Steve and I hit the bar for happy hour and wait out the beach crowds last night. We decided to try the Back Pocket spot as we have not been there in some time, but realized why we rarely frequent it... LOTS of SALAD on every cast! I was pretty glad though as on my first cast, I caught a guitarfish to get the skunk off early.
It was soon apparent that fishing here was not going to happen. I walked down the beach a few hundred yards looking for cleaner water, but there was no such thing. We did something next that we would rarely do... pack up all of our gear back into the trucks and take a good drive to another spot.
We were hopeful this place would pan out, but on our first casts, we had even MORE GRASS and KELP! Good gravy!!!
Steve looked like he was done for the evening after losing a few rigs, but I walked 40 or so yards past him to see if I could find a clean spot. I was shooting the sh!t with him when my rod goes doubling over and screaming out line! Bouncy rod and everything so I made the 40 yard dash as fast as I could. I dumped a good amount of line and was deep in the braid, but it was the right kind. It never came to the surface and made some blistering runs, so I'm pretty sure it was a Soupie. I finally turn him and start working him in when a wave and a roll by the shark knocks him off the hook! NOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooo!!!!!
Strike 1Steve moves over and is more inclined to fish now that I lost one. On my next cast I get the 7-gill rod bounce and run over to literally lose him the millisecond I grabbed the rod. I wanted to do a 5-minute rule, but there was some reef around and I didn't want to lose a rig, so reeled in to rebait.
Strike 2Steve gets on the board with a bass and I get one myself. We actually got into a big flurry of bass, but even they were somehow finding ways to pop off the hook before we had a chance to beach them..
It's now pretty late for us and we are ready to pack it in. Check that, Squatch has already packed it in. I'm standing next to my rod when I notice my sand spike staring to fall. I grab the rod and look up to see that I'm on!! I set the hook and feel it thumping like a Sevengill! No way! On the last cast!
Well, as the fish gods would have it, they didn't want me catching and somehow a THIRD shark unhooked itself...
Strike 3I am not a happy camper and couldn't leave on that note, so i pinned a whole big mackerel on the hook without cutting it and heaved it out for one last cast.
Of course, I see the rod bounce and held the rod in my hands waiting for it to load up. Steve was done and started walking back, so i reeled in my bare hook since I have of coursed lost whatever bit me that time.
It was late getting home and 4am rolled around pretty quickly.
Oh well... Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda been a 3 shark night but the fish gods decided it wasn't to be. At least there was some action with the right kind of critters but I'll have to take them on for a rematch here soon.
Thanks for reading and until next HIGH tide!!!!
