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05-14-2011, 03:18 PM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Dana Point area
Posts: 438
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Beware Fri. the 13th!
It started out a typical LJ morning – calm, slight fog, overcast skies, 1-2 ft waves, water temp 62*F, easy bait, slow fishing, etc. It was a sleepy morning where I did not expect the calamity that was soon to develop. I was drifting through the kelp wondering if my introduction to La Jolla 4 ½ yrs ago by Greenjeans & Yani was a curse or a blessing. After getting bit that 1st day (and having the granny knot to my hook fail!) I was inoculated with an infectious contagion (aka the “LJ Bug”). Here it was 25 trips later with a trophy fish tally of 0-25. Just as I left the kelp, deep in thought, the reel sent out its musical zzzzzzzzzzzz. Whoa! This was definitely not the aggressive kelp snag I was so accustom to hearing. My brain jumped into overdrive- wait or don’t wait to set hook?, 3 sec. or 10 sec. wait? , too much drag or not enough? , pull hard or medium/fast or slow?, Pedal toward running fish or away? T-shark or wsb or..? The monster took off on a straight run near the surface toward my buddy, JB. John quickly tried to reel in his line to prevent a tangle, but it he wasn’t going to make it in time. Our lines crossed and his bait/sinker caught on mine. After frantically throwing off the tangle, my line went slack – another fish lost! Oh, well, isn’t it better to get bit and lose than to never get bit at all? I started to reel in my slack line when it came back to life! After 10min of runs, dives, short kelp tangle, and JB’s helpful coaching & encouragement, my 1st wsb came to color. Now a whole new set of questions arose- where to gaff?, bleed or not to bleed?, how to get this monster aboard without tipping? Where to grab it (Thanks, John for the warning about the sharp teeth & gill rakers!)?, how to load it and tie it down on the yak? How to pose for that otw photo!?, why is my leg twitching up and down like a sewing machine afterwards? Finally sorted all out and headed in.
Passed a couple kayakers just going out and heard a “Hey, nice fish!”. Looked up and saw Josh and his buddy- asked them how much they thought it weighed. Josh came over and took a closer look – “45 lbs” and his buddy nodded in agreement (right on-after bleeding the scale recorded 45 lbs 1 oz at 52"). OK, enough babbling. Pics can say it all. PS – Damien: sorry I couldn’t wait! . . . . . . . . . . . . Last edited by Vikingj; 05-14-2011 at 03:19 PM. Reason: fine tuning |
05-14-2011, 03:42 PM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: O.C.
Posts: 352
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Wayne -
OUTSTANDING job and INCREDIBLE fish! You deserved it and many more! :luxhell o::notwo rthy::lu xhello: John
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"I Brake for Halibut" |
05-14-2011, 03:45 PM | #3 |
Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 38
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Nice Fish
Wayne you sure payed the price for that nice WSB after all those trips not many people would have hung in there like you did.
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05-14-2011, 04:04 PM | #4 |
Administrator
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: 1-2 miles off the point
Posts: 6,948
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very nice Friday the 13th was not so unlucky for some!
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05-14-2011, 04:08 PM | #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Spring Valley
Posts: 1,400
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Awesome, great persevance, nice catch. Good seeing the Mafia score. Congrats!
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"Never say die" |
05-14-2011, 04:16 PM | #6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: San Diego
Posts: 115
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Congrat's....beautiful fish.
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05-14-2011, 04:42 PM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: South of La Jolla...
Posts: 1,193
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.. Good on ya! Congrats on the nice fish. And the report... wave, wind, sky, and water temp.. That's a report. Oh, and "look what I got" is a nice bonus also. Thanks..
Is that the Liberator Mini?
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Hmmmm..... |
05-14-2011, 04:42 PM | #8 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Vista
Posts: 1,111
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Congrats on your first WSB
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The shorter you are, the bigger your fish appear |
05-14-2011, 04:53 PM | #9 |
Member
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: la jolla shores
Posts: 86
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nice fish, saw you at the launch that morning and heard you came in early with that monster. congrats.....!
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05-14-2011, 09:04 PM | #10 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
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Wow Wayne!! What a fish!! Nice job on keeping your cool.
I hope this is the beginning of many more to come!! |
05-14-2011, 09:25 PM | #11 |
Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 69
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It took quite bit of time on the water, it's definitely a very well earned fish, congrats on an excellent catch.
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05-14-2011, 10:31 PM | #12 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Grants Pass, OR
Posts: 1,906
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Talk about patience, but what a sweet payoff. I'm guessing you'll be back?
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Amish Ed You can't catch it again if it's dead! |
05-15-2011, 09:39 AM | #13 |
Float Tuber
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 243
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Having a little patience makes it all worth it !
Beautiful Fish Wayne ! |
05-14-2011, 10:39 PM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Vista, California
Posts: 174
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Nice fish Wayne!!! Way to hang in there and keep fishing for WSB!!!! Great Pic's!!!
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05-15-2011, 09:32 AM | #15 |
Junior
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Encinitas, CA
Posts: 7
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I spoke with you prior to lauching off Friday morning. Your perservierance paid off. Well done Wayne.
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