SWAT'n The bar HIGH ...Mission Accomplished!

[bones]

As most of the surf fisherman here on the west coast, I've been laying down some footprints in the sand recently because spring is on the horizon and there have been many uncharted beaches to explore. Since the MLPA took effect I have been dedicated to the project of finding new AO's that offer alot of elbow room, structure and rugged terrain. Not a simple walk from the parking lot to the water but rather places where it takes effort and a deep desire to fish. I know from four decades of being a land based fisherman that the more effort you put into things ........ The better the possibility of the end results. I enjoy hiking and taking pictures and I always tell myself that it's great excercise to walk in the sand with twenty five pounds of gear on !

Folks here know that I don't post up reports very often and that is primarily because most of the fish are rather the same as what the local folks are catching but I'm usually in areas where I don't have to worry about being disturbed by locals walking their dogs,surfers, enviro's, PETA proponents and so on.....It's my time and I want peace!
That being said folks......Come take a journey with old " Lt. Bones " in the trenches over the past month or so. I'll do my best to keep the timelines straight. This post is mainly because I want to inspire all surf fisherman to be proactive.......Dream BIG and you might be surprised how BIG things might happen. DREAM small AND ONLY small THINGS will happen most of the time.

Ventura County ........ The beginning of last month.

I had the urge to hit up the area south of the harbor for a quick look see while I ate my breakfast. Hey.....I'm in sales and I just happen to have a few accounts in Ventura.
It has always been a favorite spot because of the elbow room but today it was rough and this was the time for the surfers to play....
Beautiful swell and the locals taking advantage of the perfect tide and swell for both rights and lefts......Gotta love it !
You could hear them screaming with excitement!





No fishing today but sometimes you just have to take a look for yourself and ignore the reports if you have time.
The next week I had a few hours and I wanted to venture a little further down the road and see what areas I could find. I love this stuff.....I found structure Disneyland !!







I fished for the two hours I had but it seemed real cold and even though there was some sick structure I didn't get one tap on my hardbaits.
Ya never know unless you try right? The area looked super promissing though.
A week later I hit up the same spot but ventured a little further to explore.

This place looks soooooo FISHY !







I made about 150 casts and never got a bump but I was really enjoying my quick recon trips.
On the way back up the trail I ran into a snake that was having a bad day!





I find that it's easy to justify the skunk if you tell yourself that you are doing recon and any catching is just a bonus this time of year.
The next day I took a quick run to a local spot and unknown to me at the time I left my backpack with all of my backup hardbaits at home. I only had one LC tied on and that was it.
I hopped down to the waters edge and with one mighty rod loading rip.......my bait came un-buttoned and flew to Catalina!
I rat's nested instantly. I suppose that I should drink one cup of coffee BEFORE I leave my house.

This should make Troublehook "Sohka" feel better....LOL



Time to tuck my tail between my legs and head on home unfortunately.

Lesson to be learned...Even if you didn't get bit the previous day on your rig.....ALWAYS and I meen AlWAYS Re-Tie before starting a new session. I'm guessing that I messed up my knot by bumping it into stuff the day before.I always run my line through my finger tips and look at my knot before making that first cast but..... Yeah.....I know....Rookie mistake...LOL

For now that's all of the mishaps and recon pics. Now for the FISH!

A few days later I told myself that I wanted to finish up my day by double timing it and get down to the surf in the afternoon. I was prepared and fished hard for three hours. The only hit I got was this record halibut on a 4 1/2" Lucky Craft. What the heck was this guy thinking?







I would estimate it's length to be about 7 to 8 inches. Just an idea of how fierce even baby halibut can be. Thinking it can bring down a meal 3/4ths it's size.
I think I've established a new record on a 110 series hardbait....... "Smallest Halibut" anyone!
A quick thought.....I wonder how old this little guy is? It can't be more than a few months old I would think. There are many theories on halibut breeding times but personally I think that in the warmer socal waters the halibut breed all the way from spring to the late fall. I think it just depends on the maturity and cycle the fish is on when it reaches it's first ability to re-produce when it's 6 years old.You can catch a halibut laiden with eggs any time during the warmer months.

With a smile I decide to head on home. I did start thinking though......MMMMM....The water temps are rising consistantly in the afternoon by two degrees or so. This could be a clue!
Three days later I have the quick opportunity for a morning hit and run before I have to be in oxnard by nine. I drive north and park along PCH and hop down to a fishy looking spot. Ten casts later I get a good grab and to my delight a nice legal comes to color.











