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Topics - BackBayMan

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1
Fishing Talk / Tuna Heads and Carcases
« on: July 22, 2018, 08:53:53 AM »
If anybody has any tuna heads or carcasses left over, please let me know, I'll put them to good use ;D

2
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Saturday Sharking
« on: July 21, 2018, 05:39:43 PM »
Because we just refuse to fish for catfish...

The big surf hasn't opened the salad bar at our favorite spot just yet, so we hit it Saturday AM hoping to squeeze in one more session.

We yaked out 5 baits, a tuna head, some ray chunks and a whole mac. I also tossed whole squid from shore.

The squish got some pretty steady action, but nothing to write home about.

The tuna head got picked up by something, but it dropped it. So we yaked it back out again.

Apparently tuna head was the magic bait. Something picked it up and started to run. We let it run for a good time before setting the hook, and it was on.

Landed a very husky 8' grinner ;D

Pulled the hook, got it back in the water and it swam away like a champ.

We yaked out another bait and waited for another hour or so with no action, so with the beach starting to fill up with turistas we called it at 11.

They're still out there kids. It's not easy, but they're there.

Beats the hell out of fishing for flatheads ;D

Anybody got any tuna heads ;D


3
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Thursday Night Soak
« on: July 20, 2018, 02:24:34 PM »
Hit our favorite spot last night hoping to beat the big surf and accompanying salad bar. We fished the outgoing tide starting at 6:00pm. Salad was not a problem. We yaked out baits and shore cast. We saw two large sharks breach completely out of the water, so we know they're there.

But other than critters picking our baits to death, nothing :(

Oh well, nice to know they're still around. We're going to try to give it one last shot Saturday AM before the surf totally shuts us down for the next week.

 ;D

4
Tackle Talk / Lies, Damnable Lies, and Fishing Gear Specs
« on: July 19, 2018, 08:47:44 AM »
I learned a long time ago that all of the reel manufacturers fudged on their line capacities. No matter how meticulous I was in matching line/reel specs, every reel would hold significantly less line then the manufacturer claimed. Back then I always had my reels spooled by a pro in a tackle shop, and they all told me the same thing, all the reel manufacturers lie.

Now, as I keep upgrading my gear and trying out new lines, the more I learn about rods and reels, the more it's apparent that all the fishing equipment manufacturers test their stuff in different ways to produce a spec that looks great on the Internet or sounds good when you're talking to your buddies, but you'll never actually get it when fishing. Or if you did, it would destroy your gear.

Part of the problem is that there are no standardized tests conducted by an independent organization. What's worse, I've also been informed that there are a couple of people who are basically banned from the large fishing shows because they dared to speak the truth.

Reel capacity. Max drag. Line diameter. Line strength. Abrasion resistance. Rod ratings...

I was speaking with a buddy of mine who is thinking about a new spinning rod. He, like a lot of us, would like a little more distance. A little more backbone. He likes to try to upgrade his gear a little bit each year. I remember when I thought $75 was a lot of money for a fishing rod. Now that I understand the differences in performance, $200 looks like a bargain. I'm happy with the rod I have, but I know there are better ones out there. I'm happy with the reel that I have, but a two speed sure would be nice.

But with all the bullsh!t out there clouding the market, it makes comparisons really hard and buying gear that will actually meet the specs you need even harder.

All I can suggest is don't believe everything you read. Talk to guys that know what they're talking about that have used the same gear, and if possible, caught big fish with it if that's your goal because a lot of gear works great until you actually fight a monster or two with it and then it's beat to sh!t.

Ok, rant over, now I have to go learn about Cone of Flight and some new 16 strand braided fishing line ;D   

5
Fishing Talk / Surf's Up Again!
« on: July 19, 2018, 07:55:23 AM »
What is it with all this monster surf? It's killing me. We're trying like hell to get the long rods working, but all the huge surf just tears up the kelp and makes it next to impossible. We're going to give it a shot tonight. While not ideal conditions this time of year, there are leos, and a few soup fins around.

Hope it's fishable tonight, because it sure looks like it's going to be either the bay or ghetto beach for the next couple of Saturdays >:(


6
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Hello Old Friend
« on: July 14, 2018, 07:24:36 PM »
We decided to hit up our favorite spot that we haven't been able to fish in forever because of the salad. Got there at O'Dark Thirty to one of the lowest tides I've ever seen there, -1.5'. Really gave a completely different picture of the structure. Best part... no f@cking weeds ;D

So we get 6 serious chunks of bait ready and yak them out.

