Snapper Spit The Hook!

[Scuba Chris]

A Blacktaik Snapper & a Few Puffers Made For an Interesting Morning!

Today i was surf casting my 13'3" & 14'2" 3pc Okuma casting rods. Love these rods! On the 13'3" i'm using the 2020 Cedros 8K w/50lb Eminent Braid by Soft Steel. On the 14'2" i'm using 65lb Eminent braid. When i first got there the starlight was lighting my way. After i cut my bait and my 2 rigs were ready a huge endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal swam by. Normally i'd go somewhere else as the fish was spooked. But because it took me awhile to set-up i stayed.

My 13'3" had a small jingling strike. When i brought it in the fish spit the hook in the white wash. I saw the bright orange belly & recognized it as a Blacktail Snapper "To'au". Normally these fish are P I G S and would wolf down any bait and swallow the hook in the process. This one was small, around 7in so it must've missed the hook & spit the bait out.

Then my 14'2" rig was JUMPING. The hit was a good strike! By the time i turned my video unit on it caught the last bounce of many before i started to pump it in. Through the non-giving braid i felt the fish go into the reef. So i left the rig unattended in hopes it would come out, it did. The line went slack. By the time i got to it the feel was "different". There was weight but no strong pulls or runs.

What i brought back in was a hook bitten in half. Sign of a large chomping Puffer Fish. That wasn't the fish that first struck though. It must've picked-up the baited hook after the main fish took off. Then my 13'3" rig had a similar strike. Brought that in to find another hook bitten in half. Obviously one or more puffers were waiting to be fed. That's when i decided enough was enough & went home with Costco Carnita for my little Chihuahua buddy Peanut Butter.

https://youtu.be/oZhpVx37CWI