surfers who fish.

Thanks,
I like blues too, they just don't freeze well. and these were really oily. Bled these right away and filleted them soon after but they were so oily. Soaked them over night in the fridge with milk and the next morning they were a bit firmer. Ended up making a huge bowl of salad with them. breakfast this morning on a fresh sesame bagel. Lunch too.

I want to try smoked. I revamped my fire pit and can use it for grilling. Probably not a big lift to set something up for smoking too. It's just to darn hot for fire.

Get those macks. There tasty! Easy to clean too. Look fwd to running into them again. I put together 7 ft rod with a bit more backbone and a reel with a longer spool and higher gear ratio to burn the tins on, get better casting distance and line capacity. Something just for pelagics. A 4000 size reel should be plenty but mine are kinda cheap and old. Not sure how much more they can take. When working those blues they looked a little warped. Plus maybe I can get them in quicker for a safer release. That is ever put something back. I get a little nutzo in the moment.

 

Been catching lots of robin but finally found a pod of fluke this morning. All under sized but at least I know I'm doing it right. Just need to find em.

 

wind knots drive me insane.

But as an edit I took a walk later looking for pelagics. Got a knot 2nd cast but was able to get it out. I didn't catch a thing. Had a few Robin's on that kicked off and snappers were biting the curly tails off the gulp but that's it.

Sick sunset though and as I pick up some trash hiking out I found a Thomas the tank engine and a almost brand new bone colored zara spook lure that I can't wait to try. It's only 4" but heavy enough to cast a mile.

Last thing I found was a kool-aid juice bag un opened as it washed a shore. Grape flavored. OH YEAH! THAT SOME TASTY DRINK.

 

Spent some time on the wharf yesterday morning with my daughter. Crab trap and snapper rods.

Lot of fish. Peanut bunker, needlefish swimming on top and puffers in the traps. Started to put bait on trebles to catch more puffers. Filled a bucket with water so they could swim around. Had planned to take them home but the sad eyes came out cause "they're just too cute to eat". Let em all go. Got a crab lunch out of it. They're not so cute I guess.

 

Hit the water for the 1st time since Earl.
No waves but thought I'd check a couple of fishin spots. Been fishing a little but haven't caught much. Lot of bait but nothing showing at the 1st stop. Lost a bucktail on the 2nd cast. Was over it fast. I just felt it wasn't working.

So I'm tooling around looking for good set ups in back but decided to toss some tin with the wind on the ocean side and see what's around. Behind my fav spot is a big tidal pond that holds steamers and lots of bait. Had a snapper pole with me so I threw out a little cast master and got a tiny snapper 1st try. Waded around for a few hrs and slayed em. A couple were bigger but they were so oily I kept none. Caught needle fish and a few dare I say0 Jack's? Some kind of weirdo croaking fish. Silver with yellow fins like a jack. Good fight too.

Seems silly but I needed that trip. The pond was warm. The air crisp. The bait fish were nipping my feet. Ospreys and herons and such. I stared at screens to much this week. Speaking of which.... I'm signing off

 

So I kept at it at this tidal area all weekend. The wind howled all weekend and fishing the shores was tough.

I got together with a good friend and we went back to the same spot with two ultra lights and slayed snappers all morning. more importantly i got another Jack and my pal confirmed it was indeed a juvenile Crevalle Jack. Also in this tidal area we had a small shark just gliding around our feet.

The best part about it is this guy is just retired and not long after he put in his notice he got into a fight with cancer. He is ok now but it was good to see him giggling like I was the day before. We kept a bunch of the big ones and they were delicious. Just a quick lightly seasoned sear with tomatoes. Had some left over pork fried rice on the side. Also some spare ribs that were reheated under the coals from the fire pit. Oddly, no alcohol was imbibed.

Back on the beach the next morning for family day. Took a walk and slayed again with the kids. Same delight even without a shark sighting. came to me that this spot is the perfect training ground. it has structure and marsh grass, varying depths and shallows, points and coves, and with the wind blowing you have to practice different casts. Low side-arm casts into the wind and fish to your feet. With the wind let it rip, reel back slow, and let the wind current create the motion. it was family affair and all of us giggled. Even though some spots smelled like poo.

looks like swell on the way so time to put the fishing gear aside, get my house in order and and wax a step-up

So much fun.

 

it's not a seal.

Full Moon is upon us and the Fall bass have come on. Big ones too. Most are too big to keep. I went one evening, had them on but kept loosing them. Most fish are way over slot so although I'm haunting myself ( drag to tight? too loose?, hooks not sharp?, pole too light? WTF?), I'm almost OK cause I would probably just have to release anyway and why inflict damage on the Momma's. On the other hand, almost every fish I saw landed either rivaled or way out classed my personal best so of course I'm still going back to try my luck again, test my gear and technique. I can't be loosing fish!

Oddly enough my 1st fish was a keeper fluke @almost 3lbs that grabbed the plug right my feet. Eating it tonight just breaded and baked. At least I'm putting food on the table. Black fish opens soon too.

 

Me when I drop one....

but after landing one...…

Got off the snide this morning. Perfect fish weather. crisp air with some cloud cover. Little bit of white water washing over a bar into a deep trough close to shore. water looked clear. Dropped one early on a plug. I've dropped a couple already this fall and it's been bringing me down. Switched to a sand eel lure that has never worked and finally sank the hook. Twice! Two nice bass in the slot. Took one home for the table. The belly was full of calico crab.

Having a scale is killing my fish stories. 32". At that length I would say 12 lbs for fall. Scale said just less than 9lbs.