cpn_aaron
05-22-2006, 06:35 PM
Just spent my weekend at Playlinda beach making up for missing any chances of fishing last weekend. I know, perfect high tides, moon, etc. I t killed me to be at home. So I went out with all the bells and wistles this weekend. I went out to my spot on the lot 12/13 border to hit my favorite troughs and close by final sand bar. I rigged up some homemade wire drop rigs with chunked mullet and some mono double drops with large sand fleas caught in the surf. I then yaked out my big reel line with 1/2 a bluefish fillet (about 12" long and bloody) about 300 yds out and past the sand bar into 21-24 ft of water. All lines were set by 7 AM.
As soon as I had my wire double drops in I had some bites. I only managed to get one bluefish in a they were being more reserved in their biting than usual (I soon learned why). I lost the biggest bluefish I've seen in FL waters. It was beautiful to watch him escape. He shot straight up and shook his head I watched my rig fly towards the beach. I saluted him and continued slugging on. The whole beach only 3 bluefish (I had one of them), 1 bull and 2 1/2 smaller whiting were caught. The half a whiting was the prey of a smaller shark in the 2nd trough.
We reached the 8:30 Am low tide and everything shut down. As the tides shifted ~10 Am I hooked up with a nice 16" bull whiting on one of my chunk bait lines sitting in the 2nd trough.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/aaronanddelania/fish/psbullwhiting3.jpg
It was a fun fight and I let him go as my wife doesn't like whiting much and I wasn't in the filleting mood. This mood pissed a few beach goers off who had some plans for my bull.
Nothing happened until about 12:45 as we moved closer to the high tide when my long line went a clacking at a slow and steady pace that can mean only one customer. I set the hook and then reeled in a nice 33" (all measures at fork) male blacktip. He was a sporting little guy since he was far to light to have had any real chance on my heavier reel.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/aaronanddelania/fish/psblacktip3.jpg
I tagged and released the little guy to fight another day and rebaited and yaked out. As soon as I got on shore near my rod I heard small bits of line being stripped off and attributed it to some bluefish beating on my bait. Within 10 minutes the line ran a little, then it screamed. I set the hook and only brought this back
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/aaronanddelania/fish/pssharkbait3.jpg
Looks like a bull whiting eyed my 1/2 bluefish and came away half there himself. I pulled the hook out of his mouth and pulled it through his back and yaked him out again. This time it was high tide ~2:30 and sure enough, within 15-20 min my line was screaming again. I set my hook and brought in a 38" male blacktip which I quickly tagged and released.
I was stoked by now because since low tide not a single fisherman fishing within the last sand bar had caught a thing. I was in the honey pot and was getting nailed. So I immediately yaked out another 1/2 a bluefish and literally landed on the beach while my wife is juping up and down screaming that my line has been hauling butt since she saw me drop it over the side of the kayak. I set the hook and it's a big one. I fought the shark for about 45 min until I brought it next to the beach and it rode me back and forth in the trough right next to the spray. I fought it for 15 more minutes before it tired and then stopped fighting all together, bad sign. I pulled her up on shore and it was a gut hooked and near dead 43" extra fat female sandbar shark. I kept her and when filleting felt worse. She was pregnant with 8 near term pups. I felt horrible but she woudn't have survived. She yielded 14.5 lbs of meat when filleted and bagged at home.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/aaronanddelania/fish/pssandbar3.jpg
With a Sat like this I came in Sunday and was rigged and lines set by 6:30. I got two bites and caught nothing else. However, a day like Saturday made up for it ( I caught the only fish). Plus, days like those are what makes me come out and fish 12 hrs a day once a weekend all year. Hoorah!
As soon as I had my wire double drops in I had some bites. I only managed to get one bluefish in a they were being more reserved in their biting than usual (I soon learned why). I lost the biggest bluefish I've seen in FL waters. It was beautiful to watch him escape. He shot straight up and shook his head I watched my rig fly towards the beach. I saluted him and continued slugging on. The whole beach only 3 bluefish (I had one of them), 1 bull and 2 1/2 smaller whiting were caught. The half a whiting was the prey of a smaller shark in the 2nd trough.
We reached the 8:30 Am low tide and everything shut down. As the tides shifted ~10 Am I hooked up with a nice 16" bull whiting on one of my chunk bait lines sitting in the 2nd trough.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/aaronanddelania/fish/psbullwhiting3.jpg
It was a fun fight and I let him go as my wife doesn't like whiting much and I wasn't in the filleting mood. This mood pissed a few beach goers off who had some plans for my bull.
Nothing happened until about 12:45 as we moved closer to the high tide when my long line went a clacking at a slow and steady pace that can mean only one customer. I set the hook and then reeled in a nice 33" (all measures at fork) male blacktip. He was a sporting little guy since he was far to light to have had any real chance on my heavier reel.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/aaronanddelania/fish/psblacktip3.jpg
I tagged and released the little guy to fight another day and rebaited and yaked out. As soon as I got on shore near my rod I heard small bits of line being stripped off and attributed it to some bluefish beating on my bait. Within 10 minutes the line ran a little, then it screamed. I set the hook and only brought this back
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/aaronanddelania/fish/pssharkbait3.jpg
Looks like a bull whiting eyed my 1/2 bluefish and came away half there himself. I pulled the hook out of his mouth and pulled it through his back and yaked him out again. This time it was high tide ~2:30 and sure enough, within 15-20 min my line was screaming again. I set my hook and brought in a 38" male blacktip which I quickly tagged and released.
I was stoked by now because since low tide not a single fisherman fishing within the last sand bar had caught a thing. I was in the honey pot and was getting nailed. So I immediately yaked out another 1/2 a bluefish and literally landed on the beach while my wife is juping up and down screaming that my line has been hauling butt since she saw me drop it over the side of the kayak. I set the hook and it's a big one. I fought the shark for about 45 min until I brought it next to the beach and it rode me back and forth in the trough right next to the spray. I fought it for 15 more minutes before it tired and then stopped fighting all together, bad sign. I pulled her up on shore and it was a gut hooked and near dead 43" extra fat female sandbar shark. I kept her and when filleting felt worse. She was pregnant with 8 near term pups. I felt horrible but she woudn't have survived. She yielded 14.5 lbs of meat when filleted and bagged at home.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j299/aaronanddelania/fish/pssandbar3.jpg
With a Sat like this I came in Sunday and was rigged and lines set by 6:30. I got two bites and caught nothing else. However, a day like Saturday made up for it ( I caught the only fish). Plus, days like those are what makes me come out and fish 12 hrs a day once a weekend all year. Hoorah!