First things first…Jon from Miami was my first customer…ever…We hammered the snook, his first, that night as I bluffed my way along, and hammered them again the next day. Over the last 3 years, we have fished 8 or 9 more times, and in the process, he’s caught his first redfish, his first jewfish, and countless other fish. His buddies have been coming over, fishing, and introduced me to my first kosher knife.
Recently, Jon caught his first keeper snook- during season- and the stage was set for our trip on Sunday, for his first giant. He has hooked several, over the trips, and has lost em all. And no one fishes harder than Jon. He comes on full force from the starting gun, until every last piece of bait in the livewell is gone, and there is not a crumb left to even cut. Doesn’t matter how long it takes, he works my ass just as hard. First customer privilege!.
Well today, it all came together, when a frikin toad of a snook followed a big panicking thread out of the mangroves and exploded on it ten feet from the boat. The battle was on, and Jon was locked in his battle stance, as the beast had its way with the big Cabo and heavy St Croix rod, and effortlessly ripped right into the bushes after a big breach. Well, my trolling motor was down, the power pole stick was broken, and the anchor was out, so there would be no pulling boat away.
I laughed and told him this one is up to him, and we stood side by side for 10 minutes and yelled, screamed instructions, as the silver pig wallowed from tree to tree, wrapping, unwrapping, breaking branches and crashing up and down the shoreline…somehow, some way, he started to turn her, and out she came…thicker than my leg, and as fat as any snook I have seen in a long time…one more drag rip, and a few more skipped heart beats and into my net she glided. Holy hell, the whole net almost broke as I heaved her up on the deck.
Boom, Jon had his first monster! And entered the 40 inch club as she barely pinched to 40, but this fish was incredibly heavy. After some shaky legged pics, and several rounds of BBs into a circling dolphin, we gently sent her safely home! The first fish of a great day!
