Long Night in Galveston!!!!
Well, here I sit behind the computer with a look of awe on my face! It has been a long night for me...
After I spent the last week reading fishing reports from various boards, I discovered I had the fishing bug! I had my new rod and reel and it was killing me to see it sitting in the corner. It was more or less begging me to be used! I made a few phone calls to various friends, but nobody had the time to run down south! The fiance had her books full for the day, so I figured it was time to sneak out. I decided to head down to Galveston. Several reports of bull reds and tarpon are surfacing and I wanted a piece of the action....
Seeing that I sold the Torium 20 with new carbontex drags from
www.charkbait.com I had to resort to buying a new rig to specifically replace that one. I decided I needed a nice lever drag reel with good quality, and drags, which would hold deep water jigged fish. The reel of choice became an AVET LX with a gear ration of 6:1. Many hours of research went into this specific decision, on my part. I bought the reel online at
www.islanderscustomtackle.com I also bought the custom SeaMajic Jiggin rod from Chris at Islanders as well. (He makes one MEAN jigging rod- similar to a Shimano Trevalla, except its a custom!) After I spooled the reel full of Jerry Brown Hollow 80 pound test spectra, I was ready to hit the jetties! ~ At least for now, as I have been funneling my financial resources into our wedding scheduled December 9th, of this year. As always though, a little of it disappeared into the fishing fundhehe!!
Turned out to be a VERY long night...
I hit the road in my new(used) truck I purchased earlier this year from Brian Spagnola at
www.texasmotorcars.com . It is my first diesel and I am LOVING it! It was shortly after 5pm when I hit the road, headed to Galveston. I decided to pull an all nighter: drive down after work, fish until 3 AM, and then head back. This was the only plan feasible at the time. And if you know me, you know fishing is my addiction! I said my goodbyes to everyone and ht the road! Galveston Jetty Bound!! I was determined to get my line stretched!
I arrived in Galveston around 9pm. I stopped at the local Wal-Mart and loaded up on junk food, and some drinks. I iced down the cooler, packed in the food and headed to the jetties.
Now in the past, while surfing the internet, of course on
www.texasfishingforum.com I have found there to be rumor of a hole about 3/4 the way down the jetty. I loaded up all my gear on the 2-wheel dolly, transformed into a jetty mule, and crawled it over several boulders on my dangerous trek. I passed the occasional local and of course got the darn tourist look!! HA! It was to be expected, as I was invading their serenity. I finally reached the spot I thought was the place, and set up shop. I immediately rigged up the small bait pole and began pulling piggy perch in. They were unusually large! Oh well bigger the bait, the bigger the fish!
I started casting live piggy perch on a Carolina rig type setup. I kept having something take the bait but with no hookup... After a couple hours of this, I grew very bored and was starting to get tired. I remembered I happened to bring the Tuna Hunter top waters I bought from Chris at
www.islanderscustomtackle.com and I must say at a very reasonable price- I caught him right in the middle of cleaning out his old stock. Gotta love it when the timing is right!!!
I started chunking the Tuna Hunter top water and was very surprised! I actually caught several smaller Black fin Tuna!! I was dying to go tell a few of the fisherman, but just returned the favor (remember the looks they gave me) and kept to myself!!! I ended up catching 3 smaller Black fin Tuna that were around 6-7 pounds each. Thats was about all the action I saw for a couple hours. My arms were tired from casting, so I decided to try and free line a chunk of the Black fin Tuna. I didnt care what I caught; I just wanted a drag screaming good time!!
I rigged up the chunk on a large circle hook I had bought a few months ago from
www.charkbait.com and hid it in a large chunk of tuna. I casted it as far as I could and immediately began feeding off line to the current. It was about halfway through the spool before I hooked up. Well, this time I hooked up!!! BIG TIME!! I thought my reel was going to
Explode... The fish was stripping drag like no other.... Thought I had
Hooked a bottlenose dolphin...
Well I decided to cinch down on the drag and put the new reel to
The test...The fish slowed a "little"...but not nearly enough.... I had to lock up the drag to save my new JB Hollow!! The fluorocarbon leader broke off, and I was in amazement. It had to have been a bottlenose dolphin!!! A few chunks and a couple hours later, I was bored again with a lack of action. I started digging through my arsenal of tackle, understand my arsenal consists of a backpack of stuff- Unlike McGOlfers arsenal that consists of having to pull an extra trailer just for his gear.HEHE!
