King Mackerel, artificial bait, Yozuri, and bad hook

Gotta head over to see my doc, Doctor Sam. Anyone with a clinic named Pelican Family gets my attention, and business. Love those birds. So photogenic.

But, I digress. As is all too often the case.

Had a great day fishing (and, catching) Wednesday. My brother-in-law, Thurman, aka T, and I left Tideline Marine at the crack of dawn. Actually, before dawn. Used boat spotlight and GPS to locate markers in New River for the first couple miles. We watched the sun rise over the Sneads Ferry bridge, and it was clear sailing as we headed offshore.

Nice weather, seas were running about two feet. If you navigate New River Inlet, though, be careful following those last couple green cans as you cross the bar. Running from one to the other can leave you in really shallow water. Go northeast before making your turn towards the bell buoy. Look for anything but white water.

Headed for Divers' Rock, a nice outcropping with a 10-foot relief, about five miles from the inlet. No birds working anywhere. Birds, FYI, feed on bait fish on the surface. Big fish do, too. No birds, no bait, no big fish. We trolled for a while, then decided to continue to a spot we had heard might harbor some mahi-mahi, aka dolphin (fish, not Flipper). About 10 miles offshore, that most pleasing of sounds went off. A fish had grabbed a lure and was peeling off line as the drag alerted us of the attack. And, the fight was on. Thought it was a good size dolphin; at least, at first that's what we thought. T was on the reel. I was, as is often the case, manning a camera. It's fun to catch 'em, and it's fun to get pictures. I like action pictures.

A ten minute fight, and the fish was almost worn down. Coming alongside, it was obvious we had a nice fish. And, it wasn't a dolphin. It was a good size king mack. Grabbed a couple shots....

...note the lure. Most folks 'round these parts, at least the avid king anglers, use live bait. We would, too, if we were really good at catching it. Well, maybe we would...sometimes. But, I do like artificial lures. T is a fan of the Yo-Zuri Deep Divers. And, since he nailed a 19 pound king last year on one, we figured it was a pretty cool plug. When Mr. King was close enough, I traded my camera for a gaff (gotta get a longer one if we're gonna keep going after kings), and in short order, the king was in the boat.

In my excitement, I hooked up my trusty digital scale before removing the lure. Let me explain how stupid that was. The lure has two treble hooks. A treble hook has three barbs, razor sharp. Skin piercing sharp. Go back to that word "barb". That means it goes in but doesn't want to pull out. Better at keeping fish from getting off. During my impromptu weigh-in, the fish slipped. The south-end of that north-bound treble nailed me. And, nailed me good. Went into the inside of my knee. With what I initially weighed as a 28-plus pound king still attached. Initially, I say, 'cause it's hard to get an accurate reading when the fish is bucking, and the boat is rocking in seas that are now running 3-4 feet. T produced his pliers and wire cutters, grabbed the fish and held on while I proceeded to cut the hook. Ok, that done, the fish and I parted company.

So, I have a barbed hook imbedded in my knee. Pulling it out the way it went in is absolutely not going to happen. Not on my watch! With trusty pliers, I proceed to push the hook forward, piercing skin, creating a second hole. Once it was all the way through, I simply pulled it out. T quipped that I could use the hole for a piercing. I thought about it, but couldn't come up with any metallic device that would do the story justice.

Washed away the blood. Cleaned the wounds with alcohol swaps, added antiseptic, and re-rigged, looking for the next big fish.

Got a couple more. A dolphin and a nice spanish mackerel. But, nothing to compare to the king on a lure. It topped the certified scales at exactly 29 pounds, one pound shy of being a Division of Marine Fisheries citation fish. But, a nice one in anyone's book. T was a happy camper, let me tell you. That smile tells it all.

Now, off to see Doc Sam. My wife and T both strongly suggested that I get a tetnus shot.