Right Bait, Right Time, Wrong Tools

It was the last day before putting the boat away for season. We switched up our coastal bay fishing, aiming for Tog and Redfish instead of flounder. This meant a different game plan, different locations, different bait, different terminal and fishing tackle.  Our plan was to hold close to jettys and bulkheads dropping sand fleas straight down. We used the sensitivity of braid to feel the bottom dropping the baits into deeper holes where the Tog seemed to hide. We caught three Tog, two large fish, one heavy fish that was an inch shy of the 16 inch minimum.  One large fish snapped off as I grabbed the leader because we didnt have the net at the ready. The other two fish were netted together because the hooks got tangled up in the net. That was a first, netting a fish with a fish already occupying it. We ended up with some smaller Seabass but also broke off several rigs with the Tog pulling us into the rocks. We had most things set expect our tools weren't up to speed. We needed a net at the ready, many more rigs, weights and heavier rod and reel combos to seal the deal. Unfortunately our next chance at them will have to wait until spring.