Catch of a Lifetime.....Story and Pics.....

[DarkSkies]

***

[DarkSkies]

to follow......

[storminsteve]

Awesome can't wait for the full report!

[DarkSkies]

Here ya's go.....just typed some of it.....:HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

5-16-13 - Catch of a Lifetime.....

It was a normal morning of fishing.

Got to the beach at 6am after a few hours of night plugging. Kind of depressed, trying for a few bluefish to take the pungent scent of skunk off my trip.
It was the perfect overcast morning that makes you glad to be out there. Dark skies, ;) dark clouds, and the sense that rain was on the way. The kind that makes the adrenalin shoot through your body as you know the conditions will be good.

[DarkSkies]

The bluefish bite wasn't that great. It was the end of the ebb.

Some had been caught around first light along with a few bass. It could best be characterized as a slow pick of a few guys casting away and hitting a few now and then.

[DarkSkies]

There was a younger guy fishing, (a kid to us, maybe 25 years old) on the beach. He had 2 rods fishing clam. Every 10 minutes he would get a bass or a bluefish....this was the hour of activity that you want to be on the beach for, as the fish are sometimes more active during this time.

We were aware of him and him catching fish, and as the action was slow it all worked together...all of us just fishing, and giving each other their space, waiting for what we hoped would be a bite....believing that the numbers of fish would eventually show up.

[DarkSkies]

After the kid had caught and released 4 blues and short bass, the bite was still mediocre for us. We still kept at it...some were picking up some decent blues. It seemed they were all at the furthest end of the cast. The action slowly started to get better after the tide change.

[DarkSkies]

Then, all of a sudden, we notice this kid's rod gets banged hard and it's a good hit. He was a pretty attentive fisherman and immediately leapt for the rod.

I was scratching my head wondering why he was taking so long to bring it in...after all, how much could it be, 8-12#?
As we seee him fight it we gradually realize it's a good fish. He's reeling and reeling, the fish is taking drag.
He continues this, gains some line, and the fish is taking drag again.....

[DarkSkies]

This went on for about 10 minutes, and by then he had all of our attention. We were dying to see what this kid hooked into......

[Monty]

This went on for about 10 minutes, and by then he had all of our attention. We were dying to see what this kid hooked into......
I may die before you finish this story....

[DarkSkies]

^ Well, at least I'm glad to know I have your attention, Monty....:laugh: :HappyWave:
Someone suggested a new approach....advised me I have to feed the readers a few sound bites at a time, and minimize my one-page diatribes, etc....so I'm gonna try it with this story.....

[DarkSkies]

As I said, he was reeling and reeling, and the fish kept taking drag....it was kind of frustrating to not see him gain too much ground.

I started to pay closer attention to his gear at that point. He had 2 nice baitcasting setups, 10 or 11' rods, and some decent reels. It occurred to me that this had to be some fish he had on, and the level of curiosity built among us all.

[DarkSkies]

Then, he was to the point where it was in the wash...Big Fish!
You could see the spectre of the body of this huge fish....first the head, as it came in through the surf line, then the body as it was thrashing.
Wow, we knew this was a record fish just by looking at her....

[ledhead36]

Come on now the suspense is killing me! Post up!

[hookset]

I may die before you finish this story....

X2. the fall run will be here before he finishes this one.

[surferman]

dying to know what this fish was please stop being a tease!:HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

^ Blame it on Jonthepain and finchaser....they, among others, :HappyWave: said my posts were too long and suggested breaking them up into digestible-sized sound bites....:)

[DarkSkies]

Continued.....
At first glance she appeared to be over 4' long...50-54 inches ....and it was a true hulk of a fish, thick and round, massive size for what we are used to seeing in New Jersey...:bigeyes:
.
I have seen quite a few big fish pulled in to the beach, and you think that after awhile, it should be less impressive...but to me, it is just the opposite.....As I look at the guy and the fish he's bringing in, you see the wild-eyed excitement....you can sense the adrenalin rush that the angler feels.....to me, it's just an exciting time whether it's your fish or not....:thumbsup:

[DarkSkies]

You read it all the time, many big fish are lost in the surf line, or at the beach.
Bringing in a big fish, from land, is an ultimate triumph of man against beast.....:clapping: :thumbsup:

And IMO is a feel-good thing for anyone who is watching....We were rooting for this kid. :clapping:
It was impressive as he dragged her onto the beach.

[storminsteve]

Dark this sucks!!!!:2flip:
How long are you going to let this cliff-hanger go on? We want pics!!!!!!:lynchmob:

[cowherder]

^^^^ what steve said. This thread is useless without pics, please post them!:HappyWave:

[Monty]

You read it all the time, many big fish are lost in the surf line, or at the beach.
Bringing in a big fish, from land, is an ultimate triumph of man against beast.....:clapping: :thumbsup:

And IMO is a feel-good thing for anyone who is watching....We were rooting for this kid. :clapping:
It was impressive as he dragged her onto the beach.

Did it have a head? Didn't we go down this path last year?

[wish4fish]

haha its the headless blob come back from the dead lol. dark we want pics or it didnt happen

[DarkSkies]

Continued....

By that time we had all stopped fishing, and went up to him so see the fish. A lot of camera phones were out, and guys were snapping pics. The kid wanted to have one of him with the fish. He gave me his camera and I snapped the shot. I had mine and snapped a few shots too.




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It was a glant black drum, estimated to weigh 75lbs, and around 50 - 53"...we were all glad to see the fish he had battled with.

[DarkSkies]

I should mention that when a big fish is caught it's critical not to keep her out of the water for too long if you're not keeping her.We had all gathered around him by that point, so everyone was ready with the quick pics. I initially thought that fish was out of the water for 2 minutes. After thinking of the sequence of events, it could have been 3 minutes from the time when he first had her in the wash, until she was safely back in the water. But definitely no more than that.


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[DarkSkies]

Hoisting the fish vertically probably was not the best idea but as mentioned the enthusiasm and adrenalin level were high. The kid did not want to keep the fish..... he wanted her to live. He did his best to get her back in the water as quickly as possible.



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[jigfreak]

i see you finally posted it. Hell of a catch dude.:thumbsup:

[7deadlyplugs]

Wow awesome story and catch hats off to the guy that caught that it looks like a monster head with a body.

[storminsteve]

When releasing a fish you have to be careful to not touch it too much. That's why you concentrate on leading it around by the mouth. Touching the gills, or any part of the body can be very damaging to the fish as it can affect breathing, or the slime coat.


I know all this, and at the 1 hour mark I was losing hope. She wasn't dying anymore, but she wasn't living strongly anymore, either. She was just existing, albeit on a very subdued level.
Her pectoral fins had started to stabilize a bit, but every time I tried, she still couldn't swim.



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I made a decision that I would try anything I didn't try yet, to save this fish (Except for mouth to mouth) :kooky: :rolleyes:

Even though I knew it would mess up her slime coat, I took her by the tail, and while supporting her body, pushed her head back and forth in deeper water...as deep as I could walk in......while keeping her head down, and trying to change that up too.


Dude your hand is all bloody in the top pic.
Congrats on going above and beyond, awesome release!

[DarkSkies]

^Good eyesight, Steve....:HappyWave:
This is what it looked like a day later......

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