With the 4th of July around the corner, who better than an 11 year old baseball catcher to fire up the opening round of excitement…actually, when I see a kid light up like a firework when the monster in the pictures erupts like a charging bull , stampedes into the mangroves like an escapee from the PBR, and starts a 15 minute tug a war that includes firing up the big motor and reversing full tilt off the shoreline while dragging the deployed power pole, I get crazy too…the next burst of excitement comes, when, what seems like an endless battle of me barking and the kid reeling and working, suddenly gets intensely graphic, as the huge fish emerges from the murk and shows itself to all of us. While everyone in the boat knew Chris was on a big fish, nothing prepares you for that moment you are confronted with the absolute size of the fish. Intensity, nerves, adrenalin, and chatter reach a crescendo as he deftly guided the big fish right into the landing net and the whole boat erupts in happiness and celebration! Good job Chris, you launched the first big mortar of the week across the bow, and the fireworks are on!

Tags: big snook, kid snook, kids fishing, mangroves, marco fishing, marco island, naples fishing, snook fishing, trapper hooks