B
Got my first keeper of the year at Crissy this morning. 27 inches on a 4.5 Storm searchbait houdini with an added stinger hook, my go-to lure for Crissy.
I've been going out there about once a week since early April. I caught a small 15-inch throwbacker on my first trip in April but nothing since then. The winds this year have been brutal.
This was the first morning in a long time that I noticed terns diving repeatedly into the water right in front of me. A school of something must have been moving through. It was windy this morning too but it was coming from the southwest, directly behind me. I was casting for miles, not that I needed to. On this particular cast, I was counting my line. I have line-counter braid that's marked every 10 feet. I cast it out as far as I could and started counting colors... 1, 2, 3, ... 9, 8, 10... so 100 feet (usually I manage 60 or 70) and at this point I had about 10 feet left in the water when I felt that classic tick. I lowered the rod and then noticed the line moving to the left. I reeled down and fish on! It was basically already in the wash. First massive head shakes, a lot of splashing, then 4 or 5 strong runs. The drag on the reel performed really nicely and I ended up chasing the fish about 20 feet to the west as it ran parallel to the beach. I finally pulled it up onto the beach with the help of a wave.
I've been going out there about once a week since early April. I caught a small 15-inch throwbacker on my first trip in April but nothing since then. The winds this year have been brutal.
This was the first morning in a long time that I noticed terns diving repeatedly into the water right in front of me. A school of something must have been moving through. It was windy this morning too but it was coming from the southwest, directly behind me. I was casting for miles, not that I needed to. On this particular cast, I was counting my line. I have line-counter braid that's marked every 10 feet. I cast it out as far as I could and started counting colors... 1, 2, 3, ... 9, 8, 10... so 100 feet (usually I manage 60 or 70) and at this point I had about 10 feet left in the water when I felt that classic tick. I lowered the rod and then noticed the line moving to the left. I reeled down and fish on! It was basically already in the wash. First massive head shakes, a lot of splashing, then 4 or 5 strong runs. The drag on the reel performed really nicely and I ended up chasing the fish about 20 feet to the west as it ran parallel to the beach. I finally pulled it up onto the beach with the help of a wave.
