Jason’s High Wire Act

Our run of catching big snook continues with a week of jumbo snook, the biggest of which was the 38” jumbo featured on the cover image. Following a week where some of Jason’s fishing friends from another part of the state came to the island for a week’s stay and a full week of fishing for big snook, the pressure on the regular spots had kept us away from fishing much. Once a group of snook are alerted to the presence of humans, be it a boat motor, or too many out of place items being drug in front of their noses, they simply shut down.  Oh you can see them stacked up and in the right places, but they become totally oblivious, or so it seems, to any presentation of our lures.

The Florida big snook hot shots brought their off island techniques and big jigs out and fished around the clock in some cases, and to their benefit from what I was told, and what Jason witnessed, did in fact catch some big snook and sizable grouper. They accomplished much of this with a technique of swinging a heavy jig (much heavier than we use on a regular basis) on the retrieve back in such a way that it traveled over certain areas of the pass where the snook were hanging out, and in such a way that the change of direction triggered a strike response. They were generous with Jason and gave him several of these heavier jigs. Once they had left the island, Jason decided to try what he had seen modeled before him while he was visiting these guys during some of their fishing marathons.

Now the saying “big bait, big fish” is generally true, but what is not included in that phrase is the rest of the truth of fishing big bait for big fish. It is hard work and many times you have to wait a loooong time between fish. Throwing a heavy lure with a heavier rod and retrieving that heavy lure across a lot more water, can begin to wear you out after a few hundred casts. And if you are not catching said large fish while doing your big fish workout, the angler can become quite weary and frustrated. Jason had several good workouts, building his bicep and shoulder muscles, and exercising his patience (which is a bit short on a good day). With the exception of a few bumps from maybe fish, no big snook or grouper were fooled. Now there were the requisite number of snags and lost gear on the unseen structure out there in the pass which is just a part of the deal. So as of now, the student is still in training on that new approach in the pass.

As we returned to our normal spots and approaches however, Jason discovered something interesting. The same swing approach seemed to be working with smaller jigs in our normal spots. It seemed at the back of the normal drifted retrieve where the tide is washing the lure back from right to left and eventually brings the lure to the surface, if he were to pay more attention to the presentation on the swing part of the retrieve, the snook were hitting it like they were in the pass with the bigger jigs. As we explored this pattern more, we were rewarded with a string of larger than normal snook, and in greater numbers that we had in weeks. In other words we were “slaying” them (not literally slaying them, we were actually being careful to revive them and return them safely to the ocean).

One of the risks with the late swing strike is that by the end of the swing the tide has carried the lure back and toward the dock down current. When a snook hits the lure back there, they are already a) down current so we have to fight them against the current; b) back in the dark out of range of the dock lights so it is very hard to know which way they are running to try to keep them out of trouble; and 3) they are already dangerously close to the docks and the pilings where they already like to head straight for to escape and break the line around the pilings. While I have been wary of dangling my jig back there for too long, Jason on the other hand has a greater risk/reward mentality that kept him playing with fire. I figured the spark was coming, and soon the inevitable happened.

When Jason and I are fishing, we are usually doing our own thing, but still aware of what the other is doing. But when we are otherwise occupied retying lures to our leader line or changing lures, the sound of the first few seconds of a fish hookup is known by the other. In the case of Jason, I can hear the first few quick reels of the braided line squeaking through his line guides. That sound then causes the call to arms for the other to be ready to watch and help as needed, determining if there is a need for the net, or if it is just a run of the mill snook fight. When I heard the sound and turned around, I saw Jason was already at the back end of the dock area and looking down current. Not a good sign to start. Often the dock “snook dance” covers the length of the dock frontage as the snook runs this way and then that, up and down, round and round, do-si-do (you youngsters and city folk can Google that phrase, but it is a square dancing move). When you start pinned to the back post, there is no room for any dancing, not a do-si or even a do.

It is clear from the outset that this is a big fish. Jason is quickly leaning out past the pilings trying to get some space for his line to keep it from hitting the pilings on the boat lift that is a part of the dock, but only a metal frame supported by the pilings on the far side. The battle was complicated by the drag of the tide moving swiftly causing the mama snook to have even more leverage in moving left or right. So brave Jason battled on, trying his best to maneuver the beast away from the danger back there in the dark. When all seemed lost, and the momma had found her way into the maze of pilings of the boat lift, the decision was at hand – accept defeat and make one last power play to pull her out (which almost always produces a cutoff) or to climb out on the thin supports of the boat lift. At this point, it was clear that Jason was not into surrender, so he announced his intentions, reached his pole around the first piling, grabbed it on the other side and began the tightrope walk out over the dark water, in the dark, with just a thin metal rail underfoot.

Helpless to do much beyond leaning myself hoping in some way that would help Jason balance, I was left to watch and hope that I did not have to execute some type of rescue if he slipped and bounced off the rails or pilings and dropped into the moving tide below. So out he went, quickly moving along like something from American Ninja Warrior. Once he made it to the back piling, he had something to hold on to, but still had a pole and fish to manage, so it was more like leaning than holding on. Amazingly, he was able to get the fish back around the piling and began moving the fish back up current and coming back across the rail. He made it and got the pole back around the piling, and he was back on the dock. The battle raged on, and I was now ready with the net. Given the amount of scraping on pilings and the normal wear on leader that comes from the fish’s mouth, gills, and body, it was urgent to get this big momma netted or all of this work was for nothing.

Jason had turned on his headlamp during the fight back in the dark of the boat lift, we had a clear view of this aircraft carrier and knew she was a real monster. As Jason pulled her closer to the dock, I knew I would have one shot with the net. Any miss would create a reaction from the fish and break the line or drive her into the pilings. Jason got her pointed in at just the right angle to present her head to me so I could get her in head first (tail first only invites them to swim out of the net and she was too big to be taken into the net sideways!). I took my shot, and it was a perfect one. Bingo, game over big momma!

The thud she made on the dock made it clear just how heavy she was. Jason had pulled off the almost impossible task of walking the boat lift support tight line and still managing to bring the fish to net. Much adrenaline was shared by all, but sometimes we have to do what we have to do (not sure I would do what Jason felt he had to do…). This one measured out at 38 inches, and is one of the biggest we have caught. Jason intends to let his Florida friends know that we do not always need the big heavy jigs and equipment to land a monster snook!

David