Now that's what I'm talking about baby. A 27" legal and I'm taking this one home.......KIA

The next day I had a very light work load so I hit up my local honey hole for the first half of the morning. No halibut to be had but I did catch a handful of perch and a jacksmelt aka torpedo! The biggest perch of the day was a solid 15 and kid you not....as fat as a football and ready to give birth at any moment.







I decided the next day to give the afternooner a try.A quick run back up PCH is in order. I've been looking at the CDIP bouys and every day the water temps climb two degrees by the late afternoon.My train of thought here is that the surf temps have recently taken a dive due to a serious upwelling situation. But a pattern of rising temps during the day has settled in. Two degrees can make all of the difference when it comes to winter/spring fishing.I'm starting to get real excited about my new area.

A commorant brigade planning their attack on the football size schools of jacksmelt swimming up and down the coast lately.



About fifty casts into the session I finally get a grab and it has some weight to it. After a quick fight I slide yet another 27" legal up onto the sand.







I was commenting to Arthur the other day how these fish are just sandbagging it. We both agreed that when temps are down and the fishes metabolism is slow they are quite lethargic. A 27" flattie in 65 degree water fights a heck of alot harder in my honest opinion.

Quite a pleasing run I've got going and now I feel like it's ready to go WFO very soon as long as we have STABILITY. I've seen alot of bird activity,dolphins chasing the smelt schools as well and when ever there's seals in the area....you know theres fish for them to eat consistantly.
The next two days I had alot of work to do down in the SAMO area and I didn't have any time to actually fish but took a walk to the water south of the pier to see how the conditions were there. It looked real good but I heard that the schools of leos were up in the skinny and the place was a perch ghost town. I saw some very mature leos in the skinny around 5 to 6ft long.
Then I ran into an unfortunate discovery. A commorant got a little over hungry and wound up choking on a perch.



MMMMM....I'm going to be back down here tomorrow I thought to myself!

Well ...You guessed it....The next day I went prepared to attempt to get a fair hit on the LC by a nice sized leo. No fair hits but I did eventually snag one and she wasn't that big.....I'd say about 40 inches or so.



Five days later was my next opportunity to fish and I wanted to head back up to the new spot I found and do a serious attack mission.

Getting around some of the corners can be very sketchy and your run has to be timed out carefully. Thank god the tide was going out.I barely made it around this corner before poseidon tried to catch me....LOL





SWAT Fishing BABY!

I only caught two fish...A perch and a YFC that morning but I had a blast walking along a deserted somewhat remote beach.

Two days later I went back to the same spot and only managed one 15" perch and a pic of the largest sea anenome I've ever seen. It must have been 10 inches in diameter.





