Tying The Mortician Rig

A couple of weeks ago when I was home, I tried my luck surf fishing at  Playalinda Beach.  

 

Except for a few small whiting which I returned, the fishing was less than stellar however, I did get schooled on how to use and tie a Mortician's surf rig by one of the guys fishing at the same Lot number.

This guy was catching bluefish and smaller whiting on the same rig using different size hooks and baits, so I asked him what kind of rig he was using.

He told me that his go to surf rigs were made with 60# fluorocarbon leaders so he could toss up to a 6 oz. pyramid sinker or Sputnik sinker when necessary. 

The problem with using a 60# dropper loop rig is that you can’t down size the hooks for smaller mouthed species like whiting, croakers, and pompano.   

The smallest size hook you can get on a 60# dropper loop rig is a 2/0 Eagle Claw L197F Circle Hook.  

I tried it with a Gamakatsu 2/0 circle hook but the eye was way too small for the 60# mono.   

When you consistently miss bites and need to go to an even smaller hook like the 1/0 Mustad 39940NP-BN Ultra Point 1X strong circle hook, it's impossible to use the heavier mono rig.

The solution to quickly changing hook sizes is the so called Mortician Rig that he was using, which is nothing more than tying two figure eight knots in the 60# dropper loop rig.   

The knots form a slot where you can easily add a larger or smaller pre tied hook to accept different sized baits without re-tying an entire leader.

The video above shows how to tie the rig with the figure eight knots.

My four surf rods are all spooled with 30# and 60# Power Pro and with this rig as terminal tackly,  it should make casting different size baits on the same rod a snap.  

When I get back home again, I'm looking forward to staking out a couple of rods on the sand using these rigs with a clam or sand flea on one hook, and a piece of chunked bait on a larger hook, to see what is biting on any particular day.  

The Mortician's rig definitely makes it easier to switch out hook sizes and try different baits without the hassle of re-tying the rigs on the beach.

I've been out of pocket for the past several months but plan on wetting a line more often when I get back home.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Where Are The Pompano?

Finally went out to Playalinda Beach to see if the Pompano were in the area.

I took a couple of rods rigged with 30# and 60# Power Pro, a few pyramid sinkers, and some shrimp and sand fleas that I picked up at the bait shop.  What I neglected to bring along was a phone charger for my Android, hence no pics.

The weather was nice but a little windy and the surf was relatively calm for the area.

After rigging up with two and three hook pompano rigs and  4 oz. sinkers, I tossed my baits into the fartherest trough on one rod and closer in on the second rod.

I kept losing baits but finally after an hour or so, caught a couple  of small whiting which I released into the surf.

I noticed another surf fisherman a few yards from where I was fishing had been catching whiting and a couple of really nice bluefish on the same rod.

I walked over to him and found that he was using cut baits, clam strips, and sand fleas on the same rig.

After a bit of banter, I found out that he was using something called a Mortician  rig that allowed him to use several size hooks on heavier 60# terminal tackle.

He told me that a surf fisherman in Cocoa Beach told him about the rig and that I should search for it online.

We parted ways and I made a mentaal note to do just that.

Anyway, I believe that the variety of baits he was using on each of his rods is what gave him better luck than what I was having.

It was getting chilly and the bite was slow, so I decided to head for home and some dinner.

Evidently the pompano were on strike this afterrnoon, 

Till next time,

Tight Lines

Tarpon In The Vistas

This afternoon I decided to get out to Playalinda Beach to catch a few whiting for dinner and see if there were any tarpon in the Vistas on the way to the beach. 

I loaded up a couple of surf rods and one river rod with a Bass Pro topwater popper, just in case and headed to the beach. 

On the way to Playalinda, I stopped at the bait shop and picked up some frozen shrimp and a pack of finger mullet for bait. The girl at the shop said that the tide was on the way out and most of the surf fishermen were catching whiting and a few keeper pompano on sand fleas and shrimp. I figured that since I was already loaded up, I might as well head out to the Lots even though the tide was heading in the wrong direction.

 When I showed my lifetime pass to the girl at the kiosk, I asked her why she was wearing a mask when she was all alone in the booth.  She said it was required, so I left it alone. I'm convinced we have all gone mad! 

 Anyway, as I drove past the first Vista I was going to stop but decided to hit the beach first.  

The first lots had several cars so I headed up to #9 and checked out the area. The water was dirty and the tide was going out. There was a good current moving which would require a heavy lead to hold bottom, so I moved up to lots #10 and #11 to see if conditions would be more conducive to fishing.

