Kevin, Lee, Jay and I paddled out to where the depth goes from 30' to 120' and got right in the mix with the massive legion of motorboaters. Clickers were screaming and nets were swinging so we knew the fish were around.
We all had short strikes here and there, but Jay was the first to land one... a 41"er. Lee hooked up almost immediately after, but it came unbuttoned after about 45 seconds. Kevin came tight next and had it at the boat, but "released" it yak side, fearing the wrath of what Lee might say or do to him. Poor Lee's misfortune continued as my eel got taken next.
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| Playing it gently |
I had taken the opportunity to bring out my 8lb test knowing there wasn't going to be any structure out there. A certain IGFA record caught my eye a while back and this was a great chance to take a shot at it. The initial run peeled line at an intimidating rate. Had I had my clicker on, it would have reflected my nerves at the time. But once it stopped, I gathered my line and surprising it didn't take too long for me to grab the leader.
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| 44" Striper on 8lb Ande IGFA rated line |
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| Released |
It wasn't the record I was looking for, but I was still all smiles.
Later on toward the end of the day Jay went on to catch another one at 42"
As it turns out all three fish were caught on free lined eels with no weight...
so we did a study...
Big thank you to Kayak Kevin for sharing the knowledge.
Congrats Rob - I bet that was a blast and nerve wracking at the same time!
ReplyDeleteWow, that fish could eat the Stripers we catch ont eh Roanoke.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a good day on the water. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeleteHoly Cow! Where was that black friday?!?!!? Next time!
ReplyDeleteThat looks like some serious fishing, I kayak fish in the UK and am seriously passionate about my hobby even in our climate and not so forgiving sea's. Your so lucky to have such a great place to do what you love, I'm just a little jealous, ok a lot jealous.
ReplyDeleteregards Dan