Messages

31

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Legal Halibut In The Dark AM Report 6/9/17

« on: June 09, 2017, 03:54:28 PM »

Headed out again this morning, only had about 45 minutes to fish before I had to run off the sand and head to work. Conditions again were perfect. All the clumps of salad were gone. Low surf and again no wind! Little bits of weeds on every cast. Water was very active. With my headlamp on I could see a lot of activity in the water. Leopard Sharks, Saw a decent sized Bean cruising around. At times, I could see these eyes just cruising the skinny. Water temp has risen slightly. Lots of stingrays present. This is crazy but, I actually like seeing the Rays. It tells me they are feeding and that's a great sign. Saw these micro bait fish everywhere. Saw one up close finally as it was wounded. Maybe a inch and half long 2 inches max. I tried to look at the color and I couldn't really tell if it was a baby grunion? It seemed to have that pattern though.

Took a good 20 minutes before I got my strike and only strike of the morning. And what a solid hit it was. Drag was set just right and a fresh retie helped tremendously. This fish put up a pretty good fight. Kept the line tight the whole way in.

27 inch Halibut got beached and was safely released to get bigger and catch another day. Ran off the beach. Pretty darn happy!

Here's some pictures.



Very close to 27.5



Mug shot with the Lucky Craft Flash Minnow 110 Metallic Sardine. Middle hook removed. Izorline 12#





Hope you guys get out there this weekend and hit the beach. This grunion will bring in the big fish! Good luck and be safe out there.

Thanks for reading. Tight lines.

Joel

32

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / 3 Legal Halibut Morning AM Report In NC 6//8/17

« on: June 08, 2017, 07:49:17 PM »

Headed out this morning and was on the beach at 3:30AM. Arrived to great conditions. No wind when I pulled up. As soon as I got down to the beach though I saw clumps of Seaweed everywhere. I was thinking to myself not good at all!

Found a spot that was a little weedy but definitely fishable. Waves were up a little and it was misting. June gloom in full effect. The one great thing I did see was alot of Silver streaks in the water. Always glad to see baitfish. Started casting the Lucky Craft 110 FM in Metallic Sardine. Took about 15 minutes before I got any action. But when the action hit the action sure stayed.

First Halibut was 22 inches and gave a nice couple of runs.





Released that one and ran back out and casted some more and got hit with a nice 23 inch Halibut.



Put up another nice fight and some nice drag runs too.



Ran back out again and another cast, another hit. This was a shortie Halibut. Still fun catching them though.



First light had arrived and I was already smiling from ear to ear at this point. Decided to try a few more casts before I had to go. This Halibut hit in close again. Again I saw it chase the lure up close to me. I would never think these big fish are so close to me. I'd think I would step on it eventually. It really amazes me. This Halibut inhaled the Lucky Craft and took some real nice drag runs. Finally after the last big wave crashed I beached my Halibut.

26 Inch Halibut.





It was hard getting the lure out of this Halibuts mouth, even without the middle treble . Kept the 26 inch halibut and safely released the others.

Look at those teeth!



What a fun morning on the sand. Nobody else on the beach and no surfers. ahhhhhhhhhhh I'll take it!

[

What a fun morning of fishing. Nobody else on the beach and no surfers. AHHHHHHHHHHH I'll take that any day!

Grunion run comin up. Should be for some great fishing.

Good luck out there everyone and thanks for reading.

Until next tide. Lines tight.

Joel

33

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: Redemption Soup 6/6/17

« on: June 08, 2017, 07:48:51 PM »

Nice Soupie! Congrats man! 

34

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: Bonus Night 6/1/17

« on: June 06, 2017, 04:34:51 PM »

Nice solo session, Steve. Nice to see a decent sized Leo being caught. I see them in the skinny all the time. Like the pic of that Spider Crab!

35

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Memorial Day Legal Halibut AM Report 5/29/17

« on: May 29, 2017, 05:10:22 PM »

Headed out this morning and arrived to the beach to great conditions yet again. The surf has really cooperated this long weekend. Barely any waves! Chucking the LuckyCraft 115 Surf Pointer in Aurora Black.

About 20 minutes in I get a hit. Shortie Halibut butt still lots of fun.





I did see a red Tuna Crab still alive on the beach. Weird thing was, there was only one. Im used to seeing them in big numbers.



Kept casting and another 15 minutes goes by and I get a nice strike! This fish fought well and made a few nice drag runs before I beached her. Ended the session with a nice 24.5 inch Halibut.








mug shot



Water shot




Hope everyone had a great weekend. Until next tide!

Joel

36

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: Numbers Game-Striking While the Iron is Hot (5/27)

« on: May 29, 2017, 05:09:51 PM »

What a great outing! Nice one guys! Smiles says it all! Good job!

37

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Legal Grumpy Calicos AM Report 5/26/17

« on: May 26, 2017, 07:30:14 PM »

Last pre work session for 3 days! No more running off the beach and heading to work just in time. =)  Next three days should be fun! I'm hearing great weather and good surf ahead!

Armed with the Lucky Craft 110 FM Metallic Sardine I started casting. I could see silver streaks all over the water. Also saw what looked like a wounded Grunion or Smelt. It was pretty cool to see. Conditions were the same. Awesome! Water was a little chilly though to be honest! Quickly got used to it.

Took a good 20 minutes before I got a small Halibut to stick.

Foul hooked Halibut





That go to spot died, and that's all that was there. Time was running out and wanted to try a spot closer to the car.

