Well got our AZZEZ Kicked.... but well worth it... Felt good getting the first one out of the way with a win.... i yanked a 28 inch 7.8 lber for the Sandy Hook top prize of 1200.00... following report was written by my bow monkey LAB
sorry no pix as it was a torrential down port when we hit the marina
Fished with Broken Bobber and Orlando "The Enforcer" on TNT. Left A.H. at 6am to a dark sky and windy bay KNOWING turning the corner wasn't going to be pretty. Was met by 6'ers at The Rips and we looked at each other. Saw a fellow fisherman in a MUCH bigger boat heading back IN to the bay and we rolled our eyes. Tommy took his time heading down the beach and we got there in one piece; 3-4'er with a hard 15-20 East wind.
8oz MAI TAI BUCKTAILS with strip bait &/or "other" bait. I got the Dollar Bill keeper (still waiting?) and it was on. 2 for Orlando, a couple more for me then Bobber joined in. ALL fish Cookie Cutter 21-25" aggressive fish. Boxed up around noon (23 - leaving room for one more) but keep fishing for something bigger (my 26" biggest at this time). Both Bobber and I dropped "nice fish" that would have filled that bill but we're used to that; part of the game. NOT too many shorts today, maybe a dozen?
Bobber sets the hook and nets a decent fish, bigger by eye than all the others so into the live well it goes. Didn't measure or weigh it. We fished until around 2pm with fish running from "what happened?" to "It's ON".
Seas continued to build (and we were crazy to begin with to be out there) so we headed to scale, our 28" x 7.8# took over the lead. We ended with catching close to 40 keepers. In the fast drift, all the fish felt BIG which kept our hopes up.
Things I learned today:
1. It takes a different breed. 1 knee replacement and a follow up surgery to same knee and he takes the beating driving out to try and find bigger fish.
2. You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
3. Bob Bates, Cool Hand Al, Tony Eaglefan and even Jigama Joe are true gentlemen. They also braved the seas to fish the ocean today. We fish "CLOSE" to each other for a couple hours and both boats respected the drift(s) of each other. You CAN fish the same "spots/numbers" and not be a prick. Glad you guys had an excellent catch too.
4. MISTRESS (I'm guessing SRI) should take a lesson from Bates. This guy has been up our azz for 2 years. WE were the ONLY boat for miles when he showed up. He pulled directly up to us, circled and lined up exactly on our drift. EVERY SINGLE TIME we went up for another drift, he followed us. We intentionally stayed on a drift far too long (on purpose to see his response). HE stayed with us. SCHMUCK!
5. Rotisserie Chicken Salad is as good as the norm that I get.
6. They say that "loose lips sink ships". I can attest that "Wet Hands Lose Rods". It floated for 30 seconds but is gone. If someone catches a Tsunami rod with a Saltist on it; please contact Orlando. He took it in stride.
7. You aint getting your fish cleaned in a torrential thunderstorm.
8. Cleaning the boat in same is easy. One scrubs while the other hoses. Who cares if you get soapy or wet because you're SOAKED.
9. Good Fishing makes you forget you have the flu and a sore back. Even if you have to pull the wind sock over 50 times.
10. Entering into a different port to try and NOT compete against certain competition isn't a good idea. We tried it before and got burned.
And Last
While this tournament doesn't pay squat although they bring in a ton of cash, it's BETTER to win than not.
