# Mystery slam at surfside



## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

Went down to surfside early this morning to beat the labor day crowd. Loaded up with shrimp and live mullet and headed directly to access rd 4 (open beach). I figured it was less likely to get crowded early. Surf was forecast all weekend to be flat, but it was anything but flat. A SSW wind kicked up to 15-20mph and the rip current was still strong. I managed to get 3 longer lines out to the lst & 2nd gut baited with live mullet and waited. And waited. Nothing was happening so I threw a couple shrimp on my trout rod and barely got it out to the 1st gut. I had it resting in the pole holder for 5 sec and looked down at my watch to see the time was 7:45. Wham!! Something slammed it like I've never seen before. Bent the rod to the sand and snapped the line in one mighty shot. What the hell was that? I was hoping a big red. About 10:00am, one of my mullet lines got hit in the 2nd gut. Fought a 25" red to the shore. Packed it up and went home as the holiday beach go'ers started arriving. A good day all around! :fish:


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## jettycowboy47 (Jun 17, 2012)

What was the tide like? Incoming? or outgoing?/running ?stationary? The mystery slam is always the one you remeber the most... Keeps you coming back. Work has kept me busy most of the summer but i am going to try to get a 4 day pass and take a drive down here later next month. Hopefully the school and football will quiet things down a little bit. 

Hearty congratulations on your catch!


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

jettycowboy47 said:


> What was the tide like? Incoming? or outgoing?/running ?stationary? The mystery slam is always the one you remeber the most... Keeps you coming back. Work has kept me busy most of the summer but i am going to try to get a 4 day pass and take a drive down here later next month. Hopefully the school and football will quiet things down a little bit.
> 
> Hearty congratulations on your catch!


Thanks! It was high tide early in the morning and outgoing, 7/8 full moon. Sunny all day. All my favorite conditions except for the strong wind and current. Goo dluck on your next trip :walkingsm


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## SurfRunner (May 22, 2004)

I bet it was a red..Probably one in the 20" range. There are a lot more of those in the wade gut than we know about cause most people wade right through it when fishing for trout. Those slot reds will espacially be active this time of year in the wade gut.

But, you never know what it was.


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

Given the shrimp bait, I'm betting your mystery fish was either a bull red, or a bull black drum. Between my wife and I, we have caught several of each out of the first gut on shrimp baits.

I suggest anyone leaving a rod unattended back off the drag. You may be lucky the line broke. If it hadn't, you probably would have lost a rod and reel.


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

bigfost said:


> Given the shrimp bait, I'm betting your mystery fish was either a bull red, or a bull black drum. Between my wife and I, we have caught several of each out of the first gut on shrimp baits.
> 
> I suggest anyone leaving a rod unattended back off the drag. You may be lucky the line broke. If it hadn't, you probably would have lost a rod and reel.


My exact thoughts afterward!


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## Spectaker (Oct 24, 2011)

I was there yesterday myself from 1:30 to 5:30 and the whiting kept me more than busy (had shrimp on two rods, one in first gut, one in second). Couldn't leave my pole alone longer than 5 minutes before something happened. Did have one time where my rod dipped way the heck over but was at the car and don't have a chance to snag it. I did get two decent sized black drum so maybe that was your mystery fish. They definitely have quite the pull. 
On a side note, I did add another species to my list. Caught two southern stargazers in seemingly the same spot. 
Glad you had a good day. Those line breaks, while disappointing, keep ya additicted to the sport.


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

Here's a bull black drum my wife caught on a piece of shrimp about the size of a thumb nail.










Here's a decent little bull red caught on a Fish Bites.


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## texastony (Jun 14, 2012)

bigfost said:


> Here's a bull black drum my wife caught on a piece of shrimp about the size of a thumb nail.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


nice red how much fish bites you put on the hook and what flavor i bet there was no fight with that sweet 7000i i've reeled in my share of reds with that exact reel and it handles them easily


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

texastony said:


> nice red how much fish bites you put on the hook and what flavor i bet there was no fight with that sweet 7000i i've reeled in my share of reds with that exact reel and it handles them easily


I like to buy the long strips of Fish Bites, rather than the precut ones. I use about 1" pieces of shrimp flavored. I have found them to usually be as effective as fresh shrimp, and I'm never without them.

Now, to address the reel, it's not a 7000, it's a 5000, with 12# mono, on a trout rod. I do have a couple of 7000s, including the original red one they came out with in the early '70s, but the intent of these pictures was to demonstrate what can be caught on small rods and reels.

Between my wife and myself, we have caught dozens of large fish on our bait rods. That's why I caution to have your bait rod in a well secured rod holder, and to have the drag backed off when it's unattended.


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## jagarcia10 (Mar 10, 2011)

bigfost said:


> Here's a bull black drum my wife caught on a piece of shrimp about the size of a thumb nail.


I bet that was a fun fight on that reel. I also use an Abu Garcia as my bait reel. Mine is a 6600 though. I always leave my reels with a loose drag.


