# 1-24 [The Craziest Redfish Story Ever]



## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

*The Story*

7. That's how many pilings down I was from the hump on the north end of the bridge. Why would I memorize such seemingly useless information you might ask? Well, that 7th piling was the one that I was jigging next to when something I had never believed could happen somehow occurred. 

I was on the west side of the bridge facing against the current, hopelessly trying to keep my yak in position for more than 10 seconds at a time. Jigging with the rod in one hand & the paddle in the other isn't exactly convenient by any means, & last night I found that it is also an excellent way to lose a rod...I was a yard or so away from the center piling, directly under the light. I was trying to maneuver my yak south when my jig that was dragging on the bottom 25' below me got absolutely hammered. The angry bull immediately took off south parallel with the shadow line, dragging me backwards towards the piling in the process. I tried to turn myself towards the direction the fish was running with the paddle in my right hand & inadvertently ended up loosening my grip on my rod for a fraction of a section. That was plenty of time for the redfish to speed up & take off with my beloved combo. 

It took a second for me to realize what had just happened, but then it hit me. After a few choice curse words yelled at approximately 100,000 decibels, Nathan & Tim (who were one light down from me) heard me & started heading my direction. I explained what happened & Tim & I agreed that there was a good chance that the line (or the rod & reel) had gotten hung up on something nearby, so him & Nathan worked the entire area with jigs for a little over a half hour. 

My hope had all but diminished when I realized that I was never going to see that combo again. I wasn't really as upset about the cost factor, but more so the sentimental value that the rod & reel possessed. I got the reel, an Abu Garcia 6500CS Pro Rocket Black Edition from Pompano Joe a little over a year ago, & Joe had also re-done the grip on the 6' 6'' Shimano Teramar that it was paired with for me. Needless to say, I was pretty upset. 

40 minutes after the incident Tim offered me an old Greenie on a TFO rod to use. I put a 1 & a half oz. jig & a big twistertail on & started dragging the bottom, hoping that maybe I'd end up hitting a spot that Nathan & Tim had somehow missed. After 10 or so minutes, I bowed up on something, but then it pulled free. It didn't feel like hard structure of any kind, so I decided to drag my jig through that area again. Three more times working that area & each time the same thing happened. I was getting frustrated & told myself I'd try it one more time before throwing in the towel. 

The 5th time proved to be the charm. I drifted through that same area with my jig dragging on the bottom & when my rod started to bow up on the "structure," I gave it some slack for a few seconds. When I picked up the slack, I felt head shakes. But it was a disconnected feel, not the normal pull of a fish on the end of my line. I knew right away that I had snagged my line from my rod. After yelling out to Tim that I was hooked up, I cautiously fought the fish for a couple minutes before finally seeing what I was hoping for: my rod tip breaking the surface of the water. 

I had snagged the tip & knew that one poor move would mean the loss of both the fish & my rod & reel. After another minute or so of tug-of-war, I finally grabbed my rod & pulled it into the yak. Miraculously, I was STILL hooked up with the very same fish that had ripped the rod from my hands almost an hour earlier. Fast forward another five minutes of being dragged around & battling the large bull on the opposite end of my line, & I had her in the yak. Words cannot describe how happy I was to have my rod back AND to have, against all odds, landed the fish that took it from me, which happened to be a 39'' bruiser. 

I can honestly say that this was absolutely the craziest thing that I have ever experienced while fishing & that I am beyond grateful that I ended up getting my rod back from the depths of the bay. & I'm not complaining about landing the fish either!

*The Lure(s) of Choice:*
To my (& my fly rod's) dismay, water clarity left a lot to be desired, so sight fishing was out of the question. 8'' Gotcha Plastics twistertails in the chartreuse color paired with 1 oz. & 1 & a half oz. jigheads proved to be the go-to last night. Despite the fact that we only landed four bulls in total over the few hours we were on the water, each of us ended up hooking into several more. Working the bottom tight to the center pilings on the up-current side of the bridge was the ticket. You really can't jig slow enough for these fish this time of year. 

*Tally for the Night:*

*Tim:* 37.5'' & 38'' bulls
*Me:* 37'' bull & a FAT 39'' bull that came with a free Abu 6500CS Black Edition Pro Rocket/6' 6'' Shimano Teramar rod combo
*Nathan:* Met the skunk

Tight lines everyone.


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Saaaaaaaaaaaaawwwweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!! Glad the coasties didnt have to come get ya!


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## RORO (Oct 25, 2007)

That's a mounting fish to remember. Cool post.


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## WAReilly (Jun 2, 2014)

Is that the 6'6" Teramar you got from me?

That's awesome by the way!


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## stc1993 (Nov 23, 2014)

Glad you got your reel back & the fish. LOL


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## barefoot (Nov 3, 2011)

Now that's one of your best stories, great tale to remember.
The odds are unbelievable!


