I would argue that there is nothing more relaxing than sitting on a boat in the middle of a river on a warm summer night. The stars and the moon shining down on you….the crickets and the frogs singing a chorus while the bait tank fills the silence in between with it’s quiet steady hum…..and then ZZZZZZZZZ!!!! A rod bends over and line starts to peel off. You spring to action but you find yourself struggling to get the rod out of the rodholder. You already know that this is the fish you’ve been waiting for all night. By the time you finally get the rod in your hand good, the fish is already 30-40 yards away, thrashing and splashing on the surface of the water like a scene out of Jaws. You engage in a tug of war with the beast, keeping your fingers crossed that your tackle and your angling skills are up to the task. After a few minutes, you feel the fish start to give a little and you think you might have him whipped…but little do you know, the fight is just getting started.
Suddenly, he is coming straight at the boat like a torpedo! You reel in line as fast as you can, but by the time you catch up with the fish he is underneath you, threatening to wrap your line around the prop, anchor, or anything else he can find. Your rod is literally bent in half at this point, and you are certain that if you pull any harder the rod will break. This is the first time that you can really feel the weight of the fish, and you begin pondering just how big he might be. After another five minutes of pulling and head shaking, the fish finally comes to the top to make his first appearance. You barely catch a glimpse of him before he turns and makes another run for it. Drag peels off the line once again, and your heart drops out of your chest. Is your knot tied good enough? How well is he hooked? Is your drag set right? After all, it would only take one mistake to make this just another story about the one that got away.
But you persevere, and a few minutes later you are letting out a sigh of relief as you slide the net over the behemoth fish. As you pull him out of the water, you realize that you barely have the strength left in your arms to hoist him into the boat. You begin to wonder who is more tired…you or the fish? You look at your watch and realize it has only been 15 minutes, but you would swear it has been at least an hour. Time has been slowed down temporarily. Adrenaline is pumping through you so hard that you can feel your heartbeat in your little toe. You take a moment to celebrate, and to pay respect to this fish who could very well be as old as you are. After a few pictures and a quick weight, it is time to get the fish back into the water so he can return to his business. As you slide the fish over the side of the boat and into the murky river water, you realize how overcome with excitement and emotion you are. Your hands are still shaking, your eyes watery, your breathing heavy…but you feel good. You feel alive.
As the fish recovers, you can feel his muscles begin to tighten. Then with a swift swish of the tail, he let’s you know that he is ready to go. You let go and watch as he swims off, seemingly waving goodbye to you with his tail. You take a deep breath and a good look around….the stars and the moon are the brightest you’ve ever seen. The bait tanks hums, and the crickets and frogs sing on into the night.
