# Cover me, I'm going in...



## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

Truck loaded, alarm set. Planning the dawn patrol tomorrow. It may just be for stirring the sargassam, but I'm going anyway. I haven't been near the beach since February and haven't caught a fish since New Year's weekend. Gotta get sandy.

The plan is for Surfside/Folletts. Will post fish/weed pics when I get back.


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## poco jim (Jun 28, 2010)

Good luck, wish I was going


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## kev2126 (Apr 14, 2006)

Good luck! Don't let the Skeeters carry u away! 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk 2


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

Follow up: 

The drive down went smoothly. I timed it to arrive after first light so that I could see to drive on the beach and look for weed in the water. I drove on past the bait camps in Surfside because the flags were standing out stiff. I didn't see any point in burning bait money if it was too rough to fish. The surf was up, but not crazy, so I went on to Rd. 5 and went in. The beach is a real mess. The high tides have left very little space between the water and the vegetation. What beach there is has 6 in. of compressed weed on it. It made for some bumpy driving since the weed covers the holes.

I scored a mullet and a shad in my first few throws with the net, so I cut some strips and put out the long rods. I picked up a small bluefish almost immediately. Then, the hardhead parade began. Folks, free hardheads in Surfside. Help yourselves. They were running about 17 inches and fat. Some of them were better than two pounds. I am not hungry enough to fry hardhead....

Just before noon, I got a hard hit and a short run against the drag. I thought, "Wow! A real fish." Reeled in the biggest whiting I have ever seen. I checked it for a tail spot twice. Nope. 18 inches of tomorrow's lunch....

The weather looks ugly offshore. There were a few raindrops right after sunrise, but it was quiet at the beach otherwise. The horizon was just a solid black storm cloud.

Finally, I have to celebrate the first use of my first Abu 7000. It was an ebay castoff from a catfisherman in Kentucky. I am very impressed with how easy it was to cast. Hopefully, it will see something other than overgrown hardheads before too long.


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

Pics from today. First is the beach at sunrise. Next is my favorite: 2lbs of hardhead in 10lbs of weed. Finally, the storm coulds offshore about 11:30.


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## Rawpower (Jul 4, 2011)

Thanks for the report. I had the same thing happen to me a couple of months ago. If I caught a fish, it had a huge chunk of seaweed with it. At least I know my knots can handle the weight. What size hooks were you using? Sometimes the bigger circle hooks will keep the hardheads off your hook. Glad to hear you tried out your Abu 7000. I upgraded mine with boca bearing and carbonex drag washers. Cast like a champ. Tight lines!:cheers:


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

It was wrth it. Blackened whiting on the griddle for one.


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## Sea-Slug (May 28, 2004)

histprof said:


> It was wrth it. Blackened whiting on the griddle for one.


Whiting is about the best eating fish in Texas, I prefer it over snaps, flounder, or crappie or trout.


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

Easy to catch. Easy to clean. Easy to cook. Easy to eat. I tell myself that I go to fish for the more glamorous species, but I always smile when that first eating sized whiting hits the sand.

On a related note, I used the Zatarain's blackening rub on the fillets above. The fish tasted very salty to me, despite cooking it with some sweet, unsalted butter. I normally do these fillets with a little nature's seasoning and a dash of cayenne. Are other blackening blends as salty as the Z's?


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## Reel Time (Oct 6, 2009)

Thanks for the nice report.


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## kev2126 (Apr 14, 2006)

histprof said:


> Easy to catch. Easy to clean. Easy to cook. Easy to eat. I tell myself that I go to fish for the more glamorous species, but I always smile when that first eating sized whiting hits the sand.
> 
> On a related note, I used the Zatarain's blackening rub on the fillets above. The fish tasted very salty to me, despite cooking it with some sweet, unsalted butter. I normally do these fillets with a little nature's seasoning and a dash of cayenne. Are other blackening blends as salty as the Z's?


Some of the others are not as bad. I use Bryan Slaven's Sidewinder Searing Spice. Less salt and more flavor in my opinion.

http://www.texasgourmet.com/


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## 535 (May 23, 2004)

prudhommes(sp?) is really good, pricey but the spice in their blackening seasoning is dead on... HEB's brand is alright as well. Neither is too salty imo

we used to use whiting for bait only, but eat the heck out of big ones these days. My fishing buddies have raised more than one eyebrow but blackened whiting tacos on corn tortillas with fresh pico and lime is hard to beat


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