Monster Trout by Nerfboy AKA Chris S.

My dad and I were fishing off of Sam's pier on the Sunday night before Labor Day 1999. I had started fishing that summer with a friend who taught me how to really catch the specks at night under lights. I talked my dad into going with me that night and I promised him we would catch some fish.

It had been awhile since my dad had been fishing so he was pretty rusty with his 5000 and Millionaire so he had more than his fair share of bird's nests and subsequent losses of popping corks getting caught up in the pilings. Needless to say he was getting a little frustrated so he fished the leeward side of the pier while I fished into the wind on the opposite side, but he was a trooper and never complained.

We had been fishing for about an hour when I caught a nice 18" speck on live shrimp. I keep telling dad, "hang on, you're next, they're gonna bust lose now", but the fishing remained slow for the next hour. Mind you we had the pier to ourselves that night.  Sam was the only other person who came out.

Just as Sam come out to check on us I hooked up with a big trout. After I got her to the surface, Sam looked at it and said "you gotta net?"  "Nope" I said.  "Then that's what we call a 'walk up'" Sam replied.  I then walked the fish up the pier and onto the shore and ran down the pier onto the beach like a 14 year old. She was 23", the biggest fish I had ever caught. But we weren't done yet.

I immediately re-baited my hook and casted back out into the surf. Meanwhile my dad wasn't getting any bites. I told him that he needed to throw into the wind and the current and let his bait get close to the pier and then reel it in before it gets to close to the pilings but he said he couldn't cast into the wind due to backlashing. I offered my Zebco 33 but he said he would just fish the other side.

I then took my 5000 off and decided to give the Zebco 33 a try. I got it as an "early" Christmas present from my dad when Iwas about 11 or 12. He bought the reel at the Gibsons in Sweetwater while we were visiting my grandparents. The Zebco 33 was what I learned to fish.

Back to the story.

I re-rigged and casted out and started to reel in the slack. Right when I was just about ready to pull it out something hit my line and almost pulled my rod out of my hands!  I shouted to my dad and told him that I thought I had a red or at least something big. I had never had something that pulled as hard as that fish was pulling. I had loosened the drag on the 33 quite a bit so that I would loose the fish but the drag was stuck.  I gave the line a tug and that freed it up and then the fish took off for Mexico. I couldn't see my cork but the line (12# Stren) was coming off that Zebco like it had never come off before. My hands were shaking as I waited for the fish to quit running. To add to the excitement several good size waves decided to come in which slowed down the fish and actually pushed the fish back a little, but between the waves it gave two more runs.

After that, the fish was played out, but the waves had pushed it under the pier and I thought I would loose it for sure. My line was being rubbed on the pilings and I thought that it would get cut off. My dad told me to get directly over the fish and guide it out of the pilings. Amazingly enough we got her out from under the pier and into the light. It was the biggest trout I had ever seen in person.

We noticed that the fish had a dark spot on top of it's head that we couldn't explain. I then dragged it to the beach and once again ran down to retrieve it. This is the good part. The black spot on the fishes head was where the number 10 treble was foul hooked into the head of the fish! I just couldn't believe it. I took the fish up to show my dad and we just marveled at her. All 27" of her curled up both sides of my ice chest. It was and still is the biggest fish I have ever caught.

I'll never forget that night, but what made it so special was that my number one hero was with me that night, my Dad. Here's to ya Dad, one of the smartest guys I know!