CNS and North Causeway Report for Saturday

Tried fishing at CNS during the early afternoon but the waves were rough and current was moving. I couldn't keep lines in the water for more than a minute without it drifting to my right. So, I didn't fish much on the surf today. Cody and I just played in the water and had some fun. Cody was having a blast on a boogie board that a couple of locals let him borrow. I met these guys before and they're really nice. Angela and Keith are their names, and they come out on Saturdays often like I do. We're probably going to meet out there next weekend as well, they said they have a smaller boogie board that they're going to give Cody. Very nice!

So Saturday night I went to Kyle and Tara's house, and we went to Walmart to get them a bigger rod. They ended up buying a new 8' rod and reel combo for $30, not bad! Except the reel may end up getting replaced with something else one day. Here's why....
We went to the North Causeway together and Tara hooked into something big and strong. She was using live finger mullet and as soon as the fish hit it, it didn't stop. Her drag was racing and started to head towards the bridge. If it wraps around the bridge, the fish is gone along with several yards of her line. So we had to do something, but the reel's drag wouldn't stop the fish. Her drag was set as tight as it would go, and the fish was still spooling line off. Kyle tried to turn the fish around away from the bridge, but I saw a splash on topwater then snap the line broke. We don't know what it was but it broke 65 lb test Power Pro. Unfortunately, I think the reel may have been the weak link in the fight. If it had a better drag system, the outcome could've turned out differently. These days, you get what you pay for and on a $30 rod & reel combo, thats exactly what happened.

During our stay at the North bridge I caught a couple catfish on fresh cut mullet. My first one was a 2 lb 12 oz Gafftopsail Catfish. Thats the biggest sail cat I've caught so far btw. I ended the night with a small Hardhead Catfish. Schools of mullet are everywhere now that the Fall migration is underway. I think as the month progresses we'll see even more schools of baitfish, especially mullet.

Location: North Causeway, New Smyrna Beach
Tackle: 5/0 circle hook on carolina rig - 4 oz pyramid sinker

Species: Gafftopsail Catfish
Weight: 2 LB 12 OZ
Bait: fresh cut mullet