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Posted by Rikshaw on 21:44:55 09/06/03
Launched with Defjack and GregO from the hand launch about 7:30 and didn't even try to buy bait. Paddled out of the harbor mouth and directly out about 1 mile. Calm seas and no wind made a drift difficult but with a moderate red tide condition I felt it was a moot point anyway, and started a drift for Halibut with Fresh Dead Squid.
Jack slow trolled a Large Plug which tailed back from a 4 oz weight, to get it to the bottom, and immediately hooked up with a shorty Halibut which he released and which was immediately replaced on his plug by a nice Sand Bass.
Greg and I drifted for a bit with no luck so I started to slow troll the squid by using a bounce ball, and managed to hook up with grandad Sand bass, which immediately tangled my other lines. As I began to clear the tangle. Jack lets out a yell and I look over and see his pole bent double and that he is taking and losing line in equal measure. After a short fight, Jack boated a BEAUTIFUL 30" Halibut that was probably in the 15 - 17 lb range.
We cleard lines, snapped a few pics and started our troll again.
After an unproductive hour Greg decided to paddle in. He managed to get about 1/8 mile away when all of a sudden he hears line start screaming from my reel and my clicker going off scale. I had something very big.
I am sitting sideways on my boat when all of a sudden it takes off like a shot and I am on a sideways sleigh ride. I have another line in the water from a rear pole holder, but it is taking both hands to hold on to my hooked up rod and try and manage to keep my yak in line with whatever is pulling me.
Greg manages to catch up with me as the fish sounds and he cuts the line from my rear rod so I can have a clear fight, and off we go again.
There is no head shake, so I think it is not a huge Halibut. Sharks tend to run out and straight, then jump a bit, so I do not think (And HOPE) it is not a big shark) A white sea bass would have tired out soon after the initial sleigh ride... so what the heck do I have.
Finally after a good 15 to 20 minute fight, I get color... On my 15lb Andes line I managed to hook a HUGE Batray.
Might have been slow fishing, but that was one hell of a fight and a fun sleigh ride, for my first big Bat Ray.
Ended the day with 5 Nice Sandies, 1 Short Halibut, and a fun ride across the bay.
Ric
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