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Ernesto Burden sent in these shots and this account of catching this monster off the coast of New Hampshire with his 15 year-old 9-weight Orvis Silver Label and a clouser minnow.
We ended up at North Hampton around 2 p.m., following a 1 p.m. high tide. Ed and I fished the rocks and the little rip on the north side of the beach for an hour or so, Ed with a spinning rig and me with the fly rod, and then we saw birds working hard right off the beach itself. I recalled something of my days in Cape May and was struck by a singular urgency. Yep, I ran like a wildman, stripping line into my basket as I went, getting ready to cast.
I plunged into the surf, up to my waist, and cast a clouser minnow as far into the mass of diving birds as I could get and started a fast retrieve. A fish hit right away and I got it on the reel and brought it in. It was about 19-20 inches, and a beauty, but I didn’t spend a lot of time admiring it. The birds were breaking up and wheeling away. I released the fish and cast again and this time the fish that took bent the rod double. Ed arrived and asked if I wanted help landing whatever was on the other end of the line. It was a generous offer, but I said no, cast.
I got the fish on the reel and we went back and forth about five minutes. His first few runs were incredibly strong and he took the line nearly out to the backing. The family had all gathered on the beach along with a crowd of other sunbathers. David and his cousin Cole darted in close, thrilled at the site of the fish’s big tail lifting out of the water as it rolled and fought.
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Read the rest of the story on Ernesto’s blog, here..