Snook gills don’t rattle like tarpon gills, but that headshake was every bit as awesome. She shook on the way up, and landed broadside in the water, soaking both of us in the boat, now 15 feet away. And then came her second run. Run? It was more like a Sunday stroll for her. My ten-pound line was more a nuisance than a threat, and she quickly stripped it off like it wasn’t even there!
Again she turned broadside about 100 yards from us. And then I saw it……
About half way between me and the fish, dangling in the air like some spider web, was a tangle in my line. I don’t know how it got there; heck, I didn’t even remember if I had a leader on. But there it was – looking every bit like a knot that would not come undone.
For what seemed like an eternity, I fought that fish, carefully getting the tangle through the eyes of the rod and on to the reel, only to see it flying off the reel again. On and off, out and back in, the tangle persisted. I just knew it was going to break at some crucial point and I would loose this huge fish.
But today was to be my day! She made a couple more runs, and an effort at some jumps, though she only came half way out of the water. Then she slowly swam and allowed me to work her next to the boat. I tried to lift her with one hand, but couldn’t manage it. Two hands were out of the question, because I had the rod in one of them. So, as she lay there half on her side, I worked the jig out of the side of her mouth. She righted herself at the side of the boat and lay still for about 15 seconds. Then she slowly swam away to join the others who were still hitting anything that moved. How much did she weigh? I will never know.
But this I do know. I have come a long way since I was a kid. Earlier, I would have gaffed that fish and put her in the box for the trip home. But we already had the two fish we were keeping to eat, and this one was too big and too beautiful to destroy. I felt good watching her swim away, and wondered how many other anglers would let a fish like that – a snook of a lifetime- simply swim.
