Jekyll Island update and a "Thank You"

[jdarylh1]

Just returned from our Jekyll Island trip (http://www.pierandsurf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28295 and wanted to give an update and a thank you.

First the thank you to everyone who helped me with my first surf fishing experience. From you I learned to tie new knots, how to cast a surf rod, and which equipment to get. It would have been real hard without all your help. Thanks!!! :)

I fished off the north beach behind the hotels and caught a bunch of small sharks, some whiting, some rays and a 12" fish that had fierce teeth..don't know what kind it was. Used cut mullet, squid and shrimp. Mostly cut mullet though.

Brought in one ray about 2.5' across and 4' long. Had quite a crowd watching which was good because we all discussed how to unhook him without me getting "speared".

Fought another MUCH bigger ray for 45 minutes and finally got aggravated and broke him off. He'd make a long run, then stop, "suction down" to the bottom and rest, then do it all over again. I could get him up by changing the angle I was pulling at, but I was using 17 lb Tritanium with 50 lb Ande leader and couldn't put a ton of pressure on him. Finally, I tightened down the drag and thought "You're either coming in or breaking the line". Next run, he was gone.

Fighting something that big was fun but I don't want to do it again unless I have heavier line. I'm too impatient to deal with really long battles.

There's probably better places to fish on Jekyll, but we were staying close by and it was just easier to walk on over to the beach. I had to quit about 10:30 or so every day because of families showing up to swim, but by then it was too hot anyway and the fishing slowed up considerably.

[Railroader]

Glad you had a good time!!!:cool: :cool: :cool:

And glad that we could be of service, here at P&S.:cool: :cool: :cool:

This is what it's all about.;)

Don't be a stranger, now!

[bigphil]

Good report. Glad you had fun. Man when those big rays suck to the bottom there is hardly nothing to do. They are still fun to catch. They dont run nearly as fast as the sharks do.

[SHADE12]

Sounds Like You Had A Blast. The Next Time You Get A Ray That Sucks The Bottom. Tighten Your Line Up As Tight As You Can Get It Like A Banjo String And Start Plucking It To Make It Twang Like A Banjo, They Cant Stand The Vibs And Take Off. That Way They Cant Rest On You. Works For Big Fish Most Of The Time To. They Are Fun To Tussel With Tho.:) :) Shade12

[lazy fisherman]

Great report. Sounds like a good time. Were you fishing on the driftwood beach with all the mud banks? I tried there this past May without any luck, although I saw a bunch of schools of menhaden nearby.
and a 12" fish that had fierce teeth..don't know what kind it was.
What did it look like? Any markings on it? What color? If it was blue-silver, probably a bluefish. If it was gray-silver and had black spots all over, a sea trout. Trout don't have very many teeth, IIRC, but they have a few long nasty looking teeth. Bluefish, though, have a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

[jdarylh1]

Tighten Your Line Up As Tight As You Can Get It Like A Banjo String And Start Plucking It To Make It Twang Like A Banjo, They Cant Stand The Vibs And Take Off.

Does that work with mono or just braid?

[jdarylh1]

Great report. Sounds like a good time. Were you fishing on the driftwood beach with all the mud banks?

I'm not real familiar with the island, all I can tell you is that when you come in the main causeway, you turn left at the dead end and go on down a mile or so. There's some hotels on the right side just before you get to the right side houses. That's where I fished. But in retrospect, I wish I'd done my fishing on the south end at St. Andrews. Might have hooked some bigger sharks and fewer rays.

What did it look like? Any markings on it? What color? If it was blue-silver, probably a bluefish. If it was gray-silver and had black spots all over, a sea trout. Trout don't have very many teeth, IIRC, but they have a few long nasty looking teeth. Bluefish, though, have a mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

Sorry, I know freshwater fish pretty well but so far I'm not too well versed on saltwater fish. It was plain silver (not blue or grey) with no markings that I remember. The "fierce" teeth didn't fill it's mouth, they were just in the front and they were pretty long. Maybe small young trout don't have markings??

[SHADE12]

Jdarylh1 It Workes Great With Mono, The Biger The Better. I Realy Cant Recall If I Had To Do It On My Reel With The Braid. I Dont Know If The Braid Will Carry The Vibs Like Mono. On My Next Trip I Will Try To Find Out:) :) Shade12

[jdarylh1]

I Dont Know If The Braid Will Carry The Vibs Like Mono. On My Next Trip I Will Try To Find Out:) :) Shade12

Good luck. I hope you get the opportunity. I'd think braid would work better since there's no stretch. Seems like more vibration would carry to the end of the line.

[lazy fisherman]

Sorry, I know freshwater fish pretty well but so far I'm not too well versed on saltwater fish. It was plain silver (not blue or grey) with no markings that I remember. The "fierce" teeth didn't fill it's mouth, they were just in the front and they were pretty long. Maybe small young trout don't have markings??
The description of the teeth reminds me strongly of a sea trout. There are a couple of smaller, less common sea trout species that are unmarked, so it could definitely be one of those. If it had two dorsal fins, rather perch-like in shape and arrangment, an unforked tail, and a general "trout-like" shape, that would be my guess. But then, there's a lot of different fish in the sea, so who knows? That's one of the reasons I like saltwater fishing, there's just all sorts of weird stuff out there.

I've only fished Jekyll once, but I can attest to there being at least some sharks on the south end. I caught one or two, I think a bonnethead and something else, maybe a dogfish, and a catfish. I had my best luck at catching food fish at the pier on the north end, though, and I think you can catch some big sharks up there too. I caught a good mess of whiting, a hammerhead about two feet long, and another shark, I think a blacktip or something. Saw some guy fighting a big ray at one end of the pier too, so I don't think you'll get away from those up there, unfortunately.:D

[jdarylh1]

...Saw some guy fighting a big ray at one end of the pier too, so I don't think you'll get away from those up there, unfortunately.:D
My rod's probably heavy enough..I think next trip I'll switch to 30 or 40 lb braid so I can "manhandle" any rays I accidentally hook. Plus I'll try the "banjo" technique Shade12 suggested. Looking forward to it. Unfortunately since I don't live close, it costs me a LOT to get there so I won't be going until next summer.