The Crow, Baseball, the Noodle & a Legal: My SWAT Mission Begins!

[remington]

So, the tides were not favorable last week for my typical pre-work outings in the surf. My 3 day report will begin with this last Friday and carry into the weekend. Thanks for reading!

Friday Late Afternoon:

Friday was one of the slowest days I can remember at work, ever! The hours just crawled by as all I could think about was fishing. Not a productive day in the office to say the least, halibut fever was in full effect. I arrived down to my AO by 4pm and found I had the stretch of sand to myself, sweet! Conditions were not optimal as I noticed my target zone was full of salad. I carry on with my task at hand and begin firing my Metallic Sardine LC while pulling off lettuce after every other cast. I continue to try and find open lanes without the lettuce when I finally get a sign of life from Poseidon. I'm on a donkey! You will notice I used the word "noodle" in my title to this thread. The Clarus spinning rod I have been using for about 2 weeks was dubbed the "noodle" from S.W.A.T. member Ken (Skunked4life). I have a love hate thing working with this rod. The truth, the rod gets bit a lot! The bad, it's a noodle. That said, the "noodle" looked like a rainbow on this fish! The vicious headshakes, the short runs, the sitting on the bottom unable to budge her let me know that I had my challenge fish & she was pissed! I finally start gaining ground and in about another 4-5' I will see color. The anticipation is killing me! Just then, the fish makes a final violent run and the hook pulls. I am crushed. I slowly retrieve my LC back to the beach and quickly see why I lost this battle. One of the trebles is completely straight. Oh well, time to send a picture of my LC with my new straightened treble to Don (Bachiboy) & Ken for moral support. Thank you brothers, the encouragement & advice you provided all weekend was very much appreciated. Back to fishing. I did some minor repair to said treble and was back in the game. I often carry a backpack with me to the surf. My pack was placed directly behind me on dry ground. I often look back on occasion to make sure it's safe from getting wet. I noticed a crow was sticking his head inside of my pack? I don't have any food, what is he trying to get? Well, I remember I have a small ziplock bag with my fishing license and a Megabass bait my good friend Kenichi asked me to give a try. I yell at the bird to hopefully distract him as I quickly retrieve my LC back to the sand. Now the crow is 5' in the air with my license & a brand new prototype Megabass bait I have yet to fish with. I run & I run really fast screaming at this damn bird. The crow finally drops the ziplock about 30' from my backpack & I quickly retrieve my belongings and zip up my pack. Whew, that was close! Back to fishing. A pancake was my next reward, I would say around 16" in length. Time was now my enemy as my family was already at our friends house awaiting on my arrival. Ok, one more cast. Shoot, more salad...OK, one more cast. I'm bit! Not a giant, but headshakes and a little bit of drag pulling let me know this could be a legal. I was right, quick glance as I beach the fish tells me it's 23-24". Sorry for the not so great photos, but the fish was bleeding around the mouth & I wanted to return the fish as quickly as possible & I was also late for dinner. I'm calling this fish 23" & happy to report it swam off like a champ, sweet!

Saturday Afternoon:

