Saltwater Fishing Discussion Board Including Inshore Fishing, Offshore Fishing, Saltwater Fly Fishing and Kayak Fishing

Last summer I was fishing in the western sound and found a nice school of blues that were hanging out by the bottom. I was nailing them on dimond jigs for awhile until I hooked into something really solid. At first I thought I had snagged onto the bottom, but then my line started to strip off my reel. I was using a Penn 9500SS reel equiped with 300 yards of 30lb line. Well whatever I hooked into wouldnt stop. It just kept striping off line at an extremly fast pace and didnt slow down or stop once. The drag was set at the tightest possible and even got a pair of pliers to try and tighten it more but it wouldnt budge. My buddy had to keep pouring water over the reel because it was literally smoking. Well as the reel was almost completly spooled I decided to cut the line before the rod was ripped out of my hands. You guys have any ideas what I hooked into??

KJigheadNY

Joined: 02/01/2004
Posts: 526
Location: Queens

posted 02/04/2004 11:17 PM

mystery fish?

That's quite the fish story dude!What took you so long to whip that one out ,I
mean c'mon it's Febuary! If you're not totally yanking chain here, it could have been a monster bass, a shark,an atlantic sturgion, it even could have been a seal or a dolphin! Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it wasn't there. I saw my first dolphin under the Throgsneck Bridge in April of 2003, I've seen them offshore, but never there before, and I saw my first seal off of City Isl. in November while
blackfishing! It even tried to steal
a blackfish that i had hooked and was fighting, my rod bent over and stopped 10 feet off the bottom like I just hit a wall, and then let go, but I still had the fish on! As I watched it come up to the top, I saw a huge swirl of water boil up from directly under my boat. I unhooked the fish, it was a 14in
keeper, and as i looked at my rig , 1 of the 2 hooks were completly straightened out like a pin! But dude!
You could've just held on though, because when you get down to the bottom of the spool the line will pop off of your spool if youjust hold it tighly,
It's not gona get ripped out od your hands! You might have tired that fish out and got a look at it!!! Better still, why didn't you chase it with the boat? You were in a boat if you were jigging right? And you say you had a buddy there, he could have drove or held the rod! You need some guidance bro!Better luke next time! PS you get
much more stopping power with a conventioal setup as opossed to spinning gear.TRUE FACT!

Practice fillet & release!

blacktmann98

Joined: 03/27/2003
Posts: 1379
Location: Port Jeff

posted 02/05/2004 07:21 AM

My guess is that it could have been a big brown shark. During the summer, brown sharks go into the sound. Most of the time fluke fisherman catch them, but you could probably get one bluefishing. Just my 2 cents.

Capt. Bill

Joined: 06/18/2001
Posts: 242

posted 02/06/2004 01:21 PM

Pliers? Smoking? Pouring water?
PUHLEEEEZE.

Johnnyred

Joined: 12/27/2002
Posts: 40
Location: Huntington Station

posted 02/06/2004 01:38 PM

Happy,

I agree with Blackman98, It probably was a Brown Shark, they frequent the LI Sound in the summer. The thing I don't understand is that you had 30lb test line, and you tightened the drag with plyers, why didn't the line snap like a slingshot?!?! I know that when I tighten my drag too much when i have a big bass on the line, it snaps like a slingshot, Sounds to me like to had 100 lb test or something to tighten the line with plyers and not have the line snap.

Just an observation.

Johnnyred

MeanBean

Joined: 03/24/2002
Posts: 395

posted 02/06/2004 02:31 PM

Easy Pinnchio your nose is going to need a differant area code.

mickreip

Joined: 06/01/2003
Posts: 100
Location: tolland ct

posted 02/06/2004 04:32 PM

tall tale?

with a smokin' drag on my spin rig. i too would cut the line to save the last 50'. great story & entertainment for a february afternoon. in the thames river new london, we call them big ones sea wolf submarines

HappyHooka

Joined: 01/28/2004
Posts: 104

posted 02/06/2004 04:38 PM

KJighead- I only had about a yard of line left on the reel when I cut the line. I didnt want the bail arm or spool get damaged by letting the fish snap the line off.
Capt. Bill and MeanBean- You dont have to believe if you dont want, I could care less. I just wanted to know what it could have possibly been.
Johnnyred- I too was surprised too that my drag wouldnt have been tight enough to snap the line. The line was extremly taught and I thought it was going to snap. I even had my hand on the spool to try and slow down the fish and increase the drag. My guess is that the drag was too worn down or that it was possibly stuck when I was trying to tighten it.

SandFlee

Joined: 09/27/2001
Posts: 789

posted 02/06/2004 04:44 PM

either it was 300lb test or u got some liftin weights to do my man.

mickreip

Joined: 06/01/2003
Posts: 100
Location: tolland ct

posted 02/06/2004 04:55 PM

spoolin'

when i spool my spin reel i simply make the first attachment with scotch tape. that way when i'm spooled by a "mystery" fish no worries about damage & no fumbling with a knife duringall the excitement.

PIER4

Joined: 12/09/2002
Posts: 62

posted 02/06/2004 04:55 PM

How now,brown cow ?

While porgy fishing this summer,twice in one trip I got hit by something that started peeling line. Was able to lock the drag and let it break off. I swore it was a big striper,until the mate suggested to me that there had been alot of cow-nose rays around. I am sure that's what had hit me,and might be what also got the best of you.

no1tunaman

Joined: 01/06/2002
Posts: 710

posted 02/06/2004 05:29 PM

I think not!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I used a Penn 9500 for tuna up to 70lbs
using 30lb test, only once did a tuna come close to spooling me, but I cranked the drag down and broke the fish off, the 9500 can generate alot of drag, enough to pop 30lb test it has a very large drag area and they use ht 100 material. so I personally
find it hard to believe your story based on my experience with the 9500 reel.

Most people are other people.
Their thoughts are someone else's opinions,
their lives a mimicry,
their passions a quotation
- Oscar Wilde

HappyHooka

Joined: 01/28/2004
Posts: 104

posted 02/06/2004 09:45 PM

I was actually using a 7500SS penn reel, which holds under 200 yrds of 30lb line.

no1tunaman

Joined: 01/06/2002
Posts: 710

posted 02/06/2004 11:53 PM

Quote from HappyHooka's post!!!

"At first I thought I had snagged onto the bottom, but then my line started to strip off my reel. I was using a Penn 9500SS reel equiped with 300 yards of 30lb line. "
now it's a 7500 with 30lb line. do I hear 6500 with 30lb going once, going twice, Bullsh!t

Most people are other people.
Their thoughts are someone else's opinions,
their lives a mimicry,
their passions a quotation
- Oscar Wilde

KJigheadNY

Joined: 02/01/2004
Posts: 526
Location: Queens

posted 02/07/2004 02:47 AM

ghoast fish

YO HAPPY! It's cool, I believe it happened, not the first story of this nature that I've heard come from this area.These guys are just letting you have it, or haveing at you, as they say!
Don't get bent,. I'm just saying that
there are other ways that you might have handled it. possibly with a better
outcome! You're no stranger to big fish
according to your New Zealand story.
Just thought you may have played it differantly is all! So Happy, when are we going to NZ?

Practice fillet & release!