Battling More Beasts

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September 27th 2018

 

Bill & Dan were with me this morning, both looking for a new species of fish to catch. Sturgeon were our target and I hoped they would bite! Due to big winds, it had been about a week since I tried for them and It just felt great to be back!

I was surprised to see that there weren’t any other boats fishing when we arrived and quickly got everything set up. With rods baited all we could do was wait and hope for a bite. I don’t think we were anchored for 15 minutes before another boat arrived and of course, it set up so close to us that I could have hit them with a cast. Idiots thought there’s only one area holding fish I guess!

After about another 10 minutes I pulled out and re anchored elsewhere, just to get some distance from the other boat. I guess it was the right choice because we were on more fish and bit shortly after. Dan was about to battle his first sturgeon! The fight lasted about 5 minutes with several surges but the fish acted a little strange. It had gone into a roll in the beginning and the line had tangled around the pectoral fin causing it to come in weird. I netted it regardless and Dan held it for several pics before the release. Time to get Bill one too!

I had remained on the same spot due to all the fish and was pretty sure we would have another bite. About 15 minutes later, we were locked up! This fish was quite large by the feel of it and confirmed when it breached. Bill fought it like a champ and although it almost wore him out, he never gave up. It even went above the boat and over the anchor rope, causing me to do some fancy manoeuvring! After another jump and several more runs, I was finally able to net his beast. Easy part over, tough part to come!

Bill was exhausted from the fight and thought he was done, but holding the fish for a few pics was next. He was going to require the help of Dan just to lift this thing! Between the two of them, they still struggled but managed to get it done before torpedoing it back into the water. Now they were both spent!

I reset the lines looking for more biters but had to make another move in order to get one. I was marking some good fish and anchored up for almost 10 minutes before we were bit. Dan was up next and we cleared the other lines to give him plenty of room for the fight. Although it didn’t jump, she did take a lot of line and remained on the bottom. Dan seemed like he was in control for the first 5 minutes but then the fish took over. It must have tangled somehow and was now just taking line. It ran so much that I was forced to unpin from the anchor and go after it. After about another 5 minutes or so, we were finally over the fish and I could see why. It was a giant and the same thing had happened as the first fish this morning. The line was around the pectoral fin, but the hook was firmly in the mouth! Dan just couldn’t turn the fish during the fight, allowing him to bring it back.

With his monster securely in the net resting, he too took a small break before the pics. Although it wasn’t easy, he managed to hoist it up for several good shots before the release. I couldn’t believe how far we actually were from my anchor as we idled back to tie up.

In the short time we were gone, another boat had moved in and I could see him circling my float from a distance. Last season I actually had someone tie off on my rope! Unbelievable how big some peoples balls are! This guy just kept fast idling, creating lots of waves before he finally settled on a spot, right next to us! It always amazes me when I see this!

After re grouping and getting the line back in, we waited in hopes of one more bite. It took about 15 minutes and with rod in hand, Dan set into another good fish. He passed the rod to Bill and we cleared the other rods so that he could fight the fish. With the line rising in the water, it breached and everyone saw what he was pinned to. It was large and about to create pain! Bill knew what he was dealing with, having practiced on another big fish earlier. Many runs and one more leap later, I was able to slide the net over his monster sturgeon. He knew what was coming next!

While the fish was resting in the water, Bill too was resting in the boat! Afterwards we helped him hoist his fish up for a few quick pics and let her go. We were officially done for the day! I took a few minutes to pack everything up and we were on our way.

Bill & Dan were musky fisherman that had caught all kinds of big fish in their lifetime. The sturgeon had never made it to their list until today and what a way to get initiated! They had both landed a couple of dinosaurs in just a few short hours and were feeling the burn. To make matters worse, they would be heading out later this afternoon to do more musky fishing with a buddy of mine. Talk about masochists! They would be casting giant baits, looking to get beat up again! Better them than me! All in all though they couldn’t have asked for a better half day of fishing!!