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AZ_squid · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 11:42 am Post subject: PINS report Sunday the 16th

Started off like most every trip I go on down PINS decide the day before we should do an overnighter down the beach after checking swell info. We hash out some last minute things on Saturday and load up around 6pm and head for the beach loaded up and ready to put out the breakaways and shark rods. We ran two trucks down (which turned out to be a really good idea). We decode were gonna head down and hit the 50 and run some shark lines out that night. The trip down was pretty easy tide was up a little bit so driving got pretty soft in a few areas, we didn't need 4wd until almost the 20 though. After dodging some washed up trees in the thick fog that just got worse the further down we got we made it down to the 50 in good time. We go to pull off the low road and guess what, the 4wd in my truck decided to give out. Not sure yet exactly what it was but it sounds like I may have stripped the gears in the front end. We look at the tide and decided that we may as well keep the trip going as planned since the tide wouldnt be out till the next day and that would be my best bet of getting out of there.
We get the shark rods rigged up with a couple black drum and I throw on my wetsuit and paddle them out about a hundred yards past the breakers (at that distance I could barely see the flashers on the truck). First run was smooth going out kinda freaky being out past the breakers in a yak in the fog but there was a good moon out so visibility wasn't an issue. I dropped the bait and turned around gave the headlamp signal that it was dropped and ready to get the weight set. On the paddle in I dumped the yak at the first set of breakers. The current wasnt horrible but the yak ended up about 30 yards away and was getting further. I swim over and hop back in. The whole time thinking about Mr shark who might be underneath me at this point in time. I couldn't touch bottom but hopping back in wasn't too bad had to time it so I didn't get hit again by a wave while trying to get back in. Once back at shore I got warmed back up by the fire and paddled the second bait out without any issues.
The rest of the night we hung out by the fire eating a few snacks and just enjoying the beautiful night with light wind and even better not biting flies or mosquitos. The whole night nothing hit the baits.
We woke up the next morning and threw out the surf rods with shrimp and fishbites hoping for some pompano or a few reds. First cast yielded a double hardhead hookup. At that point we all were hoping that trend wouldn't continue. Next cast was a double whiting and that continued all morning. We had three breakaways out and it was as fast as you could throw them out they were getting hit. We had a pretty good team going one person would bait(better known in our group as the master baiter). The another would cast the rods out and another would reel them in. We all kept pretty busy for a couple hours straight. We ended up with a few bull whiting that we chucked in the ice chest and threw most of the little guys back. We did send one out on another rod out as cut bait. The cut bait rod never even got touched. around noon or one the tide was looking good to get out of there so we loaded up and headed back to somewhere inside the 20 were we would be confident I could get back to the pavement without any issues. The trip back was pretty smooth the low road was in great shape even through big and little shell. Aside from the Yahoo's that decided they owned the beach and set up their camps taking up the whole low road and forcing me to try and pass them up in the soup ( sorry if you had a dodge truck skirt your camp in two wheel drive doing it's best not to get stuck, sometimes sideways in the sand ). I did my best to slow down as much as possible especially if there were kids or dogs running around. Believe it or not I made it back in 2 wd without getting stuck.
We got back to somewhere around the fifteen and saw some birds working some bait pretty hard in the surf . We threw out a couple rods and my buddy yaked out his first shark bait. This spot didn't even yield a bite except for the hotdogs and sandwiches that we were chewing on. After a few hours we packed up and headed home. All in all it was a good trip. We never go out chasing whiting but at least they kept us entertained for a couple hours and ive got a few fillets to munch on this afternoon for lunch. Water clarity further south was amazing, not a lot of weed and the current wasnt too strong it was moving south to north. It was a couple guys first trip down PINS and they got to learn a lot about surf fishing and how cool it can be so far away from anything down the beach. Lessons learned were that you can't ever assume that your truck will make the trip without any issues. We've made a few trips south with only one truck but that's never a good idea. Bring a strap bring extra food and water and most important bring warm clothes this time of year even if your gonna make a day trip. Have fun and be safe everyone. (Sorry if some stuff is misspelled I did this on my phone and my autocorrect goes crazy sometimes).
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Tyler · Site Admin Joined: 06 Mar 2006 Posts: 12865

We saw you all yesterday. Jeff Wolda and I were in the Friends of Padre Tundra checking on the beach for the cleanup and for our weekly down island report. I told Jeff "these guys fishing for sharks must be nuts, the water is 55" Then I said "I guess we're nuts too since we are fishing for trout" Smile

I was telling Jeff that I always like having a wing man going deep down PINS as we found out yesterday anything can happen even to a truck with 700 miles on it. Very Happy

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magadorm · Horse Mullet Joined: 25 Jul 2012 Posts: 131

What year Dodge? I have a Ram and I have stripped out the CV joint on the driver's side. It is pretty weak and strips out easy. Also, I had the bushing and linkage from the 4WD selector fall out and I couldn't shift into 4WD.

AZ_squid · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 3:18 pm Post subject:

Magadorm- it's an 05 I had the linkage issue also. Cost me 30 bucks for just a couple bushings luckily I heard it fall out and found the linkage rod on spid. That happened about three months ago. How did you determine if it was the CV joint?

Tyler- yep the water was definitely a little cold. The wetsuit helped a lot the night before. We weren't expecting to hook into too much. We've all been too busy with work and other obligations lately it was more just to get everyone out to have a good time.
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magadorm · Horse Mullet Joined: 25 Jul 2012 Posts: 131

What mine was doing was I could put it into 4WD but as soon as any load went on it it started sounding like something was stripping. Then I went under the drivers side where the noise was coming from and the linkage where the stub axle comes into the CV joint near to the wheel was loose whereas it should be tight. Mine is an 04. Also, I stripped mine when I was trying to pull out an F-350 and my front tires were deep in the sand. I put it in 4LO and then turned my steering wheel side to side. That was when it stripped.

AZ_squid · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 5:54 pm Post subject:

Sounds like exactly what mine is doing. Wife got hit by a drunk driver last weekend so she has the truck at work right now. I'll definitely check that out when I get a chance. Thanks man.
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ironmanstan · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 6:09 pm Post subject:

Enjoyed the report az.
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lifeaquatic · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 7:00 pm Post subject: Re: PINS report Sunday the 16th

Sounds like a fun weekend adventure none the less. Your detail really helped me visualize the story even though I've never been down PINS in all my years. I hardly comment on surf fishing since that isn't my focus, but I definitely admire the effort it takes and the rewards it yields.

AZ_squid · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 7:07 pm Post subject:

Thanks guys! Surf fishing can be a lot of work and on occasions it can be phenomenal. I did a little when I lived in San Diego but fishing out there isn't anything like a trip out here. In cali you can't drive on the beach so the equipment you bring out is a lot more limited. I'm lucky to have some friends out here who have been doing it for a long time and have a lot more experience and equipment than I have. Wade fishing the flats is my real passion but I sure do love a beach trip.
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RedSniper · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 8:11 pm Post subject:

Nice report AZ....I'll be out this coming Saturday....not sure if I should go surf or bay!?
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AZ_squid · Posted: Mon Feb 17, 2014 8:23 pm Post subject:

Bay reports have been a lot better than surf reports this week from what I've seen. Either way get out there and get some.
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