FISHING
BE READY FOR BIG SURPRISES WITH A MANTRA OF ‘SPOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU; SPOOL ME TWICE, SHAME ON ME,’ HERE’S HOW ONE CAPTAIN PREPS TO TAKE ON UNEXPECTEDLY LARGE FISH By Capt. Bill Schaefer
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o, you are out there fishing for your favorite species and then you hook the fish of a lifetime – a giant by any measure. Considering that there are so many fish species that coexist in different areas, you always have that chance of a big surprise. You just have to be ready to land it and your tackle should be ready too. Let’s look at some of the problems that you might face when hooking a giant. You may be skilled enough to play the fish out on lighter line, but if you lose one, you may go to heavier tackle for the next cast. I had been fishing a reef for bass and then noticed large marks on the fish finder screen. I was sure they were yellowtail, but I ignored them. Then I hooked a fish that spooled my Daiwa Lexa 300 before I could even think about chasing him with the boat. I grabbed a larger 400-size Lexa, which has more line capacity, and was strung with 60-pound braid. I tied on the same swimbait I was previously using and then hooked and landed an 18-pound yellowtail. They were on the hunt for food and ate my swimbait, which happens
Brett Delong hoists a nice lingcod taken on a swimbait. Often, anglers will carry a rod and reel setup that can handle the fight of an average grade of fish, but what if something much bigger comes a calling? (BILL SCHAEFER) calsportsmanmag.com | JULY 2021 California Sportsman
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