This blog is not informational, but a real life fish story that will be etched in my memories forever.
It was a cool late October day here in south Louisiana. It was the annual run of the redfish through lake Decade. The top water bite was fantastic. Many 5-8 pound redfish were slamming my mirror lure she pup top water bait. We, my friend Tim Dusenbery and I were in our favorite part of the lake, along a stretch of bank that has a lone standing tree. We termed it the big fish tree. That stretch of bank had always produced either big reds or specs. This day was no exception. Every pass down that part was producing some really nice redfish. I tossed the she-pup against the bank, walking the dog as usual. Walking the dog is a term used in top water fishing, where you twitch the bait back and forth in a ryhtmatic motion. On my third twitch, bam a huge explosion. I was hooked up on what I thought was a really big red. But to my amazement the giant fish came tail walking out of the water, trying to throw that she pup out of its huge yellow mouth. It was not a redfish, but a giant speckled trout. Its' mouth as big as a bucket and it was on my line. Giant trout are like wahoo. The incredible speed is impossible to catch up with. My Shimano 1000 spinning reel was screaming like an indie car down a raceway. The 10 pound braided line was being tested to its max. The massive fish made its first run past the side of the boat as if to show me what I had tangled into. The back of the grayish figure was extremely wide and the length was longer than any trout I had ever encountered. This was way bigger than the 7 pounders I had landed. This was in the class of "Oh My God". A 10 pounder or bigger. And I had a chance. I had survived the hook up and the first bolt of lighting as it passed 2 feet from the boat. "Walter" (reference from a movie of the biggest fish in the pond), stripped off 25 yards of line and was turning back toward the boat. On the second pass, I got a clearer view of this freak of the lake. My heart sank and asked Duce, my buddy's nickname, to get the net ready. If by chance we get a shot, he better not miss. As the fish passed by the boat the second time, stripping off another 15 yards of line the double treble hooks had given way. It released my trophy, my once in a lifetime fish. I sat back in the seat I had abandoned in amazement and now, disappointment. I was given a gift, a hook up and a look at the biggest trout I had ever seen and possibly ever will. The tail walking, the massive "bucket mouth", the length and beautiful colorization of that trophy will always be etched in my mind. These events make fisherman/woman humble. If we landed every trophy, caught every fish that bit, we would have no fish tales to tell our friends/family. Good luck fishing. Hope to see ya on the water.
This blog is not informational, but a real life fish story that will be etched in my memories forever.
It was a cool late October day here in south Louisiana. It was the annual run of the redfish through lake Decade. The top water bite was fantastic. Many 5-8 pound redfish were slamming my mirror lure she pup top water bait. We, my friend Tim Dusenbery and I were in our favorite part of the lake, along a stretch of bank that has a lone standing tree. We termed it the big fish tree. That stretch of bank had always produced either big reds or specs. This day was no exception. Every pass down that part was producing some really nice redfish. I tossed the she-pup against the bank, walking the dog as usual. Walking the dog is a term used in top water fishing, where you twitch the bait back and forth in a ryhtmatic motion. On my third twitch, bam a huge explosion. I was hooked up on what I thought was a really big red. But to my amazement the giant fish came tail walking out of the water, trying to throw that she pup out of its huge yellow mouth. It was not a redfish, but a giant speckled trout. Its' mouth as big as a bucket and it was on my line. Giant trout are like wahoo. The incredible speed is impossible to catch up with. My Shimano 1000 spinning reel was screaming like an indie car down a raceway. The 10 pound braided line was being tested to its max. The massive fish made its first run past the side of the boat as if to show me what I had tangled into. The back of the grayish figure was extremely wide and the length was longer than any trout I had ever encountered. This was way bigger than the 7 pounders I had landed. This was in the class of "Oh My God". A 10 pounder or bigger. And I had a chance. I had survived the hook up and the first bolt of lighting as it passed 2 feet from the boat. "Walter" (reference from a movie of the biggest fish in the pond), stripped off 25 yards of line and was turning back toward the boat. On the second pass, I got a clearer view of this freak of the lake. My heart sank and asked Duce, my buddy's nickname, to get the net ready. If by chance we get a shot, he better not miss. As the fish passed by the boat the second time, stripping off another 15 yards of line the double treble hooks had given way. It released my trophy, my once in a lifetime fish. I sat back in the seat I had abandoned in amazement and now, disappointment. I was given a gift, a hook up and a look at the biggest trout I had ever seen and possibly ever will. The tail walking, the massive "bucket mouth", the length and beautiful colorization of that trophy will always be etched in my mind. These events make fisherman/woman humble. If we landed every trophy, caught every fish that bit, we would have no fish tales to tell our friends/family. Good luck fishing. Hope to see ya on the water.
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