The Catch of a Lifetime?

The Catch of a Lifetime! A title I usually reserve for my amazing wife, Avani.

While shooting an episode for Season 2 of WildFed, Tony Seichrist and Captain Andy took me 20 miles off the coast of Savannah, Georgia to do a bit of wreck fishing.

While Northern Red Snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) are protected there and must be released alive for all but 5 days of the year, many anglers and commercial fishermen in Georgia are convinced that the species is more abundant than regulators think. To see for myself, Tony suggested we go fishing for black sea bass (Centropristis striata) in a place where red snapper are thriving. We kept all the legal sea bass we caught for our dinner and released our red snapper alive.

Despite the conventional thinking about red snapper populations, it seemed they were quite abundant, in fact, it was hard to get a sea bass on the line. One after another, we brought red snapper to the surface. Each one seemed to get a bit bigger than the next. At one point I switched to my lighter spinning tackle and dropped down a circle hook baited with a fresh pinfish fillet. Suddenly something slammed my bait, my line went taught and I had to hold on like a rodeo rider.

Line kept peeling off my reel as I maneuvered to keep whatever was beneath the surface from breaking off my line. The battle took me from the port side to the bow and from the bow to the starboard side, as this fish tested the resistance of my drag and the tensile strength of the line that connected him to me. It took some finesse, but eventually, I was able to coax him up out of the salty hydrosphere for a short visit in earth’s atmosphere. When Tony first saw this fish he started shouting. Then Captain Andy started shouting too. I, being a bit worn out from the tug-of-war simply

watched as they ran about on deck preparing to board this spiny, ruddy behemoth. As we reached over the gunwales to hoist him into the boat Tony leaned over and whispered: “that’s the biggest red snapper I’ve ever seen”.

Now, I want to point out, this had little to do with me. The captain and mate put me on this spot. All I did was wet my line. Bringing him to the surface was the only thing that I can take credit for. Catching is easy when the captain puts you on the fish. But, good luck is all about being prepared to receive it, and we were in the right place at the right time with the right gear and the right bait.

That “luck” led to a red snapper the likes of which I might never catch again. Maybe the catch of a lifetime. We were all in awe of this beautiful animal, which we promptly returned to the deep.

We spent that afternoon cleaning and eating black sea bass, and of course, telling stories of an incredible day on the water! If you're ever in the Savannah area, check out Captain Andy’s charter, which leaves from the dock at Tony’s waterfront restaurant, The Wyld!