The One that Got Away

Sure, Sure. Always the same old fish tails. “You should have seen the one that got away” or the most frustrating “You should have been here YESTERDAY!!!”

Well yesterday was going to be my first day surf fishing in a long time. I had cleaned all my rods and reels but decided to only take my big surf pole.

As i came off the new bridge leading to the island my cell phone rang. It was Beatrice asking if i had remembered to get the ”park pass’ out of her car. At this point i should have just turned around, gone home, and taken a long hammock ride. BUT i was determined. I stopped at he bait place and asked what the favorite bait of the day was and bought some. Got the the Park gate and told the nice lady my sad story. She smiled and said “that will be five dollars please.”I ask you, where is the sympathy in the world today????

SO on to the beach i go, pole, tackle bag, cooler, chair in hand. Now surf fishing is an exercise in patience, frustration, and some times futility. In the hours that i was on the beach i was able to drown 7 clams, feed a lot of crabs, and ALMOST lose my pole to the infamous Morone saxitalis.

By the sixth clam i was getting a little dozy. I had cast out and was sitting quietly when my eyes closed for just a second. I opened them to see my pole bending sharply, then start going horizontal, then the pole holder start pulling out of the sand, AND THEN my pole start heading towards the surf…..

Luckily my lightning quick reflexes sprang to life, I jumped up, ran to the retreating pole, grabbed it, yanked back, set the hook ……………… and then nothing but slack line. As i reeled in, and got to the end of the line, remembering what a wonderful fight Morone would have given me, how wonderful he would have tasted after laying on the grill for about 15 minutes covered with olive oil and seasonings, I saw nothing. No hook, no sinker, no rigging, just monofilament flapping in the breeze.

Here is a look at who got away. You know why he is smiling. The moral of this story is “Do not put off a line change till tomorrow or you may lose a big one today”