Magnificent May 2016: Lemons and Tigers and Bulls OH MY

The month started off Excellent. I had the best 5 nights on the sand anyone could ask for. Maybe it would have been better if it wasnt in the middle of the week and I got more sleep before work.....NAH! The bite slowed down a bit later on. Perhaps the beaches just got fished out with the SAD Tourney. Who knows. Lost some stud fish, caught some good ones.

5/5: Skunked. Soaked three baits. 2 far, 1 short. not a single bite.

5/6: Ran out to the beach with the surf rods. Had a couple hits but nothing solid until the end of the night. My buddy Tom got a tipper, his first east coast shark (he's from Cali). I think he was more excited than I was when I got my first shark!

5/7: Hit the sand with a couple people and they brought a couple people. It was a little crowded but we got a couple fish and the lines didnt get tangled. I put a solid female tipper on the sand. Shark ate my big bait and almost became bait but I had had an extra piece so she swam off. I got her on the 130 and she swam all the way in, then turned twice. Almost fell on my face and then I fell on my butt. This fish actually pulled about 42 lbs of drag for a moment! We beach the fish, get the hook and pics for the spectators. And she swims off just as fast as she came in.

I was going to call it quits for the night since we had some other baits out. I had one other old smelly piece of bait so I said hell with it and yakked it out. I was back on the sand for less than one minute and my reel went off. When I set that hook, I had a strong heavy, Mack truck! Not a hammer but hot damn, one of the best fight I have had on the 130. I was taking line back inch by inch in low gear. The fish turned around a couple times and gave me some short, slow runs but I was fishing some tight drag since it was at 1/2 - 2/3 spool. The fish came in close farther south, it turned back north as it went out. I got her to the bar, she turned, went straight out and she was gone. The hook had pulled. I lost the fish after about 25 minutes, 20 yards from shore, just over the little waves. Heartbroken.

Later on, Tom's rod went off. We had just casted a small chunk on the cabo. He got a small lemon shark. Now he is two for two with two different species. He might be buying a senator soon if he can man up and get in the yak!

Sunday 5/8: Went back out with Adam in search of the monster again. We both put out a bait and talked for a little while. the tide came in, I had a run and caught a solid lemon. As we talked about packing up, his rod went off and he got a nice Tiger! His first tiger and first fish on the Avet TRX 80W. Two baits, two fish. Time to get home for a couple hours of sleep before work.

Monday 5/9: I meet up with Pete and Elliot to get some fish. They had baits in early and I got to the beach late, after work. 15 minutes after I get the Pete's Rod goes off. It is a solid fish. After a fun fight, the fish is close and one of Elliot's rods goes off. It's a screamer but the bait is gone. Pete has a Big Tiger. Rope it, tag it,I get some pics, and she is gone!

Not shortly after that, Elliot's other rod goes off and he sets the hook. This is also a solid fish. Good Fight. I forget the background but long story short, Bolts (aftermarket) snap on the reel clamp and the Avet 80W comes off the rod. I put on some gloves and hand line the fish while they spool up the loose reel. IT was a few minutes on the hand line and a good back/bicep work out! Never done that before. It's another good tiger shark. Rope it, Tag it, Pics and she is gone faster than the first one. Keep in mind, I have not even taken my reel cover off yet LOL.

The wind has picked up some and the water is gettin rough. Pete yak's one out and then egg's me on to get a bait out. We just had more action in an hour then most people get all night. I was content to hang out but I said what the hell. We didnt have a life jacket so we tied a rope to the yak and sat on it in case I got dumped. Easy to grab on to and float back in. Mission is successful. And now the wind and the waves really pick up. Ocean is like a washing machine out there. After a little while the boys decide it is time to leave but I decide to stay behind. Sittin in my chair, wearing my harness, tail rope over my shoulder and mini tripod already attached to the camera. SOLO Gucci is ready for action. A minute later, Pete walks back up and sits in the sand, told me he wasnt leaving me hanging, just packin up. I just didnt hear him earlier with the wind. 14 minutes later, I get a run! It is a good fish but not the ten footer I came for. Pete had txt Elliot and he hadnt driven off yet so he came down to wrestle the fish! Couple pics and she's gone. It was an awesome night!

Tuesday 5/10: I intended to not go fishing again. I needed some rest! Getting to be late and gettin to work at 8:30AM was taking its toll on me. But the forecast was lookin ok and I want that ten foot plus tiger! So it was go time! I hit the beach with Adam and Kelly. He was excited to test out his new cart with some beach wheels. I hit the beach a few minutes before they get there. They show up, I paddle out. Forecast was wrong and it was getting worse. Tide was coming in, winds were picking up. Ocean was turning into a washing machine again. Bait dropped at 9:34PM, Adam drops his bait. He makes landfall at 9:57PM. He gives me a beer, I open it, take a sip and my reel goes off at 10PM on the dot! I take a moment to get my harness and plate on. the fish slows down then picks up speed and I set up on her. Starts off promising but I am quickly disappointed. It is a good fish but not the biggin, again. After a minute or two, she realizes she was hooked and thats when the fight started!
This is a stud fish. Heavy, Pulls drag when she wants, goes where she wants. It was a good battle already and it got better once I had her at the sand bar. Once I had her over the bar, within the 20 or 30 yards, she would make short runs, bull doggin out, pulling me back and forth. Then turning to the north, flip around to the south. Finally, she wore out a little more than I did. I put more drag on her once I was within reach of my sand spike (to reach out for in case of emergency LOL) and I was able to get the leader within Adam's reach. And it still wasnt easy from there. The waves were rolling in with the incoming tide her belly hit the sand. I put the rod in the spike, grabbed the tape and ran down there. He had the tail rope on her and was struggling with the receding water. We tride to pull her up farther but only got a couple extra feet. She taped out at 109" BAM, I am in the 9 foot Bull club! Happy man here! Pics and she gone!

