A good fish and a great guy.......

[robc22]

It's 1985 and I am not much more than a teenager......working at a local tackle store I get the heads up about a late season spot on the south side.....There is a jetty than can be fished.......First night I fish the jetty I get my clock cleaned by a monster.....I'm fishing a 11.6 zippy conv.with an abu 7000 and 30 pound test stren.....I'm throwing a 1 3/4 oz Gibbs black needle....I look to my right and see a local doctor from falmouth hospital releasing a +50 pound fish he caught on eels.......the next nite I come back with my reel spooled with 40 pound maxima.....it is nov. 4......fishing the same type of gibbs plug I hook a monster .......after an awesome fight and tough landing( the surf was rough that nite) I have my prize......dragging the fish back to my car a falmouth cop happens to drive by......spot light,blue light, holy ---- was his response.......he helped me load the fish in the back of my car.Most awesome guy Paul Kernicki always told me......If you get a big one ,wake me up and we will weight it in my shop.......So at 2.30 AM on nov.4 thats what I did..........the fish weighted 46 pounds and is my best plug caught fish to date.Then, paul and his wife fed me some of the best left over american chop suey I had ever tasted...... I would bump into paul for years after that nite and he would say with a grin" you plan on waking me up tonite?"........I have caught a few more fish in the forties in that spot althought nowadays it seems there are nothing but seals there.......But I will always remember that nite, that fish , that cop and a very kind Mr. paul kernicki who weighted my fish and fed me a hot meal on a cold nov. morning...........