Patriot Day Report-9/11

[carl schenk]

Talked to Tommy and made a plan for fishing down the east river. We met at the launch early enough to start fishing at 8:30. While he worked some midriver structure downriver of me I began a slow troll upcurrent along a steep edge. Twenty minutes later the first fish of the month is in the net, waiting for me to get the GoPro and new light ready for filming a quick practice measurement. I'm definitely happy with the night video compared to past attempts.  A quick release and back to fishing. Tommy decides he'd rather try Strawberry so we both motored up to the island. Tommy started trolling ahead of me and we both started up the same edge. He made a right and headed towards Canada while I made a left figuring to put some distance between us. Before I made another turn my lure got slammed and I was solidly hooked up. The fish stayed deep all the way to the boat and powered deep enough under me to remain out of sight. I lifted hard when the fish pulled away from the motor area and brought it shooting up toward the surface. First view of the fish confirmed what I already assumed..nice fish. It was still pretty fresh but I was able to get the net into my hand while dealing with a crazy, pinwheeling, water walking maniac. It probably only took four or five tries to get the head going towards the open bag but it seemed like it took forever. A well timed stab forward and thankfully it went deep down into the bottom while being kind enough to snag the lure in the mesh and unhook itself. Tommy headed over to take a picture and watch the measurement. Not as big as it felt while fighting it, but still a nice thick 46". I hope I can run into that one again. It gave me everything I could ask for..a fine memory.

[carl schenk]

[Scott Kitchen]

Wow, you turned your headlamp off and everything.

Nice fishy