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Prehistoric Soul - 2020
This has been an unprecedented year in the world and has slowed to halted many shark fishing activities during the peak times. Prehistoric Soul will be here when you need us. Read through some old posts and browse some categories. We also welcome you to write any articles that you may feel important to be here on the site. Soon enough, the sharks will return and we'll be back to normal, whether new or not.
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2
Fishing Talk / 7gill feeding behavior research paper
« on: May 02, 2018, 06:15:43 PM »
Just came across this, it’s got some interesting details in it on 7 gill feeding methods
https://doi.org/10.2989/025776191784287637
Well, sh!t, after you hit the link you need to hit the green pdf button to open the pages
https://doi.org/10.2989/025776191784287637
Well, sh!t, after you hit the link you need to hit the green pdf button to open the pages
3
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / A Bat & a whole lotta YFC
« on: March 10, 2018, 09:39:03 PM »
Went on a solo bat recon mission at an “about remote as you can get in LA county” AO. Packed all my gear in and had a line in the water an hour or so after nightfall. Critters, critters and more critter nibbles destroying my baits so I went to a baseball size wad of squids on a 18/0 hook. As I was starting to doze off the sound of my clicker going off fast got me to my feet quick and I put my reel in gear and let the tension load up to get the circle hook set. During its first initial run there was no doubt it was a decent sized bat. It’s been a while since I’ve been hooked into a good size bat so at first I welcomed the battle but then towards the end I was quickly reminded that getting a big bat up on the sand solo in 3-4’ shorebreak’s back and forth wash on a steep beach sort of sucks balls and my back would agree. At least when I got the tape to it and it touched the 50” mark I felt some kind of accomplishment for the night....
The next morning I decided to trek into some of the most remote and trecherous shoreline I could find with my light rod throwing a 5” swimbait rigged weedless on a 1/2oz Sledhead and see if I could find a Halibut resting on some sandy patches amongst a reefy looking stretch of water. I hooked into something that I assumed was a nice size Hali until I got it into the skinny. Then all within a second or two-“ WSB? no, my first spotfin? wait, is that a yellowfin croaker? Holy sh!t! It’s freaky huge” is what goes through my mind as soon as I get glimpse of it.
Kickin myself for releasing it now that after I look and see the state record is 3lb14oz as there is no doubt in my mind this one was over 4 lbs, pushing 5...pics will be up by morning.
BTW that’s a size 12 wading boot next to it in the one pic..just saying.
LONGCAST JOE
The next morning I decided to trek into some of the most remote and trecherous shoreline I could find with my light rod throwing a 5” swimbait rigged weedless on a 1/2oz Sledhead and see if I could find a Halibut resting on some sandy patches amongst a reefy looking stretch of water. I hooked into something that I assumed was a nice size Hali until I got it into the skinny. Then all within a second or two-“ WSB? no, my first spotfin? wait, is that a yellowfin croaker? Holy sh!t! It’s freaky huge” is what goes through my mind as soon as I get glimpse of it.
Kickin myself for releasing it now that after I look and see the state record is 3lb14oz as there is no doubt in my mind this one was over 4 lbs, pushing 5...pics will be up by morning.
BTW that’s a size 12 wading boot next to it in the one pic..just saying.
LONGCAST JOE
4
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / The Tax Man , up close & personal
« on: December 25, 2017, 12:44:10 PM »
So, here’s the story...After the previous day I was determined to find out what had “owned” us all like like we had never been owned before, time after time. I really didn’t know if it was threshers, makos, hammerheads, giant soups, black tips gone astray or some exotic species that would be a total surprise, but I needed to know and was on a mission to do so today, as I knew the window that they were here could be very short or even over already.
So, me, FishJerk Ron & Surffishing Sean decided to meet up at the same location my ass got handed to me the day before, a couple of hours before the high tide (midday shark fishing? Huh??). They brought a half bucket full of fresh caught macks for us to use, something I didn’t have the previous day.
Now the problem here was I knew I needed to beef up my rub leader from the measly 100lb mono but it was Christmas Eve day so shopping options for some were virtually non existent as the tackle shops that might carry something usable we’re closed. All I could think of was to pick up some weed wacker line at a Home Depot on the way and see if that could be incorporated into a rig. Well, when it got down to it, the stuff wouldn’t knot and none of us had proper size sleeves to crimp it. Ron had some thick 135 mono, but it had heartbreak again written all over it. But I was looking at a coil of 275# coated 7x7 wire in my gear that I use as bite leader, and decided I needed to incorporate 10 or 12 feet of that into a rig so it can act as a rub leader as well but still be a castable rig, hmmm...so, I decided to put together a pulley rig using the wire as the main body of the rig as well as the to hook bite leader, which I had never heard of being done but that it was worth a try. So I double crimped a 13/0 circle hook on one end of a 10’ length of wire, as I looked at it I realized I could do away with the usual wire to mono body swivel connection in the rig and just use a crimp on the wire instead to act as the pulley slide stopper a couple feet up from the hook.
