von behr
Well-known member
With daylight savings upon us, I noticed a window in the tides this morning that matched perfectly with the first couple of hours of the day, beginning at sunrise.
Having an extra hour of sleep was a nice bonus, but I wanted to get that last bit of incoming tide before the high tide hit at 8:00 am.
I grabbed a coffee on the way to the beach and geared up shortly after 6. I always start out very relaxed, but as I gear up and tie on that first fly, I get anxious and my hands get shaky with anticipation (not from coffee, trust me). It doesn't matter how many times I go fishing, and age and experience don't seem to matter...the anticipation is always there.
I scanned the water for some structure, and I watched the sun slowly creep up over a bluff...the beach was all mine.
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The surf was rough, with some big rip currents and waves stacking on top of each other. I also had some seaweed to contend with, which can make for a frustrating outing. One of the waves even knocked me down, causing some chilly seawater to grace the inside of my waders.
My second cast hit home with a nice surf perch, and I managed to catch several more between the intermittent invasion of seaweed that had to be removed from my fly.
As the surfers began to arrive, I saw an explosion of water about 100 yards from the shore, followed by a couple of silvery fish leaping into the air, but I knew they were too small to have caused the commotion. There was a predator under there, but I wasn't sure what it was yet.
Within seconds, my question was answered when a large sea lion leaped from the water chasing some fish. He looked like a big kid splashing in a swimming pool. He spent several minutes thrashing around in pursuit of his morning meal. I just didn't want him chasing away all the other customers.
Having been spoiled with the bump-bump-bump feeling of some healthy surf perch on my line, I've given the 8-weight a rest and have been taking my 6-weight rod with me the last few outings.
Of course, as fate would have it, this morning I felt the rock-solid grab from something big. Suddenly, both rod and reel had to go to work.
I quickly put him on the reel, cranked down the drag on my Ross Rhythm 2, and tried to put some wood to him. This guy wasn't slowing down at all. He started running toward Santa Barbara, so I backed out of the waves and ran along the shore for a stretch to keep him in range.
After a serious tug-o-war, I landed a large shovelnose guitarfish (commonly called a sand shark). I didn't snap a pic, because I wanted to get him right back in the water after that lengthy fight.
Here are a couple of the other critters who visited me this morning:
Uploaded with ImageShack.com
Uploaded with ImageShack.com
So, take advantage of that extra hour today. It's a nice bonus on this gorgeous Sunday.
Cheers,
-VB
Having an extra hour of sleep was a nice bonus, but I wanted to get that last bit of incoming tide before the high tide hit at 8:00 am.
I grabbed a coffee on the way to the beach and geared up shortly after 6. I always start out very relaxed, but as I gear up and tie on that first fly, I get anxious and my hands get shaky with anticipation (not from coffee, trust me). It doesn't matter how many times I go fishing, and age and experience don't seem to matter...the anticipation is always there.
I scanned the water for some structure, and I watched the sun slowly creep up over a bluff...the beach was all mine.
Uploaded with ImageShack.com
The surf was rough, with some big rip currents and waves stacking on top of each other. I also had some seaweed to contend with, which can make for a frustrating outing. One of the waves even knocked me down, causing some chilly seawater to grace the inside of my waders.
My second cast hit home with a nice surf perch, and I managed to catch several more between the intermittent invasion of seaweed that had to be removed from my fly.
As the surfers began to arrive, I saw an explosion of water about 100 yards from the shore, followed by a couple of silvery fish leaping into the air, but I knew they were too small to have caused the commotion. There was a predator under there, but I wasn't sure what it was yet.
Within seconds, my question was answered when a large sea lion leaped from the water chasing some fish. He looked like a big kid splashing in a swimming pool. He spent several minutes thrashing around in pursuit of his morning meal. I just didn't want him chasing away all the other customers.
Having been spoiled with the bump-bump-bump feeling of some healthy surf perch on my line, I've given the 8-weight a rest and have been taking my 6-weight rod with me the last few outings.
Of course, as fate would have it, this morning I felt the rock-solid grab from something big. Suddenly, both rod and reel had to go to work.
I quickly put him on the reel, cranked down the drag on my Ross Rhythm 2, and tried to put some wood to him. This guy wasn't slowing down at all. He started running toward Santa Barbara, so I backed out of the waves and ran along the shore for a stretch to keep him in range.
After a serious tug-o-war, I landed a large shovelnose guitarfish (commonly called a sand shark). I didn't snap a pic, because I wanted to get him right back in the water after that lengthy fight.
Here are a couple of the other critters who visited me this morning:
Uploaded with ImageShack.com
Uploaded with ImageShack.com
So, take advantage of that extra hour today. It's a nice bonus on this gorgeous Sunday.
Cheers,
-VB