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Shore Fishing => Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports => : BackBayMan September 17, 2017, 09:57:56 AM
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Hit our new shark spot last night looking for some of the sweet Leos we've been catching and maybe a soupie. Got lines in around 6pm with an hour to go before high tide. Soaked a big chunk of mac for a bite, but no hookup. Decided to try a nice chunk of bat ray wing. I know, I know. I'm sorry.
Rod goes bendo. It's on, and it's big. Pulling line. I had a 15' Ugly Stik, Okuma Coronado 80 spinner freshly over spooled with brand new Kast King 80lb braid and a 10' rub leader of 100lb mono tied together with an FG knott. Used a standard 3 way rig with 160lb wire, 10/0 Gamakatsu Octopus hook and everything double crimped.
I had my drag down pretty tight to begin with, so when it got to half spool I wasn't concerned. I had at least 280 yards of line, and from the lack of head shakes or tail slaps and the way it was pulling, I thought I had hooked a big ray. Except it never quit. I've pulled on some big rays, and with this heavy of gear I have always been able to stop them, but not this thing. It just kept on pulling. I've got 28lbs of max drag on the reel, so I button it down pretty good to show it who's boss. Didn't stop it. It didn't scream line off, it just kept pulling. I look at the spool and sh!t my pants, I've only got about 20' left and it's not stopping. Hero or zero time. I lock the drag and walk forward to get some line on. It holds.
After that, it was just a game of tug of war. I'd gain some line, I'd lose some line. Still think I've got a monster ray. But I've never had a ray fight this hard or this long. I could not get any leverage on it at all. After about 30 minutes, I'm getting close to done. I can feel my hands beginning to open. Never had a fish pull like this before. I abandon my pride and hand the rod off to JayRay. Here, you pull on this thing for a bit. I felt better watching how hard JayRay had to work to gain any line on that thing. After another 10-15 minutes, it's getting close. JayRay hands me back the rod so I can finish the job and he can go grab the ray. When we first see color, we both thought it was a ray. I drag it in a little more, and it still looks like a ray. A little closer, and we see the tail fin. Not. A. Ray!
I get it in the skinny, and by now we can tell it's a pretty good sized shark. I'm thinking it's a soupfin and saying to myself man, do they fight this hard? A few more cranks and we can see it's not a soupie. TaxMan!
JayRay grabs the tail and drags it up on the beach. I run for the camera and pliers. On the way back I see the crowd of people watching, and I can't help but thinking there's no way it should have taken that long, or been that hard to land a fish that size. We see that it was hooked in the pectoral fin, which explained a lot. I was concerned the fight was too long, and it was only about 6', so we just snapped a couple of pics while we pulled the hook. No time for measuring and glory shots. We got it back in the water immediately. Took it a couple of minutes, but it swam away like a champ and everybody cheered and clapped!
So much luck involved it was insane. Chinese braid, $18.95 for 1000yds. Almost spooled and if it wasn't foul hooked, no way that 160lb wire would last against those teeth. There were times when I looked down at my reel, and it was flexing in ways no reel should ever flex. The 15' Ugly Stik got the job done, but I really wish it had more backbone and the reel had more cranking power. I also really wish I had a fighting belt.
Oh well, it may not have been pretty, but it was an epic fight. Shark fishing is a team sport, so thanks to the huge assist from JayRay I was able to add my name to the list of the six others who have put a TaxMan on the beach this year in The OC.
I posted a pic to the P-Soul group. If anybody can't see it there PM me and I'll send some to you. Also really liking this little bit of beach that seems to be pretty much ignored. It's got a lot of cool things going for it. I'm not going to post the spot publicly, but any P-Soul members who want to give it a shot PM me and I'll give you the details. That's it. I'm going to take some more aspirin, that thing kicked my ass!
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Congratulations on a great catch Chip!
Great read! I think you're selling yourself short a bit though. Maybe some luck was involved as in many of our catches, but you've put in the time and effort and you earned it!
So stoked for you, nice job! 8)
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Your the first to get one casting, nice job chip 8)
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Crazy.
Great report, and well done on the release. Especially with a crowd.
Like Verne always says, "Respect."
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I'm speechless brother, chu da man....................................................V
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Wow... I hate you. ;D
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Wow... I hate you. ;D
8)
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Nicely done, my friend! Have a cold one on me! ;)
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Wow, Congrats...Chip! it pays to fish with a buddy and rod belt. ;)
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Wow, Congrats...Chip! it pays to fish with a buddy and rod belt. ;)
Thanks 1morecast! I'd also strongly suggest a tail rope!
