Sorry it was so long...if you want the short version, just look at the pics.
My fishing partner bailed out on me today. He claimed that he had to go look for a "job". With the recent cold snap and the rain, I had the perfect spot in mind. I have been to the area before, but never during the right time of year. It's a great winter time spot due to the dark black mud. It has multiple small creeks, many of which have storm runoff pipes at the end.
Got the yak unloaded just before sun up. Hit the first few creeks with little success. There were signs of life, but there was no water movement. Kept moving my way down the bank, stopped at the next creek and I found this little guy, but the water still wasn't moving.
The next creek was where things finally took a turn. As I was approaching it I noticed the water was ripping out the mouth, great sign. I had confidence that the snook would be holding in this area. I approached the creek, anchoring just outside the mouth. I couldn't have asked for a better scenario. I make several casts with a lure that I have never fished before, a Rapala Twitchin' Rap. I had two colors with me, Hot Bone and Silver Flash. Because the water was very murky, I went with Hot Bone.
After a short period of no action, I was ready to reposition a little further up in the creek. Just then, I get a nice hit. The fish felt heavy, and showed itself early. She made an attempted to jump, that's when I realized just how big the fish was. When she was trying to jump, she could only get half her body out of water. At the top of her jump she would open her mouth which was as big as a trash can lid, and thrash her head back and forth until she went back under the water. My heart beat quickened, my hands began to shake. All I could think was "Leader, don't fail me now."
She made a 75' run up the mouth of the creek, and turned to run me under the bushes. I put a little extra pressure on her and was able to turn her away from the branches. She then made a poor decision, she ran out into the open water. I let her run as far as she wanted to go. She soon tired, and I was steadily gaining line back. She made one last effort to run back up the creek, but didn't succeed. I was somehow able to steady my hands enough to lip the fish and make my way to shore for some pics.
I couldn't believe the size of her, truly amazing. I kept her in the water while I did my best to snap some pics of her, easier said that done when you don't have an extra pair of hands to help. There was a man that pulled up in his car that offered some assistance. I asked if he could take a picture of me. He said take a picture of you and what? I reached down and showed him the fish, he was shocked, and kindly took the pics for me. I didn't even catch his name, but I can't tell him how thankful I was that he pulled up when he did. The other pics just weren't doing the fish any justice.
I had a little trouble reviving the fish in the shallow water. I took her out to some deeper water with more current and spent 10-15 minutes reviving her. She began to get her kick back, and soon, was ready for release. I gave her one last shake of the fin, pointed her towards the beaches, told her to go make lots of little snookies, and thanked her for the thrill of a lifetime. I had a lawstick that maxed out at 36". When 36" came, her entire tail was sticking beyond the ruler. I had a boca, but knew better that to hang this big girl by her jaw. Could someone give me some guesses as far as her weight? I didn't have a way of measuring her girth, but I'm very comfortable with a length of at least 40". Thx.
Here are some shots of the leader after the fight. "I'd rather be lucky than good"...got that right.
After settling my nerves I returned to the spot but found that the water wasn't moving. However, I was content to finish out the morning there. I had one more hit which yielded this fine snook, not as big as the other one, but certainly nothing to frown upon.
Thanks for reading. Tight Lines.
Triton.
