Ran into Tom in Santucky, exchanged plans for the evening. Super high tide meant options for location were limited. Tom wasn't sure when he'd be done with daddy day care, said squatch was scoping beaches as we texted. Got to the spot to see the Squatch-Mobile already parked, cool waters chummed up already. Waders on and bait in the agua by 745, Squatch said he'd had a few bites. Tom shows up few mins into my 2nd soak, sets up south of me bracketing me in B) now I've got chum encompassing my soak area
bihn shows up 20-30mins after tom, full house. I get bit and get to the rod as it starts to run. Got anxious after a 5ft run and whiffed on the hook set
get another mack tail in the water and it's bit within 5mins. Serious screamin bite this time! Grab the rod and set the hook! SOUPS ON!!! Instant jump, then another, then a blistering run, then another jump, so awesome to see in the last bit of grey light! Starts runnin north, then at me, then west. As it switches directions back south I can feel it rolling and massive head shakes when suddenly I feel that sickening pop and slack and reel in weight and steel leader but no hook and crimp
felt like i was gonna puke for bout 5 mins, then the sickness turned to disgust in my lack of preparedness for the beast I was hunting. Sipped my beer and burned something to calm the rage building. Squatch threw some salt in my open wounds and said hes been there, thanks steve made my night lol! Rerigged and rebaited, launched another bait out and it came back lookin like a cartoon fish skeleton! Chopped a juicy lil mack in half and pinned the head on. Gave it a good chuck and grabbed my second guava islander ipa and cracked it open. Sent up a smoke signal and poured some out to the fish gods! Squatch walked down to talk to tom and bihn for a few mins, when my rod bounced and shook with that grinner wiggle, then she bent over and started screaming that glorious high pitched siren song! Get to the rod and set into another donkey! Serious weight and pull, then the herky jerky grinner dance began. she came to the surface and thrashed and splashed in the darkness several times. too dark and cloudy to see but I could feel her outta the water a few times. She ran west for a long time then ran back at me faster than I could keep up, thought I lost her on the initial blitzkrieg, as she got closer to the reef she ran north under squatch's line. luckily, he made his way back over at some point during the battle. I was in a tunnel fighting this monster, in my own world, and it wasn't until I finally got her into the skinny I realized Tom and Bihn were right behind me as Squatch finally had a shot at her in the Gnarley shore break. she spun free a few times then Bihn came down and the two tag team tailed her and she was finally subdued!
REDEMPTION SOUPIE!!!
Business End
we taped her out at 71" got the pics and I sent her back into the dark washing machine surge and watched her shoot through the shore break back home. Gave it another hour and a half and called it a night after my line got cluster f@cked in the kelp on my last soak. Bihn was still on the sand, buzzer beater grinner?
