Had an inkling to fish. On the sand by 9:30pm. Fresh macks caught just a few days ago was the enticement. Tide on the way up. Brought 2 rods to increase the odds. One rigged 3way, the other with a fish finder (FF). 3way proved to be the more productive rig.
First hit was a solid one on the FF rig. Good head shakes and drag was pulled for a hot minute. Had me thinking the right kind. Slid up a hefty 54" SNGF. I think these guys fight much better than an equally sized leo.
Got the "right kind" of hit on the other rod not long after. Felt the heavy head shakes and could hear a couple splashes in the dark. Was on for about 30 seconds and the hook pulls free. Dang it!!!
I quickly rebait and castes to same general area. I remembered reading the info I saw posted a while back on soupfins and their propensity to travel in schools. Bait hits the water, I reel in the slack until the line comes tight and just as I loosen the drag and turn on the clicker, my reel screams!! Woohoo!! I feel like it's been years since I've hooked anything decent from the surf. A few minutes later and I get lucky with solid 3' wave that comes rolling in and helps beach my first soupie in months. Tape her at 67" and snap some quick pics before the release.
It goes quiet for the next hour and was down to my last bait. The mack was big enough for 3 baits or 2 big baits. Opted to go big and both rods were sent out. The 3way gets crushed almost immediately! Soup for sure! Tail walked towards CBad before finally throwing the hook. Dang it again! I reel it in to check if it still had bait and the other rod goes off. No need to set the hook on this one. Definitely a grinner was on, but felt very leo-ish.
'Twas a good one at 56". That was the last bait, so I packed it in and headed home. Hopefully the water temps stay this "cool" so we can have more shots at soups and maybe some 7gills.