A few days later I get a call from Wingnut. Arthur says to me that saturday is the only day that looks good and sunday looks trashed. I agree and we both decide to hit one of our quick go to spots because Arthur only had until 9am to fish.
We hit it at greylight and fished it hard. Neither one of us even got a hit.....As we walked back to the car we both agreed that we usually at least walk back to the car with a few perch under our belt but not today.
That's fishing!
Around noon I get a text from Arthur that Jinbow just got two flatties. A 16" and a 24" legal and his PB. Damn.......That lit a fire under my butt so to speak. I was very tired for some reason so I decided to take a quick nap and try to re-energize. A little under two hours later I wake up and I look outside at the blue sky. I look at the CDIP bouys. I look at the winds up north. Then I decide to go grab a double double combo animal style and contemplate a secondary assault before the crappy weather gets here and turns everything upside down again.With the low moving in and the fair weather in front of it I decided that I HAD to give it a go. The odds are that the whole region here in socal is going to get a pretty good punch and the bite will diminish in the next week. So assault it is!
Rather than head on back down to the local spot that handed me a big old skunk I decided to head back on up to the new spot.
Boy am I glad I did. I had a feeling in my BONES and it wasn't arthritis!
Upon arrival I noticed a few cars in the area. I was hoping the cars were not fisherman. As I hiked down and took a walk around the corner at my new structure disneyland I saw two bait and wait fisherman on the spot where I wanted to begin. I got grumpy for some reason and started an internal rant that went something like this....
"Why are they here?......Damn Bait and waiters.....They are screwing up my plans.....Now I have to walk further to start fishing......" I was in a bad mood for some reason but that was about to change drastically. I walked under their lines and went just on the other side of them. This spot is very snaggy and cast timing is very critical. High sticking over the rocks during the flooding stage of the surge is the only way to avoid snagging your hardbait.I fished the whole area in front of me and to the right. Fan casting away and I started casting a little to my left as well near the other fishermans lines. I just kept bitching and was about to just give up and move up the beach to the next hole when I decided to make just a few more casts.
That's when I get a good grab. As I raise my rod tip I feel the weight of the fish and she is a TANK. She didn't take off at all but rather she started bulldoging me. Just pure muscle and she wasn't happy. When My rod loaded up with her weight I could actually feel her chewing on my bait. That's a first and it made my heart skip a beat.Then she came up to the top and I almost had an accident in my waders. There she was.....A boogie board with a mermaid tail. With one big WHOOSH she was off and running.I started shaking REAL BAD. I actually got a little faint and almost had a panic attack because I new........This was THE ONE. My PB is 36" and this fish was BIGGER for sure.First she went right and took my line across the rocks.
I screamed "NO....NO....NO". I knew that I had to give her slack in order for her to hopefully swim back out and away from that rock and swing left for me. I had no plan but that way was a definate no go. Just like I commanded her....She cooperated and swung left. I looked over my left shoulder and here comes the two fisherman I was bitching about. These guys wound up being the nicest and most helpful guys EVER!
Their eyes were as big as mine and I said" She's HUGE ". They both agreed and they waited patiently while I tried to get her close. I had a real good opportunity with the incomming surge and got her close. She came right at me and in a few minutes....She was right next to me in somewhat of a hole.Then disaster strikes.....The outgoing surge drains the spot and she slides back out over the muscle shrouded rocks and she is gone again. My heart sinks but she is still on. Right then the next surge comes in and I put pressure on her. In one swift move simuliar to dragging a pitbull on a cat leash over a barbed wire fence.....She is in the hole next to me once again. I swing my rod and one of the fisherman offers to grab my rod. In a half of a second I hand him my rod and jump into about 1ft of water. I scoop my arms underneath her and say "OH MY GOD". The other guy not holding my rod just GRABS the lucky Craft like a crazy man. I scream at him "NO...Don't Do that.....We don't want to have to take you to the hospital" Then the other guy holding my rod sets it down and tries to help me back out of the water by grabbing my shoulder and the fishes gill. So I scream at him also but in a nice way!
I said " Let ME DO IT"
I quickly announce to them that I have to let her go. Thereby remaining true to the SWAT creed. Always release your PB flattie!
These two guys were totally in agreement and understood. I was shaking like a leaf and I had her in a bear hug. This fish wasn't getting away....NO WAY.
The two guys were kind enough to help me work quickly and even took a pic of me and my ghostly.....shocked face. In the pic.........I was still having a hard time catching my breath.

I've been hunting for this fish for a VERY long time. 41 inches of pure halibut BABY!









Of course Wingnut was my first call. I didn't know how to start so I said......"Thank God you answered your phone" Arthur knew immediatly.....Something special just happened.
Now is when I would like to admit something. I truely believe that I deserve this epic fish but if anyone is more deserving of a 40 inch flattie......It's Arthur. He has put so much time and effort into SWAT,Hali hunting,Team spirit and overall leadership of the SWAT team and the FNN.He has given so much to the fishing community and I had to be the person who pulled the ultimate rabbit out of the hat.Given the fact that I fish five times as much as our SWAT leader..... It was just a matter of my odds played against his ability to shine like gold when ever he hits the suds. I can only imagine what Arthur would accomplish if he was on the water as much as I am.The reason why I have been so purpose driven to succeed in the surf is because of Arthur.
He is so full of positive energy and it's infectous. He created a little friendly competition between the SWAT team to keep us all on our toes and continuesly pushing the limits. HE IS AN INSPIRING LEADER and we all owe him alot.
Arthur....My friend.....When you said to me " Mike...If there is one person I wanted to catch this fish other than myself.....It's you. Congrats Brother! "
That meant more to me than words can say BRO.

To all of my SWAT brotherhood.......This is proof that if you remain diligent in your endeavors on the sand. Your dreams will come true. Where there is a 41.......There is a 45....Trust me.

I'm just very lucky!

PS.....
A big Shout out...... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARTHUR! I truely do wish that this would have happened on a different day but hey.....God always has a plan.

[Which Way Out]

Mike I read every word without scrolling down to see all the photos. You did the work to write such a great story I didn't want to cheat myself.

I like the Disneyland name, A place where dreams come true that's for sure. I just hope the 2 other fisherman don't go lighting up your new found spot with a bunch of bucket brigade guys.