Well, in my pack I discovered some Frenzy Fliers from
www.frenzytackle.com . I had the pink and white one, with custom stinger hook. Those little bad boys look just like a flying fish, and I had seen them in action last year on the Quattro Tuna trip from the
www.texasfishingforum.com board. I just knew I would hookup for some strange reason. I rigged the flyer on straight to the spectra, as my entire fluorocarbon leader had been damaged earlier in the night. I figured it was dark enough the fish wouldnt be shy of the spectra.
I began casting into the darkness with an ominous feeling of being watched. I quickly turned around and saw a couple guys with Kayaks fishing inside the jetty boat channel. I immediately told them they were crazy, and they told me how stable their platforms were. As we were talking, I felt my rod bow under an extreme load. I thought the DAMN dolphin was back!! But for some reason, the line went slack. I figured it to have been a bite off by a shark! Just glad I wasnt dangling my feet in the water!!
I commenced to reel in the limp line and noticed it was moving towards me, about the time I reeled it tight- the edge of the jetty erupted as if an underwater bomb had gone off!! Something big, and I MEAN BIG! Had just been spooked! It startled me so bad, I forgot I was holding my rod and dropped it! Now when the rod dropped, it landed on the reel and immediately stood straight up and lodged in-between a couple boulders. I saw the rod bend over and the drag started screaming! I have NEVER heard a drag scream the way it did. The guys in the Kayak had beached their Yaks on the rocks and were interested in watching me fight this fish. I was half tempted to let the fish fight itself for awhile, but decided I would be out of line in a matter of minutes. At that point one of the Yakkers asked me if I had ever been in a Yak.
At this point in time, I said yes Knowing I had never been in a Yak, just a few canoes. He pulled his old, worn Yellow and black Yak to my side of the jetty and handed me the paddle. He told me to get in, sit down, shut up, and HOLD ON! His advice was to cinch down on the drags and let the fish wear itself out by the pulling the Yak around. They said they would gather my stuff and follow me down the beach line if need be. I was very reluctant, but I told myself- You only live once do it! If my fiance had heard or seen me do this- I would never be allowed to fish again!! I crawled into the yak, buckled myself down, and cinched down the drags. At the same moment, I was yelling out my cell phone number to these nice local Yakkers.
The fight was on. I cinched down the drag on the AVET LX and the Sea Majic Rod bowed. You could see how parabolic it actually was. The yak began to move at a very rapid pace, and headed straight down the beach. I had told myself this fish had to be a large shark, but why hadnt it bit through the line yet?! Weird stories of Loch Ness creatures began going through my head. At that point I came back to reality with my cell phone ringing. It was the two fellows, which were now following me down the seawall. The beach was long gone at this point. I must have dozed off at one point, as I dont even recall leaving the beach line.
I could tell this fish was tiring, and I began pumping the rod to get closer and regain some line. Every so often I could feel the fish start to come to the surface, then dive back down to the bottom. It was like the fish was actually hitting the bottom, as the line would jump very badly when the fish dove. The battle had come to a standstill, no line was being stripped and I couldnt gain any. It was like I had a dead weight on my line. Every so often I could feel the fish move, but it was like the waves were pushing the fish towards the seawall. I tried my best to lift the fish, but I couldnt do much more than budge it a little closer to the shore. I could see the sun rising and the phone started ringing. I answered and it just so happened to be the owner of the Yak. He told me he would be back in a few minutes, as his buddy had to get back and get ready to go to work. I assured him I was in a standoff with the fish and would call him if it moved me. I figured this fish had turned into a big blob of mess and was sleeping while re-energizing.
It seemed like an instant before the owner of the Yak returned. He said he had been gone for a little over an hour. I knew what I had to do now- call my boss and tell him I was SICK. If he had known I was fishing, he wouldnt be my boss any longer...hehe! After a few desperate coughs, and self-made sneeze, my boss told me to stay in bed and get better. I am just glad his hearing isnt very good, as the waves were crashing nearer and nearer to me.
At this point I realized I was in the first cut of the beach and decided it was time to abandon the yak and see what was up. I jumped in the water, and instantly was awakened by the cold water hitting me slightly below waist level. WOW!!! Now we all know what happens when water hits you in the right spot, I had to go bad! I then remembered the tales my mother told me of Urea deterring sharks, and decided it was a good idea to let er go! AHHHHH! Sorry folks...but it was a necessity that I went before my eyes started floating. Hehe!
I managed to strip out a little line and plant my feet on the dry beach. All the while, this fish appeared to be dead!!??? Now I have heard of Tuna fighting so hard they die and end up on the bottom, but there was NO WAY this was a tuna. It was too big! About the time I tightened down on the drag again, I realized this fish was on top of the first sandbar! I COULD SEE A FIN! And it was weird looking, almost like a sickle fin on a tuna! WTF!!! I realized at this point the fish WAS in fact, dead! I began pulling and working the fish with the waves to get it closer. As the fish got closer I realized it was a TUNA! But it didnt have any yellow on it, and was WAY larger than any Yellowfin Tuna I had seen. It had to be a Bluefin Tuna!!! I was jumping for joy!!
