Had the chance to do some serious fishing with John R last night. We've run into eachother on the west wall and GIB and matunuck before but thats spring schoolie fishing. This was night time eel slinging looking for "The Big One"! John was a great host. Met me near the highway and lead the way to the spot. It was snotty out. Windy and rainy. we were in waders so a raincoat kept us dry and we fished about 3 hours on a dropping tide.
It was a great spot. Good structure but you got to stand in the sand which is a lot easier on the legs than the rocks. I had only been able to get small eels. Fortunately John had a few nice ones. since there was very little action , the few we had turned out to be plenty. In 3 hours each of casting eels , John had one hit and I never even got touched. I was convinced "there ain't no fish in this pond" <img src="/Images/Happy_Face.gif"><!--e1--> . Then about 11 PM I get a hit and hook up. After a firm pull , the fish took off. Nice long run and fortunately , away from any rocks that might have hindered the landing. I thumbed the spool to suppliment the drag and everything went smoothly. I knew I had a good fish so I took my time and brought it in slow but sure.
After landing the fish , we shined a light and saw the fish was hooked by a 1/16 inch piece of skin on the lower lip. If that fish had run towards the rocks , I would have had to presuure it more to keep it clear and i'm sure that little skin tag would have ripped.
I guessed 22 pounds just looking at it but it weighed in at 26 pounds. A good rugged fish with lots of muscles. Since I had a promise from a friend that if I caught it , she would cook it and we could have dinner at her place , I kept the fish. First fish I kept for myself in 2 seasons.
As soon as we left the parking area , the sky opened up. I mean downpour. Had to drive very carefully since many spots had standing water since the drains couldn't keep up. Standing water on a back road is one thing but there were floods even up on 128 on the ride home. Got home at 12:30 and then had to clean the fish!! finally got done and cleaned up and in bed by 1:30.
I had a great time fishing with John. He's a gentleman and was going out of his way to be a good host. We chatted about everything; fishing , equipment , message board , woman , relatives and friends. Thanks for a great time John. You're a class act and I hope we can go at them again soon.
Saltheart

Glad to hear you are all warm and fuzzy with JR!! But,if you really wnat to catch some fish!! Call Me!!!

Just kidding,glad you had a good time!! Saltheart, you cant imagine how good the fishing is here in the bay,Its a must see!! you have to go there! Not just blues but good size bass also!!!! John will have the house to park at also!!!!!! Better stay friends with the dude! I have a feeling that john will find he has a ton of new pals when they find out where he will be living!! He may charge to park however!! Glad you guys had a good night!!

Salty, it was a blast, anytime... I know if I had fought that fish, I would have put too much pressure on and the fish would have broken off. You are very fortunate that the fish headed left instead of to the right <img src="/Images/biggrin.gif"><!--e7-->... I just wish the photos came out (note to self, GET A CAMERA with a FLASH NEXT TIME!!). I'm gonna hunt around there this weekend for some more big bass. The fishing has been great lately and I'm rarely skunked like I was that night.

We'll have to fish again!!!

The fish blitzes sound good Bill. I'm dying to get into a school of bass with my flyrod too. lots of fun.
I'll be fishing the ditch friday but hope to get an extra day a week in for fishing this fall. Maybe we can fish a night next week.
You never know with a fish John. One time they run one way and you're dead. Next time it almost seems like they are trying to cooperate. Good luck this weekend.