7/10
This week my wife and kids are out at her parents house so I'm living the bachelor life again.
That means I fish as much as I can!
Monday after work I met my dad at the usual AO and we waited for the beach to clear. Conditions were perfect. Very low surf, no current, only a little weeds close in. Once the beach goers cleared out of our spot we got set up. We were both planning to fish 2 rods each to maximize our chances. The secondary rod that I'm using is my second attempt to delve into the world of conventional gear. It's a Penn 4/0 wide reel mounted on a Daiwa Emcast XH casting rod. My goal was to build a set up that was cheap, but could handle very big fish. This is the first time I've used it for a full session. I'm still learning to cast it consistently, but was able to get 60 yards or so with minimal backlashing. The 4/0 is spooled with 80lb braid and the terminal rig is an 8oz sputnik on a 3 way rig with a 400lb steel leader and 16/0 hook.
I had a half of a large mac soaking on it for about 20 minutes or so when the rod started to bow and the clicker started screaming. That's one thing I love about conventional reels is the loud clicker. Anyway, I tightened the drag to get the circle hook set and this bat took off pulling like a frieght train. It headed south, tangling with the lines of 2 of our other rods and big clump of floating kelp. My dad was all over the place reeling in the tangled rods and untangling the lines and the kelp. Finally got it to the skinny where dad dragged it up the beach. What a beast, I thought I was in the 50" club for sure, but ended up and inch short at 49". I'm still pretty excited to have a new PB bat though!
Unfortunately, that was it for the night. I had one other good hit that didn't connect, but took a nice chunk out of my mac.
7/11
Tonight I had to do some chores around the house after work, but wrapped it up quick and headed for the beach for a quick session. Conditions were quite different tonight. Bigger surf and more salad with thick fog rolling in.
I started fishing about 8:30. No real bites but did lose a couple baits and about 9:30 I stuck on a large mac tail and tossed out my last cast. I had given up and just put my had on the rod to bring it in and pack up when it took a big bounce! Line started peeling out so I flipped the lever on the bait feeder and set the hook home. I could feel head shakes right away but even though it was fighting great, I could tell there wasn't a ton of weight to it. After a couple runs I slid it up the beach with a wave and set my rod down and grabbed the tail of my new PB leopard. Solo fishing makes for poor pictures so I apologize, but here they are. Taped out at 59"
I have a couple more nights of fishing this week, hoping to continue the streak!