So the rig ended up like this, 10’ of 275# coated 7x7 wire with a 13/0 circle double crimped on one end with a small loop left for the bait clip to catch, them a crimp 2’ from the hook just to act as a stopper, than a bead, then the pulley (I’ll put up pic of it) , then a hard bead, a soft bead, another hard bead, another soft bead, all sliding on the wire, then a 500# spro swivel double crimped to the other end of the 10’ wire, then a giant snap connecting that swivel to a Gemini splash down bait clip, then another clip connecting a 7oz Sputnik to the bottom of the bait clip. Wasn’t sure the wire would go though the pulley smoothly without kinking up but it was my best option at the moment.
Now, looking back, I think the most crucial decision I made, was to do away with my 40 lb mono top shot and connect directly into the pulley with my 80lb Powerpro Maxcuatro main line. All 500 yds of it 😉 that was spooled onto a brand new Shimano Big Bait Runner 14000. Yes, a spinner! Which I paired up with a new 14’ Phenix Black Diamond SX-S1408-2 rated 3-10oz/ 30-80lb braid. All to rest in my infamous tripod as the holder.
So....we all though out fresh Mack, and within minutes two SUP guys started paddling close and around where our lines were in the water and Ron said “these guys are going to be a problem”.
I reeled my line back in, wound up to cast and yelled “heads up!”, and let 8oz and bait fly, splashing down a few yards from the boarder...problem gone, they paddled a few hundred yards away from us shortly thereafter 😂
Now to the fishing...so we soaked, and soaked some more in the same spot as all yesterday’s action occurred with pretty much the same conditions as 24 hours ago, except maybe the sun poking through a bit more and the surf being up a hair. After a couple of hours without a bump and baits coming back untouched Ron jokingly says “well, where they at Joe? does Verne have any pics of this supposed action yesterday?” I chuckled and said yeah, I think he has video of Denny being bendod...
After a while longer of nothing I said “I’m thinking we should move north a 1/2 mile or so you guys” and Ron said “I’m thinking once I get my line reeled up I’m not going to feel like setting up and casting out again somewhere else and Sean said he had some commitments with family he should attend to, as it was Christmas Eve and getting to be towards evening. So we packed it up, sat in the parking lot and shot the sh!t about gear and such for a good while before Sean and Ron headed off and wished me luck if I was going to keep at it...
So I moved north about a half mile hoping my targets might have done the same overnight, set up on the sand again, with most of my hope dwindled away, on a now completely deserted beach. Now it was just me...
Armed with a slew of fresh Mack still, I cast, let sit for only 15 or so minutes each soak, and didn’t hesitate to rebait with a fresh Mack each cast. At this point I was using smaller whole Mack’s with just the tail cut off with some slices put up and down there sides and gills slit open to get the blood draining out.
Then I get a call from my girl asking when I was going to be home as it was Christmas Eve and we had family things we should be showing up at later. I said, I’m going to stay till sunset, I promise Ill leave right after the sun sets. Which left me about an hour or so more for something to happen. So I go and soak some more and watch the sun touch the horizon, reel up and decide to give it one last throw while the sun is disappearing. Then, not less then 2 minutes after I get my rod set in the holder and I start packing up some of my gear, while my back is turned I hear it! Two fast and hard Zzzzz....Zzzz...pause, slightly slack line, I grab my rod up from the holder, and then ZZzzzzzzzzzz. I count to 5 and then engage the drag on the baitrunner. The line draws tight as my rod goes be so and I know the circle hook has just set itself. A 50yd run or so as I’m judging what I’ve hooked into, then a pause and feels like I might have actually got it turned already, and I’m thinking, ok, I’ll settle for a soupie, won’t complain about one of those. Then, as to almost mock my thought, it takes off!! Holy crap! This ain’t no soup!!All I can do is hold on, look down at my spool, and tighten down the drag a few more clicks close to max, before it kicks it into another higher gear leaving me feeling overmatched again. With a good hundred yards or so left it pauses, I feel a huge tail thump and pressure gone...damn! I’m gonna cry and curse as I quickly reel in my line. Wait! Damn, is he still there? Yes!! I keep reeling fast taking as it comes toward me, gaining back a couple hundred yards, before it changes direction and heads parallel to the shore northward a few hundred yards as I keep pressure on it walking with it. Fortunately I’m on a stretch of sand where there is nothing but sand and no structure to worry about. It stops its northward trek,and takes a break before it turns around and starts heading back south. At this point it is still going wherever it wants to go and I don’t have much control over which way that is. At this point my arms and back are giving out against how tight I need the drag to be set at so I drop down on my ass and dig the butt of the rod into the sand and dig some foot holds into the sand for a makeshift fighting chair and just hold on to the upper rod grip with two hands and try to keep the rod upright against the constant pressure. Even when it isn’t running I have a constant amount of huge pressure against it and it doesnt bring it towards me at all. When it decides to make now shortened runs I don’t have the strength to keep the rod upright anymore and am having to dip the rod tip and almost point it straight and am actually worried about being able to grip the rod enough to keep it from being pulled out of my hands! At this point now I’m literally feeling like I might pass out from exhastion, sweating up a storm, but can’t take a break. I’m thinking about throwing in the towel, and saying OK, you win, when it turns and starts to come towards me again finally. I gain most of my line back, it stops, and I know I have it close and at least into the breakers as when a wave rolls in the pressure a have against it also eases and I can now gain some line every time a wave rolls by. As it comes into the skinny I see a massive something start to show in now total darkness and I walk down towards it keeping pressure on and get calf deep in the suds closer to it and
