This picture must have been taken between sets, cause it was way worse than it looks. We all stood onshore watching the ocean and trying to time the sets, and wondering if this was the right decision. After lashing all our gear down and stowing our rods inside our boats, we decide it was now or never-can't stand here all day looking at it- go big or go home right? I dragged my kayak to the waters edge and waited for the next set to roll in. As soon as that 3rd wave broke and the water started to wash back out, I shoved off and jumped in without hesitation. My timing was perfect- I made it out beyond the second break and was home free. After a few minutes everyone else made it out, and it was game on.
Turned out to be a sandbar shark about 33". Little did we know this would set the tone for the morning. We found the Bunker pods, but the sharks were thick, and we couldn't seem to keep those toothy bastards off our hooks. The first few were welcome, just to bend the rod, but the fun was short lived and they became a nuisense. Billy had the only chance of the morning at a Cobe, as one came from under the school of bunker and took his bait 10 feet from the kayak. Unfortunately, he didn't get the hook in his mouth, and took the bait with him as he swam away.
After a few hours, bait was running low so we decided to move out a little ways, hoping just maybe the Cobia was holding in slightly deeper water. Still we found more sharks, but they were getting bigger.
Billy with his personal best shark @ 44"
At this point we were all getting discouraged, but we knew at the beginning of the day that we had a slim chance at spotting, much less catch a big Cobia. Just when it seemed the day was a bust, Alex hooked into something big. It was fighting much different than the sharks had, and by the time I got to him, he was on a full blown Chesapeake Bay sleigh ride. After a nearly 10 minute fight, the fish surfaced and Alex screamed out, "Bull Red!!"
Alex's first Bull Red @ 42.5"
Everyone scrambled to get something on bottom, knowing that these fish were schooled up, and over the next 3.5 hours, 11 Reds were landed between 38-47.5".
Rob Choi with a 46.5" release citation. 1 of his 3 fish landed.
Justin Mayer with a 45" Red. 1 of his 3 landed that afternoon.
My first ever Bull Red @ 43"
After a second fish around 43", Alex hooked into his first ever Virginia Saltwater Tournament Citation- a 46.5" Bull Red
Billy was the last to land a fish, but it was worth the wait. He finally got his Citation Red @ 47.5"
The bite was slowing, and the sun was getting low in the sky, so we decided it was time to call it a day. As we packed up our gear and made the short paddle back to shore, we were all still riding the high from a truly EPIC day of fishing. The intense head shakes and drag screaming runs have me dying to get back out there before they're gone. The bend in this rod says it all.....
Photo: Rob Choi