My body clock sometimes goes off before my alarm would go off at five on workdays. It also doesn’t know that some days aren’t work days and it goes off anyway and wakes me up. My Queen was up late and I didn’t want to stay around the house and keep waking her. I have an inability to just sit and be quiet. I pulled on my shoes, grabbed the Lunakia with a President 20 and some .175 Varivas on it and added it to what was already in the boat from yesterday. Kissed her goodbye and told her I’d be back at 9. Not a soul on the road between me and the ramp and I was the first trailer at the ramp. Dropped the TM and eased over to a shoreline that sometimes holds some fish. Overcast and the app said that I was on the downhill of a minor feed so I didn’t expect much but a little slime on the new to me would be nice. No gills were found where I hoped they’d be and I slowly moved along, easily done on glassy, breathless water. I pitched near a cypress and made a couple of turns on the reel, felt something and lifted the rod and there was a commotion and the drag started singing. Loud. Nonstop. The last time a drag lit up like this I was snook fishing and a large version picked up my jig and headed for the next zip code. Still going. I knew if I didn’t give pursuit I’d see the bottom of the spool. TM up about halfway I began to get some line back. I still hadn’t seen the perpetrator. Catfish, drum, tilapia, largemouth, too slow for a striper, I had no clue. There he went again but not as far, things were looking up. Now the runs weren’t as long and I started palming the spool and trying to get a look. Then I saw the leader knot, I was close. Then I saw this nose poke up out of the water, a very large Longnose Gar. Bigger than my bicep in the body. Now for the fun part of trying to get a three foot gar in a 16” net. Took a few tries but that nose went through the mesh and I got him. Trying to lift him with my off side arm was another story. I had to get the net vertical to get it done.
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All I wanted was this pic and my jig back. One of the 1/43 with a #8 hook. Hooked under the left side of his jaw and not real easy to get loose. I thanked him and set him back where he came from, he’d earned that. One of the biggest I’ve ever fooled with and a PB on ultralight gear.
With my heart rate back to normal I continued down the bank and found a few pretty boys that wanted to say hello. The second was one of the biggest ever.
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Time being short I went over where I found some Crappie a couple of weeks back and found the vacancy sign turned on, but I did find this one to make things right. But that was also the off switch being thrown cuz I got no others. He was over twelve easy.
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Not wasting time where fish weren’t, I moved to my bluegill area that I like so much. It’s always good to me. It was slow there also but I did find a few that stopped the rod and started doing circles.Attachment 487135
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Fooled around a little more, stopped by hoping for another crappie but got a stud gill instead, and it was 8:45. If I was gonna get back when I said I was I needed to go. Came around the corner to see the ramp and there was 14 boats in the area. I told myself I was getting gone at the right time. Everyone was taking Mom out on the boat for Mothers Day. Called my Queen and told her to get dressed as breakfast out was in order and I’d be home soon. It’s already been a good day, now to paint. Yippee.
The rod got that reel as it was a takeoff from one of my others a while back and in looking at it, I believe Victor would approve of the aesthetic match that I got lucky with. The soft tip tells everything that’s going on and it weighs almost nothing. The casting wasn’t as good as the Trout X and I’m sure that’s due to the tiny guides used on this one. I was still able to make what I think was a 40’ cast so good enough for me. By the end of the trip I was casting like I’d owned it forever and even better with a wind behind me. I believe a 1 gram head would do better. Overall I’m pleased with it and looking forward to my next trip with a couple of better rods with me. Thanks for taking the ride and I hope to see you again soon……Skeet
And lest I forget, a very happy Mothers Day to all the Moms that keep us all in line. A full time job around here.
