S.W.A.T. 04-27-13 Casting into the Dark
AO: Classified
Tide: Peak High @ 6.3
Weather: About 56°F with overcast
Swells: 1-2 ft.
Condition: Flat waves with the occasional rogue wave to catch you off your guard in the dark. Minimal salad. PLENTY of bait fish aka grunion.
Weapons: LC Flash Minnow 110 and LC Pointer 100SR
I was talking to my buddy, Raney, about the conditions for Sunday's greylight fishing and the low tide wasn't favorable at any spot that we wanted to fish. I messaged him last night and asked if he wanted to fish the grunion run. I was on a mission to catch a legal since I've been witnessing and hearing lots of reports. Time to light the fire again!! We figured we might as well try and maybe we'll see some grunion. We got to the AO around 1030pm with his brother. I wanted to get him and his brother on some fish since it's been awhile since I've fished with him and this was his brother's first time in the surf.
We got down to the sand and hear people on the beach making some noise and we knew right away the grunion were running. Kids were excited and clamoring out loud and we were already happy to see a good run. It was dark but the dim lights in the distance and the moon somewhat shining through the clouds made it visible to see out a bit. I told them how to fish this beach and how the structure was. With a 6 feet tide, it made for bigger trenches.There was bait boiling everywhere around us with the occasional large splash and a bigger fish clearing the water about a foot in the air. Started off fan casting and about 10 minutes in, Raney's brother, Jonathon was on a fish. It gave him some good drag runs and he finally got his first halibut.
Happy Camper
I started to take some videos and photos of the grunion and we started making our way down slowly on the beach. We all ended up snagging a grunion each. Jonathon gets on another fish again after 15 minutes and this one was heavier and pulling drag. Raney and I start telling his little brother some tips and he handled the fish like a pro. He fights it for a couple minutes and finally brings it to the sand. Thought it could be a big flat one and I grab its tail real quick.
Super Hero Pose with Wrong Flatfish
Raney switches over to the LC Pointer 100SR and at this point, his drag is burnt and there's no drag at all. I kept telling him to go to my car real quick and grab my spare rod but he was adamant about using his pole.He wanted to make a bet that he could still catch a fish with a broken drag.
So I let him do his thing and what do you know... He's on a fish and starts yelling at me to come over and help.
I start to tell him to just clamp down that thumb after it made its run and horse it in. He handled it calmly and finally brought his first legal surf halibut!!
His Ugly Mug
High Fives all around and this night was looking good. This one was KIA'd. We continued to fish and the grunion started to fade. They weren't jumping around or beaching/spawning anymore and the bite died off. I picked off a medium perch before the grunions were gone to get rid of the skunk. We started to walk back towards the jetty and I said to make a couple of more last casts and get out of here. Right when I said that, KA-THUNK! Fish on and this fish didn't want to make any runs. Just felt some headshakes and finally got it to the skinny. It finally realizes it is hooked and make a good run. I got it to the sand and Raney comes to try to assist. He assist by trying to kick my fish up the sand.First kick and my lure comes off and I tell him to jump on it.
The water almost took the fish back and he finally stepped on it and apologized for being a noobie.
24 inches
KIA'ed for some bomb tacos I've been seeing everyone else posting.I made Raney hold my fish since he owed me.
My Ugly Mug this Time
-Peter
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Originally Posted by murrieta angler
Learned from my mistakes. 
