. I saw a part of my braid that looked like it was frayed from when I
was hung on the crap trap line and right after pointing it out to my
brother the braid snapped at that exact spot. It was definitely an
awesome fight for my first Tarpon on the kayak. My brother estimated the
fish to me around 110-120lbs. He use to fish Boca Grande Pass every
summer when he was a first mate so I'll take his word. My neighbor was
even kind enough to tow my brother and I back into shore! Here is some
video. You can see the fish a few times but I'm waiting to see if my
neighbor has any better pics or vids. 
The Dark Line!
Jesse Wright
I Went snook fishing a few days ago on the beach around 230 in the
morning. With winds around 20mph and dirty water I did not have much
confidence we would catch something till it calmed down a little bit but
what the hell you never know. Tide was incoming at a slow pace but did
eventually pick up. My buddy Matt(mdx15) and I were tossing the Rapala
X-Rap in Green back color. Making sure you hit the bottom to make a
little bit more noise and to put that puff of smoke up as a bait fish
getting away.
Around 245 is when I got my first big thump..... and that's when my Daiwa Ballistic 3000 started singing. Fish pulled about 50-60 yards of 10lb Spiderwire off my reel as I start following him down the beach. After a 10-15 min fight I had a nice upper 30"s Snook!!! Released and un-hooked in the water. Only taking out for a quick picture.
About 40 minutes later I get another thump... this thump was HEAVY!!! My drag went into speed mode and I thought it was going to explode the drag was getting pulled so fast. This snook burned about 100 yards of line out before I was able to turn her. As I get the fish turned and coming back to me it was only 20ft away till it decided to go visit some little structure we did have. Sure enough I could not see in the dark and did not know where this fish was. I had my rod to my side trying to pull it out but I'm sure she turned on her side and cut me with her gills. My mistake, I should of had my rod tip high. Fish was every bit of 40"s but it happened for a reason moving on.
Went to tie on another lure but not sure what since I was out of X-Raps. Not more then 5 minutes later my buddy Matt gets nailed. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz splash the damn thing jumped like 6 times before making a long run. His Daiwa Advantage was smookiinnnggg. After a few coaching tips to help my buddy out he had a snook almost landed. Till the fish got him around structure. Somehow the fish cut the braid but had the 3' leader and X-Rap in its mouth. The fish was just sitting on the top of the water right up against the structure. I told Matt "grab his tail and don't let go at all" he grabbed that fish and we had a nice upper 30"s Snook. That made the night he was shaking like a leaf in a Hurricane!!
Best feeling I have been in a long time. Also Matts first Snook for 2012 I think! All in all it was a great night. Fished from 230-6 went 2-3 on snook and caught some ladyfish for shark bait in the future. Tackle Daiwa reels/Spiderwire Braid 10lb/Yo-Zuri HD 30lb pink/ Wright's Custom rods!
Around 245 is when I got my first big thump..... and that's when my Daiwa Ballistic 3000 started singing. Fish pulled about 50-60 yards of 10lb Spiderwire off my reel as I start following him down the beach. After a 10-15 min fight I had a nice upper 30"s Snook!!! Released and un-hooked in the water. Only taking out for a quick picture.
About 40 minutes later I get another thump... this thump was HEAVY!!! My drag went into speed mode and I thought it was going to explode the drag was getting pulled so fast. This snook burned about 100 yards of line out before I was able to turn her. As I get the fish turned and coming back to me it was only 20ft away till it decided to go visit some little structure we did have. Sure enough I could not see in the dark and did not know where this fish was. I had my rod to my side trying to pull it out but I'm sure she turned on her side and cut me with her gills. My mistake, I should of had my rod tip high. Fish was every bit of 40"s but it happened for a reason moving on.
Went to tie on another lure but not sure what since I was out of X-Raps. Not more then 5 minutes later my buddy Matt gets nailed. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz splash the damn thing jumped like 6 times before making a long run. His Daiwa Advantage was smookiinnnggg. After a few coaching tips to help my buddy out he had a snook almost landed. Till the fish got him around structure. Somehow the fish cut the braid but had the 3' leader and X-Rap in its mouth. The fish was just sitting on the top of the water right up against the structure. I told Matt "grab his tail and don't let go at all" he grabbed that fish and we had a nice upper 30"s Snook. That made the night he was shaking like a leaf in a Hurricane!!
Best feeling I have been in a long time. Also Matts first Snook for 2012 I think! All in all it was a great night. Fished from 230-6 went 2-3 on snook and caught some ladyfish for shark bait in the future. Tackle Daiwa reels/Spiderwire Braid 10lb/Yo-Zuri HD 30lb pink/ Wright's Custom rods!
