Hali & Striper @ Paradise 4/23

Another great NCKA's hookup.  Weather was great in the morning but the wind was gusty in the afternoon. Trolling with live Shiners, got 1 short bite and 1 big Dungie for the day.  Martin caught a nice Striper, Jonathan & Aaron each caught 1 Hali.  Saw several Hali caught by PB's and 1 caught from the pier.  Please be careful around the ramp if you plan to fish there this weekend because it's very slippery!  (if you don't believe me, ask Dave)   Here are some pictures of the day...

More pictures...

Nice report.  Hoping to get out there this weekend.

Way to do it, fellas. 

Got to get this James Bond sandal 

Aaron caught a fish?  I don't believe it...!

ConGrats Guys...

  Looks like a Great Hook up....  Was torn about heading over there, but I wanted to try my spot...

  Glad ya had some success...

Aaron caught a fish?  I don't believe it...!

It's a Hail Mary fish!  

good fishing with everyone today.
I was so happy to see the gang..martin, hobie dave, and sonny..plus nice to meet ben (fish farmer) and hamachi john plus maddod steve.

later met aaron as he stuck it out and fought the wind..
the rest of use were watching from the parking lot and doing the wave as aaron picks up his hali on the paddle in.

shared some brews and fellowship in the parking lot..great bunch of guys.

thankfully the hottie ranger gal let us drive down to the ramp instead of fighting cardiac hill.
as a reminder to all: they sometimes allow you to drive down on weekdays but be super duper slow, and stay off the grass, and ask permission..

I remain scoreless on my halibut quest.. may have had a bite from my minnow near the pier but that was it for me.

lost my anchor with black nylon rope...it sucked cuz I just tied on a 3lb ball to it. it rests on the north end of the pier about 40 yds off in case anyone snags it.

tried trolling with a daiwa plug off a 3 way rig then soaked frozen herring.

i forget how formidible that wind get in the afternoon.. I went with shorts since it was so nice in the morning...luckily when wind picked up it wasn't too cold..

Steve and Sonny passed on their shiners to me so I plan to put them to use in Richmond early sat. morning just until noon. (thanks guys)
i didn't get enough today...
cant go too long as wife commented that my butt is either in the air or on the water...she even dropped the "dry dock" term...oops.

oh yeah..
about martins Reef sandal....unbeknownst to most of us...his sandal has a bottle opener on the bottom of the sandal...(its some kind of gadget from the 60's ...you know "get Smart" era...

brought good laughs to all but I wondered about having my bottle top tainted by the fungus emanating from his foot...yikes

congrats to all the mini hookup participants.
glad Jonathan Got 1.

nice looking day guys, thanks for the pics and report sonny

Never had so much fun fishing for skunk in my life. Gotta keep an eye on Sonny, his camera is on when you least expect it. Inside my camera must be some good pictures of Martin the striper dude (too tired to force them out). Man gets no crabs, (nor halibut) He uses a 3ft dropper to his sinker. Dude just has a problem focusing on big butts. dave...

I'm wiped out so I'll keep it short now & post more later. For now I just gotta say what a great crew these guys are; I thought they were all long gone but then I hear cheers from the parking lot when Flat Mamma came to the boat on the Hail Mary. Then they risk life & limb to help at the ramp, chauffeur a lift up the hill, and to top it off, they offer a beer uncapped with a shoe phone. 

Hali Mary

thx everyone for the great company!
thx Martin for the beer.
thx Sonny for the shrimp chips
thx Aaron for the assist.  Being my first butt, I had no clue when it came time to land the hali.  Aaron helped me land it, lent me his billy club and provide the instructions. At one point, it actually slipped from my gaff, and i was able to gaff it again as the hali descended.

When we launched, the Sheriff's dive team was there to dive at the launch site.  gee, I hope they weren't there to look for a body...

RShu, my hali didn't have a hook in its mouth (other than mine)- sorry 

Finally, I learned today that when there's a NCKA hookup- to bring beer, chips or something!  thx again for the post-fishing tailgate party.