Author Topic: Freelance Friday (8/14)  (Read 1733 times)

Latimeria

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Freelance Friday (8/14)
« on: August 15, 2020, 07:15:52 AM »
Beautiful start to the morning!  I wasn't sure what I was going to fish for, so i brought a little bit of everything.  A true freelance trip...



The swell period was a little close, so the glassy look was a little more bumpy then the pictures show.  Well, actually not bumpy, but more like launching platforms on every wave at open throttle.  LOL

Mackerel were hard to find, but for some reason I was crushing the Salema...



...and Walleye Surf Perch?!?!?!



I finally found mackerel, but they were mostly sardine sized macks.  Perfect baits for bass and smaller critters along with some sardine and bigger macks in the mix.
Every small mackerel I put out got slammed.  Nothing was really big, so I didn't really have much to take pictures of.

The calico were all fat and happy and stuffed with small macks.



There were huge schools of sandies, but were all the same size with nothing big in the mix.



Every time I threw the iron out, I would get a slightly bigger mack or one of the million snot sticks!



I also hooked 3 baby WSB, but only got one in the boat.  It was at this point that I decided to troll some bigger macks and look for momma.



It's funny how things can take a wrong turn in a blink of an eye.  I was slow-trolling for yellowtail and something huge slams my mackerel.  I knew right away it was a Thresher Shark, and it was smoking my reel!  I didn't have the right reel for the size of this shark, so I chased it down with the boat and got it boat-side in about 30 minutes.  Roughly a 200# thresher and maybe 14 feet long from nose to tail.  I really didn't feel (or plan) on keeping it since I was solo, so I went to grab the tail so I could immobilize his major weapon. He snapped his tail in a split second right by my ear that I felt the end skim my hair and it sounded like a crack of a whip right by my head!  I am lucky I didn't lose my ear!  The shark got its bearing (after that bolt of adrenaline) and bolted while I still had the rod in hand and started screaming line off again.  This time his tail smacked my line (cutting it) and it swam off.  Pretty nuts and I'm glad I didn't lose an ear!  LOL.  Anyway, I was just going to try and get a hold of it so I could safely get a picture, but in the blink of an eye, that plan all changed.  Still, my biggest Thresher shark to date.

After that, I decided to run offshore and look for a paddy or troll around looking for tuna.  Water got warmer the further offshore I got, but also got greener.  I saw my first FAD on the way out and no one was home.



I saw no paddies, but just a bunch of loose strings with nothing around and trolled a bit.



It was getting later then I wanted to be out so I stopped on the way back to a deep spot looking to get a big red.  Only found some medium sized Starry Rockfish.  I fed two to the Sealions and called it quits.

It's going to be a nightmare on the water these next few weeks.  I heard people on the radio asking where the bait barge is and one even asking how you get out of the bay since they don't know where the inlet is.  New and first time boaters everywhere and it was an obstacle course just trying to get back to the ramp!

Well, i survived and it was a super fun trip even though that damn thresher just reminded me to be a little more cautious.

Thanks for reading... and stay safe out there.

(Besides bagging up the mackerel for catfish and smaller critter bait, I kept the perch and some selema for some surf bait.  i can't imagine a leopard would pass this up!

« Last Edit: August 15, 2020, 07:18:08 AM by Latimeria »
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1morecast

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Re: Freelance Friday (8/14)
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2020, 08:24:07 AM »
Glad that you still have an ear! Be extra careful fishing solo!
2016 Summer Shark Fishing Champion :)
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vdisney

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Re: Freelance Friday (8/14)
« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2020, 02:46:58 AM »
Awesome write up Tom...............glad the tail didn't get a piece of you.  Is that a NOAA buoy?
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SevengillTheVC

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Re: Freelance Friday (8/14)
« Reply #3 on: August 17, 2020, 12:44:15 PM »
Man threshers are cool, did you see OC lifeguards and police arresting that juvenile Thresher that washed up on the beach? and put it in an Animal Control vehicle?! Comedy gold. I would've liked to see a 200lb thresher but I understand it throwing around a 8 ft sword is pretty  unnerving.