Bad case of the "bat" back 04/23

[Pinoyfisher]

The usual suspects... Binh and I... on our usual Thursday night soiree for beasts. Tossed out some mack and started the bait and wait. Binh gets a solid run within minutes. Straight pull to Catalina... BAT. After fiddling with his rod for a few seconds, he puts it in gear and then his line goes slack Not sure what happened, but I'm pretty sure it's operator error

I'm getting plenty of critter bites, but ignore most of them. Waiting for that line ripper. Rod tip begins to bounce around... head shakes for sure! Hook is set and I can't really tell if I have kelp or a fish. I button down the drag to get it over with. A few seconds in and I finally get a little head shake. Sweet, not kelp! I've had my fill of that. He's no match for my gear, but the skunk is off.



Sucks that my belly is bigger than the leo

At this point Binh is in my face telling me how he thinks this night is "super fishy" and we're gonna hook up. Dude is stoked! He has the right attitude.  That's why I fish with him... and he's turning into a proper sand hand. LOL!!!

And just like that, he hooks up! Same tell tale straight pull with no head shakes... bat. Yeah. Can you tell I'm not excited. He makes short work of the little guy.



It looks a lot bigger than it is in the pic. Maybe 35"+ Sweet, the skunk is off for both of us!!

Last bait, last cast time. The tide is nearing it's peak and it's getting late. I get a ripper of hit and it's game on! Ugh... straight pull, no head shakes... bat. Again, I'm not excited. Surf bats hurt.
50"+ surf bats hurt a lot!! It turned into a near 15 minute battle. Bat strength vs my old and battered back.  I won





This girl was BIG. I was honestly thinking "f@ck, is it 60"?!!!" She fought so f'ing hard!! Super thick with a big 'ol head like Mike Tyson. Very preggo too. It took me several tries to get her revived to and swimming home. The surf beached her a few times. More wear and tear on me back. I'm smiling, but crying on the inside and you guessed it... my back hurts.

[sasquatch]

 Good session guys. Haven't hooked into a surf bat for a while.

[WheresMyBeer]

Wow Mike what a beast! Nice guys.

I had a 45 on the 12' stick and it sucked. Can't imagine a 54+ ... dude!! 

[Latimeria]

Lol, operator error. Lol

Well done guys. You're on a bat ray tear lately. Glad you got a grinner, but it's only a matter of time before it's the right kind.

Excellent work, and Binh.... No more operator error! Lol

[raychavez91]

Tell me about the big surf bats... I'm really over them  ..they were fun at first, but after many 50"+... My back is done lol

[1morecast]

Lol, operator error. Lol

Well done guys. You're on a bat ray tear lately. Glad you got a grinner, but it's only a matter of time before it's the right kind.

Excellent work, and Binh.... No more operator error! Lol

No more messing with the drag during a straight pull. 

2x over the bats, we want the grinners now. 

[j.rasta]

Nice work guys! reviving Tom's donkey few weeks ago was like towin a vw bug into waist deep water and I tried knee deep water twice only to have her swim back ankle deep with the surge... the things u do for friends at least it was your fish!

[xjchad]

What a beast!
If you guys keep that up you'll end up in surgery next to Tom!

[Eric H]

Very nice

[vdisney]

Tell me about the big surf bats... I'm really over them  ..they were fun at first, but after many 50"+... My back is done lol

Ditto here Ramon, that's what Denny is for!  Whenever I get a run without head shakes...........hand the rod to the kid 

[Tim524]

  Nice Thursday session, that's a monster Bat     At least operator error didn't result in gear getting a bath......again

[faster u fool]

got em