# Sykes - 10/31 (One Scary Night of Fishing)



## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Well, instead of going out to some club or frat party like most college kids did last night, Taylor, Nathan, JD & I decided to go out to Sykes for a few hours. JD is my roommate (who doesn't fish) & it was really cool that we finally got him to come out with us, so it was our sole mission to put him on a big red! Well, about 45 minutes after we got there our mission was put into effect. We were all talking & forgot we were fishing (like always) when I hear the clicker on my Abu 7k start to sing. Ran over to it & she stopped… Damn. Picked it up, & after another five seconds it starts to go again. Let it run for another four or five seconds & then engaged the reel. This red was hauling ass! Couldn't stop the thing. 30 seconds go by & my Abu C4 down to the left of me starts to scream. I yell to Nathan to grab it. He hooks up & I tell him to hand the rod to JD & coach him on what to do. Double-hookup in progress! My fish was still peeling off line running out into the bay, but JD's had other plans. It ran him straight for the bridge, but he handled it like a pro! Taylor did a great job netting JD's quickly & then ran over to me with the dropnet to get mine. Put the tape on both of them after unhooking & measured JD's @ 32.5'' & mine @ 38.75''. Got some great pictures & then released them safely. Not a bad start! He didn't say it, but JD looked like he was having fun! An hour later or so my 7k starts screaming again. I let it run for 10 seconds or so & then try to turn it, but this thing is running like a freight train. I yell to JD to come over to me & I hand the rod to him. He grabs it & was like "damn, this is a bigger fish!". I coached him through the first minute of the fight but he let the line get slack for a split second & the fish spit it. Reeled in & realized that it wasn't a red, but a shark. 60 lb. mono leader was shredded. Re-rigged & baited up my 7k with some secret red candy. Only a few minutes after the secret bait is out, it starts to scream again. I hookup with the fish & yell to JD, knowing that I'm about to regret the event that follows. As I watch the fish smoke line off the reel @ 15 pounds of drag, I hand the rod to JD. I tell him that this time we're not losing the fish! The red beelines for the shoreline down to the left. JD was reeling like mad & running down the bridge trying to keep up with it as I tell him what to do. He didn't let any slack in the line this time & about 5 minutes later I net JD's 41.75'' monster of a red. @ close to 35 pounds, it's on par with my heaviest red, but it was actually a half inch longer than my own record of 41.25''. I was ecstatic for JD, but kicking myself for handing the rod off. But I realized that I shouldn't be selfish when I saw how happy JD looked holding that bull! Got some awesome pictures & then lowered her down to the water. We ended up leaving shortly after that fish, because we ran out of bait. Perfect timing too, cause it started raining on the walk back to the car. I think we all had a fun night out there, & I'm so glad we were able to get JD on some fish, because he never gets the chance to fish & has never even caught a fish in the salt before. Great Halloween night for sure! 

*Tally for the night*: 

*Taylor*: 0
*JD*: Angler of the night w/ a 32.5'' red & a hoss 41.75'' bull
*Me*: 38.75'' bull
*Nathan*: 0

Hope everyone had a great Halloween, & tight lines.


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## MoganMan (Feb 24, 2013)

Nice write up of a fun night! And I told you not to look back at your PB red!


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## orbiting headquarters (Oct 30, 2013)

Nice.
You guys are kicking' arse.
My boy and I are headed out tonight. You guys going or what?
Let me know. We are ready!


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

MoganMan said:


> Nice write up of a fun night! And I told you not to look back at your PB red!


Glad you liked it dawg. May be a bit longer until I pick you up, cause it took me a while to write that up & I still haven't eaten or showered yet. Haha.


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

orbiting headquarters said:


> Nice.
> You guys are kicking' arse.
> My boy and I are headed out tonight. You guys going or what?
> Let me know. We are ready!


We try!  Man, I want to, but I'm not sure yet. I'll shoot you a text if we do though. What time you guys planning on going out?


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## DAWGONIT (Jan 16, 2009)

Nice haul and thanks for the detailed report & pics!


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## Bow'd up (May 6, 2012)

good job guys, guess its time for me to start heading back out to sikes w the the reds running like this! Think me and Austin and a couple others going to hit the beach sat night for some more shark fishing if yall wanta join


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## MoganMan (Feb 24, 2013)

Bow'd up said:


> good job guys, guess its time for me to start heading back out to sikes w the the reds running like this! Think me and Austin and a couple others going to hit the beach sat night for some more shark fishing if yall wanta join


Depending on the weather we may tough it out! Haven't decided yet.


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## brian4 (Oct 29, 2013)

Yall had a great fishing trip ! 
Nice ! thanks for the pics ..


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## Bow'd up (May 6, 2012)

MoganMan said:


> Depending on the weather we may tough it out! Haven't decided yet.


yah, suppose to be fairly calm but sounds like it may get a little chilly


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## Fisher Belac (Mar 6, 2013)

I remember when I used to "bear" the elements. Maybe I'll get out there this weekend with you guys if it stays warm outside.


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## HappyHourHero (Jan 31, 2012)

Nice work guys!


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Fisher Belac said:


> I remember when I used to "bear" the elements. Maybe I'll get out there this weekend with you guys if it stays warm outside.


Yeah, I remember how things were when I had a girlfriend too...