These lots were also about the same; dirty, roily water and a heavy current.   I planned to fish around lot #10 but after talking with a surf fisherman who was there most of the morning without any fish, I decided to wait for a high tide tomorrow morning to fish the surf. 

I planned to head back to fish East Gator Creek but decided to stop at Vista 7 to give it a shot.   

On the third cast with my popper, I hooked into a juvenile tarpon around 3 feet long.   The fish jumped twice before sending the lure back to me.   

I loosened up the drag on my reel and continued tossing the small topwater popper around the area.   After several casts, another tarpon slightly smaller hit the plug and got off after the first jump. 

I always bow to the tarpon when they get hooked but today for some reason the lures kept getting thrown back to me.  

After several more casts around the area, the bite died down so I moved up to the next Vista and continued casting the small popper. 

This Vista produced hookups with two more tarpon about the same size as the last site and one smaller tarpon about two feet long.    All the fish were hookups that got off after a couple or three jumps.

Frustrated, I gave up and headed back home to tell Karen about my trip.

Karen wanted to pick up a prescription and take the "boys" for a ride, so I packed up the river rod and we headed out to Walgreens.  They filled her scrip and we headed over to Bio Lab road to scout for snook spots and see if there were any tarpon in the area.,

We didn't see any tarpon, but I found a few nice spots for snook along the road.   When we came to Playalinda Beach road, I decided to try the Vista where I hooked into the larger tarpon earlier, and Karen agreed.

When we drove down to the Vista,  I got out of the truck and on the first cast hooked into a tarpon that was over three feet long.    The fish took a lot of drag, jumped four times, and on the last jump broke off my favorite topwater popper.

It was the only one I brought with me so I tied on a large Zara Spook that I tossed around for several minutes without even a follow up.    The tarpon apparently were only interested in smaller baits today so I packed up my rod and we all headed back to the house.

I broke my diet and ate four slices of pizza from Lil Ceasers before doing my afternoon walk.

Till next time,

Tight Lines..

Barren Beach

I was privy to a barren beach when I got to Playalinda the other day.  The weather was lousy and the waves required a 5 oz. pyramid sinker to hold bottom.

When I got to Playalinda Beach, the tide was almost full.  I had a few river rods with me in the truck that I was going to use for juvenile tarpon in the Vistas, but all the Vistas were cordoned off to vehicles due to the upcoming Space X launch, so I decided to try the surf instead.

I noticed very few vehicles in the lots and decided to fish Lot #8 where I had some decent luck with whiting a couple of weeks ago.

When I got to the end of the walkway, I was the only person on the beach as far as the eye could see.

Undaunted with the heavy surf conditions, I decided to at least give it a try so I tied on a double hook pompano rig baited up with fishbites, and decided on a 4 oz pyramid sinker to hold bottom.

The first cast into the closest trough quickly made me change the sinker to a 5 oz. that I happened to have in my box.

I spent the next hour or so fighting the waves and managed to hook a couple of undersize pompano and one whiting that I released.

I took some pics of the area before I decided to head to Haulover Canal to see if anyone was catching fish over there.

The mullet run was underwhelming this year, and I guess from my experience this afternoon, was just about over.  I didn't spot any fish in the surf and the fish I did catch were by dumb luck.  

You could hardly tell when a fish was on, and I was genuinely surprised when I pulled in my first small pomp.

I left Lot #8 to the pelicans and vultures that were in the parking lot and headed to Haulover before calling it a day.

I had no bait with me and after making several casts with a gold Johnson's Sprite spoon, I packed it in and headed home.

Hope to see the next Space X launch this week.

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Beach Patrol

Went on a beach patrol this afternoon to see if anybody was fishing at Playalinda.

Got out around 2:00 pm when the air temperature was 94 degrees.  There was only a slight wind blowing this afternoon which made the temperature feel like 100 degrees.

I brought along some downsized lures today to hit the vistas along Playalinda Beach road.   As I drove past the toll booth I decided to stop at the Vistas first to see if any juvenile tarpon were in the area.

I stopped at Vista 4 first and tossed around a small Chug Bug smeared up with some Pro-Cure.  This area is very shallow and weedy.  I had a small ladyfish nail the bait and missed another before moving down to the next area.

The next Vista held a gator around 9 feet long that decided to be my "friend".  

 

He wouldn't leave my topwater baits alone  and finally parked his carcass right next to the bank so I couldn't cast around the area.

