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Seeing Spots before my eyes

December 3, 2015 By Steve Santagati Leave a Comment

Place: Hunter Island South Carolina a.k.a “The Dirty South” 😉 December.

Fishing had been horrible even for the “live baiters” and guys with boats [ no boat for me and no $ for a guide right now so I was from-shore fishing only]. Having been eaten alive by mosquitos on long hikes to places with no fish I was cynical at best. But then I met this super cool local redneck chick [I’m a redneck so we had that in common]. She “hooked me up” with the general location of a solid spot and I fished there that evening on outgoing tide! Every cast I landed a speckled trout. My point? Be nice to the locals and be friendly to all on the road.

The Story:

The next morning.

The tide was coming in fast around me and was standing on a island of razor sharp oyster shells, knee deep mud, and sea grass.  I wasn’t in my waders, no stripping basket, nothing, just my rod – it was a spur of the moment decision. I thought to myself, “I had caught plenty of Speckled Trout there last night, I’ll see if anything is there on incoming tide on my way out of town.” I live in a tiny home / ford transit 250 so I pulled my home to the side of the road and ran to the spot knowing I only had maybe 15 minutes before the water would be too high.

IMG_0062

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fly: Small: maybe a size 10 clouser. I picked it because it did double duty; part shrimp looking and part bait fish.

Rod: Beulah 6/7 switch.

I thought for sure I was out gunned when it hooked. I had never put this rod thru such an extreme test. Would the rod snap? I had to keep changing the angle. The fish went where it wanted to go stripping line and I ran up the bank and followed. I had no idea what I had hooked. A Red would have been too good to be true. I thought it was a black tip shark and said, “fuck it, I’ll see how long I can keep it on.”  Then, the head and tail came out of the water and my heart stopped. Omg! My first Red and it’s a monster. Now I had to get it in and get a photo. But NO CAMERA WITH ME! I yelled to some guys passing in a small boat and asked if they had a camera. They said, “What the fuck are you some Hollywood celebrity, we ain’t got no camera. But whadda ya got there?” I ignored them and focused on the lug on the end of my line.

Fish: Red / Spot about 15 or more lbs and 30″. It’s hard to tell from the pict but look at my size 10 foot, the rod, and that huge 10wt Nautilus reel. < Yeah, I know it’s too big for this rod but I’m unconventional. No Rules.

*Note: Bogagrips just used to keep his head down for pict! #catchandrelease

I landed the fish and sprinted to my #vantagati to get my iPhone! Too big for a selfie but here you go. I was high for 4 hours after that, reliving every moment of the catch. I fish alone. I don’t have anyone to fish with most of the time so I got on the phone and sent a text to everyone and anyone I thought would care. I had to put it here too. This is why I fish. This is why I love it. Not just for big fish but for the entire experience and everything WE get to see while fly fishing that the rest of the world is missingIMG_0065IMG_0051!

For more on the van and life on the road:[ instagram sstevebbff ] I’ve been fishing my way from Maine to here and this was a highlight.

 

 

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