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## JV22 (May 11, 2013)

Man you guys are really killing em. Never caught a bull yet on my way out to the opposite side of Sykes right now to try but need a little advice (hopefully you can get back in the next hour or so) my surf rods just a cheapo 9' Shakespeare starter rod that I haven't used for a few months since I started catching slot reds on light tackle...will it be enough to take on a bull or should I not even bother targeting em? You won't hurt my feelings if you say no I'd rather have honest info than to hook one up and lose it right away to being underpowered


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## Smarty (Nov 23, 2008)

JV22 said:


> Man you guys are really killing em. Never caught a bull yet on my way out to the opposite side of Sykes right now to try but need a little advice (hopefully you can get back in the next hour or so) my surf rods just a cheapo 9' Shakespeare starter rod that I haven't used for a few months since I started catching slot reds on light tackle...will it be enough to take on a bull or should I not even bother targeting em? You won't hurt my feelings if you say no I'd rather have honest info than to hook one up and lose it right away to being underpowered


Usually they like to pull straight out for a few seconds prior to turning toward the nearest structure in an attempt to cut you off. As long as you can turn their head to control them and have a strong enough line to lift it's head out of the water you've got them. Once they suck wind usually their done. In over 40yrs of saltwater fishing I've only had one able to make a 2nd run after getting it's head out of the water. Never forget to keep your drag loose enough to allow them to run. You didn't mention what lb. line you're using. For the bulls I would say use at least 17lb test. Any lighter than that and you're looking to get cut off attempting to prevent a break off. I use cheapo Shakespeare combo set ups as well and they work fine. That is until they fall apart. I abuse the hell out of mine :yes:


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Smarty said:


> Usually they like to pull straight out for a few seconds prior to turning toward the nearest structure in an attempt to cut you off. As long as you can turn their head to control them and have a strong enough line to lift it's head out of the water you've got them. Once they suck wind usually their done. In over 40yrs of saltwater fishing I've only had one able to make a 2nd run after getting it's head out of the water. Never forget to keep your drag loose enough to allow them to run. You didn't mention what lb. line you're using. For the bulls I would say use at least 17lb test. Any lighter than that and you're looking to get cut off attempting to prevent a break off. I use cheapo Shakespeare combo set ups as well and they work fine. That is until they fall apart. I abuse the hell out of mine :yes:


Smarty it's 3AM & you're not posted up at the end of Sykes... why the hell are you awake?! Haha.


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## JV22 (May 11, 2013)

I've got 20 lb line on so I should be OK there but I tried it for a few hours and just got cats so I've moved over to the grass and the speck bite is hot so I guess the bulls will have to wait for now


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## tjn1125 (Nov 2, 2013)

I have fished on sykes for years now have only caught rays and junk fish. what do you guys use for rigs and bait if you all could help me out a little bit guys thanks?


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## southern yakker (Jun 25, 2012)

tjn1125 said:


> I have fished on sykes for years now have only caught rays and junk fish. what do you guys use for rigs and bait if you all could help me out a little bit guys thanks?


My goto setup is Carolina rigged men haden with a bug 8/0 circle hook. Works like a charm usually just have to wait a bit.


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

tjn1125 said:


> I have fished on sykes for years now have only caught rays and junk fish. what do you guys use for rigs and bait if you all could help me out a little bit guys thanks?


Southern yakker rigs different than we do. Send me a PM or your number & I'll let you know how we get them.


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

HappyHourHero said:


> Nice work guys!


Thanks man, appreciate it!


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

JV22 said:


> Man you guys are really killing em. Never caught a bull yet on my way out to the opposite side of Sykes right now to try but need a little advice (hopefully you can get back in the next hour or so) my surf rods just a cheapo 9' Shakespeare starter rod that I haven't used for a few months since I started catching slot reds on light tackle...will it be enough to take on a bull or should I not even bother targeting em? You won't hurt my feelings if you say no I'd rather have honest info than to hook one up and lose it right away to being underpowered


Honestly, the 9' med' action rod is gonna put you at a disadvantage once you get a bull up next to the pilings. Shorter, heavier action rods in the 6' 6"-7' range work better for horsing big reds away from structure, but it can most certainly be done with your setup if done carefully! Other thing you gotta worry about is the Shakespeare combo reel that came with that rod, cause the drag washers are cheap felt & have a nasty habit of locking up & getting sticky during hard runs, which could cause breakoffs. & 17 lb. mono is okay for your line; but we all use 30 lb. braid or heavier according to the drag capacity of the reels we use. We use the heavier braids cause once you get a 25-30 lb. bull up to the bridge & it starts hauling towards the pilings sometimes lockdown drag is necessary to keep it from breaking you off. 

With all that said, you could land a bull on a cheap 2k size spinner loaded with 8 lb. mono on a 5' ultra lite rod, just gotta have a mix of luck & be smart while fighting the fish. PM me with anything else you wanna know. Good luck man!


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## Cornflake789 (Oct 10, 2008)

You're a Bob Sikes animal Sawyer!! :thumbsup::2guns::2guns::2guns:


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## Smarty (Nov 23, 2008)

ThaFish said:


> Smarty it's 3AM & you're not posted up at the end of Sykes... why the hell are you awake?! Haha.


When the sun starts to come up that's my que it's bedtime 
Gonna be out there late tomorrow night. Haven't been posting any pics lately because of my phone acting up. No real biggie though. I just want to hear them sizzle like late night bridge snacks should :thumbsup:


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## tjn1125 (Nov 2, 2013)

Hey thafish how do u send pm's on here ?


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Cornflake789 said:


> You're a Bob Sikes animal Sawyer!! :thumbsup::2guns::2guns::2guns:


Whoah! Actually calling it Bob Sykes for a change? I've never heard you call it anything other than "Bob Sh***."  Haha. Cornflake you gotta go out there with us sometime here soon, & what happened to calling me last weekend to go to NAS?!


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

tjn1125 said:


> Hey thafish how do u send pm's on here ?


Click on my name & one of the drop down options should say "send a PM to ThaFish".


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