Now I’m not one that tends to stretch the truth anymore than needs to be done, but this is something that hardly needs to be improved.
I had a few guys out for the morning hoping to capture enough grouper and grunts to make a good lunch when we got back to shore. As soon as the baits hit the bottom the red grouper attacked them with vigor. And the grunts managed to grab a baited hook whenever the grouper weren’t quick enough. It wouldn’t be long before everyone began picking out what sides they would have with their fried fish. But before that would happen we would need to finish filling the cooler.
Several of the guys had rods rigged with 50 pound test for the grouper and a couple with 30 pound outfits for the grunts. It became almost routine, baiting hooks, dropping them to the bottom and reeling in fish. One of the guys; Neil, using the lighter outfit began reeling in a fish when suddenly the line started peeling back off the reel with whatever hit heading back towards the bottom.
We assumed that a big shark wanted one of the grunts that may have been on the line, or perhaps something else. The line peeled away in a steady motion leaving the young man holding on in awe. Twenty yards peeled away, then forty, eventually it was down another 60 yards, and it was all he could do to hang on. The mystery fish then took a left turn and started heading towards the front of the boat, over the anchor line and then to the other side of the boat. I assisted by taking the rod across the bow to the port side and handed the straining rod back to the fellow.
This fish had little intention of coming to the boat without a fight and that was alright with the Neil as he had never been fishing offshore before. How about this for a first time experience!
I coached Neil on how to put the line back on the reel using a technique called; “pump and reel.” Basically it means that you gain line lifting the fish gently and then bow down reeling all the way. Often this means gaining line a few inches at a time, sometimes not at all. Utilizing this technique Neil took almost an hour hoping to get the fish close enough to the boat to get a glimpse.
It was touch and go for what seemed like an eternity and Neil struggled with his fish. Why couldn’t the fish hit the heavier tackle instead of the light stuff?! Only thirty pound test, not the size of line you want to use for an hour long battle with a fish of this sort. We still hadn’t even seen whatever it was on the other end. Questions abound; what is it?
As seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into forever.. Neil was doing his damnedest to get this fish to the boat. I leaned over the side looking into the depths dimly making out a faint outline of something big still barely out of view but coming closer. A couple more turns on the reel, another gentle lift of the rod, Neil was gaining ground. Perhaps he’ll even get the fish close enough for a picture.
The fish didn’t like being pulled from his home and he let us know so by digging back to the bottom, stripping line back off the reel that Neil so gingerly and painstakingly worked on. What was just out of view is now well out of view and just an image in our mind. It was up to Neil to start over and try to bring the fish back to see what it is that has kept us in suspense for so long. A little more coaching was in order to keep Neil’s spirits in check. He was indeed growing tired and worn from the summer heat and the incessant pull from the fish on the line.
Inch by inch of line came back on the reel as Neil worked hard to regain what he lost a few minutes earlier. “The fish getting tired, too!” I told him, hoping to encourage him to work harder. Soon Neil would be able to claim a victory over a goliath of a fish that few have ever been able to defeat on tackle, never-the-less light-tackle of 30 pound test.
His friends started to wipe his brow with cold wet towels, and helping him to drink a well deserved bottle of cold water while he struggled with the rod in hand. Encouraging him to go on, everyone started chanting his name; “Neil, Neil, Neil.”
Perhaps the fish heard the chant, perhaps it just finally gave in to Neil’s persistence? But it was coming towards the surface. At last, miraculously, a 500 pound goliath grouper popped up to the surface long enough for everyone to see. It bobbed for a moment and with one last effort it dove back towards the bottom, this time the line parted and the fish and Neil were both free from the tedium that would mark a day in the life for them both.
Parting words; “I’ll be back!” shouted Neil towards the fish. “Next time Captain... I want a bigger rod!”
By the way, this is NO fish story. Truth, I swear.
Good luck and good fishing, Capt. Larry
Copyright 2010 Logo/editorial, Capt. Larry Blue
Capt. Larry Blue is a full time charter boat operator and guide, launching from Gators on the Pass, in Treasure Island. He is a member of; The Maritime Consortium, The Florida League of Anglers and The Florida Outdoors Writers Assn. For charter information call 727-397-3773 or cell 727-871-1058 www.CaptainLarryBlueCharters.com or www.CaptainLarryBlue.com