Now we all know it is not feasible to catch a Bluefin Tuna off the jetties due to water depth. But for some strange reason, the blue water had hit the jetties a few days ago. I guess the Bluefin was traveling the waterline, possibly lost?? Who knows! All I know is I had just caught the biggest fish of my life!!!! I was stoked! No need for any sleep after seeing that monster!
It had turned out the fish had, in fact, died in the fight. I think the fish was weak from the get go, and unluckily found my food offering. I do believe it this fish had been strong and healthy, I would not have landed it. I have heard of these beasts spooling 130# class gear in a few minutes! Now what to do with this fish!?!
I realized I had no way to transport this fish( I guess-timated to be 400 pounds) to a scale. I got on my phone and started calling around. I finally got Brian from Legendary Motorworks to answer. Luckily he had just stepped off the Big E charter boat out of Freeport.
www.deep-sea-fishing.com runs the Big E, and I have heard nothing but good reports about this new boat. I have seen the pictures of it and watched the virtual tour online, this boat make the luxury cruise liners jealous!! Back to the story, Brian decided to swing over and help me do something with this fish. He couldnt believe it either!! I even called my friend Charlie Williams, and he told me about his days in the armed forces and sneaking off to do some Bluefin fishing on the east coast. He couldnt believe it either!
At this point I knew I had to get weights and pictures, nobody was going to believe this! I needed to know where to go to get the certification of the weight and pictures taken, so I called John Williams. He has a very nice business
www.outdoorstexas.com and knows where and what to do in these situations. I figured I need some PROFESSIONAL advice, and he was the man to talk to! He told me where to take the fish. Brian and I loaded up the fish in his truck and headed to the scales. We did happen to stop along the way and finish off the remaining margaritas Brian had left in a neat little machine he rented from
www.margaritamojo.com Those were the best margaritas I have ever had! To be this good from a machine was unbelievable! I knew my new favorite drink now!! It was these margaritas!!
All the while Brian and I were polishing off these margaritas, he was explaining to me how he had nearly lost all his tackle to Barracudas on his offshore excursion. He said it didnt matter where he fished, they were following him. I think he even said he saw them in his dreams every time he took a catnap from spot to spot. Those Cudas get your number, and you just better hang it up! I betcha he lost every jig he had!
We were still en route to the scales when I started thinking of what I was gonna write for the
www.texasfishingforum.com website. I knew I would have to tell of my adventure, but didnt know where I was gonna start. After all, these guys I have grown to know over the years are some of the best friends you could ask for! It was this website, and these guys who got me started in offshore fishing. One day I ventured into the saltwater section, and discovered a whole other world! I have always loved getting my line stretched, and tuna fishing does just that! I have had the great opportunity and privilege to fish with a few of these folks on private charters the TFF (Texas Fishing Forum) puts together each year.
As I was editing and deleting the story I would tell in my head, we pulled up to the dock scales. I immediately jumped out of the truck and began looking for a deck hand, or someone to help us with this fish. I knew it was large, and needed permission to hang this fish on a scale. For some reason, I could not find anyone to get the permission from. They must have all been out fishing, or eating breakfast. Brian and I were looking at this fish, and I was trying to decide what to do with it. About this time, an older gentleman walks up and makes a cash offer. I told him I could not sell this fish, but he was welcome to call Michael Bristow at
www.northtexasfiberglass.com and pay my bill on my boat repairs. I told him I would give the fish to him for free, if he would pay my repair bill in full out of the goodness of his heart. That made me even more excited, as I know the work being done on my boat was top quality!!!
I said adios to Brian as he departed on his journey back to Dallas. He made sure I was going to get some rest before I left, as I checked into the local hotel. I hit the bed, and was OUT! I just now made it in to work, after explaining the story to my boss. He almost understood. He is an avid angler also.
Pretty neat to catch a fish off the end of the jetty like that.... Heres the picture->
Special Thanks goes out to all involved in helping me with my catch!
Capt. Elliots-
Texas Outdoor Organizers-
Texas Fishing Forum-
Frenzy tackle-
Legendary Motorworks-
Charkbait-
North Texas Fiberglass-
Margarita Mojo's-
![[Linked Image]](http://s716.photobucket.com/user/BrianNesbit/media/fishing%20pics%202%20003_zpsjlygjfqx.jpg.html)