My son Dakota loves baseball, he's seven years old. I really do cherish these times, nothing greater than watching him play & serving as his asst coach. The games are typically around 1pm on Saturdays. Knowing that I have the game I tell Ken I should be at the AO around 4pm and we agree to meet. My sons head coach, Brett has been coaching my son for 2 years. Brett owns a very nice Boston Whaler & loves to fish. Brett tells me after the game that he will try and meet me down at the AO, sweet! I arrive and notice a bucket commander, not in my spot, cool. Start firing my LC & on the 2nd cast a pancake about 17" nice! A few more casts & a short sandy. I see Brett in the distance when I get hammered. Full bendo! No headshakes, just burning drag, shoot. Getting pretty far down on the spool as my 15# green PowerPro is getting smoked. Comes unbuttoned when I apply a tad bit more drag. I'm almost 100% certain it was a large bat. Exchange handshakes with Brett and we both agree it was a bat. A few more casts & wham-O, the right kind. Headshakes, short runs, big fish, nice....Brett is running towards me tossing off his Fishworks sweatshirt up on dry sand ready to get wet. I tell him I got this don't worry, but I love the effort brother! I'm a good 5' away from seeing color, sweet. Brett tells me it's a giant, I know man, isn't this cool! One more violent run, oh no.....slack line. Not a straightened treble, broke off 2 of the hooks on the back treble this time. My 2nd challenge fish opportunity & this one was so close to reaching sand, oh well. I swap out LC's opting to try my 2nd favorite, a "chovie" pattern and begin firing. Brett is bent & I cheer him on. Fish comes unbuttoned, shoot. I'm on again. No real size, but making little headshakes. My 2nd pancake, nice! A few minutes later Ken (Skunked4life) arrives, sweet. I give Ken the tally of what has transpired & also mention my huge loss for the afternoon. Ken quickly tells me that he $@#$&* hates my rod. Nice. Tell me something I don't know? Pretty quiet for the rest of the evening until Ken goes bendo. It's a legal, nice job Ken! We fish until dark enjoying a killer sunset and exchanging private intel for future surf fishing campaigns. Great fishing with you as always brother!

Sunday Afternoon Session:

Arrive at the AO just after 4pm awaiting my good friend Kenichi's arrival. Bucket commander on the premises, yet again. I ask how the fishing is & he mumbles $%#@! Real pleasant guy. I move down the beach & get to work. Less salad today, nice. I go about 20 minutes without a single bite. Next cast, slammed. Headshakes, nice runs & now sitting on the bottom not budging. They say 3rd time is a charm, let's get to work. Knowing that my 1st & 2nd attempts at my challenge fish have resulted in a straightened & broken hooks I take my time with this fish. The force is strong in this one, I show it respect. Lol. I manage to get the fish off the sand & it quickly goes into beast mode. More headshaking and me giving the fish chase up & down the sand. I move down to the waters edge as I know I'm close. Line goes slack. You have to be kidding me, seriously? Yep, but this time it just came unbuttoned, hooks were fine. Kenichi arrives just minutes later & I share what just transpired. Kenichi instructs me to keep fishing & tells me to stay focused! Now I see another person approaching & he looks familiar? It's Nate (BBQSushi) I introduce myself & was told he was on his way home & stopped to fish, sweet! Nate & I notice Kenichi is absolutely laying the wood to the fish a bit farther down South from us. I should've made the move because that was it for me. I could've fished another hour, but I was done. I was depressed & majorly bummed out. My casts were un-inspired & without hope, not good. I said my goodbyes & wished Nate and Kenichi well.

That's my 3 day fishing report sorry for the long read. I will be back & focused on the challenge ahead, just need to gain some perspective & re-charge the batteries. Pictures to follow shortly!

Cheers,

Kelly

[skunked4life]

Well, Kelly, I thought that I had a piggy back report to tack on but really no need. You pretty much covered it.

Your first report was well written and put a great big smile on my face!

Like I said before, hindsight is 20/20. In retrospect, looking back at those three days, you got to see the optimal tide height at to fish those holes and trenches (even though that AO is fickle as you know what) and you can plan some short sesions during the week based upon those tides. Again, it's a crapshoot out there.

You added a legal to your count this week (catching up to me but not without a fight--no 15 woohoo!) and got to meet BBQSushi (Nate). To me, that is a pretty solid weekend.

Can't wait for you to get your waders (soon ) so that you are a little more comfortable out there and can access different spots with a little more ease.

See you this weekend, I hope!

Skunked4life, aka Corporal Croaker, aka ken

[TUNAVIC]

Cool 3 day report,that crow action was hilarious,thanks for the read!