and the first thing my eyes are drawn to are a blacker than black huge eye, then the jaws and teeth. Holy crap! It’s a great white, and it’s not one of these 5 foot juvies I’ve heard! Ok, into instant release mode...Oh, sh!t, I don’t have any cutters on me and no way to pull the hook or break off 275#wire or 80# braid, so I instantly put my reel in freespool and run back to my tripod holding it to get a pair of pliers with cutters, and am thinkinking on the way, oh sh!t, I don’t have a tape either. So I leave my rod in the holder, grab pliers, phone for cam and my light rod to use as an,ala pinoyfisher quick measuring device. I run back down to her maybe 100 feet away, throw the rod down next to her with the butt lined up at her nose, point my phone towards her and just start hitting the picture take button repeatedly with the same hand as I have the pliers in while trying to get the wire cut simultaneously. The damn cutters won’t cut through the wire and I’m not about to go close to that jaw and teeth to try to get a hold of the circle hook to gank out so I decide to just grip the wire about 3 feet from the hook with the pliers and give it a hard yank. This did fortunately break the wire and I put everything in my hands into my chest waders pocket, waited for the next wave to come in and tried to tail drag her back out to deeper water. Won’t budge! Need a bigger wave which came quickly in the next set. Took all my might to get her into knee deep water where I turned her around, straddled her towards the backend and kept her upright while the waves washed back and forth over her for a few minutes. Then she gave a strong quadruple tail slap to my inner thighs which knocked me off and lose grip of her dorsal and then she gave two more slaps and swam off out through the waves, dorsal and tail fins showing till she was out beyond the breakers where she gave one last tail slap and splash on the water before she disappeared into the darkness. I stayed around for another good 30 minutes spot lighting up and down the skinny to make sure she wasn’t going to come or wash back in. I was completely exhausted with the left overs of a huge surge of adrenaline as the only thing keeping me conscience at this point. WOW! What a rush!
As far as the measurement I still have to put a tape to the mark on the rod where her tail came to on it, that it shows in a pic but I really don’t care if it’s going to be good as far as the contest goes or not, that’s just small potatoes in my mind right now compared to landing this beast of dreams. It would be close Mike, but my guess is it might be short of yours a few inches anyways.
I’m still high off the rush from this catch! (And sore!!!!)
It’s a night I’ll never forget!
( Chad is going to put some pics up in a reply for me as I’m not in the frame of mind to have the patience to figure out how to do it in the post right now; so sit tight)
So, me, FishJerk Ron & Surffishing Sean decided to meet up at the same location my ass got handed to me the day before, a couple of hours before the high tide (midday shark fishing? Huh??). They brought a half bucket full of fresh caught macks for us to use, something I didn’t have the previous day.
Now the problem here was I knew I needed to beef up my rub leader from the measly 100lb mono but it was Christmas Eve day so shopping options for some were virtually non existent as the tackle shops that might carry something usable we’re closed. All I could think of was to pick up some weed wacker line at a Home Depot on the way and see if that could be incorporated into a rig. Well, when it got down to it, the stuff wouldn’t knot and none of us had proper size sleeves to crimp it. Ron had some thick 135 mono, but it had heartbreak again written all over it. But I was looking at a coil of 275# coated 7x7 wire in my gear that I use as bite leader, and decided I needed to incorporate 10 or 12 feet of that into a rig so it can act as a rub leader as well but still be a castable rig, hmmm...so, I decided to put together a pulley rig using the wire as the main body of the rig as well as the to hook bite leader, which I had never heard of being done but that it was worth a try. So I double crimped a 13/0 circle hook on one end of a 10’ length of wire, as I looked at it I realized I could do away with the usual wire to mono body swivel connection in the rig and just use a crimp on the wire instead to act as the pulley slide stopper a couple feet up from the hook.
So the rig ended up like this, 10’ of 275# coated 7x7 wire with a 13/0 circle double crimped on one end with a small loop left for the bait clip to catch, them a crimp 2’ from the hook just to act as a stopper, than a bead, then the pulley (I’ll put up pic of it) , then a hard bead, a soft bead, another hard bead, another soft bead, all sliding on the wire, then a 500# spro swivel double crimped to the other end of the 10’ wire, then a giant snap connecting that swivel to a Gemini splash down bait clip, then another clip connecting a 7oz Sputnik to the bottom of the bait clip. Wasn’t sure the wire would go though the pulley smoothly without kinking up but it was my best option at the moment.
