Sucking Was Bad -- Fishing Okay
I didn't get out to the beach right at low-tide this morning so, I didn't see more than a couple of the small holes or mini-mud volcanoes in the sand -- only got one of those Gulf shrimp for possible bait so, decided to throw it to one of the sea gulls who had followed me up and down the beach hoping to get the ones I missed with my pump (they have a pretty good pair of eyes for even the smallest of shrimp and usually can beat me to the ones I spray up toward the end of the surf). Therefore, I stopped at the nearest Stripes store and purchased a small container of frozen shrimp to take along to the jetty at the shipping channel -- though not fully committed to using them at all as I had my mind on trying for some of the Whiting in the shipping channel.
With the threat of rain seemingly all around, I decided to only take a short walk out on the jetty and decided to stop at the end of the concrete where I would normally fish for the Whiting but, my mind went back to the day before last when I saw a guy catch 4 or 5 keeper Sheepshead on the surf side of the jetty behind where I had been fishing. So, I threw my rig on the big surf-casting rod deep and rigged my small rod for the shrimp and hoped to get some of those tasty Sheepshead. The shrimp weren't quite thawed when I checked before getting some tackle out of my little box of goodies then, realized I had left a bag of new hooks in the Jeep. Oh well! Too lazy to walk back to the Jeep so, I just nursed along the shrimp with a little more saltwater and cut them into a couple pieces each and began to fish just off the big boulders before me -- about three rows of them with two of them looking pretty wet from the surf and looking pretty slick too (hoped I wouldn't have to climb onto them if I got something big on the line).
After half a dozen casts with the small line and after losing my bait to some bait stealers, something hit my big rod and I tried to get to it but, missed whatever it was and threw it back out again farther to the left. I went back to throwing short with the small rod and kept my attention on the big rod when something big hit my small rod and I immediately could see a Big Red Drum rolling to the surface on the big rolling waves -- trying to head for deeper water. My 50 lb test held and I turned him back toward the boulders and I yelled to the nearest guy down the jetty to see if he had a net but, he did not so, I tugged and guided this beauty back to the right and tried to plan where I might get down on the next line of boulders without slipping into the water or on my ass.
The row of boulders at the waters edge were alternately being washed over by the waves and I had an eye on the lowest one just to my right and timed my biggest tug with one of the waves and hoped the two forces would work together to get this beauty on the top of that flat boulder -- it happened nearly perfectly and the big fish landed on the top right corner of the boulder where I could see he had to be 36 or 37 inches long. But, when I gave another big tug to pull him from that boulder to the one I was on, the hook straightened out and he disappeared back over the edge of the large boulder with the next wave that came washing in. Probably best for him as I would have had to puncture his bladder with a spike before releasing him since he was way too big to keep.
A good reason to perhaps invest in a long handle net or dig that one out from Beaver Creek Reservoir that I found last summer. I did move back to the other side of the jetty later and managed to catch a few fish to feed the Pelicans and two nice Whiting and a Sand trout for me and the twins.
With the threat of rain seemingly all around, I decided to only take a short walk out on the jetty and decided to stop at the end of the concrete where I would normally fish for the Whiting but, my mind went back to the day before last when I saw a guy catch 4 or 5 keeper Sheepshead on the surf side of the jetty behind where I had been fishing. So, I threw my rig on the big surf-casting rod deep and rigged my small rod for the shrimp and hoped to get some of those tasty Sheepshead. The shrimp weren't quite thawed when I checked before getting some tackle out of my little box of goodies then, realized I had left a bag of new hooks in the Jeep. Oh well! Too lazy to walk back to the Jeep so, I just nursed along the shrimp with a little more saltwater and cut them into a couple pieces each and began to fish just off the big boulders before me -- about three rows of them with two of them looking pretty wet from the surf and looking pretty slick too (hoped I wouldn't have to climb onto them if I got something big on the line).
After half a dozen casts with the small line and after losing my bait to some bait stealers, something hit my big rod and I tried to get to it but, missed whatever it was and threw it back out again farther to the left. I went back to throwing short with the small rod and kept my attention on the big rod when something big hit my small rod and I immediately could see a Big Red Drum rolling to the surface on the big rolling waves -- trying to head for deeper water. My 50 lb test held and I turned him back toward the boulders and I yelled to the nearest guy down the jetty to see if he had a net but, he did not so, I tugged and guided this beauty back to the right and tried to plan where I might get down on the next line of boulders without slipping into the water or on my ass.
The row of boulders at the waters edge were alternately being washed over by the waves and I had an eye on the lowest one just to my right and timed my biggest tug with one of the waves and hoped the two forces would work together to get this beauty on the top of that flat boulder -- it happened nearly perfectly and the big fish landed on the top right corner of the boulder where I could see he had to be 36 or 37 inches long. But, when I gave another big tug to pull him from that boulder to the one I was on, the hook straightened out and he disappeared back over the edge of the large boulder with the next wave that came washing in. Probably best for him as I would have had to puncture his bladder with a spike before releasing him since he was way too big to keep.
A good reason to perhaps invest in a long handle net or dig that one out from Beaver Creek Reservoir that I found last summer. I did move back to the other side of the jetty later and managed to catch a few fish to feed the Pelicans and two nice Whiting and a Sand trout for me and the twins.
posted by Ray at
4:05 PM
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