Cya Tuna Vic

[ToadsToadsOnly]

I was out there on Sat fishing the yak with my buddy Jim, I knew it was SWAT on the surf however due to the biggo swells and wind I was unable to come in close enough to say HI. I was debating on beaching my yak and fishing the shore since the fish were in so tight. Nice to see you guys are still sticking them pretty good.

[murrieta angler]

OUCH!!!
It just wasn't meant to be Kelly.
I was also there on Saturday, arrived at 4:30 for not even a single bump...
In the future, "DO NOT BEND YOUR HOOKS BACK"...just toss it and put on a new one...
They are there, it's just a matter of time.
Good Luck On The Quest,
Robert
<><

[basshole1]

Damn crows!!! LOL. Good thing is, you got your stuff back. Btw, cool report.

[yakfish51]

I really enjoyed the report, thanks

Tim

[bachiboy]

Great report Kelly and way to go out there man! I know that you've taken a few lumps but you've definitely laid into them a bit out there this year. This challenge always seems to add that small bit of extra pressure which makes it sting a helluva lot more when you lose those nice ones. Like kenichi said, just stay focused...it'll come. And I get a mean feelin it's comin in REAL soon! Go get em brotha...be waitin for that victory text!

Don

[jerryG]

I feel your pain.. I've learned some hard lessons with the stock hooks.. If your fishing an LC with the stock saltwater hooks as long as your on a noodle rod you should be fine but the freshwater hooks like the bent bronze one in the picture should ALWAYS be replaced... I even replace the hooks on the saltwater versions because I have had issues with them bending, breaking, and tearing out on big fish. If you go with too heavy of a hook it will kill the action of the lure and you won't get bit.. With the LC until you have hooked a few big fish on it you really don't realize how important it is to find the balance in your gear and knowing the limitations on how hard you can pull without straightening, breaking, or pulling the light wire hooks that are required for these baits.

Of course with out looking at your tackle I really have no idea but I would say that noodle rod not a bad choice at all in fact you want a rod with some forgiveness. A rod with parabolic action will allow the lure to swim better and it seems to be working as you seem to be getting a lot of bites. A parabolic rod also helps absorb the shock caused by the violent head shakes that halibut are known for.. A noodle stick is not a good choice for stopping a sea bass or even a big calico from the sand but depending on the action it should be good for halibut. Just ask Toads Only he's been fishing the LC from his kayak on a noodle rod since since the beginning of the year and he's probably caught over 200 halibut so far including probably about 20 legals..

Also braid is a personal choice and if your going to use it seems like a spinning setup is the way to go. I tried fishing braid with the LC and I stopped using it because I was pulling hooks on too many fish.. Finally one day I lost about a 15 lber in the surge and I was done with it. I went back to using mono and never looked back.. I use braid for backing and many other things as well it certainly has it's place but I consider it a poor choice for use with the LC.. As mentioned it's all personal preference. Sure if you use braid with a mono it will help absorb some of the shock but not enough in my opinion. I hate having to deal with the leader when I'm casting plus I have confidence in the fact that straight mono is more forgiving throughout. I will say that I do like fishing straight flouro in the surf. Like I said it's just my preference and to each his own..

Don't beat yourself too much over loosing a few big fish.. Your getting bit and that's the hardest part for most.. It will all come together for you.. It's all part of the process that helps us improve upon our skills that is ultimately what makes us better anglers over time. There is no substitute for time on the water.. The more you go the more you will know..

JerryG

[SP Dan]

Hey Kelly,

Robert's advice is solid:
"In the future, "DO NOT BEND YOUR HOOKS BACK"... just toss it away and put on a new one..."

Bending metal back and forth does not give the hook back it's strength. Just the opposite.
Just switch out lures and then replace hooks when not on the bite at home. I normally step up the strength of my treble hooks and they still bend and or sometimes straighten out a bit at times!

You had some excellent flattie exposure and a lot of outstanding line action at your spot Sir! It's just a matter of time!
Here comes the "induction Fish"!

Thanx for the "on the edge of my seat" report with pic's!

SP Dan <"))><