Now, looking back, I think the most crucial decision I made, was to do away with my 40 lb mono top shot and connect directly into the pulley with my 80lb Powerpro Maxcuatro main line. All 500 yds of it 😉 that was spooled onto a brand new Shimano Big Bait Runner 14000. Yes, a spinner! Which I paired up with a new 14’ Phenix Black Diamond SX-S1408-2 rated 3-10oz/ 30-80lb braid. All to rest in my infamous tripod as the holder.
So....we all though out fresh Mack, and within minutes two SUP guys started paddling close and around where our lines were in the water and Ron said “these guys are going to be a problem”.
I reeled my line back in, wound up to cast and yelled “heads up!”, and let 8oz and bait fly, splashing down a few yards from the boarder...problem gone, they paddled a few hundred yards away from us shortly thereafter 😂
Now to the fishing...so we soaked, and soaked some more in the same spot as all yesterday’s action occurred with pretty much the same conditions as 24 hours ago, except maybe the sun poking through a bit more and the surf being up a hair. After a couple of hours without a bump and baits coming back untouched Ron jokingly says “well, where they at Joe? does Verne have any pics of this supposed action yesterday?” I chuckled and said yeah, I think he has video of Denny being bendod...
After a while longer of nothing I said “I’m thinking we should move north a 1/2 mile or so you guys” and Ron said “I’m thinking once I get my line reeled up I’m not going to feel like setting up and casting out again somewhere else and Sean said he had some commitments with family he should attend to, as it was Christmas Eve and getting to be towards evening. So we packed it up, sat in the parking lot and shot the sh!t about gear and such for a good while before Sean and Ron headed off and wished me luck if I was going to keep at it...
So I moved north about a half mile hoping my targets might have done the same overnight, set up on the sand again, with most of my hope dwindled away, on a now completely deserted beach. Now it was just me...
Armed with a slew of fresh Mack still, I cast, let sit for only 15 or so minutes each soak, and didn’t hesitate to rebait with a fresh Mack each cast. At this point I was using smaller whole Mack’s with just the tail cut off with some slices put up and down there sides and gills slit open to get the blood draining out.
Then I get a call from my girl asking when I was going to be home as it was Christmas Eve and we had family things we should be showing up at later. I said, I’m going to stay till sunset, I promise Ill leave right after the sun sets. Which left me about an hour or so more for something to happen. So I go and soak some more and watch the sun touch the horizon, reel up and decide to give it one last throw while the sun is disappearing. Then, not less then 2 minutes after I get my rod set in the holder and I start packing up some of my gear, while my back is turned I hear it! Two fast and hard Zzzzz....Zzzz...pause, slightly slack line, I grab my rod up from the holder, and then ZZzzzzzzzzzz. I count to 5 and then engage the drag on the baitrunner. The line draws tight as my rod goes be so and I know the circle hook has just set itself. A 50yd run or so as I’m judging what I’ve hooked into, then a pause and feels like I might have actually got it turned already, and I’m thinking, ok, I’ll settle for a soupie, won’t complain about one of those. Then, as to almost mock my thought, it takes off!! Holy crap! This ain’t no soup!!All I can do is hold on, look down at my spool, and tighten down the drag a few more clicks close to max, before it kicks it into another higher gear leaving me feeling overmatched again. With a good hundred yards or so left it pauses, I feel a huge tail thump and pressure gone...damn! I’m gonna cry and curse as I quickly reel in my line. Wait! Damn, is he still there? Yes!! I keep reeling fast taking as it comes toward me, gaining back a couple hundred yards, before it changes direction and heads parallel to the shore northward a few hundred yards as I keep pressure on it walking with it. Fortunately I’m on a stretch of sand where there is nothing but sand and no structure to worry about. It stops its northward trek,and takes a break before it turns around and starts heading back south. At this point it is still going wherever it wants to go and I don’t have much control over which way that is. At this point my arms and back are giving out against how tight I need the drag to be set at so I drop down on my ass and dig the butt of the rod into the sand and dig some foot holds into the sand for a makeshift fighting chair and just hold on to the upper rod grip with two hands and try to keep the rod upright against the constant pressure. Even when it isn’t running I have a constant amount of huge pressure against it and it doesnt bring it towards me at all. When it decides to make now shortened runs I don’t have the strength to keep the rod upright anymore and am having to dip the rod tip and almost point it straight and am actually worried about being able to grip the rod enough to keep it from being pulled out of my hands! At this point now I’m literally feeling like I might pass out from exhastion, sweating up a storm, but can’t take a break. I’m thinking about throwing in the towel, and saying OK, you win, when it turns and starts to come towards me again finally. I gain most of my line back, it stops, and I know I have it close and at least into the breakers as when a wave rolls in the pressure a have against it also eases and I can now gain some line every time a wave rolls by. As it comes into the skinny I see a massive something start to show in now total darkness and I walk down towards it keeping pressure on and get calf deep in the suds closer to it and
