Weird fish are what keep me super engaged and challenged as an angler, and weird found us. Our day began with the intention of camping on one of our favorite islands in the bay and targeting species of snappers and anything else we could find.
When fishing rocky shores, the biggest thing I like to focus on is scouting the area. The biggest tactic I’ve learned is to put a few casts in one spot and then move on to the next. I was jumping from rock to rock, blindly throwing fish water. Suddenly, I lifted my fly to my feet and this giant Hawkfish made his move. As my fly fell, the fish came out from under the rock I was standing on and crushed my fly. Less than a few seconds, the Giant Hawkfish was buried in the volcanic rocks. Without hesitation I jumped into the water, rod in one hand, leader in the other. I dove to get this fish off not just a rock, but several sharp volcanic rocks as the waves crash.
After pulling him out of the volcanic rocks and down to the beach, I started screaming in fear as my good friend Jefe Feczko was in full sprint and excitement, going to help. We barely held it together. This is the biggest giant fish we have ever seen and it was on par with the world record. The aggression and fight of this alien looking fish was unmatched. The biggest takeaway from this is to keep the fly in the water and keep exploring and pushing to try new things.
Angler Story of the Week by Alec Lucas, find him on Instagram @fish_a_day.
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