The plan for this weekend was to go to Portland, Texas and spend some time with my friends on Indian Point Pier. After filling my tank with $72.55 of $3.06 gas I refused to pay $150 to go fish that far away when there had to be piers that held BU's closer to home. I wanted to be with my Team Oso buddies but I am saving my pennies for a new toy. (To be revealed soon) I looked at a map called a few friends and had a new strategy. 18th Street Pier in San Leon!!! Fortunately I called the pier prior to heading that way and the lady said that she was turning off the lights 8:30. What? It was 8:00 and I wasn't even home from work yet. OK. I'll head to Sylvan Beach pier then. One friend said not to waste my time at that pier but another said to come on by and he could show me other places if needed. I picked up my cousin Juan and headed out to a pier I had never fished before. I talked to the ticket guy at the pier and he gave me some pointers. We met Joe and we headed onto the pier. It was fairly busy when we arrived. I set up and started to wait. Looking around and talking to people I quickly noticed that this was pretty much a trout pier with lots of structure and plenty of lights. I will be heading out there once the trout come in. While talking to the people that were leaving all had poor results for the night except for one guy that had several legal trout. His name escapes me but he looked hard core. While there I also met Lou. He is a Surf-Master lurker but does not post. If you read this Lou, join up. It was a pleasure talking to you. Enough of the bla bla. We were having several small runs and I believe they were sheepshead by the way the crabs were coming back in. All of a sudden one of the rods takes off in a slow but steady long run. Long enough for my cousin Juan to pick up the rod and tighten the drag. The circle hook did what it was supposed to do. FISH ON! This fish took Juan from one side of the pier to the other but he eventually got it to the net. This was his first big fish ever. He fought it like had done it before. Check out his first BU. It went a whopping 42 inches.


This fish was large enough to take 3rd place in Drum-master's 2008 but in the excitement he forgot where he placed his card. Back in the water he went. The wait started up all again. We continued to loose baits all thru the night. Those Sneaky little Ba$^ards kept me from getting any sleep. Joe left us around 5am. Around 7ish one of the rods gets a very small bump. I get the rod in my hand and brought in the slack. Nothing for a while then I decided to raise the pole to see what was there. It seamed like I was stuck on the bottom for a few seconds then the line started to move to the side. FISH ON! This BEAST took a bit to the net but eventually we got it on the pier. This thing was heavy. It measured in at a whopping 46 inches. Not bad for a place that some told me not to waste my gas going there.


Around 8ish GL showed up and we told him it was slow. He set up and joined us on the wait. We started getting hungry and we decided to load up and head to 18th street pier. After getting a bite to eat and some new fresh crabs we finally get to another pier we had never fished before. We talked to people on the pier and the catching was slow, but refusing to pay so much for gas we decide to fish their since we were already there. We set up where my friend Terry said to go. After a while the other side of the pier cleared out and we decided to fish with the wind and current. It was pretty unproductive except for the occasional whiting. We waited and waited and waited some more. We put some whiting and still nothing. Aster dark we had a small run on the whiting but no hookup. We were there trying to get GL on his first monster and it looked bleak. The pier was very fishy and I had confidence that something was going to happen but when? We decided to fish until 8:30 or until GL caught himself a big fish, whichever came first. Around 8:20 GL's rod had a bump. He tightens the slack and there it was. FISH ON! After a good fight we had him on the pier. Man it was close. This fish knew exactly where the pilings were. Luckily we got him into the net on the first try. Check out this healthy 42" bull red. WTG GL!!! Not bad for a first big fish.


This PROTEST Trip turned out fairly well especially on piers that we had never visited. I will be heading to these piers again very soon. Team C.B.F. scores again! I thank God for blessings he has given this family and friends!