... Paul was back in town from upstate New York escaping the cold. You may recognize him from the July 25th 2009 report. He was he guy who hit the Summer Fish Species Powerball. Although we’re in the middle of our winter if the weather cooperates just a little our winter time fishing can be pretty spectacular too. Paul brought Rich along for his first trip to the Big Salt. The first day we fished the ocean conditions were border line so we pretty much fished the inlet. We had some decent action with Permit, Spanish Mackerel and Jacks. Nothing huge, but decent consistent action. Paul and Rich had shipped some 'noodle rods' down so of course we had to catch some fish on these. They use these rods for Salmon fishing. They run about 12 feet and are very similar in action to a fly rod, only I think a fly rod is stiffer. The Jacks gave these sticks a really good workout but these guys know how to work these rods and the fish were landed without any breakages. UPS however was kind enough to oblige and break the rods on the journey back to New York, isn't that special! The next day the swell was forecasted to subside and I just knew that if I could convince Paul & Rich to go shark fishing that they would have an absolute blast. I pitched the plan to them and was a little surprised that they weren't all giddy about going shark fishing. I could see that they wanted to trust me and believe the stories but they were apprehensive for sure. You would think they would believe me by now, after all I was the guy telling them to bring rain gear and warm clothes. Both of which turned out to be critical for the trip. Only 50% of the trip participants actually brought rain gear though, don't want to name names, let's just say the guilty party wasn't Paul. None the less I was supplying the rain gear and also had the boat so they pretty much had to go where I was going. Once that first Shark came a knocking though I could see their eyes light up and that was all she wrote. No more convincing needed. At one stage they were doubled up on sharks, which is not ideal as this usually means that one of the reels is going to get spooled. They very quickly learned what it's like to pull on nice sized fish, no finessing the fish here as they do for Salmon, it's definitely pull or be pulled. I think what surprised them the most was the visual aspect. Once the sun came out the whole picture changed. You could see the sharks in the water and see them react to the scent line and start tracking the bait. Seeing the shark come in from a hundred yards or so out is quite something to experience. The excitement in anticipation of the bite is quite thrilling and addicting. Needless to say there are now two new shark junkies in New York. We were shooting a lot of video and realized after the trip that we didn't have many still pictures of the sharks. However, I think the video of the trip is going to help keep them warm through the second half of this brutal winter. See you guys next year, maybe sooner, and we'll do it again, next time with the fly rod.