Thank you very much Men! I am still in a fog over this fish! I feel blessed to be fortunate enough that it decided to inhale my bait. We are all blessed with a mother load of fish this year along with the bait to sustain it.
As for what happened? Talking with Jim, he had a hunch that the night bite was heating up and that chunks were the way to go. I was reluctant to give up my daytime livelineing routine but decided to give it a try, after all when A guy like Jim White has a hunch, you listen! We boarded his boat and headed to a spot that has been great for him since the 70s and it was that long ago the last time he had seen fishing this good. Jimmy has that "thing" very few fisherman have, you cant put your finger on it but he has "it" a gut instinct an intuition a sniff of the wind a feeling that tells him something is about to happen. As most of you know, I can count my true friends on one hand and Jimmy is on there, I have loads of respect for him and when he talks I listen. We anchored up in the spot and began to cut up fresh chunks, we had action right away with Jim landing a beuty of about 40lbs, we had several in the teens etc....I was holding my rod and intensly waiting for the next pickup...This fish hit, but it wasnt violent just a steady runoff and then the fish stoped, I set the hook and said to jim it felt like I hooked bottom or a pot of rope etc...it did not feel like a fish, I began to reel it in and swore I had bouy because there was not much of a fight, fish came in rather quikly, when Jim saw it at the boat he looked at me with a huge grin, I said what? he says "Billy, you are not going to beleve this fish" I peaked over the rail and almost had a heart attack, Jim grabded the fish and braught it in, the fish had swallowed the hook deep, which explains why it did not fight much, the rest is history. Jim and I had a great night together and I wont forget it for the rest of my life!
I have Jim to thank for that fish because I had no intention of fishing that night, a 50 earlier in the week made me happy enough, Alot of my success is due to people Like Jim, who have helped me imensly transition from the surf to a boat, Jim is one of the best fisherman I know, I am gratefull that he calls me friend and As I said before I respect him as a fisherman, captain and person. Jim pulls no punches and tells it like it is...I spend alot of time on the water and fish close to jim and we talk to each other alot, it helps to have a close knit group of a couple people covering all the bases.
If any of you guys want a memorable trip on the water, I would suggest a trip with him, you will learn so much in that trip that it is priceless, Jim will not only show you what it takes to land big bass constantly but listening to him about striper history is worth the price of the trip alone...Jim is booked thru the 2009 season (and for good reason) so get ahold of him...you will not be disapointed..I dont care how good you are or think you are, a trip with Jim is a treat. His boat is a Triton with all the toys and the name is "WhiteGhost guide service" He has 17 years guiding on the Bay !
So, agian, we are blessed with the mother load of bait and bass this year...For you surf guys, give it time the fish will drop out and your time will come..
