Sorry this is late, but we're still licking our wounds
With the surf up and full of salad, the big pond was not an option. That meant that the Super Top Secret Spot was out and our only option was the bay. With the Bat Fight rules prohibiting fishing from the jetties and docks, fishing during the day was a scratch too. But that's Ok, the Sheriffs are kinda d!cks when it comes to drinking beer and smoking on the docks anyways, especially during the day. But that's really nothing new for us, serious Bat Ray fishing in The OC is a night time sport
So we hit the Secret Spot around 6:30pm. With a 5.2' high tide at 11:48pm, we knew we were going to run out of beach and our locations were going to be limited. We basically had only 3 areas that could be fished, so we deployed according to our prearranged battle plans. We had the Noobs in spot one, Batastrophy, Gage and me anchored spot 2, and the young guns hiked to spot #3. All three spots have produced 50"+ fish in the past, but our guess was that #2 would be worth a couple of 40"s and if it was going to happen, #3 would produce the winner.
And that's exactly what happened. Except the winner part
We had lines in, tunes going, cold ones open and smokes burning everywhere. I counted at least 21 guys and over 40 rods.
Right on cue at 8:13 my rod goes bendo. The Old Guy shows the Noobs how it's done and puts a 42.5" on the sand like a boss.
With at least something respectable on the sand, I figure I can sit back, drink beer and let the young guns bring home the glory. About an hour later, Kyle's rod goes off and he's hooked into a Monster! It's about 200 yards down the beach from where I'm at, so I grab my beer and phone to post the winner. But just as I get there, he loses it. Dumb a$$ used a cheap Chinese knock off hook he bought on Amazon that straightened! Damn! Oh well, there's still time, at least we know they're out there. As I head back, the guys start screaming that my rod is going off. What do they expect a fat old man to do? Run 200 yards with a beer in his hand? Batastrophy grabs it but it's nothing big. Maybe another 40". But we'll never know because he farmed it 5' from shore
A few more beers, and I hook up again.
Nothing much until a little past 10:30pm. Happy hour and Nabeel's rod goes bendo
It's not as big as Kyle's, but it's got to be at least 52"+. Grab a fresh beer and wade over to record what's sure to be the winner. But alas, the damn thing found a rock or something sharp on the bottom and cut Nabeel off
In true OC style, we fished hard and partied on, but that was it for SNBF-IX...
