Messages

16

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: First shark from the rocks

« on: July 24, 2020, 04:11:53 PM »

Went to the local jetty to meet up with a buddy after work. Wasn’t even planning on bringing the long rod because landing a big critter from the jetty sounds terrible, but my buddy said he walked a leo to the beach from there a few days earlier so i thought what the heck. Started out with light rod just a c-rig with a #4 circle and a little shrimp. Broke off 4 times in about 20 min. Got frustrated and set up the long rod. Threw out a whole mackerel and went to retie the light setup. Not even two minutes go by and bendo!!! The reel is screaming and luckily it is heading straight out! tighten the drag just a bit to make sure the circle hook is nice and tight. While i’m trying to turn her north I got a few jumps First was just a head slap couldn’t tell forsure what it was but a few seconds later full breach and it was all silver!! I loosen the drag and let her keep running north with my rod held high and try and make way down the rocks to the beach. Got her to the beach fairly quick after that taped at 68” got a few pics and sent her on her way! Pretty hectic running down the rocks but fun. Got my pb shovelnose after that no measure but got some pictures such cool fish! Stoked to get on big one finally! Once again can’t seem to get the pics but i’ll post the links. Thanks for reading!

Congrats! Really nice fish!

17

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: Family Beach Day 20200708

« on: July 10, 2020, 10:56:59 AM »

I know I've been quiet lately.  Lots of things going on that put fishing much lower on the radar lately.
I took yesterday off work so I could spend the day at the beach with my wife, kids, and other family.
It was a great day!  My nephews have been wanting to see a shark for a long time, so I brought my long rod, but the market only had one lone mackerel left.  Made the most of it and an hour into the second soak, line starts ripping off my reel.
We were on a pretty crowded beach, so I played it most of the way in to steer it away from the swimmer.  Let my nephew take control when it got in the waves so I could grab it. 
Big, beautiful Leopard shark!  Pretty sure it would be my new PB, but I didn't measure it since I was doing so much show and tell haha!
Everyone got a kick out of seeing it, and my nephews were thrilled!
Good to feel the tug again!
Hope y'all are doing great!

Congrats, Chad! Really nice Leo!

18

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: 6/22 TNGC CREW FO LIFE

« on: July 03, 2020, 02:54:13 PM »

Nice job Dre! Sorry i couldn’t make it out. Hopefully soon! Looks like a solid night.

Thanks, Josh! Yes, lets hit the sand together sometime soon.

19

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: 6/22 TNGC CREW FO LIFE

« on: July 03, 2020, 02:52:33 PM »

Awesome Andre!  So stoked for you!!

Thanks, Chad!

20

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: 6/22 TNGC CREW FO LIFE

« on: July 03, 2020, 02:51:04 PM »

Very Nice boss!  Congrats! I want to see Mike with a big ray.  His back must hurting as well as his head thinking it might be a monster shark.   

Need some intel for the shark list.  Incoming or Outgoing?  Baits?  Length or guestimates?  I'll get the list updated when I get back work work today.

TNGC....

Thanks, those are some great fish pics you are posting on Facebook.

21

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: 6/22 TNGC CREW FO LIFE

« on: July 03, 2020, 02:49:58 PM »

Super stoked for you my brother.......glad to see we're not the only ones wearing masks   

Thanks, Vern!

22

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: 6/22 TNGC CREW FO LIFE

« on: July 03, 2020, 02:49:37 PM »

It was a great night! Stoked you finally got some. The whole crew has beat the grinner skunk this year.

Thanks, Mike! TNGC!!

23

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: Popped my cherry

« on: July 02, 2020, 07:51:49 PM »

First post here and first real shark! Hit the sand about 4pm a couple nights ago about an hour before high tide. Caught some bait pretty quick (yfc) and put em on the big rod and sent em out. No takers for the first couple hours then i went to reel in my bait when i see a big bounce, slack, then screamer ran over to set the hook tightened the drag but hooked pulled after a few seconds. Sent out more and waited another few hours for a bite. Tide had pushed out quite a bit and i needed to reset my bait but didn’t want to wade it out again. So i just sent it from ankle deep water walked back to the rod holder and reeled in my slack when i finished reeling i felt a bump, oh no kelp already but it bumped again and then took off. Took me for quite the walk down the beach maybe 150 yards saw it finning but thought it was just a huge leo got it in a little closer and boom! My first soupfin!!! made all the cold nights worth it! Taped at 69” can’t wait to get on some more if they decide to stick around for a few more weeks 🤞(can’t seem to get my pictures uploaded from my phone any tips would be appreciated!)

Congrats! nice soupfin!

24

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: 6/22 TNGC CREW FO LIFE

« on: June 26, 2020, 11:59:04 AM »

Very Nice boss!  Congrats! I want to see Mike with a big ray.  His back must hurting as well as his head thinking it might be a monster shark.   

Need some intel for the shark list.  Incoming or Outgoing?  Baits?  Length or guestimates?  I'll get the list updated when I get back work work today.

TNGC....

Both on an Incoming tide and cut centerpiece of Mack, the length of the first was 72 inches, the second was about 69 inches.

