I was just waiting on clients…

I usually get to the boat ramp quite early for my charters. It’s kind of my ritual. I like to get there, take my time and get everything ready before my clients show up for a charter. This morning was no different. My pick up time was scheduled for 6:30am because my clients wanted to go with me to catch bait. I showed up at 6am in keeping with my routine. I tuned the stereo to the local country station and began retying leaders and hooks and all of a sudden, behind me, I hear the sound of bait fish scattering like they are being chased by something hungry for a meal. A few minutes later I hear the frenzy again. I couldn’t take it any more. I grabbed my Shimano Calcutta that was rigged with a Mirr-O-Lure Top Dog Jr. I don’t even know why I brought the rod along. I hadn’t used it in almost two years. In fact, it still had the same line, same 20lb mono leader and same plug that was on it the last time I used it nearly two years ago. Despite my reasons for bringing it along today, I grabbed it and decided to see if I could figure out what was causing all the commotion.

I threw the plug in the direction of the noises I had heard. The first cast produced nothing. I threw out again and after 3 twitches of the lure’s “walk the dog” action, “BOOM”! The water exploded and a loud “whap” sound echoed off the sea wall. The line began to sing at a rapid pace off of the spool of my baitcaster. I thought, “wow, this is a big jack crevelle”. Until the fish breached the surface in an effort to throw the hook. It was a large snook! My heart began to race as it steamed for the neighboring dock 30 yards away. That’s when I began to think about all the things that could go wrong. “This line and leader material are old, my leader is only 20lb test and if she gets into that dock I’m done.”

She did get through that dock too. I could see her attempt to leap, in the dim light of the barely risen sun, 10 yards beyond the dock she had just passed through. I thought there was no way I would land the fish. Snook are masters at using structure to free themselves from a fight. I decided that if I was going to lose her, it would be on my terms and not by her rubbing the line on the dock. So I thumbed the spool and gave her no more of the freedom that the drag could provide. I knew the pressure I was putting on the line might break it but I didn’t want her to have the upper hand by using the structure to cut me off.

Somehow I managed to bring her back through the dock. She swam for open water and then surged back towards the pilings but I thumbed the spool once again. She relented and I began to make some ground when she made one more attempt to leap and free herself from the treble hooks of the topwater lure. All in one instance, she lept, the line gave way, I thought I’d lost her and then I felt tension again. It all seemed so strange. It felt like I had been broken off on her razor sharp gill plates and then immediately after, I felt her pulling away from me again.

I began to pump the rod again, gaining line back. After a few turns of the handle she surfaced once more but this time it looked awkward. She was kind of flopping around on the surface. I drug her across the surface until she reached boat side and soon realized the cause of her odd behavior. The hook was now buried near the end of her tail. I grabbed her firmly by the tail with one hand and with the other I gripped her lower jaw. The plug gave away the secret as to what had happened in those final moments.

Two of the three hooks on the front of the lure had been straightened out. Apparently, when she jumped the last time, she threw the now mangled hooks off and freed herself. But only for a millisecond. As soon as she was free, one of the rear hooks of the plug had snagged her in the tail. It was a one in a billion occurrence if you ask me.

I quickly weighed her and measured her to find that she was 37″ long and weighed 15 lbs. A little light for a snook that long but the spawn is near ending and she may have already released her eggs which would explain her light frame.

As I was reviving her next to the boat, my clients walked up. They kindly took a picture of the fish for me and we let her go. I told them that as much as I had been on the water lately (running charters) , that I hadn’t caught a fish myself in over a month and that I really appreciated them taking that picture for me.  I love fishing. That’s why I started running charters for a living. But I learned very quickly that I don’t get to actually fish much myself and when I do, it’s a real joy. Especially when I’m blessed with such an awesome opportunity to catch a fish like the one I did this morning. Before we pushed off from the dock, I looked at my client and said, “I don’t want to let you guys down but we probably won’t get another one like that today.” They smiled and said, “That’s okay, it was worth it just to see the smile on your face.”