Sherm was on the couch resting when Shelley said "we moved here to go fishing, so lets go". He reluctantly chose the better path and went fishing. They spent the day exploring Knowles Canyon. Since it was their first trip to Knowles they just drifted and fished the entire canyon. They used anchovies in deep water and caught a walleye in open water.
Near the end of the canyon with bottom depth about 20 feet, Sherm picked up his chartreuse bass grub on the light 6' Ugly Stick rod with 6 pound test to try the shoreline for bass. He had caught a few 1-2 pound stripers on the grub in deeper water so it was working quite well.
As the grub descended in the clear water he saw a flash of a nice fish and set the hook. It was a solid hook up and Sherm was sure he had a 10-pounder. The first run was strong but Sherm was on the trolling motor as the fish passed under the boat and headed for deep water. He told Shelly that he was going to win a hat in the Big Striper Contest with this fish.
The first run stopped in about 40 yards but Sherm couldn't gain much of his 6-pound line back without using the trolling motor to take up the slack. He did get quite a bit of line back before the second run started. The next run was longer but fairly steady so he was able to keep up with the trolling motor. He felt lucky to still have the fish hooked up. On a warmer day the runs would have been quicker and longer and the first run would have been the last. The striper would have been the proud owner of a green grub.
Sherm stationed Shelly on the big motor with instructions to crank up at the next run. She was ready but the big fish came to the top and rolled over. Then Sherm saw it was no 10-pounder but much bigger.It was just a matter of time before they got the fish close enough to the boat to put the net under it. It was 3 PM, at the warmest part of the day. Fishing was best between 1-3 PM.
Then the pictures and fun began. They raced back to Bullfrog to get the official weight- 32.5 pounds 43.75 total length and 26 inch girth.
There was a large crowd congregated at the Bullfrog Service Station where the certified scales were surrounded when the fish was officially weighed.
Nice Fish Sherm - Keep listening to Shelly!