That fish is one of the most impressive fish I have ever seen. Most people would never believe that something like that could be caught from the shore. Last year you took the crown in a battle of the best down south. It was to close to call most of the year. But this year, the stars will need to align in some crazy fashion for anyone to surpass your achievement.

Yes you deserved it. You put in the effort and the time. Can't catch fish on a computer...

Somewhere in the surf there's one out there for the rest of us to give you a run. At least we need to think so, even if its remote.

Congratulations once again.

[iLLest]

HELLLLLLLLL YEAHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

that's what I'm talking about.
Congrats Mike, Arthur is right. If anyone else deserves a fish of that caliber, its you.
When I received that phone call, I kept saying "noooo wayy, are you serious, 41!? 41!?" I kept saying that as Arthur was laughing in the background lol.
I was in complete shock but couldnt stop smiling...this was something that all of us hardcore fisherman dream about and for one my bros to pull it off, frikin awesome.
Congrats brotha, enjoy it. Way to destroy the hali leaderboard on the 3rd month of the year!!!! LOL!
Who needs a boat bro?! hahahaa.

[exfactor]

Very nicely done my friend! I don't know what to say, that is one hell of an accomplishment from the beach, and I'm proud to know you're the one who did it! Sakes alive, only thing missing is the faces of the bucketeers watching you let that pig go. Not sure whether I'm supposed to shake your hand, or lay a big smacker on ya. Truly awesome bro.

[stressD]

man that thing's a monster, congrats x2!

[bloox8]

Just... WOW..

CONGRATULATIONS!!! That is one hell of a catch! You should have put a SWAT tag on in lol

You deserved this catch. I am so inspired to one day catch a fish like this on the surf
I still can't believe it. When I found out I was in shock. I had to tell all my family members lol
Way to go man!


Thien

[BabyKiller]

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU UUUUUUUUUU. the part where she washed over the rocks would have made me have a heart attack. wtgx1000!!!

[n1ckxlam]

Mikey!
Great read, and an awesome fish. That's the beauty of an almost endless coastline. We have so much that we can explore and fish for enjoyment's sake that it's sometimes taken for granted. But not you, brotha. Not you, not SWAT, and not the many others who share the angling passion. It's a great example, Mike. Not only that, you've put up a quality report to match the fish. I've always enjoyed your literature, and I'm glad to see that the vast coastline continues to offer the satisfaction and extension of a true fisherman's ever changing goals.

Hats off to you, and to the beast of a fish that crossed your line. Im sure if halibut could post reports on anglers they've encountered, you'd be one of the "beasts" they've encountered.

Thanks again Mike,
Nick

[FKNChristopH]

I just read that whole thing.. WORTH every word. Congrats on the PB flattie. Ive always wanted to try my luck in the surf but I'm not too skilled at that. Maybe one day. Good stuff Mike!

*shakaa*

[PONTOON]

Mike, here's how it went Saturday afternoon..........

I'm out in the front yard with my wife talking about a little outing next weekend and the phone rings.....

It's Arthur.....hmmm.....I wonder what's up and answer the phone....."Hey Arthur what's up?"

Arthur, in a somewhat excited tone ......"Are you sitting down?"

I'm starting to get a little concerned ......"No, I'm leaning against the car .....What's going on?"

Arthur says to me ......"Bones just got a 41!"

Me ......"A what!"

Arthur ......"Mike just caught and released a 41" halibut!"

Mike, when I was talking to Arthur I could tell in his voice that he couldn't have been any more excited or happy for you. It was fun hearing the enthusiasm is Arthurs voice. He was truly happy for you!

I couldn't be any happier for you and I think that if anyone deserved a catch like this it is you My friend! I remember you driving down to fish with me while I was searching for my halibut and the many phone calls you gave me with offers to fish, encouragement and valuable information. I know you have done the same for some of the others during their challenge efforts and it has been greatly appreciated by all of us who have developed a friendship with you.
I look back at the pictures of the last Hunting Giants and remember how hard you worked doing your part of the planning and the generous gift you paid forward with the trophies ....... Thank you again Mike!
I know how much you love this sport and every time I've fished with you I see how hard you work at it and I know you have worked very hard in search of new areas to fish and I'm always amazed at your knowledge of the beach and the surf every time I have the pleasure to fish with you.

This is one of those times when I get a good feeling when I see something good happen to a truly good person!

Congratulations Mike........Congratulations!