Big Fish Story

Went fishing yesterday off the beach (with the drive leashed )  Beautiful day, but pretty unremarkable until we headed in.

 Hooked on my last pogie and threw it just outside of the impact zone on the back of a wave. The float disappeared just as I set the rod in the holder and then came back up before I could get the slack out of the line. I pulled it in and found the front half of my pogie was still wiggling (mental note: next time hook the pogie in the back instead of through the lips).  So I cast it back to the same spot and I figured I needed to clear my other line that was on the bottom. It was hung solid.
Great.

Then the "bottom" started moving towards Bermuda.
Alrighty then.

 I guess that meant I needed to secure the float rod instead. A small goat rodeo ensued and went on for an interminable 30 or 40 seconds as I wrestled with the rod, the paddle (did I mention my replacement rudder would not be in till next week sometime?) and the submarine hooked to the other rod. Once all that was squared away I settled in for the ride. .
yehaw. 

I took line and the fish took it back, circled the boat (spun the boat) a couple times, and then seemed to notice that it was actually hooked. Back to Bermuda. I tightened down the drag and got sideways to the fish and my new 6' Tsunami jig stick that says its rated from 10 to 100lbs on the label was bent in half.

This went on for maybe 20 minutes and I realized that this was the most substantial sea creature I'd ever hooked. It took drag at will and lots of it. Even with the drag tightened waaay down (a rookie mistake), it took drag. I expected the boat to move with the fish and it did, but it still took drag.

 I pressured it as much as I could whenever I could, but this puppy was controlling this fight. I got sideways and even dragged my leg in the water to help turn it, but I quickly rethought that stratagem as large bull sharks have been landed in that area. Didn't help much anyway. The water is only 10' to 15' deep so the fish could not sound and just ran away with me attached.

 I yelled for my buddy Mike (who happened to be in earshot as he was coming in too) and he came over to laugh and point. Thats about the time the fish (?) decided that it had enough of me and was going to explore the rest of the inlet. I managed to get the boat turned away from the fish (no rudder) and tried to coax him out to sea instead into the rocks.
The jetty was apparently more interesting.




Headed to the rocks and that rod looks much lighter than it is.



Pedaling the other way and palming the reel.




With perhaps a bit more pressure than I should



Screamingly frustrated after snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.



That piling on the left got between me and the fish. I don't think he wrapped it, but it nicked the 40lb powerpro.

I never got to see the fish, but it did get close enough to the boat at one point to be almost vertical and it made a huge swirl as it swam away.  Don't know what it was, but it was BIG and it was fun. Maybe a resident giant grouper.

If it was, perhaps it'll take me for a walk again next time.








NOTE: please do not emulate the moron pictured above w/o the pfd on.

(Zeelander must have payed him to show off the NWKA shirt.) 

might have been a jewfish, saw one diving once that could have swallowed me whole

i'm with Wali on this one.. from his description, i'm thinking multi hundred pound grouper. they love the rocks. and don't come up until either dead or exhausted.

i was thinking grouper the whole time too...

crazy story Wali...

Grouper, shark, or barracuda. Although grouper are toothy, they won't bite a pogy in half. They have stubby gripping teeth, not cutters. I'd put my $$ on shark. Sounds like a blast, I miss my FL fish SOOOOOOO much.

I vote Shark!

Snag.... 

Z