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

Spectaker said:


> I was there yesterday myself from 1:30 to 5:30 and the whiting kept me more than busy (had shrimp on two rods, one in first gut, one in second). Couldn't leave my pole alone longer than 5 minutes before something happened. Did have one time where my rod dipped way the heck over but was at the car and don't have a chance to snag it. I did get two decent sized black drum so maybe that was your mystery fish. They definitely have quite the pull.
> On a side note, I did add another species to my list. Caught two southern stargazers in seemingly the same spot.
> Glad you had a good day. Those line breaks, while disappointing, keep ya additicted to the sport.


Nice report. Those stargazers are funky lookin. Do you release them or eat 'em?


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

I have had the wade gut big fish event happen twice. My only contribution to the discussion is that it is just raw FUN when it happens. I picked up a slot red on half an inch of shrimp last fall on my bait rod. Years ago, I was standing in the wade gut with an ultralight and 4lb line fishing for croaker. I got a huge hit and breakoff. I retied and went back out to hook a slot black drum. That was way too much fish for 4lb line and a 5' rod. When I got it to the beach, I invented a primitive pagan dance right on the spot. If this has not happened to you... definitely keep a bait in the wade gut.


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

histprof said:


> I have had the wade gut big fish event happen twice. My only contribution to the discussion is that it is just raw FUN when it happens. I picked up a slot red on half an inch of shrimp last fall on my bait rod. Years ago, I was standing in the wade gut with an ultralight and 4lb line fishing for croaker. I got a huge hit and breakoff. I retied and went back out to hook a slot black drum. That was way too much fish for 4lb line and a 5' rod. When I got it to the beach, I invented a primitive pagan dance right on the spot. If this has not happened to you... definitely keep a bait in the wade gut.


Yeah, the slamdance was definitely a highlight right behind catching the 25in red. I have caught a dozen or so black and red drum in the wade gut. I still think it MUST HAVE BEEN HUGE to pop my rod so hard like it did so I'll be prepared next time.


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## justinn (Apr 8, 2011)

nice report!

Not to hijack your thread but what weight are you guys using in the wade gut on your light rods? Small spider weight?


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## bigfost (Oct 11, 2004)

justinn said:


> nice report!
> 
> Not to hijack your thread but what weight are you guys using in the wade gut on your light rods? Small spider weight?


I use a 2oz spider weight.

It just so happened I was bored today and went back and looked at a bunch of my old reports over the past few years. This thread has specifically been addressing fishing light rods and reels, but it also doesn't hurt to put a bigger rig in the wade gut. While I don't normally do that, I have occasionally, and have caught some of my biggest bull reds and big uglies from there.

Soak a big mullet bait, or a whole blue crab in the wade gut, and you might be surprised at what you catch. What I'm calling the wade gut is the first legitimate gut out from the beach. Up around the McFaddin area, where I fish, that gut is waist to chest deep, so plenty deep for just about any size fish to be cruising.


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## histprof (Oct 30, 2011)

The weight depends on the rod n reel. If I am using a trout rod, I use a 1 oz. If I am using a light surf rod (9' & 15# line), then I may go 2-3 oz. The wade gut is usually a fairly tame place and I can park small baits with standard flat sinkers. I also dont mind if the bait drifts around a bit in the gut. The whiting seem to attack the motion while the hard heads and crabs go for the stationary baits.


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## fishingcacher (Mar 29, 2008)

histprof said:


> The weight depends on the rod n reel. If I am using a trout rod, I use a 1 oz. If I am using a light surf rod (9' & 15# line), then I may go 2-3 oz. The wade gut is usually a fairly tame place and I can park small baits with standard flat sinkers. I also dont mind if the bait drifts around a bit in the gut. The whiting seem to attack the motion while the hard heads and crabs go for the stationary baits.


Now you tell me! I will have to try that in the wade gut. There have been countless times when I have bird nested by reel and the bait ends up short and I amazingly catch some fish that are much closer than i ever expect them to be located. I was hoping to catch a Jack this year but so far no luck. I have seen a Jack bend a 1 1/2 PVC pipe rod holder.


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## surfguy (May 17, 2011)

To be more specific, at surfside the wade gut is only 3 ft deep at high tide and as low as 1.5ft deep at low tide out to the 1st bar. My breakoff occurred at outgoing high tide ~2.5ft deep just before the 1st bar. My bait/trout rod is 7' 0.5-1.5oz with 20lb braid with 20lb mono topshot. The rip current was strong that day, so I used a 2oz spider weight. Even with my mistake of having full drag set, it should have held a decent size red or black. I can't describe how violent this hit was. It bent to the sand in nanoseconds. I have now rigged up a SPECIAL bait rod with 40lb line just to see what I get next time (this weekend). BTW, I hooked a jack crevelle 2 yrs ago in the 1st gut that weighed in at ~20lbs. I felt it hit my line as I was dragging my rod back to shore. It took me 20min and 100yds down the beach to get him in on my 10' rod / 30lb setup. Those jacks are awesome!


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## hellfighter76 (Feb 7, 2006)

nice redfish


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