Yes, two fishing reports in the same week! That must be a record for me. :D
With the long weekend this week, I thought I'd get in another MB session. Joe and Mike both got the invite but they couldn't make it so it was going to be a solo session. I remembered a buddy (Garik) from work was a fisherman and I kept telling him about how much fun bat fishing can be, so I send him a text invite. He's game so we meet up in our AO around 8:30pm. The high was not until 1:30am so I wasn't in a hurry to get to the spot. We set up two rods (one conventional and spinner) I give the Garik the the spinner and the prime spot, hoping to get him a fish. The tide was filling in fast and we had to keep moving the rods back every 1/2 hour. Garik is a fly fisherman and is used to light gear, so using the long rod with a 10/0 hook with 100lb crimped leader was very different for him. ;D We get our first hit at 10:15pm and it's on the spinner. Garik makes short work of this 25" bat with the Baitrunner 12000.
(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o559/binhngo17/Mobile%20Uploads/af448332-50e3-433f-8e62-b80c78cc995c_zpsxtmgmimw.jpg) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/binhngo17/media/Mobile%20Uploads/af448332-50e3-433f-8e62-b80c78cc995c_zpsxtmgmimw.jpg.html)
25"
(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o559/binhngo17/Mobile%20Uploads/d0012812-0012-45d2-948f-1e19ea7fd54c_zpscszmjgh8.jpg) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/binhngo17/media/Mobile%20Uploads/d0012812-0012-45d2-948f-1e19ea7fd54c_zpscszmjgh8.jpg.html)
After the 25" ray my buddy is pretty pumped about bat ray fishing. His mind is kinda blown when I tell him that's a small one. ;D another 30 minutes go by and we get our second hit of the night. This time it's a much bigger initial hit and run. The bat takes the bait right toward some land based obstacles so I had to take the rod from Garik to avoid getting hung up. I give Garik back the rod and we had to follow the bat back up the sand. Being a Saturday night we had a crowed of people who followed us to see what we had caught. Once we button down the drag we started gaining line on the ray. Garik is a big guy but not use to fish that pull this hard. (trout fisherman ;)) It takes him about 5 minutes to beach this ray.
44"
(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o559/binhngo17/Mobile%20Uploads/batray%202-13-16_zps2ytvgmuc.jpg) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/binhngo17/media/Mobile%20Uploads/batray%202-13-16_zps2ytvgmuc.jpg.html)
(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o559/binhngo17/Mobile%20Uploads/garik%20mb%202-13_zpswqu2oc7t.jpg) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/binhngo17/media/Mobile%20Uploads/garik%20mb%202-13_zpswqu2oc7t.jpg.html)
Here is the release
(http://i1147.photobucket.com/albums/o559/binhngo17/Mobile%20Uploads/imagejpeg_2_zps18b3rhgc.jpg) (http://s1147.photobucket.com/user/binhngo17/media/Mobile%20Uploads/imagejpeg_2_zps18b3rhgc.jpg.html)
Another productive evening last night. Always fun sharing the experience with newbies. Both fish caught on 4oz cannon ball rig with 10/0 hook with double squid.
Nice! 8)
He might never enjoy fly fishing again.. way to go :D
Yeah, going from trout to mud marlin is like going from a Toyota compact pick up to a GMC C5500 4x4 Duramax Diesel Truck! LOL
Great session guys! The Bat Ray Bug has hit! lol
Hey, you spot poacher!! ;D ;D ;D :P :P
Nice session guys. Really great seeing the bats again.
Nice one Binh! Get him on the board and to the SNBF! Sorry I couldn't make it, I think the baby knew I wanted to leave, so she did her best to keep me home. I'll go next time!