I was so stoked to actually be able to get a shore cast line out, it's been forever. Surf wasn't bad, 2'-4', the 8oz sputnik had no problem holding. Threw out tied on 'dines, and there were actually signs of life!!! Some swings and misses, then something sticks and after a fierce battle that seemed like forever I landed a monster Long Arm Taco Shark ;D

Of course after the tide swung, the kelp monsters started showing >:(

So I ditched the hand cast gear, and we concentrated on the big stuff. About 11:00am it's time to clean the lines and reset baits so we get the yak out and naturally the lifeguard boat comes by and cuts all of our long lines >:(

So with the tide really coming in bringing more kelp monsters with it, we decided to call it. Oh well, it was great to at least be able to fish our favorite spot again 8)

Long Arm Taco Shark


7
Fishing Talk / Surf's Up!
« on: July 02, 2018, 03:16:58 PM »
God Bless America! I want to fish the beach, I really do, but at this rate I'm scared there's not going to be any sand left and we're going to have to use salad spikes for rod holders.



8
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Proper Form
« on: July 02, 2018, 11:31:52 AM »
I've witnessed a number of anglers struggling with fish on the long gear recently.

Here, I demonstrate proper form while bringing in a nice sized ray.

Head up, back straight, rod at 45 degrees, left foot forward in a balanced athletic stance, lit cigarette.

If you need to lean back on a monster, keep your back straight and let your ankles be the pivot point.

Use this technique and you'll be able to fight big fish longer, harder and your back will thank you later ;D




9
Fishing Talk / Salad Forecast
« on: June 26, 2018, 07:43:23 AM »
I don't know how much more of this I can take. Looking at the surf, er, salad forecast has me bummed yet again. Coming into the last week of the surf fishing contest and it looks like our choices are:

1. Try to fish a beach where we know there are fish but can't get them because of the salad.
2. Try to fish a beach where there's a small chance they might be there, but there's also a decent chance there will be salad and the fishing window is limited because of the summer crowds and restricted hours.
3. Fish the ghetto beach, and hope you don't get stuck with a hypodermic needle.
4. Fish the pier and battle the crowds. No wait, pier caught fish don't count.
5. Fish the local lake for catfish.
6. Drive north or south, try to find a beach without salad and poach the locals.
7. Load up the SPF 50, a 12 pack, and hit the bay for a $5 Smelt Nassau.

Oh well, at least the stores are running great deals on beer for the 4th of July ;D

10
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Going with the flow
« on: June 23, 2018, 09:00:54 AM »
Sometimes you just have to take what God gives you and go with the flow.

Oh well, I really needed a couple of beers, the weather was perfect and we even caught a couple of bait rays.

All in all, not a bad way to spend a Friday afternoon 8)


11
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Tough Beach
« on: June 17, 2018, 12:57:54 PM »
With all of our go to spots overrun by kelp monsters, we decided to check on a different section of beach on our new Plan B AO.

Man, talk about a tough beach. I don't know if this section of beach is where all the garbage ends up, but there was a lot of it. Not going to lie, you want to wear shoes because you're afraid you're going to get stuck with a hypodermic needle and get AIDs or something worse.

Judging from the amount of jetty monkeys and trout huggers, this spot must produce something, but it sure didn't Saturday. We had lines in before the sun came up, had a bunch of different baits on different rigs at different distances and depths but got nothing but a snagged butterfly ray on an imitation LC. Don't know if it was because the weather turned cold or if this section of beach is just different from where we fished last weekend, but we got bubkis.

You get a stripe, and you get a stripe, everybody gets a stripe!

Can't wait for the kelp monsters to go away so we can get back to our normal spots and catch some real fish instead of living vicariously through Mike's posts  >:(

Don't fish this beach alone or you might end up like the mouse ;D




12
Tackle Talk / Shameless Plug for Terra Firma Tackle
« on: June 12, 2018, 10:22:38 AM »
Got to give a couple of thumbs up to some of the cool stuff from Terra Firma Tackle.

First item I'm really liking is the Heavy Bait Elastic. At $3.00, it's a must have for me now. I use it to tie on Mack heads, tails and chunks. Keeps the critters honest and gives your bait more time in the water before the thieves steal it. Absolutely essential for using sardines too.  http://terrafirmatackle.com/product/heavy-bait-elastic-200m/

Second item is the Universal Grip Lead Sinker Converter. These things are cool. Basically they are a sputnik attachment that lets you use any kind or weight of lead sinker you want to. At $6.00 for two of them, brings your cost down to $3.00 each and lets you use cheaper pyramid sinkers too. Used them several times now in heavy current and they really hold. And I really like the bait clip down that's built into them too. Perfect for pulley rigs, three way rigs, or whatever you want to really heave out there. http://terrafirmatackle.com/product/universal-grip-lead-sinker/

Third item is not up on the website yet, but I think Spencer has them for sale. These are a longer variation of the little plastic weight sliders we use on fish finder rigs. The normal sliders we can get are shorter and tend to get twisted up with smaller diameter braid line, the heavy sputniks we throw and the stronger currents we fish. These have a smaller diameter and also have a groove cut in them so that the weight can swivel around the line without tangling it. Been using them for awhile now and they have become a part of my go to bottom rig. Hit Spencer up directly to get your hands on some.

