My wife and her sister made plans to go to the beauty salon early Saturday morning. That's usually, an all-day affair, so, I decided to go fishing. I had been hearing all week long about the high surf, strong winds, and salad. Well, I decided to give it the old college try anyway. So, I headed out. I got to the beach around 6:35 am. It was an incoming tide, with 1-2 foot waves, not much salad, and winds were pretty much not a factory. I fished for an hour with near perfect conditions and not a bite. Around 7:35 am, I threw out a center cut piece of mackerel. Ten minutes later, I see my rod doing the dance. I run to it, set the hook and I'm on. Tail slaps are happening, it's the right type of action. It's a really nice fight. I get it in close and I see the tail, and I say to myself, that's not a shark. Get it closer and I scream: Wow! I was hauling in a fish that is on my bucket list. Got it safely to shore, and quickly got the hook out. Then I realize, I'm the only person on the beach. No one to help me snap a picture. So, what you see below was the best I could do by myself. Fish was released unharmed and swam away strong. My first Black Sea Bass!
After that safe release, and she swam away strong. I packed up and went home.