I had the good fortune to fish with my calico buddy, Dr. John Whitaker on Sunday morning. I made sure I dusted off my sage Xi3 10 weight and tied up some of my productive sculpin flies which were attached to 16# fluorocarbon leader. We were going to the land of giants and it was going to be full combat fishing. If we hooked any good fish, there would be no messing around, you hold on tight, go big or go home. If you never did this type of fishing it isn’t for the faint of heart. We fish tight, ride on swells and spin around in the toilet bowl, just trying to keep the boat in position. Often times John will not cast, keep the engine running and try to keep us in a good position for me to make a cast. It is one of my favorite ways to fish, the anticipation of a big fish or as John refers to “Walter” whomping your fly in what I would call a tough neighborhood filled with snags, underwater elephants (boulders) kelp stringers and sometimes lobster traps often gives the odds to Walter. I still haven’t met Mr Walter yet, I have experienced him at the end of my line a few times only having to curse him for cutting me off and parting my leader. I have seen him beat my fishing buddies from time to time too. Whitaker on the other hand has met his first cousin when he broke the 20# if tippet record with a 8.3 pound calico. The difference between a 6 pound and 8 pound fish is like the difference between Manny Pacquiao and Mike Tyson, they bought fight hard but Mike delivers the knockout in the few seconds of the first round. Well I am not complaining, we caught a few nice fish on Sunday, but Walter is still out there and I have a dinner reservation with him, and I am bringing my A game.
flies, sand & surf 