Christmas Eve On Playalinda Beach

I didn't expect to spend Christmas Eve on Playalinda Beach but that's exactly where I was this afternoon.

Because of some health problems I've had, I have been spending time at home recuperating instead of going fishing at my usual spots and this afternoon I couldn't spend another hour at home, so I decided to hit Playalinda Beach to see how the surf fishermen were doing.

The tide was out when I hit the entrance and when I asked the attendant if she had any fishing reports, she told me that this past week the surf fishermen were catching Whiting and Pompano.

She suggested fishing lots #3 and #10 so I thanked her for the information and headed to the beach.

I passed an energetic gopher tortoise tripping down the road and a gator at the first curve to the beach but no humans.

When I stopped at lot #3 to see if there were any fishermen on the beach, I only saw a couple of family groups making the best of an overcast day.    The surf was up and I was surprised that no surfers were in the area.

I decided not to fish the spot and headed toward lot # 10.  As I passed Eddy Creek I was surprised to see no cars in the lot so I parked and pulled out my tackle.

I set up a couple of sand spikes along a trough and baited up with fresh dead shrimp on one rod and finger mullet on the second.

 

The waves were strong this afternoon and there was a good rip current just past the first trough that required a 6 oz. sinker to hold bottom.

I started out fishing my Okuma bait runner rod with a finger mullet and a 4 oz. sinker.  That didn't last more than one cast.  Added an ounce per cast until I finally got the bait to hold on the bottom just past the first trough.

I had mono on the other surf rod I brought along so I tied up a two drop leader with a couple of small circle hooks and started fishing with a 4 oz. pyramid sinker.

I baited the second rod with small pieces of peeled shrimp and tossed the rig out just past the breakers.

The fishing was slow but the company was great.  Some gulls, terns, sandpipers and a snipe were all interested in my shrimp.

 

I kept getting hits on the finger mullet but whatever was biting kept chopping off the baits up to the head.  It could have  been bluefish or mackerel but I never landed a fish on that rig today.

I did manage to hook and release a few small whiting on the peeled shrimp.  They were all about the size of the fish below.

 

All the whiting I caught this afternoon were literally by accident.  I never felt a bite on any of the fish I landed but the small circle hooks did their job.

Fishing the surf during windy conditions is tough enough but when a strong rip current is included in the scenario, feeling a bite is next to impossible.

I didn't get to the beach until around 4:00 pm this afternoon and even though the tide was coming in, I decided to head for home at around 5:30 pm.  I probably could have caught some more whiting but I got tired of fighting the current.

I took the long drive home via Bio Lab Road and saw several people wade fishing the flats.

Next time I'll bring along a "river rod", just in case I decide to fish the lagoon.

Till next time, Tight Lines to your all and have a Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas

Wishing all of our followers a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

My wife and I didn't get a chance to do any fishing this weekend until late this afternoon.

Since time was a factor, we fished Peacocks Pocket road coming in from the easternmost entrance.

The temperature was in the high 70s and there was virtually no wind to speak of today. The marsh areas were dead calm and the river had only a slight ripple that totally dissipated as sunset approached.

Karen fished frozen jumbo shrimp under a pencil Cajun Thunder float and I started out fishing with my beat up Bagley gold hammered spoon.

We spent more time than we should have at the area in the video below, trying to get some tailing redfish to bite our baits.

I counted at least five oversize redfish tailing in an area where a flock of mud hens were feeding and causing a general commotion.

I've learned from experience that the ducks stir up the sediment in the shallow water causing the reds to start feeding on the crustaceans that are churned up.

But today, the fish were not cooperating at all.

Except for one small sea trout, nothing was hitting.

I had several followups with my gold spoon but at the last minute the fish veered away from my bait.

I switched to a root beer colored D.O.A. Shrimp, then to a D.O.A. CAL Jerkbait and finally to another heavier Johnson gold spoon, with absolutely no hits.

Karen wasn't having any better luck than I was.

I spoke briefly with a professional bass fisherman and his wife about how to fish the area we were in, but today all we did was fish. Not catch!

Frustrated, I suggested moving to another spot in the marsh area where we caught several 30 inch plus redfish in the past, but again we failed to score.

The alligators were out in force today. We counted over a dozen gators that were taking advantage of the beautiful weather either on the bank sunning themselves or cruising for a fresh duck dinner.

At our last spot, we spotted several fish moving up the marsh canal near just at dusk but the water was dead calm and nothing was hitting our baits.

When the mosquitoes began their blood thirsty activity, we decided to give up the fight for today and try it again tomorrow.

In any event, it was nice to get out and enjoy God's work.

Till next time, Tight Lines and a Merry Christmas!