30lb Yellow Tail from the Surf

[BackBayMan]

Ever think you know sh!t, only to find out you don't know sh!t?

After reading about the father son team that landed a 30lb yellow from the surf in Torrey Pines, I have to admit I don't know sh!t. But I've had my ass kicked before, it's how I learn, so I'm going to try to go to school on these guys and up my game. Never too old or late to learn new tricks

BTW- what exactly is the proper way to freeze, unfreeze and thread on a sardine?

Here's the link to the full article https://www.wonews.com/Blog.aspx?id=3963



The catch of the 30-pound forkie was no fluke, I can assure you of that. These fellas were well beyond "dialed in" and they knew exactly what they were doing out on the sand.

Armed with a custom, 13½-foot graphite baitcasting rod that goes for about $1,000-plus, a Daiwa Sealine X30 reel spooled with specialized 20-pound leader material, a custom, four-pronged, 3-ounce weight and a 6/0 hook baited with a jumbo, cotton-thread-wrapped fresh-frozen sardine, 16-year-old son Sean was hurling casts of over 130 yards out from waist deep on the beach. One of those very casts resulted in the one, very big forktail bite.

"He hooked that fish and it just started screaming line off the reel," William relayed. "Sean did a great job but pretty quickly he only had maybe a quarter spool of line left, and when I got out to him about chest-deep, he handed me the rod with just maybe 6 or 8 turns left on the spool.

"It's a real key just how you fight these big game fish at this point," he explained. "You've really got to fight the fish according to the angle as to where you're fishing from. I managed to hold it there just enough and I started to slowly walk it back and slowly turn his head and get it leading him back to the beach — you know, right then at that point where it's just one more pull and they're going to snap that last bit of line. If its head turns, it's over. Once I got a few more winds on him I gave the rod back to Sean and he finished it off. I gotta say Sean did a great job. He handled everything — kept the rod up, had the right drag set, everything."

Sean already knew a little about big game fishing from the surf going into the ordeal, having beached a shovelnose shark twice the size of himself at just 5 years of age under his father's tutelage.

"We've all got to do our best to encourage kids to fish," William said. "Getting kids to catch fish of any kind is absolutely terrific. You can get 'em catching perch after perch and they'll have a blast for a long time, but eventually it'll kind of become 'ho-hum, ho-hum,'" he said. "But you get a kid that has a fishing rod being just pulled out of his hands by a big game fish in the surf, and believe me, he's hooked for life."

Along with the big yellowtail the Taylors put on the sand, they also landed a quartet of soupfin sharks utilizing the same tactics. An epic day wading in the surf with rod and reel to be sure — likely a feat that even the most experienced, veteran surf casters can hardly manage to soak in and truly believe.

The key to pulling a catch of this magnitude off, William said, is to have every minute detail covered and each and every nuance of the approach well thought of in advance — from rod and reel, to line, leader and terminal tackle and baiting, to the particular tactics used in the heat of the fight.

"You've gotta do just everything right," said William. "The way you freeze the sardine is important, and so is the way you defrost it. It's gotta look like it just died. The key is 'floating' our baits — wrapping them in thread just the right way and getting it up off the bottom so it looks like a natural sardine. That's the whole concept behind it. And you've gotta get it waayyy out there. The farther out you cast, the better you catch in my experience."

And so it was said. Undoubtedly, these cats have it about as "dialed in" as one could hope to get things.

[Pinoyfisher]

These guys were fairly prepared to land something of size, but hooking into a yellowtail, in my opinion, is total luck. I do believe there's always that shot of getting one, or a WSB, BSB, sheephead, etc... when fishing the right areas though. All the reefy structures we hit to get a grinner can also hold these sought after game fish and it's only a matter of time.

[BackBayMan]

Did you notice they caught 4 soupies too? On sardines?

Bet your ass I'm going to be tying on some sardines

This kid's dad is supposed to be legend. Turns out Andre knows him and actually shot video of him surf fishing! Used Sardines back then too!

I also like the emphasis he places on distance. Either you have it or forget it. Distance costs money. Gonna have to bend over and get me some

[Pinoyfisher]

Drone gets plenty of distance. What happened to yours?

[Latimeria]

Drone gets plenty of distance. What happened to yours?

A bat ray is gnawing on it. 

[Pinoyfisher]

Drone gets plenty of distance. What happened to yours?

A bat ray is gnawing on it. 

Hahaha!!! I thought he bought a new one.

[BackBayMan]

Alan finally drowned his, but he bought a new one, so I'll be long lining with him until I get my start up rolling

[1morecast]

No supersize that he caught a soupie with a sardine. I believe some non-posting member of this board calls them the  "Magic bait". The fact that we have tons of YT in our waters I'm not that shocked that he landed one from shore.  Don't get me wrong it's still pretty cool that they caught a YT from shore.

[WheresMyBeer]

Notice where the reel is seated? Ray tried to get me on this. I does really work but I just couldn't get myself to change.

Amazing catch!

[vdisney]

Drone gets plenty of distance. What happened to yours?

A bat ray is gnawing on it. 

Ouch!!!

[Eric H]

All the reefy structures we hit to get a grinner can also hold these sought after game fish and it's only a matter of time.

This.

I only fish near reefs.

[Eric H]

It's a cool catch but if it was caught on a surface iron it would take it to a whole new level.