BOOM! DDB, barely

Its a been a while since my last post. Fatherhood has taken a toll on my free time and although I have been fishing, the time I have to write about it has significantly decreased. The fire still burns though. That being said, I love being a dad. Seeing my little guy grow and develop has been nothing short of amazing. Life changing. Really.

Well on Saturday, January 22, 2011, I finally got her.

I woke up in the dark and headed to Lake Murray to work some spots with the swimbaits. I made the mental commitment to leave the light gear, or "fairy wands" as I jokingly refer to 'em, in the truck. I was planning to fish for a few hours in the morning and then meet my buddy in the San Diego Bay for an afternoon bay bassin session.   

The dock at Lake Murray:

I was packin two rods. An Okuma 7'11" Xtra Heavy Swimbait rod with a Shimano Curado 300DSV spooled with 25 pound Triple Fish Camo monofilament. On this rod I had the 8" BBZ-1 slow sink in rainbow trout tied on.

The other rod was an American Spirit, 7'6" Xtra Heavy Rod, kind of an off brand rod with a Shimano Cardiff 300A spooled with 20 pound Izorline XXX. On this rig I had a Huddleston ROF (Rate of Fall) 12 tied on.

These are both rainbow trout imitations and weigh about 5 ounces each. Designed to catch trophy size bass in  lakes and reservoirs stocked with trout. 

Heres a pic I found online of some Murray stockers:

The swimbaits work in non-trout stocked lakes but thats a whole 'nother story...

Anyway. I worked through the area around the boat dock, toward the fishing pier, into a cove, a point, and back past the boat dock (as seen in the above photo).

I was basically fishing an area that:

a) Is known to have had ddb's caught

b) Is close to the spot where the trout truck delivers the goods

c) Was recommended to me by an experienced basser, see item a.

Well, after about 3.5 hours of chucking and winding with no bites whatsoever, I struck up a conversation with a friendly guy in a float tube fishing right off the end of the boat dock. He was fishing for bluegills but through our brief conversation, I sensed that he knew a bit about all aspects of the local freshwater scene, maybe it was his chinaman hat. I dunno. Cool guy for sure, " Good luck man" I said as I slowly creeped away, pointing the trolling motor back to the launch ramp for one last pass through "the zone". As I picked up the rod with the BBZ-1 tied on, he asked if I ever get bit on that particular lure. "Not yet...",  I replied, "but if I do, it's gonna be a big one". 

I chucked the lure into one of the open berths in the boat dock and as the lure sank, I swung the trolling motor wide and around my intended path of retrieve. After about 40 seconds or so, I began the SLOW grind in. Maybe 10 cranks in I felt a thump. Not the freight train, rod yanking thump I so eagerly anticipated, but a solid THUMP, followed by a heavy load-up of the rod. It only took one head shake for me to realize that this was not a snag and my goal was soon to be realized. 

I put the wood to this fish and just cranked hard. Boy, did she feel big. I didn't know how big until I saw her. Holy S@!t! A GIANT! I saw her mouth was open and remembered a tip I heard. If a big fish has its mouth open, crank it in hard and the mouth will fill with water and make it hard for the fish to shake its head and throw the hook. When I got it close to the boat I was freaking. I grabbed the net and tried to scoop her up. Nope, she wouldn't fit. I saw the hooks in her mouth, top and bottom, and wondered how I would get my mitts in there. Screw it. The chance of a lifetime- I just went for it. I shoved my hand in her mouth avoiding the trebles and got a grasp on her lip. Hoisted her in and let out my best victory holler (God, I must have sounded like a kook). Done deal. She was mine.

Big belly, real long, and the most beautiful fish I have ever seen. Countless hours obsessing, planning, and daydreaming finally paid off. I weighed her on my Shimano scale and she came in at an even 10 pounds. Wow...Whew...Hallelujah...Is this for real?

Setting a personal goal, whether it's fishing, health, or career related, whatever; it's a wonderful thing. To realize your goal is a wonderful feeling. But in the end, yeah, its just a fish right?. Life is WAY more than just fishing. 

But look at her. So sweet. So beautiful. Glistening in the sun like a tiny little crack rock just begging to get out of its baggie, ready to be incinerated for a quick euphoric rush. Careful, it won't last forever! Gimme a taste of that son. Just a little...please? Oh man. I'm hooked, obsessed, addicted. This is getting out of control. 

Where is my 12 step program?? Kristen??? Help!!!