Tropical Storm Guillermo passed to the north of us but made for a hot, sticky, drizzly morning.  The wind was relatively light  so I took the board out to the break where I hooked the oio on the Waxwing Boy last week.  Using the same lure, I hoped lightning would strike twice. Instead I didn’t have a follow or bite for 75 mins.  I eventually reached a deep channel and cast the Waxwing across to the west edge.  A 1 lb white papio hit the lure and flipped on the surface but didn’t hook up.  I was stunned after going so long without a hint of life, and watched as it hit two more times. Somehow it missed the rear double hook, focusing on the underneath belly of the lure.

Zoom in to the photos to see what it did to the previously unmarked lure.  It was smart enough not to try again and I couldn’t get anything else to hit the Boy.

Disheartened, I switched to the smaller Waxwing Baby and fished another hour and missed two weak strikes.  Meanwhile friends waded out a mile up the coast and caught a few papio on cut bait.  They said the bite was slow but fairly steady.

I blame the lethargic Waxwing bite on the drop in barometric pressure.  Just like we feel lazy when the weather turns unbearable warm and humid, so do the fish.  A still bait can coax the lazy predators into slowly feeding but they don’t have the energy to chase an aggressive lure.