# REPORT: 6/17 ODU reef to 9' shoal



## Zigh (May 2, 2002)

posted on 19-Jun-2004 3:41:08 PM
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Hi there folks!! Fished Thursday with Den, Carp(aka Ray Tog), and Frank, for a variety of species. First off we hit the ODU reef and gave the Flounder a try. We had plenty of nibbles but only managed a few throwback Flatties and a good number of bait sized croaker on our Boston Mackeral offerings. The W wind was the only element propelling our drift since it was nearly high tide. Gave it awhile and then went and set-up for some Cobia over on the bayside of the shoal. Had a great slick working in the 76*water, and an outgoing tide. Also had lots of life behind the boat including houndfish, rays, sharks, Blues, Flatties, and Croaker. At one point I even saw a HUGE Spadefish right beneath the chumbag but never saw him again, or any others. Mr. Lemonfish never came to visit for us and after riding out the entire outgoing tide, we trolled for some Spanish. Tried a rip by the 4th island where we snarred a few schoolie Striper's on the Clark's and saw some large Black Drum but had no more nibbles. We saw a smaller boat catching LOTS of Striper on live bait, but they clubbed and kept every single fish which was somewhat shocking. I hope they had lots of tags.... Anyway, we proceeded to troll up the span toward the high rise, stopping along the way to give the Trout jigging a try and some Flounder drifting. We caught more Croaker, Flatties, a Trout, and a few Blues under some birds. Next up we set-up on the oceanside of the shoal in 17' of water and tried our hand at the Drum. Conditions were seemingly perfect with a strong incoming tide, virtually no moon, and fresh menhaden. Put out our baits and caught some critters before dark, but overall it was slow. Just after dark the drags sang and hollers of ecstatic fisherman could be heard on all sides. Then the numbers began vibrating over the airwaves; 40, 42, 44, 46, 47, on up to a hefty 53. We had no runs for awhile and just when I was scratching my head in disbelief, my new Penn Slammer/ TLD15 started a truly sexy, drag dazzling, chorus of zinging, that left no doubt in our excited minds; IT'S HIM!!!! Line peeled off the reel at an astonishing rate, and as I slid the drag forward and the fish came tight I knew it was to be my first battle with a large Red. The rod and reel worked great and with a little patience and after some stellar runs, the fish came along boatside and was deftly netted by Capt. Den. Our first fish of the evening came in at 44" and weighed 41lbs.... Made all the long hours of today's and our previous trips 100% worthwhile. Next up we had a 41" fish, followed by a 38" fish, and we also failed to connect on a couple runs and had one fish pull free after a brief battle. Man o' man are those fish impressive fighters. VERY exciting stuff and going to try again Monday evening to quench the need for MAJOR pullage!! Thanks to Den for putting us on the fish. Good fishing with Carp and Frank. Thanks guys!! Fish On 


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Laughing so hard, the devil gets scared.... 

Zigh 
><((((*>


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## Cdog (Mar 18, 2002)

*Excellent Report Zigh*

Them reds pull good eh?


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## AL_N_VB (Apr 3, 2002)

Great report......good to read,you were on top of them feesh!


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