We got to battle some monsters tonight, but no sharks unfortunately. A minor shame since we had a nice shark party going at the camp site. Relatives, friends, and random beach walkers had come up with some beach chairs to hang out and watch the show. It was a good time nonetheless. Hey, instead of going to the bar or the club every night, get some people together and come up to the beach for a night under the stars. If you’re into meeting people, there’s always someone walking by, and when you tell them you’re up there for shark they usually hang around!
We had a guest with us, Andre, and it was first his time ever fishing the surf, and in general fishing seriously. You guys catch sharks right there? ’But I swim there’ his sister said. They won’t bother you like that I told them. When you get them on the beach it’s a different story however. They’re not to happy about that, but In the water they’ll leave you alone. I explained to Andre some of the ins and outs of the rig, putting the bait on, etc. It took him a couple attempts to get off a successful cast, but once he did were ready to go. 4 rods out- Doug, Will, myself, and Andre.
The first stingray hit as soon as it got dark. Fortunately, these were the kind of stingrays that moved, and with our bigger gear we were able to match their power and to prevent them from dead weighting on the bottom, so the battle was pretty fun. I got the first ray to the beach in good time and the crowd gathered around to see. The excitement of everyone is infectious! The ray was released smoothly.
We had a guest with us, Andre, and it was first his time ever fishing the surf, and in general fishing seriously. You guys catch sharks right there? ’But I swim there’ his sister said. They won’t bother you like that I told them. When you get them on the beach it’s a different story however. They’re not to happy about that, but In the water they’ll leave you alone. I explained to Andre some of the ins and outs of the rig, putting the bait on, etc. It took him a couple attempts to get off a successful cast, but once he did were ready to go. 4 rods out- Doug, Will, myself, and Andre.
The first stingray hit as soon as it got dark. Fortunately, these were the kind of stingrays that moved, and with our bigger gear we were able to match their power and to prevent them from dead weighting on the bottom, so the battle was pretty fun. I got the first ray to the beach in good time and the crowd gathered around to see. The excitement of everyone is infectious! The ray was released smoothly.
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| Will getting some bend on the 12ft stick from a big stingray |
Andre was up next. He never caught a fish from the beach before, and when his rod started bending down to the ground I yelled ‘Andre you’re up’. He picked up the rod and set back, a lesson about what to do in the event of a hit explained earlier. 20 minutes and at the next beach north Andre had the fish in the drop off. ‘Oh no’ I thought, the drop-off is the worst with these things. Quickly he heard the lesson on how to ride the fish in on a wave. After about five unsuccessful attempts, I asked him what he thought about cutting the line. ‘NO I WANT THIS THING’. Alright! Then bring in on the wave now please! With a surge of motivation he finally got the wave thing right and the fish washed all the way up.
The crowd was going wild! For us been-there done-that types it’s cool to see the excitement that this stuff brings to those who aren’t familiar. Andre was covered in sweat, out of breath, and pumped. I got the camera out of the back pack, and immediately Will and Doug got behind the fish for a pose. Can the person who actually caught the fish get the first picture?! They liked that one. Andre stepped in and we got the shots. For never beaching a fish in his life, a 25 minute battle with a 55 inch butterfly ray, I’d say, was a noteworthy accomplishment.
The crowd was going wild! For us been-there done-that types it’s cool to see the excitement that this stuff brings to those who aren’t familiar. Andre was covered in sweat, out of breath, and pumped. I got the camera out of the back pack, and immediately Will and Doug got behind the fish for a pose. Can the person who actually caught the fish get the first picture?! They liked that one. Andre stepped in and we got the shots. For never beaching a fish in his life, a 25 minute battle with a 55 inch butterfly ray, I’d say, was a noteworthy accomplishment.
This was Andre’s first time fishing the surf and his first fish ever caught. He was ecstatic! A 55 inch, tip to tip, butterfly ray.
