Been chasing the elusive Southern California Striper for quite some time. This morning everything came together and I was rewarded. Cold and windy conditions this AM. Cant remember the last time i was fishing a Spinning rod with gloves on. Went yesterday and didnt get any bites. Kept at it this morning and it took over an hour before I got my first hit. The bite of life time. I was fishing the new color Lucky Craft Flash minnow 110 Zebra MS American Shad. On my new reel, Shimao Stradic 4000 which for my first catch on isnt to bad!
Casted that lure out and all of a sudden it gets smashed! What a battle this fish was. Drag pulling, rod bendo, fish jumping all over the place. The reel did a great job too. Ill never forget the memory of first seeing those stripes in the water. Now to land this fish onto the rocks was a challenge. Almost broke me off twice around some mussels stuck to the rocks.
I was praying to the fish gods for a safe landing. Today was my lucky day.
What a battle and one I soon wont forget. 25.5 inches and 6.4 pounds
2018-02-25_11-33-36She had a fat belly and was eating very well
2018-02-25_11-34-25Some people were commenting this fish might be some sort of hyrbrid??
2018-02-25_11-35-08 2018-02-25_11-34-01Super stoked I was able to land this beautiful fish! A battle still fresh in my mind.
Thanks for reading my report and good luck out there!
Until next tide.
Joel