Been too long away from the shark fishing. Virus leaves nowhere to wait out the crowds, and messes with Tom's work schedule.
Decided to just hit the beach and sleep late on Sunday morning.
I arrived just after sunset. Beach was packed, so I took my time and hit the sand about last light.
Set up and got a bait in the water, and Tom showed up a bit later.
Killer night. Rising tide, small surf, water was cooler than it has been, but not as cold as I thought after hearing all the talk.
Not that great a picture, but you get the idea.
Tom strikes first with a small bass on his first cast. That is never a good sign.
I was next with a huge knockdown that just disappeared when I grabbed the rod. Ugh.
Tom was getting pestered by bass bites. Nothing would get the hook, but he barely got a chance to sit between bites.
I got another clicker ripper and set the hook on this one. Been so long, I wasn't sure if it was a bat or a shark. Then it made itself clear and Tom made the grab on a nice leopard. Thanks.
A little bit later, I get another screamer. Grabbed the rod, felt the fish, then nothing. Going 1 for 3 at this point. Not so hot, but at least I got one on the beach.
Things calmed down for me, Tom was still feeding the bass. Then another screamer, and another dropped fish. 1 for 4. Not good at all.
Tossed another bait and minutes later another bite. Ripping line out. I jumped up grabbed the rod and it is on. And it stayed on all the way to the beach. Same fight as the previous which I am now recalling is typical for the species so I call leopard. Yep, another nice one. Ratio is getting better.
We discuss when to take off for the evening, Tom has one more beer and its a shame to carry full cans back to the car, so I agree to hang around.
Tom gets a bite grabs the rod and reels all the way in. I could tell it wasn't a shark so I didn't pay much attention. Then I heard it. "Eel." Yuck. Hate those things.
I got one more nice bite before we packed it in.
Overall, a great night for me. No exotics, but got to pull on some good fish. Tom once again proved the first cast curse is alive and well, even in this day and age.
We agreed to get out more often from now on. Just need to figure out when.
