Hey..it's a rainy day/weekend and what better time to sit back and read about the successes and failures that occur while fishing.
A couple of days ago I was fishing one of my favorite spots with my cousin. I hooked into a Beauty and it was "game on". I battled the striper for a good 10 minutes with the tug of war running the gambit from " I can't move this cow" to " If she doesn't stop running she's going to get tangled with those "Jiggers" fishing down current.
10 minutes later she's at my feet and I ask cousin (pronounced COO-SIN) to hold the pole while I reach in and pull my seasons best out onto the rocks. (HERE'S THE MISTAKE)
I reach down and grab the leader and pull up
so I could place my hand into her maul or behind her gill and pull her up onto the rocks. (I knew she was going on as table fare for both of us so wasn't concerned that I would be touching her gills and that she stood the chance of contamination and not survive this ordeal).
When I pulled up on the lure, she looked me in the eye, shook her head in defiance and threw the hook
. She quickly turned into the canal and swam away to hopefully fight another day
.
My cousin is astonished at the outcome of this event and while wondering if he had done anything wrong waited for my reaction. (NOTE: HE HAS NEVER CAUGHT A KEEPER!!) I turned back to the fish some 10 feet out into the canal and watched as she threw us a tail slap and disappeared into depths. I thanked her for one of my most exciting experiences this season and turning back to my cousin assured him that we both learned a great lesson on what not to do when landing your seasons best.
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