Four Bull Night!

Four score and seven hours ago was the start of an epic journey, one that involved a struggle through intense weather, dreaded water obstacles, and furious toothed fiends! First stop; the treacherous yet rewarding inlet of Sebastian. Water flushing into the bay, waves taller than the jetty, and the few brave souls who dared to stay out with the rushing feeder bands of storms passing by with stinging rain and frigid air. I was losing all hope, but as the sun began to set, I noticed something happening at the mouth of the inlet... there were monsters breaching the surface, but I didn't know what they were yet. Another hardcore fisherman out there, simply pointed to the massive tarpon annihilating every bait in their path. First cast to the middle of the inlet with my 4 ounce lure, allowing it to sink... the rod slowly bowed over to the max... I've never hooked anything with that much power on my spinning rod... surely it must be a redfish, but I was in fact mistaken... it was a tarpon that had taken. Quite sizable was the beast of the East; easily over 5ft long and within 5 minutes of the current, my reel was red hot and my 50lb flouro gave way. Then the only other person taking the battering from the occasional super wave hooked up on a bucktail... another overpowering tarpon... around 60lbs on 30lb braid. His fight lasted around 30 minutes before his flouro leader gave way as well.

But on to the next one and so we ride, next stop being one of our better bridges. Hammer and I passed only to see a convict with matching striped rods. Who could it be? It was the one and only; JimmyLW.

Sebastian provided us with a jack and a few ladyfish.

He only gave me enough time to get up the bridge with the gear before he did a classic pier style running man and was getting burned on the 9/0! It didn't take long for him to make quick work of the fat female bull though. I would have fighting pictures with Jimmy's new harnell but there was too much on-and-off rain to risk our cameras.

Shark #1: 5ft 6in.

Didn't take long before my clicker cried in agony... I did a furious running man that shocked JimmyLevelWind.

There was a buoy close to the bridge and my shark took me around it. Not sure what it was but it was awefully heavy and I thought my 100-125lb connection was going to snap, but I winched it in with my shark still on the line, then it got free and I beached my shark.

Hold on this side is a little dark...

Shark #2: 5ft 8in

The next shark was a little strange... I showed Jimmy a new trick he was in disbelief until he got hit. After it came back 2 minutes later and Jimmy set hook, the fight was on. We had KING KONG! It dumped Jimmy's 9/0 down to 200 yards left on the spool What could it be? Then we got confused... it stopped fighting and was coming in super heavy so we figured it was a ray. Turned out to be just another bull... foul hooked.

Shark #3: 5ft 9in

Lastly, I put out a massive ladyfish on one tiny 9/0 hook. This shark was ballsy and hungry... I missed it a few times, each time it came to pick up the bait again it did so more angrily... until the last time it did a full on run as if it was hooked... and I set the hook so vigorously it ended up completely out the other side of the corner of the shark's jaw. That shark wasn't going anywhere and I knew it... but was tired from so many hook sets so I handed the rod off after the initial burn to Austin and his friend whose birthday it was.

B-Day Boy.

Austin.

Shark #4: 5ft 10in

Bonus: No pics but Jimmy got two of the biggest of a species I've ever seen personally. A bluefish around 8lbs and a gafftop sail around 10lbs. No pics, it was storming and the bluefish made quick bait.