This is a follow up to a prior post in the Open Salt Water forum. I was lucky enough to go back to SPI this weekend (two weeks in a row now). I've fished the bay for years and have pretty much ignored the surf. Now that wife and kids like spending time on the beach I've been forced to look to the surf to sustain my fishing addiction.
So last weekend was a sneak the rod and fish trip. This weekend I earned enough brownie points to not only fish Mansfield with my little brother on Saturday but try my luck in the surf again Sunday.
Keep in mind I was using a med action spinning reel, 6 1/2' rod with 10 lb mono. I had a 20 lb leader. Tide was in and it was a wade/swim to the second sand bar. I knew there were fish stacked up on the first sand bar but wanted to try further out. I had mullet, squid and shrimp. I only caught catfish using cut mullet and squid. I didn't dare use larger whole bait for fear of hooking something to large to bring in on light tackle.
When I tried the shrimp I was rewarded with whiting on every cast with an occasional catfish. Until about the 8th fish the inevitable happened. My line picked up out of the water and the drag started singing. Until I was faced with the choice of tightening the drag and risk breaking off or running out of line. I opted to tighten the drag. I had a great fight for about 3 minutes but after the second big run my line broke at the swivel. (should have used a bead to protect the knot from the weight above the swivel.
After recovering from the combination of elation and anguish over losing the battle I decided to stick with the first sand bar. First fish was an undersized spec followed by so many whiting I lost count. Then I caught my first ever Crevalle Jack. Funny but at first i thought it was a really big pompano (not so). So mission accomplished...sort of. I caught a gamefish (kind of) on light tackle in the surf.
I'll definitely return to the surf with a little heavier gear (not to much heavier because I like to fight the fish and not horse them in). Isn't fishing great? I learn something every time out and always enjoy time spent on the water or in this case in the water!
