Another Personal Best, By Alexi

   

Most all of my friends and family know that I'm addicted to fishing. All summer long I get asked how the fishing is.  Unable to be anything but brutally honest, I usually start by saying something like "fishing season doesn't start until November."  And then I may back pedal and make some small talk about the fishing I'd been doing, none of which usually matters to the person listening, (or to me really, because at this point in the conversation, though I may be talking, I'm really just thinking about the Fall.)

The consistent West Wind has made it a good couple of weeks to surf launch a kayak into the ocean.  I went out last week and got skunked.

Launched at first light last week

Birds were working, but no big fish were under them

   So I had to get back out (yesterday, Sunday Oct 30.)  The reports were getting better.  I couldn't get there until 2, and my plan was to fish until sunset.


It was a slow afternoon for me.  The surf wasn't as calm as I'd have liked, but I saw bunker splashing around so I hit it.  I had a snagged bunker right away.  I kayaked from the pipe all the way down to the pier and back, hitting pods of bunker the whole way, not seeing any fish caught or getting any hits.  I was about to head in when I saw the tell tale sign of fish blowing up bunker.  The rapid boiling water.  I snagged a bunker just past the boil, seconds later it was fish on.  It was heavy.  I started to doubt that it was a bass.  Maybe a shark, or a big blue.  It was taking some line.  After getting dragged around I gained some line on it.  Another bunker had become stuck to my line and was now impeding my ability to reel in the last bit of line so I could see the fish.  I shook the line to try to get the bunker off but it wasn't budging.  Quickly, I did what I didn't want to do, but I knew I had to, I allowed for a little slack by grabbing the bunker and ripping it off my line.  For that second of slack line I was mortally terrified that the fish had spit the hook, but it was still on.

47"  36.25lbs