Karl
Well-known member
This is a true tale that happened to me two days ago [02/12/2009] there is no bits added this is how it happened.Myself and a good friend [pop] decided to have a good session down seaham pier,as i had not been out for a while,i was quite looking forward to the trip.It had to coincide with the wifes night shift, as she works at seaham grange ind est,so the day was set 02/12/2009. She said she would get the bus to work but i had to pick her up at 5.45am so that gave us plenty of time . I had just bought a penn 525 super mag and was keen to try it out ,and so we set off for our jumbo fishing trip .We arrived at the pier about 2.30pm and as the water was still coming in we both decided to fish the spiels until the turn of the tide,we set up the gear and we were, at last fishing.Nothing happened much for about 2hours, then pop got a bite ,he struck and pulled in a decent whitey,nothing special ,but it was a start.
Well nothing happened much after that ,in fact, with a nice sea running it was well disappointing so we moved up the pier to mark no 36 ,I decided to fish in the dock side of the north at about 2.00 am as the tide was racing back in on the seaward side,and soon had a really good bite ,but it never came back ,shortly afterwards another and another ,but they were only one hit wonders and nothing materialised. At 3.00am i decide to go bach to the sea ward side of the pier, but i thought i would change tactics a little. I put on a very long flowing trace[ about 3feet] and used a 2 hook system one sliding and one obviously on the bottom , i baited up with a runnydown rag and a large piece of squid,tied on with elastic cotton,i didn't clip it down i just cast it out as it was, i tightened up the line and sat back down on my box.
The bait had been in the water for about 10 mins when it happened, a big lung then another followed buy loads of slack line, i quickly tightened up and struck .The rod bent right over and it is a conoflex nemesis plus,a very strong rod, i could not reel in continuously,and had to pump it ,on every pull i could feel and see the tip of the rod bouncing under the pressure of the fish, it was a wonderful feeling to have a fish attached to my line with that much power,slowly but surly i was winning the battle ,after about 5 mins [ seemed like a lifetime] i got the fish to the surface,it came into view with mouth wide open,both our lights shining on it, its head was huge ,it was the biggest fish i have ever seen ,it then lay on the top of the water right in front of me ,i heard pop shout its a f***ing monster, i could see that myself, it was at least 4 and a half feet long , i know this as it was not just a fleeting glance this fish was on the surface for about 30 seconds ,more than enough time to get a proper look.I then after a short while asked pop if he would hand ball it in ,as the tide was at its highest ,he did everything right he started to pull the monster up out of the water,keeping the line off the wall, it seemed to take forever,but it must have been only seconds, the fish slowly started to come from the sea ,first its head followed by its huge back, my god i thought ,and just as its tail came out the trace line snapped,i watched as it splashed back into the sea and disappeared, my trace line was 27lbs ,the fish did not shake its head nore struggle whilst it was being lifted, it was just its colossal weight. You may think you know how i felt at that moment when i realised that the fish had gone, i have lost fish before on the lift ,with them shaking or coming of in the surf, i suppose that everyone has gone through that ,but this was different, i actually saw the fish , saw my mate lift it out of the sea ,and when the line snapped saw it disappear, i felt privileged to see and to have felt it on my line , if i had pulled it on to the pier i would have no doubt killed it and it would have been my trophy ,with photos and whatever ,but i saw this fish at close quarters, and two days later a part of me is glad it happened the way it did ,now don't get me wrong i love cod as much as the next man ,and, as i have already said,if it had been landed it would be dead now,but the best bit is IT IS STILL OUT THERE ,waiting for the next time a lucky angler hooks in to it, fishing is all about enjoying yourself, with your mates or by yourself , in this case i have enjoyed myself more than any other sea fishing trip i have ever had ,and i owe it all to that monster ,the one that got away.I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as i have enjoyed writing it ,as it brought back the memory of the monster, my hands are shaking thinking back to my most memorable night ,and just before i go , a lesson learnt ,make sure your hooklengths are as strong as your shock lead then if it happens to you ,you will be able to bring in your catch
Well nothing happened much after that ,in fact, with a nice sea running it was well disappointing so we moved up the pier to mark no 36 ,I decided to fish in the dock side of the north at about 2.00 am as the tide was racing back in on the seaward side,and soon had a really good bite ,but it never came back ,shortly afterwards another and another ,but they were only one hit wonders and nothing materialised. At 3.00am i decide to go bach to the sea ward side of the pier, but i thought i would change tactics a little. I put on a very long flowing trace[ about 3feet] and used a 2 hook system one sliding and one obviously on the bottom , i baited up with a runnydown rag and a large piece of squid,tied on with elastic cotton,i didn't clip it down i just cast it out as it was, i tightened up the line and sat back down on my box.
The bait had been in the water for about 10 mins when it happened, a big lung then another followed buy loads of slack line, i quickly tightened up and struck .The rod bent right over and it is a conoflex nemesis plus,a very strong rod, i could not reel in continuously,and had to pump it ,on every pull i could feel and see the tip of the rod bouncing under the pressure of the fish, it was a wonderful feeling to have a fish attached to my line with that much power,slowly but surly i was winning the battle ,after about 5 mins [ seemed like a lifetime] i got the fish to the surface,it came into view with mouth wide open,both our lights shining on it, its head was huge ,it was the biggest fish i have ever seen ,it then lay on the top of the water right in front of me ,i heard pop shout its a f***ing monster, i could see that myself, it was at least 4 and a half feet long , i know this as it was not just a fleeting glance this fish was on the surface for about 30 seconds ,more than enough time to get a proper look.I then after a short while asked pop if he would hand ball it in ,as the tide was at its highest ,he did everything right he started to pull the monster up out of the water,keeping the line off the wall, it seemed to take forever,but it must have been only seconds, the fish slowly started to come from the sea ,first its head followed by its huge back, my god i thought ,and just as its tail came out the trace line snapped,i watched as it splashed back into the sea and disappeared, my trace line was 27lbs ,the fish did not shake its head nore struggle whilst it was being lifted, it was just its colossal weight. You may think you know how i felt at that moment when i realised that the fish had gone, i have lost fish before on the lift ,with them shaking or coming of in the surf, i suppose that everyone has gone through that ,but this was different, i actually saw the fish , saw my mate lift it out of the sea ,and when the line snapped saw it disappear, i felt privileged to see and to have felt it on my line , if i had pulled it on to the pier i would have no doubt killed it and it would have been my trophy ,with photos and whatever ,but i saw this fish at close quarters, and two days later a part of me is glad it happened the way it did ,now don't get me wrong i love cod as much as the next man ,and, as i have already said,if it had been landed it would be dead now,but the best bit is IT IS STILL OUT THERE ,waiting for the next time a lucky angler hooks in to it, fishing is all about enjoying yourself, with your mates or by yourself , in this case i have enjoyed myself more than any other sea fishing trip i have ever had ,and i owe it all to that monster ,the one that got away.I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as i have enjoyed writing it ,as it brought back the memory of the monster, my hands are shaking thinking back to my most memorable night ,and just before i go , a lesson learnt ,make sure your hooklengths are as strong as your shock lead then if it happens to you ,you will be able to bring in your catch
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