Busted! 5/28/2020

[sasquatch]

 Well, red tide finally eased up. High surf came down a little. Beaches are open to surf and walk, so what the hell? Gave it a shot.

Plan was to meet Tom at dark. Street side parking right in front of the sign that said "No Beach Parking Residents Only"
Well, screw that. I'm a resident, just not a local resident. Parked and gathered my stuff.

Made my way to the beach. Some kind soul had moved the sign that said the trail was closed. As I reach the parking lot I see another sign. Beach closed at 8pm. Also some nonsense about no surf fishing allowed. Luckily it was pretty dark so I didn't fully comprehend its message.

Watched the waves for a few, chose my spot, and put out a bait. Big sigh of relief, things are getting normal.

Soon Tom comes up the beach. I say hi and notice headlights moving down the beach towards us. Tom is reluctant to put all his stuff down as I mention the sign and wonder if it is the rangers doing a beach sweep.

A few minutes later we discover it is exactly that. sh!t.

Tom talks to him a bit. I couldn't hear what was being said so I cut to the chase. "Are we getting the boot?"

Ranger came back with, "I'm just telling you what I am required to tell you. Surf fishing is not allowed, and due to COVID 19 the beach is closed at 8pm."

Tom asked what time he was coming back and the ranger answered, "Have a good evening," and left to finish his rounds.

Not quite sure what to do, we decided to be respectful and move farther down the beach where we were less visible. We felt like he was giving us the speech but he never told us to leave. Our plan was to be easier to be overlooked in case he came back. He never did.

Tide was not the best for where we set up, but fishing is better than getting the boot so we made do.

Lots of critter bites and hollowed out heads, no weeds at all. Overall it seemed like a decent chance to hook up.

Finally, my rod goes full bendo, but no clicker. I grabbed it, pulled and got resistance but nothing else. Told Tom it was a big kelp monster. He said, "I haven't seen so much as a single piece of grass all night." Then it pulled back. Not hard, but certain.

Fought it awhile. No hard runs, no tail slaps, not sure what it was.

Finally get it close enough to see and its Batman. Not huge, but decent and fun to pull on.


Action shot.


The prize.

That was it for the night. A few more critter bites and we split.

Super good to get out and fish, even though it was a little risky.

[Latimeria]

Perfectly summed up! I have to say, it felt great getting in a surf session. 
The Ranger check only added to the enjoyment of the evening.

Nice bat Steve. It sounds like we will be able to shark fish free and clear here real soon.

[1morecast]

Nice that you didn't get the boot. Also nice that you got something to pull on.

[Dark_Knight_9C1]

Great to hear you were able to get out and fish. Good size batray too boot!
I was going to try Friday night but we had 3 to 6 foot waves coming into OC.

-Keith

[vdisney]

Plan was to meet Tom at dark. Street side parking right in front of the sign that said "No Beach Parking Residents Only".   Well, screw that. I'm a resident, just not a local resident. Parked and gathered my stuff.

I like the way you think Steve...................