Biggest Catch Of The Year; 185 Lb. Jewfish.
So my friend Pete and I started out at Spy Pond with Senkos. We each hooked one, 12 inches, and 15 inches respectively. No more takes after a while, so we decided to switch it up.
I tied on a Zara Spook, full size. I cast it out once and start walking the dog. He's tying on a KVD 1.5 in bluegill color. The second cast out, I really whip it, and Pete, unfortunately, was kneeling right behind me.
*Snap!
"AGHHHH!!!"
I look behind me. My line is snapped and the Zara Spook is dangling from his face. I'm horrified, but I mask it. Two of the hooks on the rear treble are deeply embedded into his ear. The middle treble is dangling very close to his eye. I told him to stay kneeling and pulled. The barbs were deep, it would not budge and it became apparent that if I pulled anymore, his whole ear might come off. I used my knife to unscrew the two screws holding the treble that was embedded in his cartilage. Right before it came off, I told him to smile and took a snapshot. He was being a real champ.
Got the lure off, and rushed him to the ER. The shock wore off and he started feeling a ton of pain. The doctor finally came to see him and used a sterilized nail cutter and pliers to cut the exposed hooks, then push the barbs entirely through his ear.
I went to JFK Library to try to try my luck at blues. They were definitely biting, but I lost my line twice to a couple of absolutely massive hits (mind you, I have 80 lb braid). A guy was using his last piece of bait on his dinky little 20 lb test rod and hooked up with a massive fish. The fish took the bait so hard that it left the line on his reel looking like steel wool. I ran over to help him. He held the rod while I untangled all of it which took about ten full minutes. The fish remained on miraculously and we pulled it in after I got all the tangles and knots out. 36 inches.
All in all, a horrendous day, but hopefully my fish karma is straight...