|
|
2005 Fishing Reports Onslow Bay Open King Mackerel Tournament continued... After about 45 minutes of no action the long line sang out. I grabbed the rod and gave it to Nick while the deck was cleared. He turned the rod back over to me were I made quick work of a 20-23 lb. fish. It was an ok point fish, but not what we were looking for. We hung in the area as boats began to over come the area again. We picked up and decided to make a move back toward the shoals making some quick stops along the way. The cut off time for fishing was 2:30 p.m. because I had to be at work in Wilmington by 7:00 p.m. First stop was just a few miles away. Lines went out and immediately the downrigger ripped off. I gave the rod to Nick and he got into a tug of war for about 35 minutes. The fish ripped off about 40 yards, then settled under the boat. I figured AJ, but was wrong, a 35 lb. Barracuda. I stuck him several times dragging him into the floor of the boat to retrieve my $3 skirt. He was placed back overboard and the Sea Drag’n made a move. Next stop put us landing at 1:20 p.m., on a spot of bottom I had found 3 years ago inshore off the D wreck while Bluefin Tuna fishing. Lines were out and we began making a lot of bait. Several pods of bait were on the surface drawing the Sea Drag’n to attention. We made a pass near the surfaced bait and the long line squalled for a second. I looked back and saw a 30 lb. fish skied back down on the crippled pogie. The line ripped off as we cleared the deck. I took over the rod and in about 10 minutes had a 30 lb. fish on the deck. Lines went back out quick as I knew the bite had to be on. As I began to toss the 3rd bait out, the trailing laser sharp hook drove into my left thumb. After saying several choice words, I took the cutting pliers and cut the hook clear from the rig. I continued to put out baits until the entire spread was out. Now, surgery took place quickly with the help of a piece of 30 lb. test line and a quick jerk. OOOUCH…Before I could stop the bleeding the short line ripped off. Ten minutes later a 26 lb. fish was cut free and lines back out. As I got a bandaid on my thumb the downrigger screamed my pain. Line was being ripped off, as we cleared the deck again. I climbed to the bow and took aim at the fleeing King. Dad rolled the Privateer in the direction of the screaming line. After a 30 minute battle, the big girl rolled up under the boat with the last ribbon fish rig hook hanging in the side of her head. I gently pulled to gain the last 15 feet of line as I gave gaffing instructions to my guest rookie king fishermen. The big girl broke the surface exhausted and laying on her side, Steve made a good enough gaff and the fish was gently eased over the side of the boat. Continued on next page |
