Redington shores 2-20-13

[Chex]

Hit the pier w a friend who doesn't fish often & his gf. Set them up w the sabiki w frozen shrimp on the tips. There loading up on pinfish, whiting, flounder, grunts ,etc. They loved it , then we put some of them on Cajun thunder bobbers, caught some trout, mackeral, bonnetheads.all the while I was throwing artificial , pink gulp jigs .....no bite.......white power bait swimmullet....no bite. I give up on artificial.wound a huge pinfish and send him out on the penn w 80lb braid w a big grouper rig. It soaks. It soaks. It clicks it is not a tarpon :( it is not a kingfish :( it's a big ray :/ it seemed really fast for how big it was though (3ft wide)got him up, unhooked and back in.this time I put a smaller Mack out hoping for a King. It soaks......... Nights setting in, under pier lights kick on, the big pole screams!!! :\ a pelican flew into my line.snag a crab, put him on a hook n sent him out, nothing. Get bored start trying artificial , yozuri 3d shrimp chartreuse , bingo !! Monster trout explodes on it just as it passed the circle of light.great battle on my Abu Garcia medium/light setup.almost get him up, shakes loose while pullin it up , Furious !! My biggest trout ever , prob 4 or 5 lbs.cast same spot, catch 3 more small spotted trout. Gives up, goes home

[Snuffleupawhat]

I'm gonna have to try out one of those shrimp, how was your retrieve?

[Chex]

For mackeral medium/fast steady retrieve, for trout pause 5 sec. Jerk, reel slack n repeat

[Bottombouncer]

I would think that the extra hardware on the crab rig might not have helped? Sounds like a pretty fun night though

[Chex]

Never actually never fished w a live crab before, so I grabbed a wire leader w a weight, not sure what was going to eat it . Nothing touched it, what setup do u think is best for a live crab?

[Bottombouncer]

I'm from Ohio, so my salt experience is limited. Based on my freshwater experience and depending on the current, I would have free lined it. If current is an issue, then about 36" flouro 20-25lb, swivel and smallest lead possible. Preferably pyramid or bank style or anything with a large eyelet.

[johnD]

You had it right, just loose the snap and tie a loop knot or snell it. freeline it with no weight..summer time that crab wouldn't have lasted 20 minutes ,same goes for a greenback.