I could have gotten another bait out but I wanted Adam to have the best shot at a fish so we left it as his only bait in there. Wind and water picked up even more. Gettin our feet and legs sandblasted. No more bites that night.

Wednesday 5/11: I was going to take Crystal (tipper taker) to the local beach with the surf rods. She said no way dude, she wanted a shot at a better fish so let's go yak baits. Ah damn it. I need to sleep sometime! We put two baits out far just before dark. It was quiet out there. I fell asleep. Woke up and she was asleep, and I fell back asleep. We both woke up to a screaming reel. I went into auto pilot mode. I was sleepin in my harness so I just grabbed my plate and ran over to the rod, like I was awake and ready LOL. I set up on the fish and got tight. I knew it was a small fish. She pulled a little drag a couple times. got me by surprise. She hit the sand green! Crystal was on the leader and then tail roped, got my hook and a pic and she gone!

Friday 5/13: I met up with Barrett and a couple other guys. Within 20 minutes of me gettin there, The bit started. They got a couple lemons in 30 minutes. Some guys up the ways had gotten a couple tigers too. I got baits out long before the high tide and sat on them all night. No bites for me LOL.

5/15: Skuned. Went out Sunday. We had a couple little bites and some shredded baits. No fish on the sand.

5/16: Was supposed to take the night off but when I checked the weather, it looked like T storms for a few days so I said what the hell, lets (Adam and I) try again. I had my first run within 30 minutes. I let the fish eat for a while and when I got tight on him, I felt the slow pull of the hook from the bait. Ugh, that was annoying. He wasnt my monster and I had more bait so it didnt sting as bad. Adam ran a bait and then I ran my next one. I got another run about an hour later, maybe more. When I was gettin ready to get tight on the fish, Adam's reel got some good clicks but stopped. I had something weird going on, thought it was debris on the line. Then I felt some fight but it was just in short tugs. The line was 90 degrees north and looked like might be on shore. I thought a turtle swam in to the line and dragged it up to the beach. I Told Adam to grab something to cut the line so we could untangle her quickly. He gets down the beach and yells TIGER. I named this fish, Tina the Tiny Tiger. Little fish ate a big bait! When he said that I ran straight for the camera. The little fish always have the coolest spots!

5/20: Skunked. Had three runs. Baits were dropped or stolen before we even tried to set up on the fish. Annoying!

5/22: Put out a couple baits. One short, one far. Had a solid run on the long drop. Set up of the fish and he dropped it. Bait was still there. One hour later, get a nibble. I get all excited but the action stops. I sit down and then some more clicks. I scream at the reel. I tell it; "Cut that shit out, you either start screaming or shut the hell up. I am tired of your crap!" It listened. About a minute or so later, she was screaming. Let the fish eat and set up on her. this fish was on Crystal's rod and she was going to work! About a 20 minute fight on some tight drag. This fish gave her the old whoop dee whoop! Started off like a hammer, then turned around, head shakes and dead weight for a couple minutes until the sand bar and then that fish was pissed! Fish was making a good run to the south but when he was over the bar, he turned north again, Tail Rope and pics! 7'4" Male bull shark.

5/23: Skunked. I ran solo. One rod, one bait. Had to give it a shot since the forecast for the next several days was not looking good. No clicks.

5/25: Skunked. Still goin for that monster fish. Like an addict. Two rods, two baits, two runs. No fish. ENE 17MPH winds. A life jacket in one hand and a monster energy drink in the other. Lots of chop, lots of drag on the line. Some BIG swells a couple hundred yards out there. Each fish had either dropped the baits (and they were picked apart later) or ripped the baits off while I was lettin 'em run.

5/26: Lost a good one! Water was just as bad as the day before. I was still itchin for some fishin so time to drop baits. I get one close and one far. Adam shows up with the family in from Canada. They had been out on a charter the day before and had a nice fresh bonita. I explaied to them the poor conditions were making the night a little more difficult but not impossible. We ended up with a sharpnose shark on the surf rod. I got hooked up to a strong fish, making a solid run, rippin drag like nothing. Then I lost him after a couple minutes. I had zero weight and knew I got cut off, figured a tipper or something came by. I was pissed. All of a sudden, there is my swivel, and 15 ft of 700 LB mono severed! I guess another fish came to get in on the action and bit me off. It didnt feel like the fish twisted him self up in the leader. A minute or so later, the short drop went off, then stopped. fish stole that bait. We saw a Leatherback turtle which was cool. My first for that. Also saw a loggerhead. It was a great night for the out of towners! I kept my spirits up and am trying not to let these set backs kill my mojo. It has been a few trips with a fish. But the action is there.

5/30: Skunked on memorial day. Three baits out. 2 far, one short. No clicks on the reels. Quiet way to end the month.

Ok, I posted the report a little early b/c I was not going out on the last day of the month. That changed LOL.

5/31: Went out with Adam and Cujo. We put three baits out far. Adam's reel went off first, blistering run, strong fish. This is his second fish on the TRX and he is gettin used to the stand up game. Lands a 7'7" Male Bull shark.

We are just standing there after the release and I ask him what is takin so long, get the next bait out. He said he didnt have one, But I did !!! so he runs it out there. less than 10 minutes later he gets a hit, then a minute after that he gets a run. He gets a good tiger! What a way to end the month! I told him that he needs to share next time and not be such a shark hog!