"Dancin' in the Moonlight": Brids 7-1-15

[Jigman13]

Got at it Wed. night with Dale aboard the GetANet II. Slick calm and an incredibly huge, bright full moon. It was so bright that it actually made you squint when you faced it. Crazy stuff! With the big bright moon above and calm conditions, you could see every swirl, pop, tail slap, explosion and full body leap across massive expanses of water. It was insane! We plugged away from about 11 PM until 230 AM. I finished with 8 fish from barely keeper sized to a bunch of low 20s. Dale had 2: a dink and a low 20 fish that was part of our first double header of the season. DOUBLE!!!!

There was heart break too. While casting off the bow towards a point at the mouth of a cove, I landed a sweet cast inches off the shoreline. 2-3 turns of the reel handle and WHAMMY! My plug got fuggin' DEMOLISHED! The explosion was intense and the fish just took off on a mission. I say to Dale "big fish, dude... BIIIIG fish". The boat starts to spin and my reel is starting to get light on line. The smaller spool on my Daiwa Exceler 2000 was stressin'! And even though I was equipped with 20 lb braid, i couldnt put the screws to the fish b/c of the light wire trebles on my plug. They wouldve easily straightened. Rock meets hard place. I could not stop the fish. Soon I felt an awkward bump and tension on the line... Nooooooo! She rocked or stumped me up... Made some attempts to get it free but the friction parted my 15 fluoro leader a few inches below my uni knot. When I reeled up, my braid was shot for 3-4 ft too. Son of a... Never saw the fish. Not even a glimpse. My initial thoughts are double digit hybrid, but who knows. Couldve been a big pike under that massive moon or a beast channel cat, although the fight felt hybrid-like. Regardless, it's a story that lands itself comfortably in the "learn" pile rather than the "catch" pile.

Here's some pics of what we did catch. Lovin' this nighttime drama... I hear a fat lady, though!