FISHERMEN NOT CATCHERMAN THE FISH OF A LIFETIME
All we can say is WOW what a whirlwind. The 2024 Salmon Spectacular Derby will be one that we will remember forever. Our personal derby accomplishments in regards to quality and volume paired this year are our best so far. Ty and I have only been fishing the salmon spectacular and Georgian Bay as a whole on our own boat for 4 years now. We have had the honor of learning from the absolute best anglers. Different skill sets and methods have prepared us for the events we experienced on the final full day of the derby (August 31st) Forget fish tales, stories this one will be forever burned in our hearts as a memory with 3 witnesses and avid anglers on board the "TNT Islander Girl" to verify. Positivity and a belief in what you're doing, a sheer confidence is the biggest factor in accomplishing your goals in angling. Earlier that day we sat together and enjoyed the sunshine on the boat with bolt, the family was set to come for the fish fry that evening, Ty had chatted with some friends, stating tonight would be the night he would ring that bell with the fish of a lifetime. He tied up a new rig about an hour prior to heading out, we figured the fish were sick of seeing common rigs, so we threw something new into the mix. A combination of unique full fly's we picked up on discount from a tackle store that was closing a few years back, tied in a triple with a sardine rigged behind. Ran along side an array of glow spoons that lit up the column. We trolled for 2.5 hours tried different depths attempting to find the fish after the storm. Again QUALITY over quantity. We got away from the crowd- I mean not a boat near us whatsoever. My dad was at the helm, the whole family was on board. The biggest sardine in the container was about to take the fish of a lifetime and the whole family would be there to witness it. This kind of fish does not only take skill from each angler but it takes cooperation from the whole crew. FISH ON- the fight was on and it was real. As a team Ty and I have pulled out a 28.5 on Ontario for the silver salmon and a 23.5 on Georgian Bay 3 years ago for the Salmon Spectacular both of which were of size and fought like a typical large fish, running, peeling line and jumping. This fish was different... And we knew it. The night prior Ty had talked to fellow angler Chris mink about this true Georgian Bay KINGS we are talking a different caliber of fish, the ones you have to bring the boat to, fight on a 90 and work hard to tire. Something that has been lost in the past few years. This fish was that and we will never forget it. It was about 8:35 PM the road fired hard, the biggest king we have seen to date jumped out of the water with incredible sport despite his/her changing colors. He slammed to the water and the fight was on, 50 meters from the boat Ty had set the hook, the team worked on getting the other 2 riggers in, preparing the net, slowing the boat. Ty begins his fight, this fish had zero give, as we are bringing up other rods we have a tangle, wrapped around the end of his rod, I use a pocket knife and hop on the swim platform of the slow moving vessel to safely cut the lures from around the end of his rod. Again this fish peels line a minimal amount, one solid peel then he holds, treading water he's dragging the boat backwards and steering us even though we are still under mild power. The sheer size of this fish was more than we could ever imagine, he put our Lake Ontario 28.5lb king to shame. Ty was patient, we encouraged each other throughout The process and even though I was crying in fear that I wouldn't be able to Net him when he got to the boat. I knew that deep down inside. I would have no problem getting him in with the help of everyone when he did get there. Our nerves were firing on all cylinders. I remember saying this one's for Grandpa. We will get him in the boat and this is going to be the derby winner by a long shot. The raw power of this fish was nothing like we have ever experienced. Ty patiently waited keeping tension on the line while he rolled and treaded water. We contemplated different ideas on how to get him, but no idea seemed like the right one. The king seemed tired. We thought this was our opportunity. Seemingly he did one big head shake after showing multiple signs that he was tired out for the 10 minutes prior. This head shake after multiple rolls and water treading was the one that would let him go. Just like that, in the blink of an eye we thought he was running to the boat and he was gone. A lot of tears were shed, but we reminded ourselves we did everything we could in regards to patience trying to get him in the boat. The only thing we could have done differently is cornering on a 45° angle towards the fish to get him closer to the boat. After many chats with experienced anglers that truly would have been our best option to get him closer to us without yanking the line. Our rig was safe. The fish simply knew how to be uncaught and he didn't get that big for no reason. We always say what is meant to be will be and that fish was just not meant to be ours at that exact moment on that exact rig now if it was on a TNT I can nearly guarantee that someone looking over us would have helped us get him in the boat. It took a little bit for the loss of this fish to set in fully because we knew in our hearts that that was the one. The one we have worked so hard for. Early mornings and the last ones in in the evenings we put in the time and the effort to find that big one and he will come again. We know it. We did get a small video of a portion of the fight which lasted for about 25 minutes all together. Coincidentally, prior to this we had spoke to our friends and experienced anglers in the area and we talked about how only the big ones fight like that with no give whatsoever consistently holding. Again away from the crowd just like our last big one from Georgian Bay. That feeling of pure power is incredible and unmatched. After the heartbreak we pulled back into our slip with the family and said our goodbyes. We went and talked to some of our friends and experienced anglers that have been fishing Georgian Bay for a long time. We got advice on what to do next time and an offer of true sportsmanship. On Sunday morning we all set out at sunrise to rake the spot where we caught this fish and find him once and for all. As dicey and as choppy as it was our friends Matt Blanchard, Jessie and the big bites team vowed to help us find this fish in the last 5 hours of the derby they were there for us and supported us in true sportsmanship the way it should be. We were all under the agreeance that one of us would get them and any other available party would help get him in the boat. That is truly what the definition of true sportsmanship is all about. We tried the entire morning through 4-ft swells in the big water. We raked back and forth trying to find the one that got away. And although we didn't, we did finish the Derby on an excellent note with a beautiful rainbow to let us know that our efforts did not go unnoticed, all the smaller fish that we put back during the Derby did not go unnoticed and that that our teamwork with our friends and the challenges we overcame were all worth it. This was truly a derby to remember one that taught us, certainly broke us in some moments but also reassured us that everything we are doing on our boat and within the angling community is in fact positive and appreciated.
I DO ENCOURAGE YOU NEXT TIME YOU'RE OUT DURING A DERBY WHEN A BOAT DRIVES BY AND WAVES AT YOU AND YOU STARE DIRECTLY AT THEM WAVE BACK, BE A TRUE SPORTSMAN, WE ARE ALL FISHERMEN NOT CATCHERMEN WE ARE ALL DOING IT FOR THE LOVE OF THE SPORT.