There are still Wahoo , Tuna and Dodo being caught locally, but I needed a local trip to get my fix.
Steve and I planned to hit the local scene and see what's up.
We usually head north, but saw a ton of birds working the south, so we shot over to see what was up! It was wide open on mackerel as well as the 3 B's! It's been many moons since we saw the local 3-B's!
Bonito
Bass
Barracuda (Snotsticks)
We caught a few dozen assorted macks and ran up to the Ling Grounds to see what we could come up with. Steve got nailed on the first drop and I had a few observations on the entire fight.
First of all, I know Steve likes to keep a tight drag and I'm right there with him. He got a hit and almost ripped the rod out of his hands.
I have never seen him lay into a fish like this before and was certain he had it in the open zone. The Beetch did not want to come up even with Steve's buttoned down 80 pound and I have never seen Steve put his back into a fight like this especially on the BIG gear! He would gain 20 yards and lose it with the slightest slip.
It finally bested him and his first drop proved deadly... I was just as bummed as I saw it fighting and knew it was something huge.
Well, after a few drops and a few destroyed baits, we went out looking for Yellows or Blues really deep.
Fishing was really slow and we lost a few nice fish, but I finally hooked up with a legit Blue Ling! I've caught Blue Ling before, but this sucker was beyond anything I've ever caught or seen!
We caught a few barely legal ling we immediately released and even got some fish we were trying to avoid. Squatch was the Boccaccio King!
Grouper #1
Bait Waster #2
Rockfish were hard to come by, but I at least managed something decent!
We decided to run back to the spot we saw all the life and found it became a dead zone. Steve was the Smelt King though!
The fish were all throwing up micro sardines!
Big Blue Versus the Bait....
This was one of the bluest lings that I have ever caught. The meat told the story.
Normal Versus Blue
It was a great trip even though we didn't get the color we were looking for, but a great day on the water especially since the big winds are on the way!
Time to get the big surf sharks! I got plenty of great baits and ready to put the hurt on them!
Until Next Tide!