25

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / 6/22 TNGC CREW FO LIFE

« on: June 23, 2020, 10:31:17 AM »

I had a great time hooking up with Mike, and Binh last night to do a little fishing. It turned out to be a good night. Mike and Binh started the festivities off, by landing some very nice corbina and yellowfin croaker. I on the other hand landed a small round stingray. As the sun went down, and the long rods were put in play, Binh landed a really nice Leo, and Mike put a back-breaking bat ray on the sand. I managed to land two very nice Soupfin. All in all, it was a good night on the sand with the real TNGC crew  .

26

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: 6/20 Report By The Numbers

« on: June 21, 2020, 10:53:16 AM »

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!

I fished last night June 20th from 6pm to 10pm. I arrived on the sand to find overcast skies and a steady west breeze. The surf was pulling north and the water temp was around 68 degrees. I brought two rods to to do a little light line soaking while I waited on the elusive big game bite. I was using my 8.6 Shimano clarus w/ a 2500 Sahara spinning reel to catch some fresh bait. It didn't take long on my third cast I caught a 10" YFC that I cut up into thirds. The head was hooked onto my 10/0 circle hook and casted out just past the first set of breaks (60 yards). I play around with the light gear for the next 30 minutes to land two more 10" YFC.

Sunset didn't happen til 8pm, so  I was able to see my line getting pulled north by the current. I didn't like the angle of my line so I reeled in my line to reset it. After bringing in the line I see an empty hook, there must have been some critters out there messing with my bait. I reset the long rod and by this time it's dark and I decide to pack away the small rod to give my full attention to why I came. As I am breaking down the small rod, my long rod bends over hard with my clicker screaming and line peeling off my Penn 535 reel. I get to the rod and set the hook but I forget to tighten down the drag first, so I had no tension on the line.  After realizing my error I tighten down the drag and try it again. The fish is still, so I continue to crank down on the reel. The fish goes left and does a head shake and it's gone.  .

I reel in the line to fine a big chuck on my bait missing, based on the bite and run, it was definitely a soupie and not a bat or 7 gill. I rebait with another chucks of YFC and cast it out again. I was a little upset with myself for rushing the hook set and acting like a noob :' (I know I would have gotten S%$t from Mike if he was there.  ) After 20 more minutes I get a second opportunity to redeem myself, the rod doubles over again and this time I wait to let the fish take the line and tighten the drag before I set the hook. After 5-10 seconds (which felt like hours) I wind down and give a pull up on the rod, the fish is on it's the right kind, I see splashing on the surface and it's a soupie, it goes right and shakes it's head, then changes direction to the left. I check the drag by giving the line a quick pull and it's tight, but not too much tension that I will break off this fish. The fish goes right again and then the line goes slack, I was so pissed that this second one got away. I was thinking "what did I do wrong?", as I am reeling in the slack, that feels really light. When I get the line back in I am missing my weight and find my cable frayed.


I chalked the second miss opportunity to equipment failure, I had been using that rig for two prior sessions. I tie on a brand new three-way rig on and add a 7oz weight. I cast it out again with another chunk of YFC. It's about 9:15pm by this time and the 6' high tide was at 9pm so the water is outgoing at this point. I reset my sand spike closer to the water line, since I have more beach to work with now. I wait another 20 minutes and I get a little tap on the line, I go to investigate what's going on. I pick up the rod and wait to see if what ever it was would coming back. I feel the fish come back and takes the bait while I am hold the rod. (very cool)

This time I am in no rush to set the hook, I give it a 10 second count while I am tightening up the star drag, I take take a couple of turns on the handle and then set the hook, this time it feel right. The fish doesn't take off immediately, it swims away but doesn't know it's hooked yet. I take a couple more turns on the handle and then the fish realizes it's hooked and takes off straight out to sea. No left or right movement, just straight. My line is peeling off and I don't dare touch the drag at this moment, I just let it run. My mono is almost gone and I can see the white braid backing on my real. The fish finally slows down and I start to crank on the handle to get my line back, the fish moves to the right and then to the left. I don't see any surface splashes, but by the speed of the initial run, I know it's not a 7gill. After a 5 minute back and fourth tug of war I get the shark in the shallow water. I can see it's a thick soupie! I time the next wave and walk the fish backwards, since I didn't have a sandhand!  (No one likes you Mike!)

So, I tried my best to get a couple of shots, but these photos don't reveal the thickness of this shark.



I estimate this female soup fin to be about 65" long. After a few minutes of reviving this fish, it swims away strong.

I checked my hook after the battle and you can see it did a number on the 10/0 circle hook. The hook on the right is the one that got bent into a "C" shape from this shark.


I called it quits at 10pm. Super cool to finally get a legit shark bit and put another one on the board. Thanks for ready my extended post!

Nice! Congrats, Binh!

27

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: Before the Lockdown 3/30/2020

« on: March 31, 2020, 04:45:16 PM »

Had to get out. This virus thing is going to be worse before it gets better. Thankful I'm working at half time. Lots of folks aren't.

 Met Tom for a night time ninja strike. Arrived after dark to avoid any human interaction. It worked, we only saw each other and a guy walking his dog. Seems reasonable as far as distancing goes.

