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571 Posts
It has almost been 24 hours so I can tell this story now without crying...
.
Yesterday morning a buddy and I headed off the beach with a livewell full of menhaden and 6" mullet looking for a King or two. I had to be back at the dock by 11am in order to make it to church in time but the ocean was gorgeous and we were going to get some good fishing in. Our first stop was about 9 miles off the beach and we found a few small AJ's, some sharks and a few keeper sea bass but only one strike we thought was a king. I decided to run back towards the beach and stop at some structure closer and give it a shot before we headed in. Upon arriving the depth finder was showing plenty of life below us and a good size bait ball was on the surface. A sea turtle bobbed about and so it seemed everything was alive. We got the trolling rods out and started drifting across the structure in and out of gear to keep us 2mph or less. In the process of turning the boat around one of the lines got wrapped around the prop so my buddy cleared it but the leader and line needed to be cut and re-tied. Me "can you tie a double uni knot" my buddy "yea I can connect them". A few minutes later we are rerigged and we are fishing again.
5 minutes later my TLD 15 screams and I turn to see a 30lb king, 10ft above the ocean, 60 ft behind the boat. The memory frame in my mind is only when the fish is at his peak, I didn't see him come out of the water or go back in. As soon as I saw him I grabbed the rod. Boom he hits the water and takes off. FISH ON and I know it is a stud. My buddy clears the lines, grabs the gaff, and is ready to do whatever I need. The fish made a hard run at the boat and I frantically try to keep up. He gets below the boat and I have a million things running through my head "is the drag right, is the prop out of the way, I cannot believe I saw him sky that high". I make a few pumps and he starts to run again and has me up and walking around the bow. As he turns the corner around the bow I felt a pop and knew he was gone. I reeled up and here is my main line with little twists in the end where the knot came undone. Silently, I sat there and looked towards the beach knowing that human error had cost me my first really nice King. With my head held down like a beaten dog I walked to the back of the boat and retied the knot myself. The fish was gone and the morning was over. 20 minutes later I emptied the livewell and headed in to go to church. He got away and I just hope he isn't injured from the leader the tackle still attached. Never again will anyone tie a knot on my rigs besides myself.
Lesson learned and for a hillbilly from the mountains of east Tennessee it was another moment that cannot be replicated. A fun day none the less.
.Yesterday morning a buddy and I headed off the beach with a livewell full of menhaden and 6" mullet looking for a King or two. I had to be back at the dock by 11am in order to make it to church in time but the ocean was gorgeous and we were going to get some good fishing in. Our first stop was about 9 miles off the beach and we found a few small AJ's, some sharks and a few keeper sea bass but only one strike we thought was a king. I decided to run back towards the beach and stop at some structure closer and give it a shot before we headed in. Upon arriving the depth finder was showing plenty of life below us and a good size bait ball was on the surface. A sea turtle bobbed about and so it seemed everything was alive. We got the trolling rods out and started drifting across the structure in and out of gear to keep us 2mph or less. In the process of turning the boat around one of the lines got wrapped around the prop so my buddy cleared it but the leader and line needed to be cut and re-tied. Me "can you tie a double uni knot" my buddy "yea I can connect them". A few minutes later we are rerigged and we are fishing again.
5 minutes later my TLD 15 screams and I turn to see a 30lb king, 10ft above the ocean, 60 ft behind the boat. The memory frame in my mind is only when the fish is at his peak, I didn't see him come out of the water or go back in. As soon as I saw him I grabbed the rod. Boom he hits the water and takes off. FISH ON and I know it is a stud. My buddy clears the lines, grabs the gaff, and is ready to do whatever I need. The fish made a hard run at the boat and I frantically try to keep up. He gets below the boat and I have a million things running through my head "is the drag right, is the prop out of the way, I cannot believe I saw him sky that high". I make a few pumps and he starts to run again and has me up and walking around the bow. As he turns the corner around the bow I felt a pop and knew he was gone. I reeled up and here is my main line with little twists in the end where the knot came undone. Silently, I sat there and looked towards the beach knowing that human error had cost me my first really nice King. With my head held down like a beaten dog I walked to the back of the boat and retied the knot myself. The fish was gone and the morning was over. 20 minutes later I emptied the livewell and headed in to go to church. He got away and I just hope he isn't injured from the leader the tackle still attached. Never again will anyone tie a knot on my rigs besides myself.
Lesson learned and for a hillbilly from the mountains of east Tennessee it was another moment that cannot be replicated. A fun day none the less.
