# 4-26 [Half Hour Brawl with a 25 lb. Bull on the 9WT]



## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

*The Report: *
I'm pretty exhausted, so I'm gonna hold off on writing the full report until tomorrow, but I figured I'd at least throw the fly report up since I had mentioned to a couple of you guys that I was going to be out chuckin' the 9WT tonight. During the couple hours we were out on the water, I only threw the fly rod at four lights. Three of these lights held fish. I had shots on a fish at the first two out of the three lights, but neither of the cruisers were interested in my offering. The third light we hit was dull & wasn't holding any reds, but the fourth & final one was quite the opposite. Immediately after drifting up to it I had a perfect shot at a bruiser. Put it about 5' in front of her, strip, strip, kill it & let it fall. Jason & I watched her speed up & crush the fly, but I got way too excited & stripped it right out of her mouth. AHHH. Frustration was beginning to set in. Not a minute later I had my chance at another bull that came cruising through in the same spot. Took my shot & watched her dive on the fly. The anticipation of having her clobber the fly was growing, but my line stayed slack. Dang, guess she wasn't interested. Strip, strip, strip, SLAM! She must have stayed nearby & decided to change her mind about eating. The next half hour was one of the most grueling fish battles of my life. Jason even had to put the boat in gear to chase her at one point when she took off away from the bridge & wouldn't stop. After 30 minutes filled with dozens & dozens of circles around the boat & seeing her surface within a leader's distance from the net about twenty times, my arms & back were beginning to kill. I had nowhere else to put the rod butt that didn't already hurt. My spirits lifted when Jason finally had a shot to net her & took it. Just like that she was in the boat & ready for a photoshoot & some measurements. Couldn't believe that she was only 38.5'' when I put the tape on her. She sure had a lot of heart - you would have thought that she was a 40 pound fish after the fight that she gave me! It was honestly a huge relief to finally have her in the boat for some pictures. I was ecstatic, so ecstatic that I barely noticed when my rod fell off my shoulder into the bay while Jason was snapping one of the pictures! Luckily he was lightning on his feet & managed to grab the rod tip before it sank to the depths of Pensacola Bay. Insanely happy with my catch & with the teamwork that it took to get her in the boat, I sent her overboard & then laid down on the bow to catch my breath for a few minutes as we rode back to the launch. 

*Tally for the Night:* FAT 38.5'' bull that gave me the longest fly rod fight I've had thus far (12 minutes longer than the 40'' 30 pound fish I got a couple weeks ago!)

Tight lines everyone.


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## Robin (Mar 22, 2011)

Very nice..............

Robin


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Great report brother!!! I should have snapped a few shots of ya crashed out on the deck afterwards!!!! Glad we all hooked up finally, we'll do it again! Your pics will be wayyyyy better then mine but if mine look any different, I'll post em when you post the inshore report!


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

MarlinAzul said:


> Wow. Just wow. A very exciting report. Felt like I was right there with you. You may have to start using 'rod leashes' on your flyrod or make sure Jason is with you every time.


Glad you enjoyed it man! I love getting comments like that, because my goal when writing most of my reports is to help the reader be a part of the story. I'm still stoked on that fish! My arms feel even worse today though. & yup, a rod leash may be a necessity if I decide to make a habit out of letting my rod fall overboard.... haha.


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