and the first thing my eyes are drawn to are a blacker than black huge eye, then the jaws and teeth. Holy crap! It’s a great white, and it’s not one of these 5 foot juvies I’ve heard! Ok, into instant release mode...Oh, sh!t, I don’t have any cutters on me and no way to pull the hook or break off 275#wire or 80# braid, so I instantly put my reel in freespool and run back to my tripod holding it to get a pair of pliers with cutters, and am thinkinking on the way, oh sh!t, I don’t have a tape either. So I leave my rod in the holder, grab pliers, phone for cam and my light rod to use as an,ala pinoyfisher quick measuring device. I run back down to her maybe 100 feet away, throw the rod down next to her with the butt lined up at her nose, point my phone towards her and just start hitting the picture take button repeatedly with the same hand as I have the pliers in while trying to get the wire cut simultaneously. The damn cutters won’t cut through the wire and I’m not about to go close to that jaw and teeth to try to get a hold of the circle hook to gank out so I decide to just grip the wire about 3 feet from the hook with the pliers and give it a hard yank. This did fortunately break the wire and I put everything in my hands into my chest waders pocket, waited for the next wave to come in and tried to tail drag her back out to deeper water. Won’t budge! Need a bigger wave which came quickly in the next set. Took all my might to get her into knee deep water where I turned her around, straddled her towards the backend and kept her upright while the waves washed back and forth over her for a few minutes. Then she gave a strong quadruple tail slap to my inner thighs which knocked me off and lose grip of her dorsal and then she gave two more slaps and swam off out through the waves, dorsal and tail fins showing till she was out beyond the breakers where she gave one last tail slap and splash on the water before she disappeared into the darkness. I stayed around for another good 30 minutes spot lighting up and down the skinny to make sure she wasn’t going to come or wash back in. I was completely exhausted with the left overs of a huge surge of adrenaline as the only thing keeping me conscience at this point. WOW! What a rush!
As far as the measurement I still have to put a tape to the mark on the rod where her tail came to on it, that it shows in a pic but I really don’t care if it’s going to be good as far as the contest goes or not, that’s just small potatoes in my mind right now compared to landing this beast of dreams. It would be close Mike, but my guess is it might be short of yours a few inches anyways.
I’m still high off the rush from this catch! (And sore!!!!)
It’s a night I’ll never forget!
( Chad is going to put some pics up in a reply for me as I’m not in the frame of mind to have the patience to figure out how to do it in the post right now; so sit tight)
5
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Tax man cometh!
« on: December 24, 2017, 06:30:42 PM »I got em! Details and pics soon
6
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / SB Leo
« on: November 22, 2017, 12:28:35 AM »
Met up with Chad in VC, gave it a couple hours without a bump but conditions were stellar...decided to try a new spot he’d been scoping out up in SB to see if one of us could put the first SB shark on the board...nothing for the board but wasn’t a total loss...got this 55” Leo later in the night...still trying to find a site I can figure out how to post pics from my cell phone..Chad, if this doesn’t show, post up the pic for me would ya?
![](http://<a href="http://www.freeimagehosting.net/commercial-photography)
7
Fishing Talk / Bridled up baby bat
« on: August 16, 2017, 12:50:53 PM »
Well, this 10" baby bat pup decided to hit my dropshotted soft plastic as I was light rodding for Hali...funny how I got more excited over a baby bat than a legal Hali. I instantly knew what I was going to do with him and put him on ice immediately to keep him fresh for tonight. Wired him up with a double 13/0 bridle rig laced through the wings...lets see what happens 😛
Trying to figure out Imgur so hopefully the pics come out...
Trying to figure out Imgur so hopefully the pics come out...
8
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Nothing but more warm water
« on: July 24, 2017, 11:19:32 AM »
Headed up to SB County on Sunday all day & into the night in search of water maybe a few degrees cooler and grinner holding...Didn't find it. Came across alot of pockets that even felt luke warm.Conditions actually seemed too calm, 0-1? surf, no wind, no whitecaps, almost glassy even into the afternoon, sunny, high underwater visibility, almost no current, not much tidal movement.. But there was big patches of chopped up salad in some places... kinda of strange not to have any indication of it on my pole tip but when I go to reel in to check my bait find out a 50lb clump had slowly been stacking and gathering up on my connection knot. Even the light rod fishing was super tough and not much at all wanting to play...just one of those lethargic weekends it seemed, couldn't even find a SNG... 
Such is fishing...fortunately conditions are ever-changing...
JOE
Such is fishing...fortunately conditions are ever-changing...
JOE
9
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Found one in VC
« on: July 10, 2017, 09:48:42 AM »
On the 4th of July weekend as I was cruising around VC the water happened to be extremely clearer than usual, there was a mid-day low tide and the sun was shining with almost no wind to put chop on the surface. This led me to be able to see some huge troughs and a giant trench that led straight out, perpendicular from the shore, on a beach in a spot that I didn't suspect even existed before, until I saw it when all the conditions aligned to do so. Instantly I thought to myself, "I can't wait to come back and fish that thing as soon as the conditions get grinner good."...
