I arrived predawn and rigged up on the sand patch next to the Street. Talked with the Turtle dudde on the ATV, who BTW asked if I knew PalmbeachPete. Said he just heard him on the radio and guys that did this type of thing prolly all knew each other....lol
He was a pretty nice guy ! Told him about this site.
I got the yak rigged and was ready to drag it to the sand. I want down and stuck my paddle in the sand and went back to get the rigged yak. I had a last minute change of riggings idea on the Penn 750 setup after watching the surf for a bit, and figured I'd tie my knots uder the streetlight. I finish and dragthe yak down and darn if my paddle is nowhere's to be seen. :bang:
80 yards S I see the headlamp of a a lone surfcaster and I sprint down there. Turns out it is a guy I See there everylaunch AM bythe name Jimmy. Fortune smiled and not only has he seeen my paddle, but told me he laid it down next to the lifegaurd shack so nobody else would grab it.
Well OK, sprint back and do my usual routine while waiting for safe light and the rest of the guys to show. I set out a Bottom bait w/ the clicker on ( Ballyhoo plug) and start walkin the surf with a storm swimbait. NOTHING, no jacks no snooklets, no runners....Hmm...Odd since sunrise in the breakline one of those 3 if not all are ALWAYS there......
Well, that set the pace for the day for me. Couple remora's chased my trolled ballyhoo and gummed it to death....a few chubs chased after a piece of cut bally on the 60' reef ( North ) Heck, the whole time the party boat was there nothing came up.
Speed jigging did not do much better as neither did Bucktails or storms trolled and tossed at breaking bonito. Highlight of the day was watching the turtles hump.As Bugdoc said, on the water, the vis was shaky at best - After loosing sight of land, the chop picked up a bit for an hour and I wished I had donned my vest just in case, I was getting just a tad squirrelly. We decided to fish closer that usual for safety as it would be hard to claim vis was better than 4-500 yards at one point in the AM.
I had to call it at about 10:30 to get back ( just about the time the fog lifted ) Water Vis was gin clear to 50-60 reef maybe better. Current was DEAD all AM. 2.5 oz took me right to the bottom..... :eek3: ( That is the reason I think the fishing was SLOW ) I always score better in current.
All in all, it was good exersize and good company.
BTW, Jon, even for a dead chop day, there were some decent rollers coming in sets every couple minutes. When I launched, I had to time em well, and still perled on one goin out. I hear coming in, it is better to do it backwards - less chanse of the end getting out of kilter. The Scupper surfs well, so I just kinda wait for a good one, paddle like mad and hope I do not get too far in front...lol
Sometimes it does not work, and I HAVE had to to the total tear-down, clean and lube of all my reels before. Really quite a PIA !
[QUOTE=krash]Disappointing, but at least you were on the water...
Whats around the pier, must be fish there, snook maybe ??[/QUOTE]
Usually always at least Runners and good sized jacks, sometimes better fish Krash, however not I or any of the other Boatlessfisherman that day did well that AM in the surf at dawn. :why:
All in all. the summary on the day for me is " That is why they call it FISHIN' "