Fourth item I want to pimp is the new tip lights we've been field testing. Sorry, no pics, they aren't officially for sale yet. I bugged Spencer about tip lights, so he finds these and orders some in to test. These are small lithium ion battery tubes with a tiny diode light on the end that you push in and pull out to turn on and off. About the same size as a chemical glow stick. I was looking for a cheaper alternative to glow sticks that didn't suck. These are cool. They are actually brighter than glow sticks and the other battery lights we've tested them against. There is a USB battery charger too. But Spencer didn't know how long they would last, or if the batteries would get hot and melt rods or start fires. So we started testing. I can't tell you how long they last because all the lights I got are still working. Haven't tried the recharger yet for the same reason. But they're pretty cheap, and work great so far. You'll have to contact Spencer directly to see if he has any left ;D

13
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Caught fish last night
« on: June 12, 2018, 09:45:27 AM »
A buddy flew in from Chi Town yesterday and had some time to kill, so we hit the sand. With all the surf and salad, we decided to hit the bay. Monster tide of 6.2' covered the beach and forced us up onto the hill. A lot of salad on the move in the bay, but it was fishable. Just before sundown, my conventional reel starts to scream, and it's a nice bat. First decent sized fish I've fought with the conventional and the X Heavy Penn Prevail. Big difference from my Ugly Stiks. You can really put the hurt on critters with that thing. You also get the hurt put on you, but I think it's worth it. I like to control my monsters, and that thing definitely took the fight out of the ray in a hurry. Taped out to 41.5", not a monster, but the largest ray I've caught so far this year ;D

With a nice one on the sand, it was time for my buddy to lose his cherry. Nothing big, but he managed to land a couple of nice bats and a bunch of sting rays, so he was pretty stoked. It was a school night for both of us, so we called it at 9:30.

Sorry I didn't get the pick with the measure. We were on the side of the hill and just as I was about to snap the pic she decides to flap and slides back into the water. Seeing as it wasn't going to win the contest and she was very pregnant and about to pop, we called it a good release and let her go ;D


14
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Hit a New Spot
« on: June 10, 2018, 08:55:24 AM »
With the high surf and salad chasing us off our normal spots, we decided to try a new spot that geographically should have been sheltered from the surf and salad. We also had some intel that threshers were in the area, and given the structure of the spot, reachable with hand casts from the shore. So we hit the sand at 4:30 am. Surf was non existent and so was the salad. Ok, there was a little salad, but after what we've been dealing with, it was nothing. Rigged with floats and mono because we were going after threshers. We dropped baits to see if it would make any difference, and tossed out a couple from shore. Got a ton of action on the hand cast rods, but it was mostly critters. Still, it kept us busy. Landed 3 small smooth hounds, a sand bass, a 30 inch class bat, a decent shovey, and a star fish. Star fish was fair caught ;D

The dropped baits got some love taps, but no commitments. Then one of the dropped baits goes off, but when we get it in the mono had been cut. We didn't think this spot would hold those kinds of grinners, so we sent it back out with some heavier gear and a nice chunk of fresh bat ray. Yeah, yeah, I know. It still bothers me. But if that's what the big boys and girls wanna eat ;D

We got a little more love on the dropped baits, but nothing stuck. We were running out of bait and the beach was starting to fill up with tourists, so we punched out at 1:00pm.

No trophies, but at least we got out on the big pond, kept busy and caught some fish. Was secretly hoping for a nice 'butt, but no go. Guy fishing up the beach from us caught one, and we did have a bunch of nice bites that came back with missing or mauled baits, but it just wasn't our fate that day.

Not liking the surf forecasts, but it is what it is and there's still 20 days left to win the contest 8) 

15
Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Salad City in The OC
« on: May 28, 2018, 08:31:30 AM »
After the big surf restocked the salad bar in The OC this past week, surf fishing has been next to impossible for long rodders. Even with relatively flat surf this weekend, the kelp monsters have made it hard to keep lines in the water even with yakked baits. That's the bad news. The good news is they're out there. Guys have caught threshers off the piers and we had a nice 7 gill and soupie on yakked baits from the sand along with evidence of fish to 16+ feet off our shores. Guys have been getting some decent fish with the trout gear from the skinny too but they are having to work hard to find open patches of water holding fish.

With a sinus infection still kicking my ass, I decided I couldn't stand not getting out for two weeks so a buddy and I decided to hit the Back Bay during the day to at least get some lines wet. We tried a different spot because it has drive up access and the tide conditions made it fishable during the day. We were hoping to make some grinner bait, but it didn't happen. Steady bite of small stuff, sting rays, keychain leos, etc. I did have the clicker on my baitcaster scream out, but it turned out to be a large smelt. In hindsight, I probably should have measured it or something because it might have been a world record smelt. It was pretty big, but still, who wants a line record for smelt >:(

I also got word of an encounter in close to shore. By encounter I mean somebody who knows what they're talking about kicked something big in the head, and by close I mean first trough 20' from shore close. So I'm hoping the kelp monsters and surf cooperate so I can get some hand cast chunks in the water soon.

Hope everybody has a great Memorial Day, I got to go fire up the Q and ice down some beers ;D



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