I switched rods and tossed around a suspended Mirrolure mullet pattern, but the gator continued following me around.

I packed up and headed to the beach to see if anybody was catching whiting or pompano.

For a Monday, there were a lot of people at the beach.  Most were sun worshipers trying to develop a tan or a case of Melanoma.  

I drove around Eddy Creek and stopped at lots #8, #9, and #10.

I only spotted three guys actually fishing, and they didn't seem to be getting any serious action.  

The tide was out and the seas were extremely calm.  The two guys fishing at lots #9 had some whiting that they caught on shrimp but nobody had any pompano.

 I thought about tossing a silver spoon around the surf but decided against the idea.  Instead I took some pics of the people on the beach and a short video of some guy sailing along on a surfboard.

I decided to head for home an try the Vistas again on the way out..

I switched to an XPS topwater bait at the first Vista and after several casts finally caught an released a small ladyfish.   A few casts later resulted in a hit by a small sea trout which was almost too small to eat the bait.

I hit the next three Vistas looking for juvenile tarpon but I didn't spot any rolling or chasing mullet.

Back at the second last Vista before the exit, I was casting on both sides of the road when  Cayden and his girlfriend. pulled in to fish.

He said he jumped some tarpon that were moving around and that he had caught some ladyfish. 

When he left I continued to fish both sides of the road and caught two more small ladyfish on the XPS bait before deciding to head for home.

I was ready to leave but decided to try the last Vista one last time.

This is a very shallow and weedy one with some tree stumps in casting range.  If it was freshwater, it would be great bass habitat, but it was brackish.

I kept getting grass on the Mirrolure, so I switched to a small size Chug Bug that I smeared with Pro-Cure.

I fished the bait so slow that a soft shelled turtle grabbed the Chug Bug.  I tried to land it but it finally let go of the bait.

I was about to give up when I made one last cast towards a tree coming out of the water.  The 'small Chug Bug bounced off the tree and sat in the water for a second before a nice tarpon inhaled the lure.

The tarpon jumped about five times before heading to the grass farther out from the bank.  The fish got tangled in the grass and as it jumped, broke the line at the lure.

If anybody catches a 30" tarpon in the area with a small Chug Bug in it't mouth, I'd appreciate a call from you.

I was one of my favorite all time baits.

I didn't have any more small size Chug Bugs so I tied on a Baby Bass pattern regular size Chug Bug that I also smeared up with Pro-Cure.

I must have made at least 20 casts with that bait before packing it in for the day.  The fish just were not interested in the larger bait.

Apparently size does matter!

Till next time,

Tight Lines.

Playalinda Beach In March

Fishing Playalinda Beach in March can be rewarding when the weather conditions permit.  The problem is that when conditions are stellar for surf fishing, the beaches get crowded, fast.

Saturday afternoon I decided to make a quick run to Playalinda Beach to get a fishing report from the gatekeepers and see how many surf fishermen were taking advantage of the beautiful weather.

I left the house after noon and drove up to the Playalinda Beach entrance shortly after.   

The refuge ranger I spoke with said that the surf fishermen were making good catches of whiting, bluefish and pompano at lots #8 and #10 so I headed to the beach to check it out.

I stopped briefly at Eddy Creek and found that the fishing pier that was damaged during the last hurricane was totally rebuilt and some fishermen were taking advantage of it.  

Lot #10 had several vehicles in the parking area and when I got to the top of the boardwalk, all of them seemed to be sunbathers.  Nobody was fishing the surf so I moved down to lot #8.

Lot #8 had about the same number of people on the beach but again, nobody was fishing so I couldn't get a first hand fishing report.  

I stopped at three other lots on the way out of the Canaveral National Seashore and found many more sunbathers but no fishermen.  

The tide was going out so either the fishermen left the beach after fishing the incoming tide, they departed when the beach became crowded, or the fishing reports were so bad that nobody bothered wetting a line today.  I can't believe the latter.

On the way out of Playalinda Beach, I stopped at a couple of the scenic Vistas to toss a Chug Bug smeared with some Pro-Cure around the clear flats.  

At Vista 6, I spotted several fish busting the surface and although I had a couple of followups, I had no aggressive hits on my bait.

When I finally left the beach, I drove up to Haulover to check out the fishing there.   Bairs Cove boat launch was slammed.  Trailers overflowed to the entrance leaving little room for the bank fishermen to pull over and fish, but they managed.

