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Latest fishing trips.

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Been in Cali the last few days and have been doing quite a bit of surf fishing with just my normal bass/trout gear. My first night chilling with the Fam at Redondo was pretty fun. My kids and I dug up some and crabs, stuck 'em to a Carolina rig, and chucked it out. I thought I was getting a bite so I let some slack out (read that some of the shoreline fish need slack, or they drop the bait) and let it run. Nothing happened so I started reeling in. When my line got tight I jerked back as hard as I could -- Bill Dance style -- and...

Snag.

How the hell I got snagged on a sandy bottom beach is a mystery. I turned to my wife and kids to tell them that it was a false alarm and that their loser dad somehow did the impossible, when my rod was almost jerked out of my hands. That "snag" started peeling line off of my bait caster. I've caught hundreds of 3-7 pound bass on this rod and reel and they rarely pull any drag. This fish was pulling it out just like I had the bail open; insanity. I was positive it was going to either snap or pull out my entire spool, but after his initial run, I was able to put the screws to him. Spent the next twenty minutes working this fish over before he finally got close enough to see -- sort of. It was a fish for sure, because it had a long skinny brown tail. My first thought was leopard shark, because I had read that a lot of them are caught by beach chuckers, but then I saw his head...

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I got it part-right: Ray Shark, also known as a mud skate, guitar fish, and the saltwater carp. I don't care what it's called, it was damn fun to catch. Even my three year old got in on the action:

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Caught a few small surf perch as well, but didn't get pictures.

The next day I went to the jetty between Huntington and Sunset. Pulled out the old fly rod and got into some more perch:

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I had my "big" rod and reel (25 lb fluorocarbon line) cast out and sitting on the bottom with a chunk of fresh meat on it when it started going crazy. I ran to my rod and got to it just before it was pulled into the ocean and set the hook. Solid hookup on something huge. Again, this fish started peeling drag off like it wasn't even set. I was worried that he would take my entire spool before I could even get a crank in, but he finally stopped running. I got about ten seconds of cranking before I felt that disgusting feeling of the fish popping off. So sad. I reeled it in and the line had snapped or was cut by teeth. 25 pound flouro is like 50 pound test; that was a hell of big fish.

Rerigged and soon after, got another huge tug. After a nice fight, I poured one out for Monica Steve Irwin:

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I have no idea if that was the kind that actually stings, so it was a damn chore getting that thing on shore, photographed and released without touching anywhere near the tail.

I'm going out on a chartered boat tomorrow and will post more pics later. I'm glad I don't live near the ocean; I'd get even less work done than I do now.
 
E.J. Wells said:
Been in Cali the last few days and have been doing quite a bit of surf fishing with just my normal bass/trout gear. My first night chilling with the Fam at Redondo was pretty fun. My kids and I dug up some and crabs, stuck 'em to a Carolina rig, and chucked it out. I thought I was getting a bite so I let some slack out (read that some of the shoreline fish need slack, or they drop the bait) and let it run. Nothing happened so I started reeling in. When my line got tight I jerked back as hard as I could -- Bill Dance style -- and...

Snag.

How the hell I got snagged on a sandy bottom beach is a mystery. I turned to my wife and kids to tell them that it was a false alarm and that their loser dad somehow did the impossible, when my rod was almost jerked out of my hands. That "snag" started peeling line off of my bait caster. I've caught hundreds of 3-7 pound bass on this rod and reel and they rarely pull any drag. This fish was pulling it out just like I had the bail open; insanity. I was positive it was going to either snap or pull out my entire spool, but after his initial run, I was able to put the screws to him. Spent the next twenty minutes working this fish over before he finally got close enough to see -- sort of. It was a fish for sure, because it had a long skinny brown tail. My first thought was leopard shark, because I had read that a lot of them are caught by beach chuckers, but then I saw his head...

image_zps109c92b8.jpg


I got it part-right: Ray Shark, also known as a mud skate, guitar fish, and the saltwater carp. I don't care what it's called, it was damn fun to catch. Even my three year old got in on the action:

image_zps0bdd86b8.jpg


Caught a few small surf perch as well, but didn't get pictures.

The next day I went to the jetty between Huntington and Sunset. Pulled out the old fly rod and got into some more perch:

image_zps5eaed486.jpg


image_zpsc83ac4a9.jpg


I had my "big" rod and reel (25 lb fluorocarbon line) cast out and sitting on the bottom with a chunk of fresh meat on it when it started going crazy. I ran to my rod and got to it just before it was pulled into the ocean and set the hook. Solid hookup on something huge. Again, this fish started peeling drag off like it wasn't even set. I was worried that he would take my entire spool before I could even get a crank in, but he finally stopped running. I got about ten seconds of cranking before I felt that disgusting feeling of the fish popping off. So sad. I reeled it in and the line had snapped or was cut by teeth. 25 pound flouro is like 50 pound test; that was a hell of big fish.

Rerigged and soon after, got another huge tug. After a nice fight, I poured one out for Monica Steve Irwin:

image_zps26c2d1b1.jpg


I have no idea if that was the kind that actually stings, so it was a damn chore getting that thing on shore, photographed and released without touching anywhere near the tail.

I'm going out on a chartered boat tomorrow and will post more pics later. I'm glad I don't live near the ocean; I'd get even less work done than I do now.
Click to expand...
Awesome awesome adventure.
Make sure to post pics after you go out on the boat!
 
Let me also say that California is gross as ****. I don't know how people can stand living here.
 
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