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I spent 4th of July family vacation this year in Florida on Lemon Bay (45 minutes south of Sarasota). I rented a Hobie PA for the week from Economy Tackle up in Sarasota (great spot to rent kayaks from). On Wednesday morning I ran into a number of BIG SNOOK on the flats. I got the first snook out at 10am and she went 12lbs! After gently reviving and releasing her I retied, then cast back to the same spot. Bam! Another snook on. This one came racing under the kayak. By the time I caught up with her I evidently hadn't loosened the drag enough and she snapped the line with a screaming run. That was my only large swimbait hook so I paddled back to the launch site and raced to the tackle store. An hour later I returned with a wealth of new gear. After numerous casts to the same spot I found no takers. I paddled towards a nearby point which was adjacent to a boat channel. I made a long cast and bam! She drug the kayak around a bit and then raced towards the mangroves. I wrestled her out of the mangroves and patiently wore her down in order to get her into the net. She took quite some time to revive but I made sure to keep her in the water until the breathing normalized. For much of the time that she was regaining her strength I merely kept my hand in front of her nose, not even bothering to secure her. After many minutes passed she swam away tired but unharmed. What a memorable morning of fishing.
Here's a photo (gopro vid coming soon)...
snook (1 of 1)-3.jpg
Location: Lemon Bay by Manasota Key, Florida
Lure: 5" Berkeley Gulp Saltwater Jerk Shad in chartreuse/white
Date: 7/2/14, 11am
Gear: 13Fishing Omen Rod, Shimano ci4+ 3000 spinning
Fish weight: 12lb
Dave
Here's a photo (gopro vid coming soon)...
snook (1 of 1)-3.jpg
Location: Lemon Bay by Manasota Key, Florida
Lure: 5" Berkeley Gulp Saltwater Jerk Shad in chartreuse/white
Date: 7/2/14, 11am
Gear: 13Fishing Omen Rod, Shimano ci4+ 3000 spinning
Fish weight: 12lb
Dave
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