There were fishermen on the banks of both sides of the canal dunking a variety of baits, mostly shrimp, and a couple of the guys I spoke with said they were catching redfish, black drum, stingrays, and lots of catfish.  

I tossed a gold Johnson Sprite into the canal in a couple of areas but never got a hit, so I took a few pics of the scenery and headed back home to get something to eat.

Probably get out this week to give it a try when not so many people are around.

Till next time,

Tight Lines

Playalinda Pomps and Permit

I've been in Mobile, Al this past week and haven't had much chance to wet a line but Javier Cuazo was kind enough to shoot me some pics of fish he caught this Thursday at Playalinda Beach.

He was fishing in Lot 12 using shrimp for bait and caught about 6 Pompanos/Permits and several  Whiting between the hrs of 0700 through 1300.   

That's 7:00 am to 1:00 pm. for you non-military types.

He also sent me this short video which I decided to post despite the fact that I do not speak Spanish and haven't a clue about what is being said.

They look happy so if it is offensive, which I'm sure it is not, just click out.

The surf in the pics looks much more fishable than the last time I visited Playalinda.

I'll love eating Pompano and will definitely be heading to the beach as soon as I get back home again.

Till next time,

Tight Lines

Life's A Playalinda Beach

This afternoon I decided to hit Playalinda Beach to see if the waves were conducive to surf fishing without getting beat up too bad.

I left the house around 3:30 pm just as it started sprinkling again.  I packed three spinning rods and a 9 1/2 foot surf rod with an Okuma baitrunner reel loaded with 30 pound Power Pro and a pompano rig.

There was very little traffic at Playalinda Beach today and the beach was relatively devoid of human life.     Most of the human population was at Lot #2, but I decided to stop at the first location that had no cars parked in the lot.

When I drove into lot #6. I was rethinking my spur of the moment decision.  That lot had a stairway going up to a sloping ramp over the dune that was definitely going to provide me with my cardio exercise for the day.

I pulled out my surf rod, the small blue cooler I brought with some frozen shrimp and salted clam, and sand stake for my rod.

When I finally made my trek up the walkway and stopped gasping for air, I but a piece of clam on the bottom hook of the pompano rig, a small headed shrimp on the top hook, and clipped on  a 4 oz. sinker to hold bottom.

The surf was rough but this location had a deep trough right at my feet that ran out about 10 feet that led to a shallow break that was only about 1 foot deep.   A second much deeper trough was where I planned to fish.

I waded out to the break with a small bag of bait in my pocket and started fishing.

Almost immediately I got a hookup with a small hardhead catfish which I quickly released.

For the next hour or so I caught and released 9 more hardheads before finally landing a nice "
dinner size" whiting.

It seemed like the whiting moved in and the cats moved out.  Anyway, I caught three more whiting and lost another wading back to my cooler before the bite stopped.

The tide was still going out and I continued catching a hardhead now and then until I hooked a juvenile black drum.

The drum was under the slot, so I released it and went back to hooking catfish.

Finally, a couple showed up just as I was going to call it a day.  I was really getting tired of fighting the current as I was wading back and forth to the cooler to stow the whiting I was taking home for dinner.

Being knee deep in strong current gets you tired pretty quick, especially if you don't go surf fishing on a regular basis.

I drove around Eddy Creek before leaving the Canaveral National Seashore and headed back to the house.

As I was driving up to Peacocks Pocket road, I made a split decision to check out the fishing at the kayak launch.  The other day when I was walking Peacocks Pocket road, I saw a ton of baitfish in the area with big sea trout busting on them.

As luck would have it, nobody else was in the area so I pulled up to the side of the ramp and pulled out my rod with a Chug Bug and started casting around the bait pods.

I missed two sea trout before finally landing an under size fish which I promptly released.

I switched rods and started fishing with the Zara Spook Puppy topwater bait after the Chug Bug stopped getting hits.   It only took three casts to get a hookup with another under slot sea trout.

I made a ton of casts to several likely looking areas but the bite quit around 6:30 pm so I called my wife and headed home.

On the way out to the main road, I almost ran over a 6 or 7 foot gator  that was in the woods across the road from the ditch that parallels the road.

The gator was really moving as he crossed the road in front of my truck and he never stopped until he hit the water.   I knew that gators are super fast for short bursts, but I didn't know they could run that fast on dry land until today.

The rest of the trip home was uneventful.

When I got home I washed off my rods, cleaned my fish, and had a great dinner.

I love fresh whiting.

Till next time,
Tight Lines.

