Whatisthat1trophyfishyoustillgetchillsabout?

[rayswin]

Year was 2002, I was fishing the sand key docks in the early morning hours around midnight to 3:00 a.m., I had about a 13 inch live speckled trout swimming out in the shadows on the bottom, when BAM!, the drag started screamin then it started smokin when the big momma realized she was hooked. About a 20 minute fight ensued until the big striper gave way, I then jumped down in the rocks to bag the monster snook that was around 45 inches. HOLY COW!

[eaglesfanguy]

Year was 1996 . I took a vacation from my home in virginia, to visit the folks up in Jersey.
My aunt and uncle have a house in Barnegat light, on long beach island. They invited me to stay a weekend and get dirty with some surf fishing.
There hard core surf peeps..4x4 heavers beach clubs.. etc..

So first night its blowing good.. a mild noreaster .. we gave it a try anyway .. no luck .. Next morning it calms a bit.. and by 10pm its just cold.. this is probably mid december..

So sat night were soaking big baits.. working both sides of a jetty.. i picked the windward side of the jetty they took the lee ward side.. well after about 4 hrs of nothing but soggy huge chunks of bunker .. i changed tactics and scaled down..
Started to catch some dogfish.. .. aint nuthin to brag about .. but atleast i was gettin a bend in my rod.
then the tide changed.. and i was on the leeward side.. set out a strip ob bunker where i had been fishing all night.. set the rod in the spike and cracked a beer.

next thing i know my rod gets a heavy thump.. so i pick it up.. and im like here we go another lil doggy.. Then it started to swim off.. i set the hook.. and all i could do was hang on .. this guy is just hanging ten peeling line..

Now gear im using is a penn 750ss spooled with 20 lb berkley big game.. every bit of 350 yds a 12 foot Kmart 2 piece rod,

Im walking down the beach trying like hell to get control.

Got my light lit up in green signifying i have a good fish.. everyone starts making there way to me.. and all i can do is lean back ... and ... i did a rookie mistake..... i paniked and tightend the drag.. leaned back .. just as my aunt says "DOnt touch your drag" Pop i fall on my ass.. and the fish of a life time is gone..................... Could have ben my best striper to date... Ive caught em to 40 inches and 30 lbs .. but this thing was a beast .. Ill never forget it.

[thefishslayer]

5/06
I was at work at the bait shop and had my buddy there cause he was hurt and out of work. I told him I have been seeing a monster snook swiming around out back. We would chum alot with dead shrimp and had alot of snook that were always coming around to get in on the free meals. The shop was slow and we were hanging out back. I seen him come around and go a few times taking mouthfuls of shrimp at a time.
I placed a 1/0 hook in a mid section of shrimp no head or tail. I was armed with a 260 slammer on a 8ft falcon rod 10pound braid 25pd flouro. He came around again while my shrimp was laying there GULP by this time a few more people where there. I set the hook and go to work boy what a battle I subdued her quick for the setup I had took about all of 5mins. Right in between two docks
Got her landed and 43inch to fork so I would say about 45-47inches total and was FAT it was damn near as big as me and im 5'3. Est. 30+ The best part was I had like a crowd of like 5 good friends and 5 customers cheering me on. She went back safely and lives to fight another day!!

[goredwings]

I would say that I am still looking to land my first "LARGE" trophy fish! I guess my first real trophy fish was caught when I was 8yrs old. This place we would go on a family vacation to every year on hamlin lake in Ludington, MI would have a fisherman of the week contest for the people renting a cabin there. The lake has a great abundance of Northern Pike and I was able to land a a nice 32 incher! After checking in daily to the bait shop to see if my fish stood as the biggest of the week I was finally rewarded with my first trophy in any sport or activity in my life. I was so proud of it! I always liked to fish and really just enjoyed hanging out with my dad, but that really hooked me for life on fishing.

Now I am just hoping for that chance to land something really big to create new memories.

[jab]

rayswin i fish the sand key piers all the time. what pier were you on? and was it hard to bag that fish in that current?

[goindeep]

Heres a pic I found in the ole shoebox....

SkyJay with a haul, back in the day.




Hey Jay, give us some background on this photo!!

[goindeep]

Oh yeah...I myself is still learning the craft...havent had alot of success yet...But I will keep puttin in the time and it will come.

Then I will blow all your minds and post my moby dick tale and you will all be in awe!!!




or maybe not


Anyway keep the stories comin...Im lovin em!!

[eaglesfanguy]

What is that an 87 caravan?......... Hmmmmm wonder the regs back then
In 1985, the newly created Florida Marine Fisheries Commission (FMFC) permanently closed the snook fishery during the months of January, February, June, July, and August; increased the minimum legal size to 24 inches total length; and established a daily bag limit of two snook, only one may exceed 34 inches total length. The Naples index for 1987 indicated that the levels of snook abundance were still depressed but that they approximated the levels of 1981, reflecting an improvement. The tagging study was conducted again in the summer of 1994, and that estimate was also greater than the yearly estimates for the period 1981-1986. Although it is difficult to make conclusions from these data because of the large error associated with the prior estimates, the estimates of 1987 and 1994 indicate that the decline has abated and that the snook populations in the Naples area may have stabilized or may have increased to the levels of the early eighties.



Nice feesh

[bcc]

My trophy catch would have to be the snook that was pushing the 4ft mark i caught while on duty working on big pier 60. It was old pier back in 90 or 91. Them pier 60 snook were allways monsters.

[rayswin]

Hey jab I was on the 2nd dock and a no on the current being a problem. I know what you mean the current can rip out there in the channel, but in close by the rocks and the seawall is usually calm. The 3rd dock was the hotspot last time I was there in the summer and I'll never give up on working lures on the first dock out all the way to as far as I can cast towards and under the bridge. Man that shadow line out there by the bridge is where the hosses are.

[jab]

yeah i know whaat you mean theres also some big shark around there.

[ripnlips]

september 6, 2001

fishing next to the coast guard station at cape canaveral (just before 9/11). we caught some nice greenies for bait earlier that day to do some mango fishin. later that afternoon i went back to check out the afternoon bite when i saw a school of big mullet. under the mullet was a large shadow following them thoght it was a shark til it came to the surface and sucked in one of those 3 pound mullet like it was an m&m. giant snook! later that night i end up catching 3 of them all 40 pounds plus on live mango snapper. hooked up several times with breakoffs until i brought out my 4/0.

[SkyJay]

Caught em in a castanet, at the St. Pete Sewage Treatment outflow... LMFAO (I was fishin wit Mark Hubbard ;D)
(Now that's funny right there)


Seriously though...


EaglesFanGuy, it's a 93 Voyager...


(And the stringer was LEGAL!)


(If I'd have only known then, what I know now, I'd have let them girlys go)

(And that IS the truth!)


Fishin story of the year comin soon


Stay Tuned Jabronnees! LOL


Merry Fishin To All!


SJ