got another legal halibut for the Iron Chef, and that's more than can be said of a lot of surf fishermen! Those stripers aren't too bad either!

Look forward to fishing with ya soon!

Marc

Hope all is going well on the school front Marc. Tell your Dad that I said hello.
You know my timing is usually pretty good, or I'm just really lucky.
I like to think that preparation and good planning has something to do with it, but whatever works.
I'll get a hold of you sometime next week to see if we can get together and fish.

[klocked]

Arthur, nice bag of species there buddy!

I think "Pea Soup" needed a recharge of new fish to come in after your solo mission.
I've been working outside every day since the last time we had a mop up session with
Roberto, Frank, Marc, Nick and myself. The weather is getting nicer with the water
warming back up a bit, from what I read on the temp bouys online. The next few trips
over there might be the ones!!!

[Wingnut]

Arthur, nice bag of species there buddy!

I think "Pea Soup" needed a recharge of new fish to come in after your solo mission.
I've been working outside every day since the last time we had a mop up session with
Roberto, Frank, Marc, Nick and myself. The weather is getting nicer with the water
warming back up a bit, from what I read on the temp bouys online. The next few trips
over there might be the ones!!!

Thanks John... man, we had a dreadfully slow day in the surf on Wednesday.
Let's make up for it soon!

[Wingnut]

BONUS report #1
Wednesday 8/24 South O.C. Recon.

Came back into town Tuesday night and wanted to spend the next few days fishing before heading back out on Sunday.

Thanks goes out to those who have sent me PM's with well-wishes for my new work project. I appreciate it very much. Things are progessing as planned and going extremely well.

Decided to head South for a recon session to see if the bite have picked up again down there. Didn't know what to expect and hoped for the best. John (Klocked) joined me for the session. Good fishing with you John. We worked it hard, but the fishing was tough. We'll get them next time buddy.

Conditions weren't bad, but the heavy concentration of salad made it tough to fish. We switched to throwing swim baits with not much success. Caught a handful of fish and called it a day early and headed for a nice lunch. Paying our dues...

I'm hopping on Mikey's (Exfactor) boat the next day to see if we can get ourselves a big barn door Hali or a nice White Sea Bass.

Enjoy the rest of your work week everybody.

Arthur (Wingnut)


If you want to work for world peace, go home and love your families.


Can't do much when there is this much kelp on the beach and in the surf in most places.


I touched-up a new pattern LC to look like a "raked bait" design and wanted to try it out today.









The first trial run was mostly positive... unfortunately, it seems that it catches everything "except" for Halibut. lol

[Wingnut]

BONUS Report #2.
Thursday 8/25 Santa Barbara with Mikey the Fishing Yoda (Exfactor).


Took the long drive up to Santa Barbara to hop on Mikey's boat for a day of Halibut & White Sea Bass hunting. After Mikey & Bill's (Which Way Out) awesome day of almost limiting out on WSB, we were hoping for a duplicate session. Shot out to the squid spawning grounds and made some bait. I learned how to make Squid for the first time, kinda cool.

We tried drifting and bounce-balling for most of the morning with no takers. But it was a wide open bite on Sand Dabs. Mikey says to keep some of the bigger ones because they were delicious, so I did. I was pulling them up like it there was no tomorrow. Most of them were too small but came up 2, 3, 4 at a time. Had a great time pulling in these little wanna-be Flatties. I was laughing the whole time and Mikey just shakes his head and says, "Wingnut, the Halibut hunter fishing for Sand Dabs, wait until the board sees this..." LOL, what can I say, I live for simple pleasures.

We finally pulled a Rabbit out of the hat late in the session with a decent Halibut and hauled our butts back to the docks by 2:00pm. Mikey, thanks again for the invite. I always learn something new whenever I fish with my friend & mentor.
You were right, those little Sand Dabs were delicious... pan fried golden brown & crispy.

Getting up early again for the third straight day tomorrow... Gotta try and put my friend Terry (Pontoon) on that legal Halibut.

Have a good one everybody.

Arthur (Wingnut)


If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principle difference between a dog and a man.


Here are a few pics of our fun day out on the water.

The "Legend" himself. Mikey (Exfactor)


Kinda fun fishing for Sand Dabs.


This one's got some cool color markings.


The Good Year blimp flying high above.


Mikey worked his magic and I get to take one home for the "Iron Chef."



My little soldiers keeping watch over the prisoners.
Don't worry, they're not going anywhere.


Dinner, courtesy of the "Iron Chef."
Garlic and Onions Broiled Halibut over white noodles.

[Wingnut]

BONUS Report #3.
Friday 8/26 Quest #6 for a Legal Halibut with Pontoon.

I wanted another shot at putting my friend Terry (Pontoon) on his first legal Halibut. Following his quest for the past few weeks has been inspirational as well as entertaining. Terry has steeled his resolve to get the legal and I wanted to be the one standing next to him when that fish hit the sand.

When Terry told me that he was taking Friday off to pursue the prize... I knew I had to be there with him. Checked conditions for several areas and decided to take Terry to one of the most prolific S.W.A.T. Halibut hunting grounds.

This area, like most others this year, has been inconsistent at best. Timing is the key this season when it comes to catching legal Flatties. You do your homework, you watch the conditions, you track the bite patterns, and you put your boots on the sand and hope for the best.

Right when we got to the spot, I could see right away that something was off. I turned to Terry and said, "Those don't look like 1-2 foot swells..." Indeed is wasn't. Projected swells were 1-2 foot, we look out and see 3-4 foot sets rolling in. Not impossible to fish, but made it that much tougher to find clear pockets and trenches to attack all while trying to fightthe swells. On top of that, the kicker was the heavy presence of salad. Oh well, we're here... let's give it an honest effort.

After hitting it hard for about three hours, Terry managed to catch a small Leopard Shark to beat the skunk (the Cats follows Team TrollToon everywhere!) I wasn't so lucky and got ran over by Mr. I don't think that I even got a single bump on the LC. Oh well, paying my dues again...

Sorry Terry, I really wanted to help you put that fish on the beach. I'm sure that you will get it done very soon. If not, the next opportunity that I'll have to fish with you again is another 2 weeks. You've got quite a following now Terry. No doubt, you are not alone on your quest my friend.

By the way... you've "already earned" what's in that package.

Hope everybody did well out on the water this weekend.

Arthur (Wingnut)



If you haven’t got the time to do it right, then how will you find the time to do it over?



Pics... sorry for the lack of fish porn.

Terry, hiking down is the easy part...



Terry's skunk buster.






Always a smile on his face... Pontoon, one of the "Good Guys."



Session is over, time to reflect... Guess what's going through my mind at this moment...?
@#%! *$#@ @!#$ @#$!%