Joined: 25 May 2009 Posts: 615 Location: somewhere on 130 miles of beach
Posted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 8:46 pm Post subject: PINS 10/17
Some good things come in twos. While none of the following have happened to me, hot twins, duplicate twin tax refund checks, catching two sharks at the same time on the same drop, you name it...all of these things are possible. Thinking of cashing in on yesterday's bait gathering success, I planned on getting up today and heading right on back down to PINS aka "Stank Zone." Little did I know while pondering the wiseness of heading back out today in a predicted 3-5 foot sea....what the Island would have in store for me today...but off I went around nine this morning after getting some much needed rest.
Getting to the beach earlier than yesterday was my plan, after seeing the predicted sea state to be on a definite increase in the afternoon hours. If all else failed, I planned on just heading to Yarborough and harassing every trout and redfish that got left behind in the bay and didn't get the word that it's time to head to the beaches and go south...but I wasn't sure if the bite would be on so much earlier in the day.
Upon getting on the sand, I quickly realized that the increasing swell size was pushing water up on the beach, and bringing in a lot more green water to replace the red tide nastiness. Sadly, I even saw the dreaded WEED in small pieces getting pushed into the beach. And I'll be honest, if the weed makes a return along with the red tide we are currently dealing with, I will take up roller skating.
The smell started.....ehhhh....about HERE!
Back again, argh!
And the scenery hadn't changed much in 24 hours, if anything, today there were a lot less trashfish and more gamefish washing in...
This picture does NO justice to how freaking huge this guy was.
Apparently these dudes can't smell.....ugh....
Finally I got geared up and headed back into the obviously slimy feeling alge laden water....
I quickly realized that the swell state was A LOT bigger than it looked from the beach. I hate the first 15...because of how long and sloping the seafloor is in this area, and today brought that point home in a big way. I fought my way out through the surf zone, hoping for a better sea past the 3rd bar. NOT! After getting out there past the 3rd bar, which by the way is like 3 times the distance as anywhere down island....it quickly became obvious that there were every bit of 6 foot swells rolling like freight trains every other breath! I quickly began to hook up on Spanish....and one bruiser just about caused a kayak sleigh ride much to my disbelief...what a beast....thankfully he spit the hook as it was so raunchy that getting pics was even out of the question. After a quick troll out to about 35 feet of water, I knew it was WAY time to began the sucky, awful, most uncool trip back in through the punch you in the face surf zone.
At least today I got real and brought a hat and a mask...
Now, I've never ever....had, or chosen, to come back in facing offshore. But today...the swells were big enough that opening the hull hatch/rod pod deal really caused me a bit of concern, so I bungeed down the gaf, the rods, and ME and stowed anything and everything with anything so much as resembling a sharp point, and once on the 3rd bar began the 30 minute super long ordeal of coming in backwards. I've mentioned it in the past, during running baits one morning last early spring, that sometimes.....you just KNOW that not only is it gonna be PAINFUL but coming back in is probably going to involve getting thrown on top of the bar, dragged across the shells backwards, and maybe even hit in the face with the paddle. Awesome! Not. But never have I had to deal with all of the above during red tide scum-water, dead stuff everywhere, can't breathe, and for sure don't want to get in that stuff! But like all things Mother Padre, I had made my bed, now it was time to lie in it. The high point of the trip in backwards was dead fish flying out of big waves and me having to dodge them or else get hit in the face with nasty, dead, bloated, red tinged, rotting fish! Thankyou Mother Ocean!!!
At some point I made it back to two feet of water, at which point fate chose to deal me a quicky blow upside the head by dumping me...ehhhh....about "half" way over, just enough to throw me out and then get hit in the knee caps with the kayak, and in the ear with a random rod tip. AWESOME! Thankyou decision making skills or lack thereof!
Oh well, all's well that ends well, even if on a beach that smells like my trashcan since the city went to once a week trash pickup.
I was about a quarter mile from the truck.
The truck was a loooong way off....
Thankful just for being in one piece, I decided to go on a Sanford and Sons Junk Hunt. And it was buoys galore!
Now you tell me....do you think Mother Ocean was making it up to me with these totally awesome lifevest?
And the reds started getting a LOT thicker further south...
The water was coming up higher than yesterday very quickly....
And the tide came in super higher than yesterday, and driving became bad quickly....
You know, today wasn't a bad day, just another learning curve in the great cycle of growing, learning, and hopefully and just maybe becoming a little better at success in this constantly changing, ever evolving, and always challenging island of ours. Unfortunately, I guarantee this isn't the first, won't be the last, and definetely won't be the worst lesson I've had, or to come. Old dogs don't learn new tricks, and some boneheads just never learn, and honesty just might be the best policy! Lol... Until the next time I get flipped out of the yak and dragged across the 2nd bar backwards resulting in A%# rash....
-colin
This is just a bonus video from yesterday...and I apologize for the soundtrack but a certain fish that now resides in my super deep freeze felt like jumping back OUT of the yak after apparently pretending to be dead for like 10 minutes and the words that were coming out of my mouth were WAAAAAAAAY less than appropriate for the public to hear. Fighting two 25plus pound jacks from a yak at the same time darn sure isn't easy!! Lesson learned....be careful what you wish for when trolling double lures....
_________________ Protect Padre at all costs for future generations to use and enjoy and never forget our freedoms aren't free.
Dude, you are hard core all the way to the bone. I saw some of the other pics and the fish kill looked pretty bad in some places.
I hope this stuff clears soon.
Outstanding. I appreciate your effort to make it happen regardless of the conditions. Some of our best trips have been during red tide events. Seems the reds in particular can't keep their appetite from trying to kill them.... seems they chase that easy, slow (dying) bait all the way up. We've found that the sharks do too.... seen some BIG boys moving up close in these events. Of course, I say "these" events and I've only heavily fished the last three (I think most of those are on my previous posts on this board with pictures).
We've found that nylon tents don't work for ANY aerosal effect. Heavy canvas (gp medium, etc.) properly bedded with the silt skirt actually allows you to CAMP in the middle of an event (if silted in properly, it totally eliminates the aerosal effect). Of course, you've gotta clean yer spot of all the dead fish, but that's what the 12-17 year old boys are for. The best part about these events (ok, I'm lookin for the silver lining) is that NO ONE else is on the beach. Just be sure that if you're fishing the incoming tide that you've at least got sunglasses on... and maybe something covering your mouth. OK, we're sick. But I'm tellin ya, if you can take some relative (though not prohibitive) discomfort, PINS in these kinds of events has a kind of peacefulness (ok ok.... uhm... no one is there but the dead fish) to it.
Anyway, glad to see you're not deterred. That look of only one set of tracks on the beach makes my mouth water.... and I don't care WHAT the conditiions are to get that!
Joined: 13 Nov 2007 Posts: 153 Location: Northwest of Austin,Tx
Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 5:20 am Post subject:
You are definitely HARDCORE. Great report as always. Hope to see you soon on the sand. _________________ Live for today, Yesterday is gone & tomorrow never comes
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