Life's A Beach

After finishing my chores Friday afternoon I decided to hit the beach to see if the baitfish have arrived.

I left Odie and Elmo at the house, packed several rods for surf or flats fishing, and headed for Playalinda Beach.

As I crossed the bridge and saw all the wind surfers on the river, I knew that surf fishing would probably be out of the question today.

 

There were several wind surfers on the North side of the causeway doing their thing and a couple of fishermen on the other side dunking baits.

I continued to the beach via BioLab road so I could check out the flats in that area.

Both the boat launch and smaller dock were empty and there were no trailers in the parking area.  

I drove towards Playalinda Beach road and was surprised that nobody was in the area.  The shallow flats out from the Whale Tail and across from Pelican Island were clear and with a light chop on the surface, I stopped to fish a few spots to see if I could pick up a sea trout.

I was making long casts with a medium size topwater SkitterWalk around the potholes with little success.   I had two fish blast the plug after several dozen casts, but I never got a hookup.  

I trudged back to the truck intent on seeing if anyone on the beach was catching fish.  

Along the way, I noticed that there had been a controlled burn along the road.  Several areas were burned down and there was an active fire in one area between the canal on the left side of the road and the lagoon.

Apparently it didn't affect the gators.  I saw several along the road and when I hit Playalinda Beach Road, there was a big one in the middle of the ditch not having a care in the world.

When I got to the beach, I stopped at one of the first lots and halfway expected to see someone fishing, but when I got to the top of the boardwalk, other than a couple surfers, I was the only one there.

The surf was rough and after watching the breakers for a while, I couldn't spot any baitfish so I moved on up to lot #8.

That section of beach was literally barren.  Other than a few seagulls, I was alone on the beach.
Normally, I would have been thrilled but with a rough surf, I decided to head back.

On the way out, I spotted a flock of Roseatte Spoonbills feeding in the shallows, so I pulled over and took a few pics.

I thought about stopping at East Gator Creek to fish the shallow flats but the wind was picking up and there was still a chop on the water.

As I got close to the bridge, the windsurfers were still doing their thing.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

Bio Lab Road Is Now Open To Vehicle Traffic

Karen and I took Elmo and Odie for a quick spin around Bio Lab Road this afternoon.

We were looking for a good spot to launch our Kayaks on the Mosquito Lagoon, and as we drove into the launch area at Bio Lab Road, we were pleased to see that the road was now open to vehicle traffic.

Bio Lab road is now ONE WAY ONLY from the entrance at the boat launch to the last road before Playalinda Beach, but even though there were signs posted; we still came upon one idiot who insisted on driving in the other direction..

The last time I spoke with the Refuge Manager, Layne Hamilton, I was told that both Bio Lab road and Peacocks Pocket road could be permanently closed to vehicle traffic due to funding problems, however we both hoped that because of the extensive shoreline access, Bio Lab would open some time in the future.

I'm glad to report that they have done a great job at opening up the shoreline to bank fishing, wading and shallow water boating.  In addition, they have opened up a few spots for parking and easy access to launching a kayak or wading.

The water in the flats this afternoon was crystal clear, and I spotted several nice pods of mullet within easy casting range of the road.

I tossed a Chug Bug to some trout that I spotted busting on the surface, and had one decent hit that I missed because of an early strike.  But, the ride this afternoon was mainly for the "boys", not for fishing.

Karen and I ran the road to Playalinda Beach and saw several fly fishermen tossing flies around the ditches on both sides of the road for snook or sea trout, but I didn't stick around to see if they were catching anything.

We drove all the way past lot #13 to the turn around, and then into Eddy Creek, which is another great spot to launch our kayaks.

The improved access to shoreline fishing and the crystal clear water in the southern Mosquito Lagoon along Bio Lab road will probably attract a gaggle of visitors to the area.

I just hope the public doesn't screw up access to this great area by littering, etc. like they did to Haulover Canal, Shiloh Road, etc.

Only time will tell.

Tight Lines and bent rods to you all.

Feast And Famine On The Beach

After a stellar day's fishing Playalinda Beach a couple of days ago, I was hoping to duplicate my success today, so this afternoon I loaded a cooler and couple of rods into the truck and took off to the beach.

When I hit the beach it was about 4:30 pm and the tide was just beginning to head out.  The surf was not too rough and there was almost nobody on the beach.

I went to the same lot I fished the other day and noticed some birds about two hundred yards out from shore diving on baitfish.  I could see fish busting on the school but they were way too far out to cast to.

