Weird day to say the least.
We haven't been fishing in a few months and when we saw the weather was to be in the 70's it was time to head back to our favorite place, the Seawolf Pier.
So we headed out from Pasadena to Galveston. A quick stop by Golden Corral on the Seawall, then a quick trip to Aunt Margies to see our favorite dog Goofy, and to pick up a couple of pounds of dead shrimp.
We're on our way.
First a quick history, my wife and I have only been fishing less than two years. Up until then she had never even caught a fish. Our fishing MO is basically she and I both use a 4 hook sabiki rig with 4 number 14 hooks on it (http://www.basspro.com/Hayabusa%C2%AE-Mixed-Flasher-Sabiki-Hot-Hooks-Bait-Rigs-Model-S507E14/product/59527/-1123301) and a small weight. Some days all we have to do is throw out the rig and slowly bring it in and bring in some small sandies, piggy perch, croaker, etc. Sometimes we have to put a small piece of shrimp on it and that usually works, I will put it at about 95% success with or without shrimp. I take the small fish and use it for cut bait for our 10' surf rods. So, until today, we never break out the surf rods until we have cut bait. The sabiki's are perfect for that.
Today for about 2 hours nothing was working. Nothing, with or without shrimp. I even sprayed on some Gulp spray on the dead shrimp. No joy!
Seeing Pam is a newbie fisherperson, I have to help her put on her rigs and fix her birds nests. When she gets caught in a rock, it's always, "James, I need some help.".
So today I hear the same old line and go over and take her rig (6' rod, spinning reel with 10 lb test). I walk up and down the pier and can't seem to free up the sabiki rig from whatever is holding it. I yank and pull, nothing. I'm about 30' down the pier from where she is standing, all of a sudden the line magically comes toward where I'm standing. Opppppsss, something big is on this line. I reel it in a bit and the fish seems to be headed my way. Finally the fish is coming to the top and I can see a HUGE silvery flash. My first thought is a bull red, and my second thought is that this fish is on 10 pound line with a #14 sabiki hook. By this time Pam is about going nuts with excitement and she fights with it while I try to get the net in place. I'm not sure if she is strong enough (she's a type 1 diabetic for >30 years with neuropathy and had a triple bypass in 2006), but we manage to get it on the pier.
We take a couple of pictures and release the fish (lowering the fish in the net) to be caught another day.
Me, I go back to the 'T' of the pier. Pam then catches her first stingray, about 5 pounds, and we again use the nets. I cut the hook off the sabiki, figuring 3 hooks should be OK, and we quickly kick the stingray off the pier.
Thirty minutes later, "James, something big is back on." I go back and try to assist, then seeing the disappointment as the line goes limp from being broken.
I have my 10' rig with 25 pound test line in the water, using about 5 shrimp on a big hook. I'm usually use a cut sandy or croaker as cut bait, but since nothing small is biting, I thought I would just roll the dice and see what happens.
Five minutes after her line broke, my surf rod is going nuts at the 'T'. The fight is on and we finally land my Black Drum. Now for the weirdness (I'm too old for fishing tales) as I bring in the fish, we see a sabiki rig in it's mouth. The sabiki rig has a missing hook (stingray?) and the exact type and weight of the weights that we are using. I just caught the fish she lost. No doubt about it.
We are amazed and laugh about that for awhile. Meanwhile this fish is gently lowered back in the water for another fight. Freaking amazing!
There was only two other people on the pier and they had enjoyed watching Pam's battle with her fish, but they were being shut out.
About an hour later, my big rig goes nuts again and I holler down to the guy and ask him if he wants this fish. He walks very quickly from the middle of the pier to the 'T'. I told him my rig was his and to have some fun. Boy, did he have some fun. Apparently he had never caught a fish this big before and the fight was on. I was the net man again we finally landed him.
Some people may think I'm weird for letting some stranger land a big fish. But, that's OK. They both had fun, and I'm sure he has a fish story for the guys at work. Like I told Pam, doing something like this is good for the soul. Just seeing the happiness and joy he had during the fight and seeing how happy they were when the fish was finally landed...........like I said, it's good for the soul. No doubt had this been our first big fish of the day, things would have been different, however it was our third, so Pam and I could both enjoy two strangers having more fun than they could have ever dreamed of having.
End of the day results.
sandys, croaker, gafftop, piggy perch, whiting = 0
Black drum > 30 inches, all gently released = 3
A weird day for sure, but a lot of fun was had.
