Antioch Bridge Pier

Red Fish

Senior Member
#1
Met up with an old member of PFIC, “Stocktrader” that I hadn’t fished with in (10) years.
He had some sons and was doing semi/pro blackbass fishing.
Anyway, we met up at the pier which is like a halfway point from where he is and I am.
We just wanted to have a time out to fish and relax with not too much expectation.
We just kept it simple with some sardines and some other miscellaneous items from my freezer like mackerel and chicken livers.
So, incoming was at 1pm Saturday so we tried to arrive at that approximated time fishing and being in the water at 2 by the time it was said and done.
My friend brought one of his sons, the nine-year-old, that enjoys fishing.
We fished a few hours for some sub-legal bass to 15” depleting quite a bit of bait that was chewed up by these “shakers.”
About 6, I hook into the fish pictured that pulled off drag on my Spirex baitrunner with 30/30 braid to leader. The fish hit so lightning fast that I don’t recall the hook up as the G-Dude special “bull trout” “10’ spinning rod loaded up. The fish pulled with tremendous ferocity right off the bait with the help of a little incoming current. The initial blast was unbelievable ending with a spectacular surface leap about 60 yards out. This thing thing bolted with greater speed than many bat rays and I was in fear of being spoolrd in the 4000 reel before engaging additional drag pressure. From the leap, and what I saw from the distance I exclaim, “big striper” as I moved down the rail to the left further blaring out, “coming down!”
I kept going down and under about 3 lines to the left as the fish is giving all its got and working me and my gear to the maximum. Time goes by and I fight to the right coming down now over about 5 lines of people that do not want to move an inch by themselves to get out of the way. I move over and under untwisting my line as I “run and gun” down the rail with the fish still unrelentingly. Two, three, four more tremendous aerial displays with the fish now moving somewhat closer but with just as much pressure. 30 minutes later, I am still thinking this fish is going to break its way free. As the fish finally gets closer, it’s start looking less and less like a striper.
The fish made it to the net only to be returned due to it being: 1: about two football fields out of range of bein legal to take at the San Joaquin river and 2. It was hooked in the side. 9B03F813-1697-469F-9C01-31564DEC83AB.jpeg 9A8B4A42-1260-49BE-9F90-EF66613B0842.jpeg
 

fly

New member
#5
Must have broke your heart (and your stomach) to release that nice fish...oh well. Hopefully it will go on to spawn.