For the last three to four years while striper fishing I have had a fish tease me every time I pass him. I don't know if it is a him or her but we'll refer to it as a him for this. There is a very small stretch of river maybe just 25 yards long that almost always has a big fish in it. Over the last few years I have seen him no less than two dozen times. It is the same thing every time. Will follow my redfin up to the boat and never hit. He just casually follows and then ducks down into the water when he gets 7-8 feet from the boat. He simply will not hit the lure. I have caught many other fish in this hole over the last few years since I discovered this little spot but never this dude. I even gave it the name the "Look but don't touch hole". I fished there Sunday evening and as I passed by there he was. The same old routine. He ducked away and that was that. I have already seen him three or four times this year. Yesterday afternoon I went back to this same section of river and fished again. I made a few cast into this little spot and saw nothing. Oh well, he can't be there 24/7. On the fourth cast, here he comes. I saw him from about 25 feet out following up. At about 20 feet he ducks away but then comes right back up and follows again. He has done this before. At about 12 feet he goes to duck away a second time and he got a little to close and hooked himself in the top of the head. I about freaked out when all hell broke loose and he started pulling drag and running. A big fish like this one does whatever it wants. Luckily the hook was well embedded and the drag was properly set. After several minutes I managed to get him to the boat and in.
Lesson learned: Good sharp hooks. I had replaced the factory hooks on that lure before I left the house with brand new VMC 4x 3/0 hooks. They were razor sharp and strong. I think they made the difference.
He weighed 36 pounds on my Boga grips and measured 43 inches long. A true beast of a fish. I spent several minutes reviving him in the water and he swam off very well to hopefully return back to his little spot on the river. He still never took the lure but tempted fate one too many times. Maybe someday I'll trick him again.
Here are a few pics: The last picture is a smaller fish that is a 20 pounder for size comparison that I caught on Sunday.
Lesson learned: Good sharp hooks. I had replaced the factory hooks on that lure before I left the house with brand new VMC 4x 3/0 hooks. They were razor sharp and strong. I think they made the difference.
He weighed 36 pounds on my Boga grips and measured 43 inches long. A true beast of a fish. I spent several minutes reviving him in the water and he swam off very well to hopefully return back to his little spot on the river. He still never took the lure but tempted fate one too many times. Maybe someday I'll trick him again.
Here are a few pics: The last picture is a smaller fish that is a 20 pounder for size comparison that I caught on Sunday.
