A Bitter Disappointment

Matt was back again this morning, but he wasn’t alone. Ryan had joined him and they were both excited for the possibilities of another great day. The morning air was another chilly one with the temps barely 30 degrees. I knew it wouldn’t be a heat wave with the west 15 to 20 but didn’t expect what was to come. It felt like another 20 degree morning with the W/NW winds and it was damn cold! I received the worst, having to control the boat direction as I kept the bow pointed right into the blow. Although I was warm, the wind chill on any exposed skin wasn’t. Both Matt & Ryan were feeling the punch as well but Matt was dealing with it a little better. In his first few casts he was locked up and that’ll definitely warm you up. The fish turned out to be a nice four pounder and a great start to the day. He had many more chances after the first and managed to get all of them in the boat. Quite a difference from yesterday’s start! Ryan on the other hand wasn’t fending as well and spent the entire morning without a single fish. The wind was making bottom contact a little difficult and eventually I had to switch his weight up to a heavier one. Wouldn’t you know it, first cast he’s locked! I don’t know if it was just a coincidence or actually the jig but either way I was glad. Maybe not as happy as he was but it was nice to finally see him fighting something other than rocks. We shifted areas plenty throughout the day and picked at them here & there, but it was tough. In the end, I decided to hold in a really rock infested place and lose loads of jigs to the bottom monsters. If they were lucky enough to bounce off the rocks, they got hit. If not, they got “Rocked Up”! I spent the rest of the afternoon retying jigs on every other drift. I eventually went to the lighter wire jigs to try and keep them from breaking off and that was a big mistake. Several other fish were landed but the jigs needed plenty of attention as they were still snagging the bottom on every cast. By snapping the jig out, they were getting fish to react as well and some of them were coming to net. As with all mistakes, there are consequences. Ryan unfortunately was the one to feel the most pain as his next fish was a real giant. When it took to the air way back, I knew it was big. It wasn’t until she jumped again, closer to the boat that we all got a better look. It was definitely over six pounds and before he could get it closer to the net, she was gone. Between too much pressure on the fight and the hook dull & bent, something had to give. I checked the jig when he was in and the point was bent over from the rocks and it was also opened up more than it should have been. I immediately cut off both jigs and went back to the stronger hooks not caring how many they would lose. I don’t know if by keeping the better jigs going it would have changed the outcome but I would like to think it might have. We were all left with disappointment as this would have been a personal best for Ryan and another over six pounds for my season. Matt had landed one that weighed 5.48 earlier and this one had made it look like a three pounder. We had to get over it and what a better way to do it than a double, immediately on the next drift. Jigs were being lost frequently but at least the fish were being landed when they hooked up. Plenty more fish were caught with the time remaining in the day but not the likes of the one lost. I know we will all be remembering today as the one that got away but when haven’t we done that before! Despite the incident, it was still a really good day to be on the water!!