 Kind of hard to keep much of a conversation going with the surf noise so we just soaked baits and enjoyed the time out of the house.

 Surf was small, tide was creeping upward and the salad was very manageable. Really a nice night to be out.

 We both had a bite here and there. Critters mostly, though I did have a couple rod benders that looked good but didn't amount to anything.

 I forgot my chair at home on the porch, Zoom happy hour with some friends. Kinda like a work meeting but with booze instead of coffee.

 As I was taking the load off my feet, sitting in the sand, I see my rod go full bendo, clicker screaming. I jumped up, well, struggled to my feet, and grabbed the rod.

 Took a bunch of line and stayed straight out, thought it was a bat. I had my drag set looser than normal for some reason, so I tightened it up and started to gain line.

 I couldn't feel any tail slaps or head shakes, didn't see any jumping, so I resigned myself to fighting the bat ray to shore.

 Finally it got close enough for Tom to grab it and it turned out to be a little 71" female soupie. Had 25 feet of leader wrapped around itself from head to tail. Probably why it fought weird. I don't know if it wrapped during the fight or at landing, but at least part of it must have been during the fight,

 Didn't pose for pics, Tom took some action shots as I cut the leader from the fish. There was a fresh bite on the tail. Maybe something almost got it earlier.

 Got the fish back in the water, but it took several tries to revive it. It eventually swam off, but I'm not super confident in its long term outlook. Maybe whatever bit it before will be back and finish the job.





 We fished another hour or so and called it a night. Good to get out and feel like things are a little normal. Going to have to call in some beer for curbside pickup soon.

Congrats, on a nice Soup!

28

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: QT with my boys (21DEC2019)

« on: January 06, 2020, 03:47:25 PM »

Took advantage of the weather window and headed to the bay to burn some wood and soak some baits with my 9yr olds. We got to the spot at the same as another group was setting up around the bonfire ring next to us. Sent out some shrimp on 2 perch rods and squid on my long rod. got the fire started and some of the kids next to us came over to us to play with my boys. Stoked to have some kids to keep my boys entertained. I told them to have fun and that I'd yell for them if we had any action.

Lots of critter bites, but surprisingly nothing stuck. As the sun starts to set, one of the rods doubles over and I yell for the closest boy. Matty runs over and it's game on. It was a pretty solid fight on 8lb and I was concerned the line wouldn't hold or the little Wal-Mart no.6 bait holder hooks would snap. He gets it in the skinny and it's a solid horn shark and his biggest fish to date!





By this time, I have about 8 kids and their parents crowded around me asking questions and wanting to take pictures with it. I let the kids get in on some pics and I send it back home. Re-bait and listen to my son excitedly talk about the fight it put up. We high five each other and I'm brimming with pride 

The sun sets, our little fire is roaring, and I'm thinking about how awesome our city is and then I see a rod tip do some wiggling. Call over my other my as it's his turn. This one wasn't much compared to the horn shark, but it was another shark. Sharks are cool, big or small. He slides up a little spoof-fin and it draws another crowd.



More pics and then a quick release. All the kids head back to playing, except one. He stays next to me the rest of night waiting patiently. I ask him if he'd like to reel in the next one if we're lucky enough to get another bite. "YES!!!" He's never gone fishing or even help a fishing pole. My fingers were crossed that I could deliver before it was time for me to head home. about 30mins goes by and my prayers were answered! It was a little bigger than the 2nd shark and luckily it bit on the lighter of the 2 perch rods I brought, so it felt much larger. He was pretty happy!  Spoof-fin shark number 2.



We high fived, released the shark, and he ran over to ask his dad if I could the text the picture to him. Stoked all around. Good karma for me, I won the FFL championship I'm in and I won $25 on a scratchers I got as a stocking stuffer. Now if only the rains and winds would stop long enough for me to soak some big baits. Oh yeah, no love on the long rod.

Man, I need to fish with your sons, they're the ones catching fish. 

29

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: One and done 20191210

« on: December 11, 2019, 12:31:54 PM »

Had a small window to soak some bait last night with my dad (GilB).
Conditions were great.  Had one screamer on one of my rods that dropped it. 
As soon as I reeled in my dad's rod went off. 

68" male Soupfin.
Incoming tide.
Mack chunk.



We fished another hour and a half, but the bait stealers were picking the bones clean in 10 minutes.
It got really cold and my back was hurting so we left.
Need to get some waders!

Sweet! Congrats

30

Salt Water Shore Fishing Reports / Re: TNGC gave it the old college try (15NOV2019)

« on: November 18, 2019, 03:42:17 PM »

We were short one with Andre not being able to make the trip down, but he didn't miss anything. Arrived on the sand an hour before the high tide peaked. As usual, our timing sucks. But, so is the life of parents with young kids. We make do.

We were both casting macks. Binh and I managed to beat the skunk, he with an 18-19" calico bass, and I with a leopard shark in the 20" class and I finished off the night with a spoof fin shark around the same size. Conditions were good with some salad in the mix. We'll give it another go soon...

I won't be missing any more TNGC sessions this season.