Well, except for the warming water everything else seemed like it would be good on Saturday night and I wasn't going to wait till the water started cooling down to fish this hole, so back I went this weekend with cell pics and a pic in my mind of where that trench is so I could set a bait in it in the darkness.
First cast got set, bounced and picked up within the first 15 minutes. Mac came back ,bit off clean right behind the gill plates. I was too anxious and hit it too early this time.
Next cast, tip bounces, I pick up my rod and I feel a bump and the line start to slacken so I start to walk backwards at a pace to keep a slight tension on my rod tip and keep it from slackening. I ended up backing up about 20 feet, and then it decided to head out the other direction so I counted to 5 as my drag clicker sounded and line peeled off before I lowered my rod tip and turned down the drag to set the circle hook. My rod bendos over and the tightened down drag starts to scream and I feel massive head shakes and a big tail slap.
One of my favorite things is becoming that moment when feel that first big tail slap & you know it's not a bat.
This one had alot of fight in it for a 7gill and got me saying the "Shock leader please don't fail" prayer to myself after every big tail slap onto it.
Luckily there was another guy down the beach a ways fishing with his kids with small rods that I whistled for help to and him and his kids came over. I asked him if he could hold my rod with a loose drag while I go for the tail grab. I got the tail on the first try and dragged him up up of the suds onto wet sand...Victory!
Also glad for this guy being there as I got my pliers, tape and cell phone I see it's at 1% and goes black seconds afterwards
..I ask if he had a cell he could get a pic for me with, he tried but only one came out halfway worthy,had him email it to me. Unfortunately I didn't get a tape pic but it did measure at 92", huge for a male I think.
Bait was the head half of a large mack, tide close to it's high flood of a 5.7 high about 9:30pm, surf was low at 1-2 at best, moon was close to full and bright overhead.
This guy wore me out so I decided to get some zzz's nearby so I could lightrod the greylight in the morning...
https://goo.gl/PuvDmY
Well, except for the warming water everything else seemed like it would be good on Saturday night and I wasn't going to wait till the water started cooling down to fish this hole, so back I went this weekend with cell pics and a pic in my mind of where that trench is so I could set a bait in it in the darkness.
First cast got set, bounced and picked up within the first 15 minutes. Mac came back ,bit off clean right behind the gill plates. I was too anxious and hit it too early this time.
Next cast, tip bounces, I pick up my rod and I feel a bump and the line start to slacken so I start to walk backwards at a pace to keep a slight tension on my rod tip and keep it from slackening. I ended up backing up about 20 feet, and then it decided to head out the other direction so I counted to 5 as my drag clicker sounded and line peeled off before I lowered my rod tip and turned down the drag to set the circle hook. My rod bendos over and the tightened down drag starts to scream and I feel massive head shakes and a big tail slap.
One of my favorite things is becoming that moment when feel that first big tail slap & you know it's not a bat.This one had alot of fight in it for a 7gill and got me saying the "Shock leader please don't fail" prayer to myself after every big tail slap onto it.
Luckily there was another guy down the beach a ways fishing with his kids with small rods that I whistled for help to and him and his kids came over. I asked him if he could hold my rod with a loose drag while I go for the tail grab. I got the tail on the first try and dragged him up up of the suds onto wet sand...Victory!
Also glad for this guy being there as I got my pliers, tape and cell phone I see it's at 1% and goes black seconds afterwards
..I ask if he had a cell he could get a pic for me with, he tried but only one came out halfway worthy,had him email it to me. Unfortunately I didn't get a tape pic but it did measure at 92", huge for a male I think. Bait was the head half of a large mack, tide close to it's high flood of a 5.7 high about 9:30pm, surf was low at 1-2 at best, moon was close to full and bright overhead.
This guy wore me out so I decided to get some zzz's nearby so I could lightrod the greylight in the morning...
https://goo.gl/PuvDmY
10
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Leo on the 4th
« on: July 07, 2017, 08:14:20 PM »
Hit the VC for a couple days over the holiday weekend. Did alot of lightlining which I'll put up on SC if I get the chance, but PS always comes first 
...
It was warm enough out and I had enough beers in me to decide to paddle/kick a bait out on a boogie board about 250 yards. After I had kicked out a couple hundred yards and looked down at the whole fresh mack in my hand dripping a trail of blood into the water it then struck me this might not be the brightest of ideas...During the day, iffy at best, at night time, no frickin way...I'll talk someone else , like Chad, into doing that for me
Anyways, got a whole mack dropped and set on my rod without any disasters and let it sit. Finding out what that bow in the line is that Chris had mentioned as well... I think I let it soak almost 2 hours until I saw it getting some action. It seemed like it fiddled with it for over a minute before it finally started to run away with it so I was thinking it was probably going to be a friggin bat ray, so i was happy when I felt some head shakes or tail slaps being dulley transmitted through the stretch of 250 yards of mono. After a bit it came straight at me for a good 150 yards as I could barely keep up with it reeling almost as fast as I could. i then caught site of its dorsal instead of a whippy bat tail and I was happy. Next challenge was to land it from some big mossy boulders without any sand left to work with. Picked a good looking gap and got it slid up into into it on my first try. Laid my rod down and I layed down and went for the tail grab. Success, job done...Excuse the pics as I had to edit them out of some Gopro video as it was too long of a haul up the rocks back to get my cell phone for pics...