Lots of bait fish around at this spot too. A few casts in and I feel a Whack! Set the hook and started battling this nice legal grumpy calico. These are alot of fun to fight in the surf.

18 Inch Calico







Released the fish and had a few more casts left in me. Another Calico hit, not as big but just as fun. Didn't measure it but it was decent size too.

Changed to the 115 LuckyCraft. That first Calico bent my hooks =(





Fun quick session for sure! Glad I get to take my time coming up the next few days. Again it was so quiet and relaxing out there all alone! Maygray  really has a grasp out there too!

Have a great weekend everyone. Thanks for reading.

Joel

38

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: Legal Halibut Early AM Session in NC 5/25/17

« on: May 26, 2017, 07:08:26 PM »

Hey Joel, your one of the few I know of that seems to fish the predawn darkness regularly so let me ask your opinion on this....Do you find the white/light colors always work best then? or only when there's no moonlight? If it would to be a full bright moon would you still go with the white or switch up to a dark or black to enhance the silhouette? Tell me what's up...
JOE

I really don't think the colors matter Joe. Its more being in the right place. I would use the Aurora black color too. My hooks bent out on that lure and white was all i had ready. I think if there is baitfish around it really doesn't matter. The fish are on the chew.
I really think the fish concentrate on the rattle of the lure and they can sense a lure moving through the water and they strike at it. I got a Halibut this morning and it got hooked on the body. IMO I dont think color matters at night. Day time I do believe color matters and matching the hatch is important.

Oh and its been cloudy lately every morning and super dark.

39

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Legal Halibut Early AM Session in NC 5/25/17

« on: May 25, 2017, 07:06:17 PM »

Was on the beach this morning and fishing at 3:30 AM. There is nothing better than being the first one on the beach. No surfers, no crowds. Ahhhhhh the peace and quiet is amazing. Had an hour and fifteen minutes before I had to head out to work, so I got right to it.  Conditions were nice. Not much wind, low surf, and not many weeds in the water. Activity in the water was all around me. Armed with the Daiwa Luvias 3000H on the Daiwa Coastal 7Ft. 12# test and chucking the LC 110FM Pearl White SD.

Missed about three fish before I finally got this little Halibut to stick.





After that continued to chuck the LC. Did I mention how peaceful it was out there? 

I saw a large Leopard shark swim by in front of me. That was pretty cool to see with the headlamp on.

time was running out only about 10 minutes to go I feel a hit on the LC and set the hook. This fish fought nicely and was alot of fun.

Ended up with a nice 23 Inch Halibut to end the session. So nice to be back in the water.

Legal Halibut pics





Righty and a lefty this morning




Teeth shot.



Looking forward to fishing the long holiday weekend! Good luck to everyone out there and be safe!

Thanks for reading and until next tide.

Joel 

40

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Legal Halibut and A New Personal Best AM Report 5/20/17

« on: May 21, 2017, 12:25:16 PM »

Headed out yesterday morning and was determined to get some quality fishing time in. Conditions were just perfect. Fished the 4.1 high tide at 5:15 AM. Second cast got a 10 inch Halibut. Tide was dropping fast and after that, I didn't get another bite for 2 hours. Decided to regroup and take a break. Headed out for some breakfast and thought of a new plan to fish the low tide.
Again the conditions were just ideal! Finally. No wind, clean water. low surf. And not much wind out there either. Armed with the LuckyCraft 115MR Aurora Black I started fishing 2 hours before low tide. About 20 minutes of continuous casting I felt a hit. Ended up with this nice Calico Bass.

 


Fished the same spot for another 30 minutes and no bites. Weather was perfect and there was crowds of people out enjoying the weather.
Decided to try another spot that has produced for me in the past. I just had no idea what was coming up for me next. Retied my lure and headed out casting. First cast I felt a bump and missed it. Second cast Same thing again. Didn't give up on the 2nd cast, and about 2 feet in front of me I saw this Halibut chase my lure. I paused and waited. Luckily the Halibut kept after the lure and I set the hook when I knew the Halibut had it! What an amazing battle this fish was. I almost fell down a couple times bringing this fish in and even lost a flip flop on the way in. I just remembered to keep the line tight the whole way in. The feeling of power that this Halibut had is something i'll remember for quite some time. After a solid 10 minute battle I reeled in my prize. A new personal best 32.5 inch Halibut. Fish weighed out at 13.9 pounds. The battle is still fresh in my mind. Its a great feeling!

Here are some pictures, and its so nice to be back out on the sand.













I was pretty happy!



The season is just beginning! Cant wait to see what happens next! Fish was pretty heavy too.



Thanks for reading my report and good luck out there.

Until next tide!

Joel 

41

Fishing Talk / Re: This week

« on: May 11, 2017, 06:01:32 PM »

Agreed...

42

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: Soup and Salad with a Side of Seven (5/9)

« on: May 11, 2017, 05:58:58 PM »

Nice job guys! Healthy looking Sharks right there! 

43

Fishing Talk / Re: Diving Birds on Bait

« on: April 12, 2017, 07:39:10 PM »

What's crazy is hearing how far the Gannets travel for that food. They save it and take it far back for their family. Impressive still! Birds on top and fish below. Great combo, and nice teamwork.

44

Fishing Talk / Re: Day At The Docks

« on: April 12, 2017, 07:34:53 PM »

Went down to late and the traffic sucked! One of these days hope to make it there. 

45

Fishing Talk / Re: Beijing Report

« on: April 12, 2017, 07:31:53 PM »

Great report! Thanks for sharing!