12-29-25 - Christmas comes a few days late!
Posted: Mon Dec 29, 2025 5:34 pm
Hey all. Been awhile since I posted a report and today provided the perfect occasion.
Woke up a bit later than I planned. Was concerned about the wind advisory but the forecast said 5-10MPH so I said F it and decided to go join @Pourboy at El Cap.
It was cold as a witches teat when I launched around 7:15ish. Water was 56 at launch, 58 by the time the sun had time to warm up a bit.
Broke the skunk at about 845AM with a chunky clone. About 15 minutes later, I was casting out off a small rocky point in about 20' of water. Letting my baot soak between moves, I noticed my line moving off, so I reeled down and set the hook. The way my rod bent, I knew immediately I'd hooked into something substantial. Keep in mind I'm fishing with a BFS setup and 8lb test! The fish pulled hard and ripped drag. The fight seemed like it took eons. She came up and jumped but once and the rest of the time she felt like she was pulling straight down, taking drag as she pleased. When I finally got a good visual on her I knew she was REALLY big. Finally after making a couole more runs she came up right next to the kayak, mouth open. I reacted and just lipped her without even thinking to grab the net. I knew this fish was my new PB but wasn't sure by how much. She tipped the scale at 7.92 pounds. Replacing my previous 6.5lb PB caught from Chollas lake in 1991. This fish was a long time coming. Everything that needed to go right on the catch, went right. She was hooked perfectly and my drag was set perfectly. The stars aligned for me this morning. I added two more small fish before the day ended around 12:30PM.
2025 sure saved the best for last. My last fishing day of the year, made it count.
Woke up a bit later than I planned. Was concerned about the wind advisory but the forecast said 5-10MPH so I said F it and decided to go join @Pourboy at El Cap.
It was cold as a witches teat when I launched around 7:15ish. Water was 56 at launch, 58 by the time the sun had time to warm up a bit.
Broke the skunk at about 845AM with a chunky clone. About 15 minutes later, I was casting out off a small rocky point in about 20' of water. Letting my baot soak between moves, I noticed my line moving off, so I reeled down and set the hook. The way my rod bent, I knew immediately I'd hooked into something substantial. Keep in mind I'm fishing with a BFS setup and 8lb test! The fish pulled hard and ripped drag. The fight seemed like it took eons. She came up and jumped but once and the rest of the time she felt like she was pulling straight down, taking drag as she pleased. When I finally got a good visual on her I knew she was REALLY big. Finally after making a couole more runs she came up right next to the kayak, mouth open. I reacted and just lipped her without even thinking to grab the net. I knew this fish was my new PB but wasn't sure by how much. She tipped the scale at 7.92 pounds. Replacing my previous 6.5lb PB caught from Chollas lake in 1991. This fish was a long time coming. Everything that needed to go right on the catch, went right. She was hooked perfectly and my drag was set perfectly. The stars aligned for me this morning. I added two more small fish before the day ended around 12:30PM.
2025 sure saved the best for last. My last fishing day of the year, made it count.