http://www.bigbendfishing.net/phpBB3/vi ... 5&p=220228
His ending the run hit hard, especially since he actually hooked two keeper cobia and even had one boat side, losing a MONSTER cobia to a broken gamakatsu hook.
I could lie and say that I was a good sport and said, “Aw, shucks, let bygones be bygones”, but well… that didn’t happen and he caught grief for the failed mission for two straight years.
Well, folks, it takes a LOT of energy to give a man grief for two years, so growing a bit weary from the work it took to dish out the abuse, I threw him an invite to end the cobia curse this past week. Not completely a surprise, he jumped all over it.
Thinking that Wolfeman needed some focused “encouragement” to land his first keeper cobe, I put this video together the night before the trip and shared it via facebook with him and numerous friends. Of the videos I've put together, think it may be my favorite to date!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0KZwVnXeDw[/video]
So we meet up at the lighthouse Saturday morning with a plan to get out early and exercise whatever patience was necessary to have him land a keeper cobe. I advised him that the solunar tables predicted 2 to 3pm as the peak time, but that I was hopeful we could get an early morning random bite or two and run back for the hill in time for afternoon college football.
Run out to 5 or 6’ waters beside the channel and start catching bait under slack tide mirror-glass like conditions. Then the Wolfeman curse starts trying to apply itself. Tide turns and starts RIPPING in strong. Coupled with an increasing breeze, our mirror-like conditions turn into white caps. Decide we better try and get on out and a ride that would normally take 30 minutes takes over an hour, and a rather “nautical” hour at that. Wolfeman curse – 1, keeper cobia mission – 0.
The random morning bite for which I hoped, it did NOT happen. Little signs of bait at our destination, no schooling mackerals, no jumping rays, no dolphins, nada… the force of the Wolfeman curse is feeling strong. Wolfeman curse – 2, keeper cobia – 0.
So we wait, and we wait, and we wait. Wolfeman asks if I really trust the solunar predictions, and I tell him, “Dayum skippy, I do!” as trip after trip I've found hot bites have coincided with the peak predicted times, give or take a half-hour or so.
Around 1:30pm. Our first hit and it’s a big one… and we’re 5 seconds late running to the stowed rod… and we’re instantly cutoff. Wolfeman curse – 3, keeper cobia – 0.
2:00pm rolls around and the bite starts turning hot. But our catching ratio does not. Two more cutoffs. Wolfeman curse – 5, keeper cobia -0.
Then we get a solid hit AND get the cobia off the bottom. Wolfe hauls it up long enough for me to eyeball it, and I tell him, “Dude it’s nice but bet it looks SOOO close to keeper size… bet it’s an inch short.” It sure fights like a keeper, but after 3 or 4 good runs we boat it… and… it’s not an inch short. It’s a ½” short. DOH!!!! Wolfeman curse – 6, keeper cobia – 0.
Not knowing if we'll catch another cobe, Wolfeman agrees we better take a few pics of his first landed cobia, short or not. The curse cuts him a break and saves him a rushed trip-ending run to the hospital, as he NARROWLY avoids the infamous injury known as "nuggets slap".
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Multiple high fives commence, a few thousand pictures are taken, celebratory beers opened , and it turns into party time… Wolfeman commences to dancing… we’re drawing so much attention that the FWC naval destroyer vessel out of Carrabelle races over to check us and when we show them the catch an impromptu celebration takes place. This rush produced video (and it shows) tells the tale!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbxhn-L4kA0[/video]
