For Nightfighter.. A memory from 9/11/2013

[Rockfish9]

I wasn't going to post this until after the season... but with everyones expectations a little low for the "fal run" I'm going to relay the events of the nigfht from September 11 2013...

As i've posted in other threads recently, fishing has been up and down fast nights, followed by longer periods of slower nights.. i still jhavent been skunked since june.. admittedly, it's take a "rat" fish or two the save the night on more than one occasion.. that was the case tuesday 9/10/2011.. Night shift and I pounded the river hard spending time running plugs on wire on the drop and eeling on the turn.. our reward.. a few fish that wouldn"t have been keepers in 1970...
Sept. 11... alone, fishing the droppinig tide in a spot where the main river, and out going creek and a sandbar/mussel shoal meet .. for the first time this season every cast provided a hit or a fish... these were not the 10lb class fish that have dominated the fishing scene here all summer.. these were fish 20lb and better... late in the tide, as the sox game went to the comercial break for the start of the 10th inning, I had a hit in a large live eel, it was subtle, simular to a schoolie hit.. i dropped the rod tip and when the line went tight, I set the hook... imediatly, I knew this was not a 20 or even a 30 ( I had just weighed and released a 35lb fish).. this fish ran 25 or 30 yards against 4lbs of drag ( I use 16lb Ande Mono).. the fish was on the other side of the bar and just sat there.. i couldnt move it... after what seemed like forever I was thinking i eiter had a seal, or the fish was actually in the marsh grass... I applied as much pressure as I could... I was thankful I had cut back and re-tied aftetr tha last fish but knowing we were approaching the mussel shoal wished I had 20 0r 25lb test...the drag was slow reeling as I attempted to move the fish over the bar which at this point only had 1 1/2' of water on it... the tactic aggravated the big fish and she started swimming again... taking another 15 0r 20 yards of line... the tactic was sucessful she moved, but I lost ground.... we were approaching a small cut that divides the sand bar from the mussel shoal and she took it.. straight out to the river channel... i finally gained ground, even when the fish was directly under the boat she stayed head down digging for the bottom... I nettet her head first... I had all I could to lift her into the boat.. she wasn't the longest fish I have ever caught,but she was thick... as thick as a 5 gallon bucket.. easily as thick as my 61 was... my fancy digital scale is out being repaired( again) so I had to rely on my brass "drag setter " scale.. it bottomed out before the fish was off the deck... I slapped the tape along the fish from tail to jaw ( not accross the body) she was only 49"... from dorsal to belly in a straight line she was 14" I wanted a quick picture before the release, so I did not try for an actual girth measurment... the camera sits on the dash.. I pushed the auto button and it began to count down... I struggled mightly to get the fish high enough to clear the leaning post ( newly installed this year) but couldn't do it.. i dropped to my knee and "cleaned and jerked" the fish up onto my shoulder as the camera flashed... without setting the fish down, i went to the gunnel and slid the fish , head first into the water... as I began working her back and forth, i decided to try and reach my camera on the dash... stretching as far as I could I tried but the basr of the tail was so thick she I didn't have a good grasp... she surged and swam off.. head down and out of sight with just a few beats of her tail... hopeful.. to give another angler a joyous night/day... I ronicaly.. a few seconds latter Mike Carp launched the grand slam that won the game for the sox... she gave me the gift of fight.. I gave her the gift of life..
I didn't fish the next night... Saturday, Bruce and I managed a few fish, nothing over 20lbs or so.. last night.. only giants of the future inhabited the shoal... nothng over 3lbs was around..

moral of the story... you have to be there as often as possible.. each inght/day and tide is differant... fish while you can.. winters a long time passing.