Blind Fishing Boat

Prior to the 2009 North Carolina blind fishing tournament, I was able to squeeze in some time to do some surf fishing, which normally is a completely solitary event.  However, the first day on the beach I was able to convince my step daughter Mimi to for-go her plans to surf and instead try her hand at surf fishing. 

The next day I was back on the beach fishing with Herald, who introduced me to the sport the year prior .  The constant pounding of the waves on the beach and sand bars canceled out hearing anything other than the odd Seagull.  I knew Herald was close by (50-feet down from where I was standing), but I may as well have been on a Pacific island – it’s amazing! 

I knew you can catch just about anything in the sea and was expecting to tie into some of the Blue fish that were known to be moving through the area at the time.  I wasn’t disappointed with some decent 1-3lb Blues within fairly short order.  The waves were about 5-6 feet high and quite steep, which meant casting directly perpendicular to the wave fronts was crucial if I didn’t want the force of the breaking waves to drag my line sideways.  (Waves breaking on your line above the water on an angle will push your line causing your bait to pendulum towards the shore.) 

I was completely taken off guard when I hooked and pulled from the surf a decent sized Stingray – yes, the same fish that killed Crocodile man.  I knew I had something fairly decent on the end of my line, but the strike was   like nothing I had ever experienced before.  One minute I was keeping tension on my line and the next the 5oz weight I was using lifted off the bottom and was moving parallel to the beach.  I reeled up the slack and set the hook.  Drag began peeling off my line instantly. 

Herald witnessed my 12-foot Specimen (Carp) rod with a good bend in it and came over to offer support.  After a good tussle with the fish, We were shocked when the Stingray landed on the beach not 10 feet in front of us.  Herald said he had never actually seen a Stingray caught before, but recognized it immediately.  The question was what to do with it. 

Stingrays possess only one highly poiseness stinger in their life – once they use it its gone.  Thus, they don’t just swim around willy-nilly stinging what ever they come across. 

Maestro, my guide dog, was perfectly willing to personally chase the Stingray back into the sea, and actually managed to tare free of the sand stake he was tethered to, making a rush for the fish.  He stopped in his tracks though with a yell from Herald and sharp command from me.

Normally I unhook all my own fish, but in this instance I was more than happy to let Herald set this killer free to, once again, roam the sea.  I had actually hooked the Ray in the wing, which explained the weightlessness sensation I experienced in my line just prior to setting the hook. 

Herald found a scrap of drift wood to use to pin the Ray down while he disengaged the hook.  He then used the same wood to shove the Ray back into the breakers.  By the third wave, it was gone. 

A big thanks again to Herald for his assistance on the beach.  I hope to be out there fishing with you again next year.