Nice calm flat morning was looking to be a bust. Fished some structure spots with the solo lamb thinking maybe a flattie could save the morning. Just a short ling. One greenie gets wacked up high and comes back with the tell tale pinpricks. Stayed in the area and started throwing iron, copied from Ken. First cast gets to the bottom and immediately loads up. I'm on. Not the right kind. Turned out to be a bat ray hooked in the wing. Pretty much ready to pack it in and rest up for a PM run. Throw the iron a little more when suddenly it gets real heavy. WTF, I'm not near any kelp. Holy crap, it's a fish. Out away from trouble I keep the drag soft and let it go. Feeling good about things till I hear a "phfttt" as the big dog sticks his head up a ways away. Fortunately, I don't think he saw me but I still stuck my rod tip in the water so he couldn't see the bent rod. Tightened up the drag and figured it was time to go for it. Horsed up the fish and at color see the nice white glimmer. Didn't quite grab my gaff properly so I ended up smacking it a couple of times before finally getting it stuck. Upper 30's.