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Wow, congrats!
Nice chunk of bat ray, good to know. :D
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What kind of distance do you think you got on the cast? Also, how big of a chunk of bat did you use?
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Pro tip: if you catch a small bat ray, just let it swim back out to deeper water with your hook in tow...
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What kind of distance do you think you got on the cast? Also, how big of a chunk of bat did you use?
I did wade out to waist high, but I'd be shocked if my cast went more than 30 to 40 yards. It was a baby bat, so I'd say I used a 2" by 6" strip.
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Pro tip: if you catch a small bat ray, just let it swim back out to deeper water with your hook in tow...
Just make sure you've got a big hook in it and give it a little love cut or two to get the juices really flowing ;D
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Chip, really happy you made it happen! 8)
Right man, right place, right time... your the man.
-Keith
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Incredible! Congrats...
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Incredible! Congrats...
Thanks Longcast!
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Congrats! That's a hell of a catch on cast gear!
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There's black sea bass in that area as well.
I might stop by to say what's up for a bit Saturday.
Really wanted to hit this spot in Dana point again, then maybe I'll cruise over...
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I might stop by to say what's up for a bit Saturday.
Really wanted to hit this spot in Dana point again, then maybe I'll cruise over...
Hope you can make it down!
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Sounds like the Grinner Gathering. lol
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Sounds like the Grinner Gathering. lol
Actually, this place would be perfect for a meet/greet/fish. Matt's girlfriend caught a soupie there last night and they were tailgate fishing out of the back of Matt's truck ;D
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Sounds like the Grinner Gathering. lol
Actually, this place would be perfect for a meet/greet/fish. Matt's girlfriend caught a soupie there last night and they were tailgate fishing out of the back of Matt's truck ;D
Don't bring too much attention to the spot.
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No worries about too many people
Like Chip would say "We'll setup a buffet line. "
Probably bring more grinners in.
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No worries about too many people
Like Chip would say "We'll setup a buffet line. "
Probably bring more grinners in.
I don't think that's the kind of attention Chris is referring to. Unfortunately, with all the GW's in the media lately (and bad press about some of the fishermen catching them in some cases) the wrong kind of attention can have some unwelcome consequences. Chip and RayJay did a great job getting that shark back in the water quickly after a long tiring fight.
I think everyone on this board has a good understanding and respect for these animals that they treat them properly and do everything possible to ensure their safe return to the water. The problem is with the goons that leave severed shark heads on the pier or rip them open with gafs and then toss them back in the water. That's the crap that ends up on Youtube and gives us all a bad name.
I believe Chris even had a hard time deciding when and how to post the report on the ones he caught.
On the other hand, as nice as it is to let other fishermen in on a good spot, you still run the risk of the info getting out and you spot getting over fished. Just ask Adam, he was nice enough to let a few guys in on his spot, now he has guys like me and Joe and Ron fishing there LOL ;D
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It's more bystanders and YouTube I'd be worried about. It's easy to narrow down and area by the looks of a beach, especially for wardens and people who grew up fishing socal. It doesn't make it any harder when a video is labeled exactly where and when. So when you have a bunch of guys together fishing for soups and sevens and they catch a white people will assume you're targeting them and wardens will take notice. Now if there is a warden nearby or in the video and says you did fine but the internet community blows up on the subject they have to launch an investigation and public statement, weather they find you or anyone else in the wrong it's a lot of undue stress and heartache and probably less fishing time for you or whoever is in question. Keep on fishing! Keep your groups small and don't raise a lot of noise with the locals and you'll be fine.
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Totally agree with your points made.
I never say I'm fishing for sharks when someone asks. I am actually more interested in batrays and Leos, so I speak truthfully.
Sorry to sidetrack your post Chip.
-Keith
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Just created my account so this pic is a little late. Had to get it from people in the crowd.
(http://www.twentythreered.com/Images/release.jpg)
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Just created my account so this pic is a little late. Had to get it from people in the crowd.
(https://p3plcpnl0823.prod.phx3.secureserver.net:2083/cpsess8406219378/viewer/home%2fbumpercrop%2fImages/release.jpg)
Maybe it's just me, can't see any picture :(
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Maybe it's just me, can't see any picture :(
I think i figured it out now.
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Maybe it's just me, can't see any picture :(
I think i figured it out now.
Great shot!