Oh, it taped out at just 53" but it was a fun catch and my first on a paddled out bait...
...It was warm enough out and I had enough beers in me to decide to paddle/kick a bait out on a boogie board about 250 yards. After I had kicked out a couple hundred yards and looked down at the whole fresh mack in my hand dripping a trail of blood into the water it then struck me this might not be the brightest of ideas...During the day, iffy at best, at night time, no frickin way...I'll talk someone else , like Chad, into doing that for me
Anyways, got a whole mack dropped and set on my rod without any disasters and let it sit. Finding out what that bow in the line is that Chris had mentioned as well... I think I let it soak almost 2 hours until I saw it getting some action. It seemed like it fiddled with it for over a minute before it finally started to run away with it so I was thinking it was probably going to be a friggin bat ray, so i was happy when I felt some head shakes or tail slaps being dulley transmitted through the stretch of 250 yards of mono. After a bit it came straight at me for a good 150 yards as I could barely keep up with it reeling almost as fast as I could. i then caught site of its dorsal instead of a whippy bat tail and I was happy. Next challenge was to land it from some big mossy boulders without any sand left to work with. Picked a good looking gap and got it slid up into into it on my first try. Laid my rod down and I layed down and went for the tail grab. Success, job done...Excuse the pics as I had to edit them out of some Gopro video as it was too long of a haul up the rocks back to get my cell phone for pics...
Oh, it taped out at just 53" but it was a fun catch and my first on a paddled out bait...
11
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / PB Leo on a bean
« on: June 12, 2017, 12:54:22 PM »
I fished all weekend long at alot of different AOs and a variety of gear. Most of my results belong over on SC but the highlight of my weekend is for here...
Finished up a morning light rod session around LA/VC county line ending it with about a 12" juvi corbina that I wrapped in a wet sock and headed north into VC up PCH with no where particular in mind. Conditions had deteriated now with the wind and mid-day crouds approaching so I just wanted to kill some hours until an evening sesh.Drove by a spot I had surprisingly never fished,was uncrowded and thought what the heck and pulled a u-turn. Strung up my longrod with a pulley rig and pinned the fresh little bean on a 12/0 circle hook through by he lips.
After about 30 minutes I picked up my rod to see if it had been fouled by a piece of eelgrass as the tip started bobbing a bit differently then it had been in the heavy shorebreak and WHAM!, my bait got plowed hard and my reel started screaming. I counted to 5 and then tightened down the drag and let it run against it to set the circle but it didnt slow down its run. After a quick 15 seconds pr so it slowed and paused, and I felt tail slaps on my line and thought, YES! its NOT a bat!...After some bruising runs I got it in close on the steep beach. Luckily a lifeguard came over to see what I was hooked into and asked if I needed any help...before she could finish her sentence I spun loose my drag, put the rod in her hands , said "hold this", and jumped into the pounding shorebreak and came out with a firm grab on its tail and back peddled up the slope dragging it out of the suds. Ran and got my tape and measured it out at 57", beating my old longstanding PB out by a couple inches. Had the lifeguard snap some pics before she dragged it back past the pound to release it...and it swam off strong into the depths...It might sound like Im excited over just a Leo, but I was to finally break my bat curse streak😛
Thanks for looking
JOE
Finished up a morning light rod session around LA/VC county line ending it with about a 12" juvi corbina that I wrapped in a wet sock and headed north into VC up PCH with no where particular in mind. Conditions had deteriated now with the wind and mid-day crouds approaching so I just wanted to kill some hours until an evening sesh.Drove by a spot I had surprisingly never fished,was uncrowded and thought what the heck and pulled a u-turn. Strung up my longrod with a pulley rig and pinned the fresh little bean on a 12/0 circle hook through by he lips.