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## Jeffbro999#2 (Feb 17, 2014)

Great write up Sawyer, glad you got your rod back. That's an awesome story, good job not giving up on it :thumbup:


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## ChileRelleno (Jul 7, 2012)

ThaFish,
I greatly enjoy reading of your adventures in fishing, always entertaining. 
And as you do so often, you give a informative description of the method & tackle used, very informative.

Keep it up.


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## KingCrab (Apr 29, 2012)

Whoever designed braid is who u oh many thanks too ! Oh, And the Fish Gods. :001_huh: Have heard a many story of that Nature. Did the Fish grant u any wishes?


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

WAReilly said:


> Is that the 6'6" Teramar you got from me?
> 
> That's awesome by the way!


You bet it is! I completely forgot about that. Should I change it to say that the rod had sentimental value since I got it from my best bud William?!


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

ChileRelleno said:


> ThaFish,
> I greatly enjoy reading of your adventures in fishing, always entertaining.
> And as you do so often, you give a informative description of the method & tackle used, very informative.
> 
> Keep it up.


Chile, 

I'm glad you enjoy my reports, because I greatly enjoy writing them. I promise there will be plenty more to come. 

On a side note, when are we going to see another colossal shark report from you? It's been a while!


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

barefoot said:


> Now that's one of your best stories, great tale to remember.
> The odds are unbelievable!


Glad you enjoyed the write-up Bruce! They truly were unbelievable, I wish someone would have been able to snap a picture of my facial expression when I snagged that line! Haha.


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Jeffbro999 said:


> Great write up Sawyer, glad you got your rod back. That's an awesome story, good job not giving up on it :thumbup:


Thanks Jeff, glad you enjoyed the read! I'd like to hit the water with you sometime soon - it's been a while! I've got waders now. :thumbup:


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## ChileRelleno (Jul 7, 2012)

ThaFish said:


> Chile,
> 
> I'm glad you enjoy my reports, because I greatly enjoy writing them. I promise there will be plenty more to come.
> 
> On a side note, when are we going to see another colossal shark report from you? It's been a while!


LOL... Just as soon as I land another colossal shark... Ain't from lack of trying.

Nothing really worth mentioning and/or that I got pics of. 
I got a real nice buck on Sat, check the Hunting forum.


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## MeltonW (Jul 1, 2015)

That was a good story and good photos. You sure look happy to have that rod and fish in your hands (and teeth).


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## jcoss15 (Oct 11, 2010)

Good deal! Same thing happened to me on the river one time gar fishing. A big gar snatched my rod out of my hands while I was busy not paying attention, well about an hour later I hook up with another gar and when I land it has fishing line wrapped around its tail, I start pulling the line and bam hear come the rod tip out of the water, 
I grab it get my rod back and land the gar that is still attached to the rod n reel I lost... Two fish with one rod, well sorta..


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## 153 Large fish (Nov 30, 2013)

Always nice to regain a loss!....cool stuff fishy!


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## fsu alex (Aug 3, 2011)

Well, you beat the odds for sure! I hope you bought a Powerball ticket that night too! Cool story.


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## Ed Mashburn (Oct 1, 2007)

*Re: Bull red rod return story*

Sawyer- Please give me a holler back on email when you get a chance- great story, Brother- Ed Mashburn


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

There's a word known to people that cant hold a rod .... this word gets tossed around alot. In fact there is a whole group of these people. You would know them as 

GOOGANS

HAHAHAHA very cool story bud and Im gald you got that rod back and with the Fish thats pretty epic hahahaha sweet pics as well!


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

This just in. Apparently the real story of the night is this 11.5'' pinfish that Tim caught on a Super Pogy rattletrap after Nathan & I had left - a new personal record!


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## LIM-IT-OUT (Aug 26, 2014)

^^^

Thats a SW crappie! Fry it up hahaha


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

Did very well yesterday with the crew once again, stay tuned for the report.


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## Longbow (Jan 3, 2016)

wish i got that lucky i MIGHT have a rod or two out there some were:whistling:


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## ifish911 (May 21, 2014)

Great story and fantastic luck. I see it all over your smile = happy!! Now call me !!


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## testoner (Oct 18, 2014)

That is, frankly, one of the most amazing stories I've heard. Glad you got the rod back and that fish didn't have to pull that rod around. Most likely, it would have gotten caught up leading to the fishes death. Win-win all around!


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## ThaFish (Feb 27, 2013)

testoner said:


> That is, frankly, one of the most amazing stories I've heard. Glad you got the rod back and that fish didn't have to pull that rod around. Most likely, it would have gotten caught up leading to the fishes death. Win-win all around!


Yup, it definitely could have ended a lot of different ways, most of which would have been negative. Sometimes things just end up working out somehow! Glad you enjoyed the story bro!


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## makats (Jul 20, 2014)

What a story  glad it ended up with a happy end!


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