I was expecting some great fishing but there were no baitfish close to the beach.

Although I brought my cast net along today, I never got a chance to use it.  The mullet had apparently disappeared.

Undaunted, I pulled out a spinning rod with a Yo-Zuri SP shallow diving plug and started walking the beach fan casting into the first trough.

The lure almost perfectly mimicked a mullet in the surf but after more casts that I could count, I never got a hit.  I continued casting farther out into the second trough and still had no action.

I spotted another flock of sea birds diving on baitfish that were a bit closer to shore, but before I could get into the area and casting range, they were gone.

To make a long story really short, I spent the better part of two hours fan casting the area and trying to get close enough to the baitfish schools offshore before finally hooking up with a small flounder.

The fish was about 16" or 17" long and didn't put up much of a fight, so I unhooked it and let it go.

I would have taken a pic but I didn't feel like making the long walk back to the cooler to get my cell phone.

Finally, after another half hour or so, I realized that the mullet were well offshore today and it was a fools errand trying to duplicate my last surf fishing trip.  For today the Playalinda Beach mullet run was not happening.  It's feast or famine on the beach.

I loaded up my stuff and trudged back to the truck and headed home.

Maybe I'll have better luck next time, Tight Lines.

Playalinda Beach Fall Mullet Run

The fall mullet run is currently going full force, so I decided to hit Playalinda Beach for a change to sample a little surf fishing.

The thunderstorms were just beginning to let up around my house when I decided to get a little fishing in and because Peacocks Pocket Road was closed to vehicle traffic, the beach seemed to be a good alternative.

I loaded up two "river" rods, an Okuma surf rod, and a small cooler with a few frozen blue crabs and several small mullet for bait.   I had a small "beach" tackle box set aside with my extra leader material, hooks, sinkers, etc. but I forgot to bring it and a 5 gallon bucket along.

When I drove into the Playanda Beach guard shack I asked the attendant about the fishing and the tide but she wasn't able to provide any information about either.

I decided to check out several areas to see if anyone was catching fish but when I stopped at lot #3, there was nobody in sight.  In fact, except for a couple of fishermen and some wildlife officers who were doing work on the facilities, the beach was for all practical purposes, desolate.

I stopped to take some pics and short videos of lots 3, 8, and 10 (above) before I finally decided to pull out the rods.

At the last lot, there was a couple who were just leaving and one fellow, who I later learned was named Jeff, cast netting mullet in the surf.

When I walked down to see if he had seen any fish, Jeff said he saw several nice fish in the breakers and when he offered me some live mullet for bait, I couldn't resist not getting my fishing rods.

I retrieved my gear from the truck and baited up a sliding sinker rig with a live mullet to see what I could catch.

After losing a few fish, I finally got into the groove and landed a small Jack Crevalle which I returned to the ocean.

It was an overcast day, the tide was just starting to come in, and it was around 5:00 pm. A perfect scenario for productive surf fishing.

From 5:00 pm on it was if someone turned on a switch.  The fish started biting and I was catching bluerfish back to back. 

I hooked a nice Snook in the surf that was cruising just off the first sand bar.  It took the mullet and got off as I was leading it across the shallows.

Jeff didn't bring his fishing rod along with him, so I offered him one of my spinning rigs to use until I was ready to leave.

We both were catching bluefish and as I caught another Jack, it broke off my sliding sinker rig.

I had several rigs in the truck but since it was getting late in the afternoon, I didn't feel like slogging back to the truck to get them.  Instead when the last bluefish cut off my leader, I tied on a 5/0 Owner hook directly to the 40# Power Pro I had spooled on the reel and put on another mullet.

I thought a flat lined bait would be just as good as one on the bottom and it didn't take long to prove me right.

On my second or third cast past the second sand bar, a tarpon of about 5 feet in length took my bait and took off.   I saw the hit and didn't realize it was a tarpon until it made it's first jump out of the water.   As the line started screaming off my reel, I quickly realized that the fish could spool me.

When the tarpon jumped the second time, the hook came out and I didn't have to worry about the spooling problem.

That was only the second tarpon I ever hooked from the beach and both were unforgettable.

Anyway, I tied on another hook and caught another bluefish before the bite started slowing down.

It was around 6:30pm when Jeff and I decided to call it a day.  I had six bluefish in the small cooler for dinner and a tale to tell my wife.

Not bad for a few hours of fishing.

With any luck, might meet Jeff tomorrow for another shot at the fall mullet run.

Till next time, Tight Lines.

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.