After about 30 minutes I picked up my rod to see if it had been fouled by a piece of eelgrass as the tip started bobbing a bit differently then it had been in the heavy shorebreak and WHAM!, my bait got plowed hard and my reel started screaming. I counted to 5 and then tightened down the drag and let it run against it to set the circle but it didnt slow down its run. After a quick 15 seconds pr so it slowed and paused, and I felt tail slaps on my line and thought, YES! its NOT a bat!...After some bruising runs I got it in close on the steep beach. Luckily a lifeguard came over to see what I was hooked into and asked if I needed any help...before she could finish her sentence I spun loose my drag, put the rod in her hands , said "hold this", and jumped into the pounding shorebreak and came out with a firm grab on its tail and back peddled up the slope dragging it out of the suds. Ran and got my tape and measured it out at 57", beating my old longstanding PB out by a couple inches. Had the lifeguard snap some pics before she dragged it back past the pound to release it...and it swam off strong into the depths...It might sound like Im excited over just a Leo, but I was to finally break my bat curse streak😛
Thanks for looking
JOE
12
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Wtf? in VC
« on: May 29, 2017, 09:42:20 PM »
Surprised I didnt see anyone else at this VC spot Sunday night, it was just me. Didnt get a bait in the water till 8:30, so that only left 2 hours to make something happen. Conditions were all good, high tide wasnt till midnight so had sand to fish on. It was calm enough I could see something was just twitching or picking at my bait. Reeled in after 20 min soak and saw nothing but bones left pf my half mack...repeat, reapeat, move 200 yards, still nothing but bones left of my baits.Sherriff cleared me out at 10:15 
...stopped at a beach on the trip home just to look how much sand it had at a big high tide and stumbled into the most epic grunion run Ive ever seen....soooo many fn grunion up on the beach. Thru a plug for 15 minutes, got no love. Then like that they all were gone, not a trace of the thousands that were just up on the sand 2 minutes ago..It was tempting to grab a cooler full for bait but I used some will power and maintained, I wait till next month for that
...stopped at a beach on the trip home just to look how much sand it had at a big high tide and stumbled into the most epic grunion run Ive ever seen....soooo many fn grunion up on the beach. Thru a plug for 15 minutes, got no love. Then like that they all were gone, not a trace of the thousands that were just up on the sand 2 minutes ago..It was tempting to grab a cooler full for bait but I used some will power and maintained, I wait till next month for that
13
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / No shortage of bats
« on: April 20, 2017, 12:04:25 PM »
Been into bats the past week or so where ever I've gone, VC, LA, daytime, nighttime...Didn't want to bore thee with uneventful bat reports but here's this morning's.....
Got out in the wee hours this morning before I had to go to work...planned to long rod for a couple of hours before greylight and then throw an LC or big hammer for an hour or so at daybreak before I would have to hit the road. Got 4 bats all in the low to mid 40 range in under 2 hours, nothing special...Then, thought I was going to drag up a kelp monster but turned it out to be this big ol crustacean. PB on rod and reel I guess. Over 3' leg span and some big claws too. It'll be appetizers shortly...Then just as grey light starts to show itself and I make the first couple casts with an LC I hear my clicker go off on my long rod I left out...so, set the light rod down...This one is pulls alot more than the 40" models, and for alot longer. So much for light rodding.... landing this 53" surf bat solo took that hour that I had of light before it was time to call it quits for the morning.
Got out in the wee hours this morning before I had to go to work...planned to long rod for a couple of hours before greylight and then throw an LC or big hammer for an hour or so at daybreak before I would have to hit the road. Got 4 bats all in the low to mid 40 range in under 2 hours, nothing special...Then, thought I was going to drag up a kelp monster but turned it out to be this big ol crustacean. PB on rod and reel I guess. Over 3' leg span and some big claws too. It'll be appetizers shortly...Then just as grey light starts to show itself and I make the first couple casts with an LC I hear my clicker go off on my long rod I left out...so, set the light rod down...This one is pulls alot more than the 40" models, and for alot longer. So much for light rodding.... landing this 53" surf bat solo took that hour that I had of light before it was time to call it quits for the morning.
14
Classifieds / GEMINI SPUTNIK TYPE SINKERS
« on: April 07, 2017, 10:02:12 AM »
I know Wilbur is a good guy and ships his sinkers within hours to us but this place on ebay has some good deals on Gemini Breakout & Splashdown grip sinkers at the moment in the 6 to 8oz range. They have the 6oz Splashdowns that have a built in bait release clip too, for $2.80 each....Breakouts are 6oz - $2.56 each,.... 7 oz. $2.72 each,......8oz - $2.88 each....They all come 10 per lot, free freight. I just ordered 40 total in 6oz,7oz & 8oz
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-oz-10-pcs-Gemini-Breakout-Sinkers-Surf-Sputnik-Sinker-Spider-Weights-/222325018366?hash=item33c39a8efe:g:y50AAOSwgZ1Xt8hv
Move this if I put it in the wrong catagory
http://www.ebay.com/itm/6-oz-10-pcs-Gemini-Breakout-Sinkers-Surf-Sputnik-Sinker-Spider-Weights-/222325018366?hash=item33c39a8efe:g:y50AAOSwgZ1Xt8hv
Move this if I put it in the wrong catagory
15
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Nooner Checker
« on: April 02, 2017, 11:43:54 PM »
Hit the beach for a rare mid-day sesh. Left the long rods in my truck & decided to wade some suds with some structure, fan casting a swim bait. Knew I missed a few bumps when the big hammer would come back "pants pulled down" off the jig head. Salad was heavy on the inside trough so had to throw outside of it and I'd get 10-15 yards of clean retreive before some eel grass choked it up. That's the nice thing about fishing braid on the light rod, I can feel when I bump and stick on even one strand of eel grass. Finally got this decent 19" to stick, fun tussle in the suds before I got him up on the sand.
Got enough sun for a while...Back to grinner hunting this upcoming week
Got enough sun for a while...Back to grinner hunting this upcoming week