I have been float tubing mohawk reef in Santa Barbara the last 3 days in a row. I have been using a variety of big hammers sticking to the 4 and 5" sizes. My first day was slow with only 1 small calico caught. My second day really picked up as i landed 2 halibut 18" and 23" and a mixed bag of various sized calico bass. My third day was slow like my first day but something funny happend, i decided to use squid strips in the evening and caught nothing. But, just as i was about to head in i got slammed by something that started to peel my line off my reel. This fish literally towed me around a bit befor it tierd out and i started to make ground up on it. As it apporached my tube it made a last ditch effort to escape and unfortunaltly it snaped my 12 pound test like it was nothing. Anyone have any guess as to what it may have been?

More than likely if you were coming in and the shallower water you got ambushed by a larger White Sea Bass that like to hang in the eel grass and murk. Before the gil nets in the late sixties and early seventies when spearfishing we always kept the guns cocked all the way to the beach at Mohawk in hopes of sticking a big 'butt or white.
I had encounter with a big WSB up the beach at Breamar and have picked up a few shorts at HR point this spring as well. When it gets calm and clear(neap tides too) I find that the WSB like to go in shallow. Ya just got to be ready!

Thanks for the report. You never know what you have unless you see it, but I did foul hook a 20 or 30lb batray at the mowhawk once in my tube. I thought I had a huge seabass until 10 minutes later I got it up and was like AHHHH get that thing away from me and cut the line. Seabass will shake their heads. Batrays will throb more and you can kinda feel their wings flapping. A guy who lived up the street from me once caught a 40 inch halibut between Hendry's and Mesa Lane, so you never know what you might hookup on out there.