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Other Photos submitted by regratton
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Submitted By: regratton
Date Submitted: 2009-03-24 04:14:00
The Big Fish Story: I LOVE TO FISH!! I live in beautiful Western Mass. and have the opportunity to fish many species, including lake trout, rainbow trout, brook tout, landlocked salmon and my favorites largemouth and smallmouth bass in deep clear water. I also very much enjoy saltwater fishing off the shores of Cape Cod, Rhode Island and especially inshore saltwater in and around Clearwater, Florida. During the first week of Feb., 2008, my son Joe and I took a spur of the moment 3 day fishing trip to Tampa/Clearwater Florida. We literally decided to go at 6 p.m. one night, and were on a flight from Boston to Tampa at 6 a.m. the next morning. We have "snowbird" family who winter in Clearwater. They are great hosts and welcome us any time. The weather on this trip was sunny as usual. Temps had just gone into the upper 70's. Water temps were cool for the area, in the low to mid 60's. We were fishing inshore waters, from shore, in the Tampa Bay area, having some luck with spotted trout and small redfish. We were finding fish on the south facing shores where the water warmed faster. One afternoon we decided to head to Sand Key Beach to relax in the sun. Sand Key Beach in on the south side of Clearwater Pass, the entrance to Clearwater harbor area. We of course had our fishing gear with us and decided to try our luck fishing from the rock wall on the south side of Clearwater Pass. We were using 7' medium action spinning rods, Penn 440 ssg reels spooled with Berkley Trilene XT, 10 lb test mono, using 3" plastic shrimp on 3/8 oz jig heads. We enjoy fishing with light tackle. We had managed to land a few very nice spotted trout "specks". It was about 6 p.m. when my son mentioned we should probably get going as the Sand Key Beach park closed its gates at 6:15. My response was "one last cast". I felt resistance. My first thought was a snag on the rocky bottom. That "snag" quickly took about 1/2 of my line off the spool. My son heard the drag sing, looked over and thought I was playing some sort of joke. At first I thought I might have foul hooked a dolphin, as they were cloe by about 10 minutes earlier. Eventually the fish stopped its run about 100 yards from shore. I was standihng on a large rock on the wall and had no option but to stay put and do my best. Any time I would try to bring the rod back to gain line, the fish would take it back and then some. I used my hadn to help the drag knowing the 10 lb test was stretched to its limit. Fortunately for me, the fish swam east to west and did not take any more of what I had left for line. My son worked his way over to where I was standing to try to get a look at whatever I had hooked. It had now gotten dark, and we had not gotten a look at the fish. This tug-o-war 'stalemate" went on for over 30 minutes until I was able to very slowly gain on the fish. Slowly I pumped the rod and reeled in the 10 lb test Trilene XT and got the fish turned toward me. As i got the fish closer to shore, my son leaned out over the rock we were on to help land the fish. I warned him against putting his hands in the water until we knew for sure what we had, toothy creatures are known to be in the area! After 45 minutes, I finally pulled th fish close enough to land it. My son leaned out over the rock, using both hands, grabbed the fish by the gills. I leaned down and grabbed the back of his shorts to prevent him from falling into the quickly moving water. He wrestled the fish out of the water. I wrapped my arms around his waist and wrestled him, with fish in hand up onto the rock. We both looked at each other and laughed like crazy at having landed this fish. I always carry a camera with me, I am a strong advocate catch-and-release. We managed to take a few good pictures of the fish. For comparison in the pic, I am 6'2" 235lbs. We estimated the fish at around 50" and 70 plus pounds. We smiled and both of us swung the fish back into Clearwater Pass as it loudly drummed its way into the darkness. As we climbed up the rocks to leave the area, a park ranger pulled up to our spot. The ranger was looking for us, as our truck was the only vehicle left in the parking lot. The park had closed while I was fighting the fish. We showed the ranger the pictures of the fish and she laughed and happily unlocked the gates to let us on our way. What a memory for both me and my son.
Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast) this month
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Where'd you catch it: FL | USA
Category:
InShore Saltwater
| Species: Black Drum
How big was that lunker: 50 Inches | 70 lbs. oz.
That Hawg was bite'n on: Soft
What string were you runnin: Monofilament
What reel were you crankin: Spinning
Caught it on:
Comment By:Walleye90
Nice fish. Here's five for ya. |
Comment By:outdoorgirl1
That sure IS a great read!!!! and fish of course! ;)Congrats of your WHOPPER OF A TALE!!!!! |
Comment By:outdoorgirl1
That's a biggin!! Bringing that fish in sounds like quite the wrestling match....Congrats!
5 bobbers comin' at ya. |
Comment By:regratton
Thanks for kudos everyone. We love visiting the area. Everyone is so nice. Its always a pleasure to meet new folks there. The "locals" are more than happy to share tips etc. Everyone keep smilin, keep fishing and have a great day !! |
Comment By:gorfme
holy crap awesome fish keep the lines tight look forward to see more like that |
Comment By:somefishinfool
Nice Fish! 5 Bobbers! Thanks for the votes & comments. Tight Lines & FISH ON! |
Comment By:basfshrmn281
Nice drum. They put up a heck off a fight.Heres 5 bobbers. |
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